Buffalo Boogie

I took the dogs on a 5k with me this weekend. It's only 3.2 miles, but taking Artimus and Gollum was risky. They would much rather sleep than exercise. The scenery and dog-friendliness of the Buffalo Boogie distinguish it from the other 5k races. Of course, we weren't really racing or boogy-ing for that matter. Artimus and Gollum walk or get carried. I'll probably need a stroller in a couple more years. Anyway, they awakened me at 5:45 am for breakfast. It took them a couple seconds to eat (they love the soft homemade dog food) ...then back to bed. I thought I would turn off my alarm, because I certainly wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. ...NOT! I bolted out of bed at 7:15 panicking that I would miss my fun, dog-filled day. The Fort Worth Nature Center hosts the event. The Fort Worth Nature Center and our apartment have some distance between them. I have to drive 30 minutes...leaving 15 minutes to get dressed, get the dogs together, grab something to eat and two bottles of water, then wait on the elevator to take us down to the car garage/basement. Tom had to stop me and tell me to look in the mirror. My hair was literally shooting straight up on one side. The dogs didn't have time to consider whether or not they wanted to go. I raced to the Lake Worth/Azle area and followed the signs to the church parking lot where they were directing everyone. I parked and started walking to the shuttle bus. A very nice lady who obviously volunteered her time for this event, told me to turn around and that I would need to park in another area since I had dogs. It was not her fault that I was late. I totally get it, but I was LATE! I was so late, they had run out of these T-shirts. They were this pretty shade of pale green. As it turns out, I got VIP treatment. I probably got the best parking spot in the whole place. It was right up front by the entrance, and we didn't have to ride a shuttle bus like all the other sad saps who didn't bring their dogs. =) In another favorable turn to my morning, they moved the start time to 8:30. I was early! So, I decided to look at all the vendor booths. Artimus and Gollum trotted around excitedly showing off. The strutting came to an abrupt stop when it started misting. The fine mist just made it too cold for my boys. They looked so miserable, but when we got about a mile along the pretty trails, I let them off leash so they could stop and smell everything, and they cheered up a bit. About halfway through the race, we came upon the bison/buffalo--I should know the difference, but I don't. Artimus showed slight interest. Gollum couldn't care less. One buffalo rolled around upside down in the dirt creating all this orange dust. He acted just like a dog rolling in something stinky. I actually got a shot of this huge animal upside down with legs in the air! I was having a blast. I took the dogs off-road in a couple of places. The little trails were fun, and I wanted them to see the lake. I know they don't really care, but I thought there might be more interesting smells around the lake. Some people were fishing. I found out the nature center gave canoe trips and guided tours. It's over a thousand acres. Before we got to the finish line, I had to carry Gollum. Poor guy was so tired. I wanted to stick around a while to enjoy the hokey band, but they had another idea. When we got through most of the crowd, I let them off leash again, and they made a bee-line for the car. Either they saw it or they remembered where we parked; I don't know; I didn't think they were that smart. They definitely had enough of Buffalo Boogie. Maybe they'll be ready again by next year.....ya think? Nah. They'll indulge me, but they won't act like they are having any sort of fun.