...a walk with Gabby

Early morning self portrait of a dog walker.

Gabby enjoys a good pre-dawn run over the snow.

The view to the north as the sun begins to appear.

The view from the Swanson River bridge taken from the front seat of the truck.

4:07 AM. It's early but I can't sleep anymore. Gabby is awake, too. She's ready to go out. The weekend is here so we have plenty of morning time. It would be a shame to waste it watching TV and waiting for the light. Might as well load the truck and make a drive to Capt. Cook State Park. Gabby agrees. It's go time.

Headlamp, leash, treats, gloves, and camera go in the backpack. I put Gabby in the passenger seat and away we go. We drive through the dark, Big Head Todd and the Monsters pumping out of the speakers at a petty good volume. Parking at the gate of the campground I turn everything off and open the door to hear great-horned owls hooting to one another. A smile sweeps across my face. The woods are alive for sure even if they are dark. It's quiet, too. The snow crunches under our feet as Gabby runs in and out of the beam of my headlamp. We walk down the road and then take off into the woods to follow the trail that goes around the perimeter of the campground. I walk and stop and listen. The owls hoot and the snow crunches under Gabby's feet--the tags on her collar jingle, too. Then it's silent. For just a minute. Then the sounds repeat themselves. I can't get enough of this.

We walk for nearly two hours and the sun slowly pierces the dark. First the horizon lights up and then the bottom of the clouds. Before long the inlet is visible and the mountains are bathed in an orange glow. Daylight has arrived. We walk some more. Eventually we make our way back to the truck. It's time to go home. The rest of the family will be waking soon.

The day is off to a great start and I'm glad I went for...a walk with Gabby.