A Fun Alpine Ride with Shyla

During our camping time in the San Juan mountains, I took Shyla on a mountain bike ride to and from a high mountain pass. It's a long "run" for a dog but Shyla is fit enough to handle it easily.

The meadow below the pass has some of the most vibrant wildflowers I've ever seen. They were so tall that it was hard to find places where I could take photos of Shyla surrounded by them.

 Then, we hit the final stretch of smooth but very steep trail up to the pass. Shyla sped ahead.

Near the top, the trail was lined with Columbines, as you can see in this photo where Shyla stopped to ask why I was pedaling so slowly! Dog athletes humble us lowly humans.

When we got to the top, we could see for miles in all directions.

In this spot last year, Shyla saw her first marmot and gave chase. This year, she was obsessed with the marmots but had learned that she shouldn't chase them. Instead, she stared in their direction with an intensity that she rarely possesses.

I also have encountered a mother bear and cubs in the direction where she was staring. They were foraging in the meadow below the pass (on the side that we didn't climb). I wondered, based on Shyla's intensity, if they might be hiding down there. Her eyes didn't leave that area.

Then the wind kicked up. Gusty winds stress out Shyla to some extent, as you can see from her "tongue flick" and plaintive look in the next photo.

We headed back toward camp soon after the wind hit us. We stopped for one photo among the purple asters that painted one meadow in pastel.

We had a long restful afternoon of snoozing in the sunshine after our ride. We didn't break into action again until we took the dogs for a swim.

And then we had them run around in the sunshine to dry off before the coolness of evening chilled them.

Going through these photos makes me want to jump in the LabMobile and head back for a little more time in that magical place!

However, we are very lucky to live our everyday lives in the mountains. Just yesterday, Shyla and I felt the high mountains calling, and we spontaneously headed to the alpine world to celebrate her Gotcha Day. I'll tell you that tale soon!