Kobae Versus Dogs: San Diego (Day Three)

Halloween is a scary time for many dogs with all the noise and the like. Today, for some dogs, the nightmare began early.

Kobae Versus Furniture: San Diego (Day Three)

Autograph Five Dollars

Kobae is a big media star. On today's front page of the Moab Times Independent. http://www.moabtimes.com/

Kobae: San Diego (Day Two)

Kobae visited the house where the two much smaller tortoises live and spent an hour or so trying to get through the fence, then visited the house that use to be a tortoise refuge, tried to re-break the water pipe he broke yesterday looking for the dog. Saw a dog go in the laundromat and chased it for awhile and after about seven hours and six miles returned to the house. My apologies to the City of San Diego for stopping your construction of the new gas pipe, to the house on Guincho that is short a couple of pumpkins, the guy on the bicycle with the scraped knees. Bicycle guy, if it helps I didn't know he could move that fast either. Those of you stuck waiting at stoplights while we slowly did the crosswalks, and everyone else for not calling the cops when he did extensive property damage at your homes. Also on behalf of Kobae it was heartwarming to see the 50 or so people and cars who stopped or came over to say "Hi" to Kobae and express how much you have missed him and the 50 or so more that took cards so they could check him out on the blog. My name is Tom (in case anybody cares).

Kobae: San Diego (Day One)

At Base Camp loading a five minute dog chase video would take eight hours. In San Diego, 34 minutes, so I'm going to show most of today's first dog chase and all the disaster that followed. If you can't enlarge the videos then click on the DSCF number.After successfully chasing off the dog Kobae does a victory celebration of sorts on the block wall. After the dog has gone in the house Kobae continues searching for it and breaks a water main. It took us about 15 minutes to get the water shut off and here's the bill I paid after the plumber left. We hiked through the former military firing range on the way back looking for unexploded shells and then Kobae couldn't help but explore one more side of a house that went wrong for him. Evening has come and darkness falls on this normally quiet neighborhood of Tierrasanta. Kobae, safely tucked away and fast asleep in the garage thinks not of the broken Halloween ornaments, destroyed pumpkins, fallen solar lights, crushed water mains, and unrecognizable sprinkler heads he has left behind but dreams of tomorrow's adventures. Good night from Tierrasanta.

Good Bye Moab

Kobae says good bye for the year before departing for San Diego.

An Unknown Reason

For today's shade break Kobae has picked a spot on a rocky ledge, in the sun, and in the wind. I don't know why.

It's In His Head

Guess

Who can guess what room the dog stayed in last night?

Banana

Thanks Cynthia S for the picture. Usually feed Kobae lettuce last as it cleans up his face but he was on the move before I could do that and besides the way he eats you never know when last is.

Kobae Likes Most

With just a few days left at Base Camp Kobae gets to do what he enjoys most.

From Catacomb Rock

The Island

Last Hurrah

Kobae hikes over to Last Hurrah and then sleeps for three hours.

Courtesy the Sack Family

Base Camp

Tuesday Hike

With Kobae's time left at Base Camp down to around a week he's milking the hiking as much as he can. Today we head out to the Wind Caves and back with some sidetracking so probably about a six mile day. Kobae finds a little shade on the way back and makes a bunch more. After an hour and a half nap we hike back to Base Camp.

Congrats to AmeriCorps

I've told people for years to stay on the trail but no matter what, some don't. BLM rarely even prosecutes them anymore. The judges almost always want to have video evidence and even with gives them probation. AmeriCorps is now putting up fences at the most abused locations. Sad it has to come to this.

Ibuprophen

The Creek

It was only a few months ago that to cross this creek bed required a one foot step down, a couple feet across, and a foot step up. After the 4th massive rain of September I walked this creek bed looking for my gate all the way down to the river and couldn't find it. After the 5th massive rain it showed up again.

Living on the Edge (Always)

A Bunch of Somethings

Different Day

Kobae is use to dogs running from him all the time. Today when Samson wanted to play he didn't really know what to do.

Evening

Ode to Kobae by Linny and Tom

We lost the first verse somewhere but the second and third work out fine. Linny and I hiked up Hurrah part way with Kobae again and then half way up he changes direction, changes again, one more time, then veers off the road. Kobae worked hard to get back before dark but we saw his eyes were starting to water so we took a shade break where Linny gave him a mud bath to cool down quicker. Linny picks up trash all up and down the road and has a back pack full of vehicles screws, bolts, fender pieces, and beer cans.

The Learning Curve

If you've ever had a burr got in the hair of your dog it's extremely painful and always wrapped up in hair under the arms or somewhere similar. Kobae searches them out. There was good news on the hike Monday. Kobae as a creature of habit has always thought anything his head fits through the rest of him should fit through. Normally he will hit the gate at Last Hurrah four to six times trying to get through but today it was only twice. It could be that he's learning or he just started further down the gate and ran out of gate before he could hit it four more times.

Good Night from Base Camp

The Beach

The amount of debris washed up on the beach from the storms is pretty amazing and for the first time ever there is gravel on the beach that has washed down.

Molly

What Kobae Likes Most

How'd You Do That?

Good Night from Base Camp

Man on Fire

Thursday breaks a little chilly in the morning when the dogs show up. Kobae who is solar powered isn't quite charged up yet but gives it his slow best. With the dogs successfully chased off and Base Camp again saved by the Security Tortoise Kobae is off to Hurrah Pass. Not far from the top of Hurrah Kobae suddenly turns around and starts back. After five plus hours of hiking not taking a single break Kobae is warmed up this time when the dogs reappear. Having again protected Base Camp from the forces of evil, in his head, Kobae does his traditional 45 minute victory celebration, or something like that.

Things Are a Changing

On Wednesday after moping around the lodge burping and farting for a couple hours, Kobae that is, ok, maybe both of us, took a little hike down into the backyard by the creek. A creek that five or six years ago the dogs, Bishop and Chewey, and Kobae and I would hike across this little one foot deep by three feet wide creek to the other side and up to the gravel pit. Two years ago rains doubled it in size and this year has expanded it to ten feet deep in places and 20 to 30 feet wide in others.

On the Edge

Kobae spends most of Tuesday's hike giving me a heart attack climbing out on the edge of every rock overhang to see if he can go that way but in the end he finds a great break place in the shade with a good view of the river.