Togo Goes Spelunking

By now, you realize I don’t really “go” anywhere. I mean, sure, I go on walks and when I was smaller, I would occasionally travel by car. As I’ve gotten older, I weigh travel opportunities with comfort objectives. And frankly, there aren’t many places I’d rather be than wherever I already am.

So when I walk, I keep it close to my house. I’m never more than a mile away. Most often I’m just around the corner or over on the university campus. A lot of people know us and wave to us. I like that.

I am up on most of the adventuresome things that one can do in the world. Recently, I watched a documentary on spelunking. To be totally honest, I didn’t know what spelunking was when I saw the listing in the TV Guide. I was disappointed to learn it wasn’t a special about speed-eating donuts for cash prizes. I didn’t have my glasses on and I thought it said “spedunking.” Sort of a hotdog-eating contest except with pastries.

It turns out that “spelunk” came from the Latin word “spelunca” for cave. And that word came from the Greek “spelynx.” Neither of those sounds like “cave.” You can see how I might be confused.

Once I found out spelunking was about exploring caves, I was all in. You see, as a dog, I’m inclined to like an enclosed space when I’m napping or waiting out thunderstorms. And dark is okay, too, at naptime.

I looked on the interweb and saw that we had a number of caves in Texas. I also saw some caves have a lot of moisture and that the drips and drops form stalactites and stalagmites. Evidently, things can get a little slimy. Slimy isn’t my favorite texture. I counted that as a negative. And bats. Bats aren’t high on my list since I stayed up late and watched that vampire movie.

Since none of the caves were close by, I decided that I would stick with a simulation. A simulation is something you do when you don’t want to do something but you want it to look like you did something that you didn’t do. Like when Daddy says he’s going to cook and then forgets to hide the carryout bags.

I look around our yard and decided that my dog igloo was the perfect cave for my simulation. In case you’ve forgotten, this is what it looks like on the outside. That’s me standing by the entrance.

This is me just inside the entrance contemplating the dangers within.

And that’s me further back, sizing up the structural integrity of the main chamber.

Oops! This was when I forgot I was supposed to be exploring and just laid down for a nap.

And this is me emerging from the cave having thoroughly mapped it for future generations of spelunkers. Unscathed and ready for my next adventure.

As you can see, there’s not really much to spelunking. But message me if you’re interested in spedunking. I think we might have a franchise brewing on that one.

And the best part of spelunking in my back yard? No slime or bats. That stuff will make you crazy. And you wouldn’t want to see me crazy.