All the rain we’ve been having lately means that the dogs have been cooped up in the garage during the day.  I leave the door open for them so they can use the bathroom, but they mostly hang out inside, snug amongst the blankets I lay down on the ground for them.  Chuy likes to stay comfortable within the warm fold of the blankets while the rain lulls him to sleep.   The rain, however, makes Sadie a little stir-crazy, evidenced by horseplay inside the house at night, when we should all be sleeping.   In an effort to reward the dogs for their patience and (mostly) good behavior, Rene and I decided to take a hike with the dogs on Saturday morning.

It was a gorgeous day.  We decided to hike Sesnon Canyon in Granada Hills, site of the Sesnon fires late last year.  Most of the area is still covered in ash and flora burned to the roots.  Fortunately the rain has helped some parts of the canyon recover and there are green patches here and there.  This was Sadie’s first hike with us, and she was a bundle of energy the whole way through.  We were worried that she was going to tire herself out and have us carry her back to the car.  Fortunately that didn’t happen, and she was a bundle of energy throughout our hike.

Chuy, however, was not a big fan of the uphill.  We had to stop and wait for him several times during the hike.  Normally he’s very good with walks but he takes it easy whenever he has to tackle a hill.  In his defense that path was all uphill, and our only reprieve was the walk down.

We went as far up as we could handle, and our reward was a magnificent view of the valley.

At the top Sadie FINALLY took a break:

After savoring the view for a few minutes and catching our breath, we made our way back to the trailhead.

Before getting in the car we took a Valentine’s Day picture to celebrate:

(More pictures here.)

***

We took the dogs home after the hike and bought tri-tip sandwiches from our favorite place, Hows Market.  We didn’t realize that the one in Granada Hills also served tri-tip sandwiches on weekends, and we had to see if it compared to the Hows Market in Malibu.  They barbeque the tri-tip right outside the store, and you can smell it from half a mile away.  The verdict?  It’s the same delicious sandwich.  If you’ve never had one, you should try these sandwiches – they are very good.  We find that they taste better after some kind of activity, like hiking or swimming in the ocean.  Otherwise it would be too much sandwich for one person.