ESAG NADAC Trial 2012

After an eight hour drive Sunday night/Monday morning, we arrived back home from the beautiful mountains in Mammoth Lakes.  My whole family drove our trailer up and we stayed up there for four days.  They were running EGC on Friday and I really wanted to run that with Tru, so we went up Thursday (yay for 8 hour drives! not), but weren't allowed to camp at the trial site that day, so we stayed at Convict Lake.  Gorgeous site.  Well, once we got into the mountains all the scenery while driving was beautiful, so it really wasn't a bad drive, just hot.  Anyway, our campsite wasn't far from a little creek at all and nothing said the dogs couldn't go in.  People were fishing and there were some deer that came right up to it.  In the evening, we even saw one deer right up by another site and the people there didn't even notice!

Sirius found a new love in creeks and rivers and lakes. I actually didn't see much of this since I was at the trial all weekend.  I'm glad she's found something she really enjoys.  We've been taking her to the beach and throwing the frisbee for her there, but lakes are so much nicer.  No need to wash the sand out of the dogs after they get wet.  I wish there was somewhere we could take her near us.

Truly was very strange.  She was very, err, needy and seemed uncomfortable.  Only Qd on three runs, but earned her S-WV-O and S-TN-O.  (And won a bottle of wine in the No Whining raffle!)  A friend that was there thinks it might have been that altitude and I'm thinking she might be right.  Tru's so concerned with her body and how she feels.  She used to really freak out when her ears would pop while driving.  She doesn't like slats.  Certain spots of grass are considered icky and she won't walk in it.

She wasn't sending very well.  I tried a couple 15 pt bonuses, but she only did well on one.  (Not good enough for a Q though.)  It was rainy and cold on that one.  We actually got to run that course twice because we were rained out on Saturday with two classes left to run.  Well, 1 and 2/3.  Most of Open and Novice Tunnelers still needed to run.  They let those who ran in the rain were allowed to run again, which is where one of Tru's Qs came from, haha.  (Since I ran with her the second time.)  Otherwise she wasn't doing too well with the distance.  Or, she'd start okay and then mess up and not rebound as well as she normally does.  She was popping out of the weaves whenever I'd say something as well.  Just all around weird.

She got to run EGC and had fun with that!  This was the first time we did barrel racing and run the same course twice.  Tru usually memorizes the course she's rewarded for, but oddly (as was the trend this weekend), did WORSE the second time around.  I also think she could have run faster, but Ideal Truly Conditions (tm) are dark and cold.  It wasn't consistently dark and cold.  Damp also seems to be a real Tru speed boost.  I think the grass was a little thick for her too.  It's so funny how environment effects her so much more than Blue.  I wish there was some more EGC closer.  I'm hoping clubs can be encouraged to add EGC on Fridays.


Blue was awesome as usual.  She Qd 8/10 runs.  Don't know if there's much to say.  Wait, yes there is.  My mom ran her two times and Qd both!  Mom is running Blue in team at Champs.  She, Truly, and her brother Aiden are on the team that we called 'All in the Family,' haha.