Arrowrock Reservoir

Yesterday, Jasmine and I went for a ride. Unfortunately, we didn't get started until 2 hours before sunset so while I had hoped to do about 15 miles, I knew that wasn't going to happen. Having a dog along on rides really slows things down quite a bit but I really do enjoy having her with me.

This is Jasmine's 4th ride. She's becoming a seasoned veteran now. She actually waited in the car until I had everything set up. I had forgotten her blanket and was going to call the ride off but I improvised with the blankets I have on the seats to keep dirt and dog fur off the upholstery. It wasn't as good as her blanket but it worked well enough.

This was a pretty hilly ride so Jasmine got to shine. She really likes running uphill but goes very slow on downhills...very strange. She was going pretty slowly at first, though we were climbing and I thought maybe it was the chip seal hurting her feet. So I put her boots on and we got going. She ran uphill until we started going downhill. We were going so slow, I was having trouble keeping the bike upright. She got to take a ride in the trailer until we got to the bottom.

Everyone who passed us waved at us...so friendly. There were probably 15-20 cars the whole 2 hours we were out so traffic wasn't an issue really. There must have been a marina up ahead somewhere because most people were towing a boat.

I lost a glove and told Jasmine we'd have to look for it on the way back but I looked back after we hadn't gone too far and it was in the road. It must have been under the trailer. I was glad to have it since it was a little cold out.

We turned around at Macks Creek Park because it was getting dark and a little colder back in the hills. Jasmine was trotting along most of the time but she would muster up some energy and really start running. I'd have to really work to keep up with her on the uphills.

At the top, she loaded in one last time. But I decided to see how Jasmine would do with the front screen open now that she was a little more used to the trailer. I didn't dare go too fast in case she jumped out. I didn't tether her in because I figured if she did decide to jump, she would be better off being able to get out of the way of the trailer. I kept glancing back at her but she never tried to get out. She just had her head sticking slightly out and she was sniffing the air.

A man in a car passed us with his window down. I waved and he said something. I think he said that there were deer on the hill. He pointed up. I looked up and kept looking up but never saw anything. I hope he said deer and not bear. He didn't seem too concerned though so I think it was deer.

I let Jasmine out once we on flat ground again and she was ready to go another few miles full steam ahead. Unfortunately for her, we were less than a mile from the car so I passed the parking lot and rode a little further before heading back. As soon as I unhooked her from the bike, she went straight to the rear door and sat down. I let her in and she laid down. I gave her a snack and she didn't move until we got home.

It was a really pretty place and I will hopefully be able to come back here a lot to ride.