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!

I Joined the Family

I know I promised to start a trip this blog but I forgot this was my “adoption” week - 9 years ago on Valentine’s Day.

I was so happy to have a new home!

By the end of my first month, I had quite the toy collection and I liked everyone of them.

Even at this young age, I was always looking for the coolest place in the house!

It took me awhile to figure out, I wasn’t a lap dog.

You could always find me trying to fit in the most peculiar places.

And doing interesting things.

I was growing into quite a handsome fellow, if I do say so myself.

A lot of excitement for a young pup like me!

Apologies for getting this out so late - computer troubles. -D

Down Memory Lane

Our motor home is going to be sitting for awhile because Mike’s vision is still in recuperating mode. I don’t think he can see good enough to get the motor home out from between the house and fence, none the less, down the road. So, for the next few weeks, I thought I’d talk about some other trips we’ve taken over the years.
Take the year 2008, Dana’s first year of retirement. We did a lot of trips that involved family. We went to see the kids down south to celebrate birthdays, holidays,

baptisms, graduations, and just hang out.

We drove to track meets, Disneyland,

the lake,

 sight-seeing

 and we attended dance recitals. That was a busy year.

See, you don't have to really travel far to have fun in an RV - you can just drive far enough to change the scenery or be with people you love. I've discovered, the more people you love around you, the more fun you'll have, too.
 

Day by Day

I’m sure you’ve noticed, some weeks just aren’t as exciting as others. I just had one like that because my best buddy, Mike, had eye surgery. Most of the time he feeds me, holds my leash, does poop duty, lays on the floor with me, brushes me - well, you name it, he does it. Dana knows how to do that stuff, it’s just that he likes to do it - well, maybe not the poop part.

So, when Mike is down, I rely on Dana but she makes me do more work. When it’s time to eat, Mike comes in, mixes my dry with either carrots or string beans and, once in awhile, adds a dollop of whip cream. When Dana feeds me, it’s a big production. I get all excited about a meal but when she sets the food down, I have to sit and wait by my dish holder until she tells me, “OK!”. What kind of deal is that? Mike gives me treats all the time; to get one from Dana, I actually have to do something - roll over, high five, chase my tail, shake, etc., etc.

Mike had radiation in his eye last week, which meant I couldn’t get close to him and neither could any other living thing so no walks for him. Dana would put on my leash, we would walk out the gate and I would turn around to wait for Mike to catch up … but he didn’t come. I should’ve caught on, but I did that every day he had to stay inside. So Dana would give me a little tug and off we went. When I'm with Dana, I have to stay close to her, no stopping to sniff and see who else has been on the sidewalk. Once I get to the park, though, she relaxes and I get to smell - Ahhh.

One other thing I can tell you about Dana, she is a very good poop picker-upper, tries to get every last bit. She tells the grandkids, “If you can’t pick up poop, you shouldn’t get a dog.” She tries to be tough but I have seen her gag a couple of times.

With that radiation in his eye, that meant no hug-times for me from Mike. He finally got the plaque out so we are working our way back to normal. He has been going for our walks again, but he is a little off-balance so Dana usually holds his arm and/or my leash. Dana is doing all the driving, which she isn’t that fond of but since Mike can’t see, she doesn’t have a choice unless we just stay home.

So our family is in transition, each of us learning new ways to cope with Mike not being quite himself and helping him get back into the swing of things. Of course, that’s what families are for!   

Have a great week!

Finding Our Way

Isn’t it funny, humans use gadgets to get from one place to another. Take my pair.

Used to be, if we were going on a trip, Dana would get out the road atlas and by using a mileage wheel, comparing distances on the “Driving Distance in Miles” chart, and the mileage scale (1” = 50 miles) with the help of a flexible tape measure, she would plan where we would end up at the end of each traveling day. Then out would come the campground books to find the location of the closest campgrounds.

Then came a cool internet tool, Mapquest - just put in where you wanted to end up and print out the turn-by-turn directions. You could use that to break down the trip into manageable daily drives.

When GPS got into the “affordable” range that became our next gadget. While trip planning can be down through Good Sam Club, Mike and Dana rely on the GPS for back up, especially in detour situations, and to see what is local (restaurants, attractions, grocery stores, etc.) once we’re at our destination.

As nice as all these gadgets are, however, you can still have some exciting moments. Like when we were on our way to a KOA in Hill City, close to Mount Rushmore. We followed our lady GPS, turned right, turned left and …ended up at a gate with a sign on it, “This is not the entrance to the KOA.” When we checked in, heard other RVers had the same experience.

Mapquest isn’t infallible, either. On another trip we followed our print-out, turned right as instructed and noticed the addresses were going in the wrong direction. We turned around, passed where we had originally turned right, then drove to our destination in the opposite direction.

At times, it’s not the fault of the GPS, sometimes it’s because the driver’s brain has a delayed reaction to the instruction. When you hear the irritating, “Recalculating” it brings the driver out of his stupor.

Even with GPS and Mapquest, Dana keeps maps handy because sometimes she just wants to see where we’re at. The “Take This Exit” book comes in handy, too - it’s easy to see what’s available at the exit number.

Once we get somewhere, I’m their GPS because I just know which way to go. They try to trick me by parking in a different site every time we return to an RV park but I can’t be fooled - I always remember. One time we took a hike and on our way back, they wanted to walk back a different way than we had come. I had none of that - I knew which way to go and no matter how hard they pulled and tugged on my leash, I would not budge until they went my way. I don’t know why they thought that was so funny.

But I’ll let you in on a secret - it was because my paws were tired and I didn’t know where they were headed next!

Hanging Out in Buellton

Every once in awhile, a dog needs a change of scenery, so we went to Buellton/Solvang.

We stayed at Flying Flags RV Park. It is close to the Chumash Indian Casino, Solvang, a lot of "Sideways" was filmed around there (so lots of wineries to visit as well as the restaurants, etc., that were in the movie), Monty Roberts (Horse Whisperer) has a ranch on the road between Buellton and Solvang, there's the ostrich farm and, of course, Andersen's Split Pea Soup Restaurant.

The RV park itself is pretty nice. The spaces are fairly nice size (especially for California) and the grounds are clean. Besides a lot of RV and tent spots, there are five rental cabins and good-sized rental tents in season. They have a nice size pool with an indoor and an outdoor jacuzzi - a waterfall for ambiance. Mike and Dana ate the BBQ the park put on Friday night and were surprised at how much food you got for $12 and it tasted good! (I can actually attest to that because Mike kept slipping me bits of his.) There's a nice playground for kids as well as an arcade and a nicely equipped work-out room.

But the best part for me - the dog park. They have two small ones, one that's split in half with a roof for cats (can you imagine) and a nice big off-leash area. (I made some new friends in that one.)

These were Golden Retrievers, too, but they sure were pale! (English Cream) The two pups were 10 months old and the "oldster" was 15!

Then I met Mojo - she was my kind of gal!

(Don't tell my Wednesday night girlfriends!)

We had a wonderful time but one of my favorite things about staying in the motorhome is how close everything is:

(You can't tell in this picture, but that last Little Smokie was trembling on the plate...)

We had a wonderful time last week - hope your week was fun, too!