Wild & Honest

 Chaos in the Crow: A Dog, a River, and a Bag of Cheetos

Dog Blog: Chaos in the Crow Country

Some days start simple and then turn into a full‑on saga. I headed out to the Crow to help my dad clean up some wood, thinking it’d be a quick in‑and‑out kind of thing. But of course, Dixie had other plans. One sniff, one roll, and suddenly my dog was wearing a full coat of dog‑shit cologne. Vest included. I wasn’t pleased. Not even a little.

So there I was, peeling her vest off like a hazmat suit and tossing the stinky beast into my vehicle. Disaster. Pure chaos. The kind of moment where you just stare at your life choices and breathe through your mouth.

But the day had its wins. Dad cooked me a burger and handed me a bag of Cheetos — gluten‑free, bright orange happiness. I even thought of my wife for a moment, the way small comforts do that. Then I hit the road again, down the uncanny valley, Columbia Drive, and up McLeod toward Mt. Burke. Stopped in Fort Macleod for fuel, dropped off wood for the in‑laws, and let the mountains do their thing. They always show up.

Got to ride a quad with a trailer, toss the ball, listen to birds chirping. Honeybirds dipping into sweets. The river raging like it had something to prove. It was one of those Alberta days that feels bigger than you.

Except, yeah — the dog. Still covered in dog dirt. Still smelling like regret. I ended up trying to clean her vest in the river because there was no way that thing was going anywhere near a washing machine. True chaos, but that’s life with a black dog who lives for trouble.

In the end, though, it was a good getaway. A messy one. A loud one. A smelly one. But a good one. And honestly, that’s kind of my life: mountains, rivers, wood piles, burgers, Cheetos, and a dog who rolls in the worst possible thing every chance she gets.

A messy, loud, unexpectedly perfect day in the foothills — burgers from Dad, Cheetos for the soul, mountains in full glory, and a dog determined to test my patience and my nose.

A day that was supposed to be simple turned into a full‑blown adventure featuring dog‑shit cologne, river‑washed gear, mountain roads, quad rides, and the kind of quiet beauty that sneaks up on you between disasters.