Hound Dog Island

My sister has two dogs, Thiba and Pal. When I visit, I typically shoot photos of both cats and both dogs. This trip is was apparently an Ivy and Thiba show. The trip to Hound Dog Island (my name for it) was certainly the Thiba Special.

The island itself came about by a backwater cutting through a section of the shore of the Yellowstone River. A parking area and bridge allow the more bug-resistant among the human species (and their canine companions) to venture onto the island and make their way through a sizeable trail system. I wasn't prepared for the onslaught of mosquitoes and so my sister, in a moment of sibling chivalry, gave me her long-sleeved shirt to wear. It helped.

The dogs loved the freedom to be off their leashes and run wild and tear through the grass and brush and, in Thiba's case, water. As we crossed the bridge, I heard a SLAP! and a splash and just barely got to see a beaver diving for cover under the surface of the backwater. Nearby was the other beaver, watching and waiting to see if we were really a threat. I got a nice silhouette photo of the backwater, the beaver floating just off the right shore, and the sunset-lit sky. My sister, being my sister, nudged me and said "Look, Thiba is going to get himself some beaver!" And, as fate would have it, it was true! Thiba ran off the bridge, down the bank, and launched his long low body into the backwater! My sister was a bit alarmed as this was the first time he had attempted to cross such deep water. Of course I took this opportunity to get a shot of Thiba (also known as an "alligator" for his body shape, proximity to the ground, and undulating gait...and now, his swimming style, as well) from overhead. Thiba did not get the beaver, but he did do a pretty good job keeping his head above water and crossed the backwater with ease. Have you ever had a lab-like dog shake off water on you? You ought to try it.

Along the trails we saw wildflowers and the Yellowstone River itself, but best of all some tremendous sunset views.

Just before returning to the bridge, Pal discovered a young couple with a dog very much his same (small and stocky) size and there was much sniffing and dog communication and the four of us humans left to make conversation of our sort. We crossed the bridge, I snapped a nice sunset shot with the radio towers in it, and then we easily got a leash on Pal, but Thiba proved to be a real challenge.

We finally got Thiba into the back of the truck but he slipped out and I did my version of hound dog rodeo to capture him (getting myself soaked in the process). As you can see in the photo, Thiba was then not very willing to participate in loading himself into the truck a second time.

I would tell you the dog poop story, but since my sister asked me not to photograph it, and because it was so extremely hilarious as to make me hyperventilate with laughter during the whole episode, I'll save that tidbit for another time. Besides I don't want to embarrass Thiba too much.

After departing the island, my sister drove across the main highway and showed me another section of the park where there is a little lake and countless rabbits. Not wild rabbits, mind you, but big fat lops that must have been turned loose by private owners there. While we were driving slowly and looking at multi-colored rabbits, we spooked a group of deer, some with full racks of antlers, that then bolted up the hillside and onto the highway causing brakes to slam, tires to screech, and general chaos to reign. The deer, as far as we could tell, escaped harm.

Then we drove home.

All in all, a good adventure to Hound Dog Island.