The Girl and I have been walking the Carson River Trail quite a lot the last few weeks. There’s less traffic than at Riverview Park and I like the walk along the river a bit better.
Friday we walked the trail again. The colors are staggering for the moment. Soon enough, it will all be gone and the cottonwoods will be in their winter dress. But for now, I’m really enjoying the color.
We paused at Mexican Dam for a few minutes. The flow is up quite a lot with the recent rains and the ending of irrigation season. But, there is not a lot of flow.
I stood there, looking over the water and taking in the sights, sounds, and smells. I heard a splash nearby and turned to see the Girl in the water. How she fell off the headgate wall I’ll never know. She’s not the brightest bulb in the box, sometimes.
She reinforced my observation by trying to climb up the concrete headwall. Unsuccessful, she looked at and I called her toward me. She could walk out on the weir.
She dogpaddled toward me and tried to climb the wall again. She slipped back into the water and went under. That didn’t look good. She didn’t look panicked, but was clearly distressed.
I called her to me again. She swam my way and tried to climb out again.
For a moment, I thought I was going to have to jump into the river and rescue my dog. That would have meant wetting my iPhone and my watch, which would have been expensive (but I didn’t think of that at the time).
But, she swam a little closer and I reached down to her. I snagged her collar and hoisted while she scrambled up the rough concrete.
Wet but happy, she shook and gave me a shower. I laughed, retrieved my pack, and we headed back to the rig, where I had a towel.
On the way back, she had two or three mini-zoomies and we played. She was a happy dog and I was a happy man.
At the rig, I retrieved the towel and wiped her mostly-dry fur down. She likes the towel. I like the Girl.
All’s well that ends well…