A Great Time With Some Grandkids

A couple of the grandkids were at our house this week – which means lots of attention and play time for me. We took walks and played in the park but, besides that, they went places and I stayed home…

There was a movie for Dana and Peyton (Mirror, Mirror - great fun for grandmas with granddaughters - D) while Mike and Garrett went to the Seabee Museum.

The Ronald Reagan Museum for everybody but me:

The next day, they visited the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center – I didn’t get to go there either:



Then it was time for the kids to go home - after they left, the house seemed so quiet -  I missed my playmates.

See you next week!

Back on the road...

It's been three months but Mike finally felt ready (after his eye operation) to try his hand at driving the motor home. We didn’t go very far - met family and friends for a weekend get together at the closest KOA.

My human friends went on the zip-line,

        hiking, biking, celebrated a birthday...

went on a night search for Big Foot, had an outdoor movie night,

and decorated Easter eggs.

I met a new creature...

He didn't seem to be too interested in forging a new friendship but he was pretty.

I also got to do my favorite thing...

Oh yea - Kramer is back...

It was great to be back in the motorhome.

So we headed to

The area is beautiful and you can see where Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane are buried (Mount Moriah Cemetery) the saloon where Hickock was shot (Saloon #10), and old mines. Kevin Costner has left a hefty footprint since “Dances with Wolves” did some filming in the area. You can also see his Tatonka (Buffalo) Museum and Midnight Star Casino - both fun to check out, for people.

Then we get a call - oldest granddaughter is headed to the Discus Nationals for age group in Omaha. That's why we like to travel by RV. If there's a change in plans, you can just go for it. So, after a few phone calls to rearrange some reservations, we turned around and headed back where we came from.

After Emily did her thing, it was nice to spend more time with relatives we didn’t think we’d see so soon after the family reunion. And since I didn't get to attend the track meet, that was my favorite part - I just love people!

Then it was back on the road – driving long trying to catch up to our reservations. We spent one night, pulled over where some big rigs had stopped. When we got up, there was no one or any thing around - very spooky. So, off we went until we hit Salt Lake City. After a good night’s rest and a quick stop at the Salt Flats...

 

We drove and drove...

Until we reached...

just in time for Mike and Dana’s anniversary!

It was great checking out the sites in Tahoe. It was a fun vacation and trip but it sure went fast! See you next time...



Our Next Stop

Hill City, South Dakota. The family wish list of things to see and do was too much to fit into three days. Besides that, the KOA was so much fun, the kids didn’t really want to go anywhere else! It was great for me, lots of trails to roam.

The kids enjoyed the planned activities - day and night, the water slide, miniature golf and, their favorite, the jumpy pillow.

The grown-ups were finally able to drag the kids away from camp to ride the 1880 Train in Keystone,

see the Crazy Horse Monument and exhibits,

 
and, of course, to visit Mount Rushmore.

(No dogs were on the 1880 Train; dogs are only allowed in the parking lots at the two monuments. - D)

Everyone had so much fun, they said they couldn’t wait to come back* and spend more time.

The real world beckoned, Mark had to go back to work, so the Stearns said ‘good-bye’ to South Dakota but the kids weren’t ready to go.

Two sad kids in this picture. To add to Garrett’s disappointment, he is just realizing that the shuttle taking them to the airport has nothing to do with space.- D

A storm rolled into the area soon after they left. There was a hard wind, thunder, lightning and rain came down in buckets! My playmates were gone and now we couldn't even go outside because it was scary out there!

But the next morning came and it was beautiful. Soon we were back on the road.

 *And we did! In 2010, the Stearns bought their own RV and Genie asked the kids, “Where do you want to go for our first trip?” They answered, “Mount Rushmore.” - D

Meeting Up With the Family

The next stop on our 2008 trip was Omaha, Nebraska. A family reunion was being held there. This reunion isn’t particularly dog-friendly. Lucky for me, we have our motor home but that means Mike and Dana have to drive to all the events. They don’t seem to mind.

We almost didn’t get our camp spot because the owner took one look at our license plate and told us he didn’t care for Californians and if we were too loud we would be kicked out of his park. That had never happened to us before so we were a little surprised but Dana turned on the charm and by the time we left, he didn’t think all Californians were so bad. (She said he reminded her of her grandpa.)

This was Mike’s family, so he had a lot of catching up to do with aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. He even visited an uncle in the hospital. There was a bit of nostalgic site seeing as well as a visit to the Henry Doorly Zoo and Union Pacific Railroad Museum, without me. Of course, there were picnics and lots of visiting – the main reason for family reunions, but I missed out on most of it.

After the reunion, the Stearns family piled into the motor home with us and we took off for Mitchell, South Dakota. We stayed at a nice KOA there and visited the Corn Palace – I should say, they visited the Corn Palace, no dogs allowed. That night there was a terrific storm. Dana woke up because she could hear the awning bouncing. Mark and Mike went out and rolled it up, just in the knick of time. When they looked over at some of the tents, they were flat as pancakes and the people were still in them. Those tent campers are a hearty crew.

Then we were back on the 90. We made a stop at Wall’s Drug Store – like no other store you’ve seen. It date backs to the earliest days of car travel but it’s grown a lot since then.

Finally we arrived at our next stop, Hill City!

And then we went to...

Then it was on to a quick stopover in Colorado, after passing through more interesting landscape, like a tunnel and a river right next to the highway.

I checked-out some local art and found a place to cool my paws.

 

Beautiful Breckinridge was next.

Then it was on to Atchison, Kansas, and relatives. I met a new cousin – Rocket, a pocket dog.

And some people cousins, too!

The Stearns family caught up with us while we were there. Now Atchison is one of those places you just might drive on by if you didn’t have family to visit but if you get the chance you should stop. It’s right on the Missouri River...

I don't know who took this picture, but can you see me?

It was made famous in the song...



The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe - sing it Judy!



And it’s the birthplace of Amelia Earhart.

 

 

And it’s a great place to have a picnic.

 

Next stop - Omaha!

OK, I think we’re back. Computer issues one week, did taxes the next – EEK! So here’s our 2008 trip. Hope you like it…  -D
 
Our first stop was Cedar City, UT. We took a drive up to...

This is on our drive up the mountain.

It is a beautiful place and if you get the chance, stop and check it out.




Dogs were allowed on some trails, so I got to see... 

one of the oldest trees in the world – a Bristol Cone Pine.

Once we get into the monument area, dog access is very restricted. Too bad, though, it's sure pretty there.

 

 

The local KOA  was nice and the staff always had dog treats handy. One thing - this is a patriotic town. On July 4^th, a canon is fired as soon as the sun is up, very early.  No one had warned us so Dana and Mike thought we were being attacked! When they looked outside, no one else seemed the least bit concerned. Hearts were racing, so there was no more sleeping.

Next day, we headed to Green River, UT, for an over-nighter. We took I-15 to I-70 and actually stopped at some of the designated viewing stops along the way. We were sure glad we did!

Hope to see you next week!