I have a bad habit of losing watches; after losing both of the sports watches I had, I just stopped buying them. So, this morning, after D and Trey passed me, I just kept plodding along until I got to the spot on the "French Countryside" part of the trail where I usually turn around. I was worried that if I didn't, since D was ahead of me, that I'd be really slow and hold everyone up on the way back to the car.
You see, at 6:30, it was still quite dark and add to that that D was all in dark colors and Trey (the dog) is black. I couldn't see where they were, and wasn't sure if they had turned to the part of the trail I was on, or if they had stayed on the part that goes toward the Big Dam bridge. So, I turned around and ran back to the car. I then turned around and ran back to the dog park. Then back to the car. Then started back toward the dog park again. Eventually, I could see them. I was quite relieved. Turns out D had been in front of me, but when I wasn't in eye shot when she got to the Y in the trail, she went the other way for about 1/2 a mile before turning back and going toward the car.
We need some walkie talkies, I think. The upside? Everyone is fine and we were out for a little over an hour, rather than our usual 45-50 minutes.