Out of the stickers and into the dunes

 

Do you know how hard it is to pull Mom up these sandy hills? Need I say more? SPCA!!! Where are you?

gathering foxtails

 

Oh my how innocent this looks. Just hanging out in Napa Valley State Park. Gathering Foxtails.

California has a problem beyond budget crisis. They have foxtails. The seeds burrow into the skin and cause infections and even death. And I have had SO many of them that Dad has refused to let me out of the RV anywhere but pavement. It is a real pain.

Not that I blame him. One of the devils got under my collar and caused a huge inflamation as it worked its way into my body. He's found several others on their way in. Did you know that they can even work themselves into organs and cause death? Or my ears, or my eyes or my nose? This is serious business.

So, no more hanging in California for us. We are headed north, out of this plague. The sooner the better.

Foxtails, Furminators, Doom and Groom

Since I last blogged, I have been in way too many stickers. As it turns out, the California state burr is a foxtail, a devious little sticker that burroughs into my skin and can become infected. Dad checks all the time and still I get some. Aunt Mary said that one summer when she was just learning to use Quicken, she discovered she had spent $575 on removing foxtails from the dog.

When I got to Larry and Lori's house, mom let me run free. Five minutes later I was yelping in pain as I tried to lick stickers from my fur. Mom got scissors and gave me a haircut. All this was setting me up for the inevitable. Dad began saying the groomer word, over and over, and Aunt Mary found me one called Ruff House. It was one ruff day. I was an all day dog and the lady had to call an assistant.

Next I met Tom and Misty in their pet store. I walked around eating treats off the shelves and Tom said no problem. Misty looked at me and declared I needed a furminator. So far I don't mind the furminator. It does not pull like a brush.

I am coming to the conclusion that I am just not a country dog.

Kidnapped!

 

Help! If I go missing, I want you to know where to find me. I'll be living with this family from Lehi Utah.

They miss their departed Sammy Simba so much that mom let me spend most of a day with them at Capitol Reef National Park campground.

I have never walked so much in my life. Simba must have had a VERY active life. I was so tired from all the walking that honestly, I couldn't move the next two days. (Dad says second day sore is the worst).

All that said, they are a very very nice family, and I sure hope they get another Sammy soon. I think their Dad will be online looking for one the minute they get home from vacation. Probably another boy to balance out the four girls in the family.

I LUV NM

I've been a laid back dog this summer trip. Never give anyone a problem at all. Highlights have included meeting Pepita the chihuahua at the habitat build and the dogs at the Questa Lodge RV park. Pepita, like most of her breed, wants nothing to do with me! Check out my greeting below...who could resist me?

Next you see me working on the beams for the porch. A dog's got to earn her keep. At the Habitat Build I hang out on my long line all day, or sleep in the RV. Dogs are not allowed to hammer and nail, but I do my best.














Last, here I am in the snow on my perfect day. Memorial Day the entire family went to visit the Wild River Recreation area and then to Taos Ski Valley, where mom took me hiking on the williams lake trail. There was still snow everywhere, which I jumped in and took big bites of. I just love this stuff. Felt like I was back in Alaska.
Then Mom and Dad had pizza while I rested in the car. Mom says Taos Out Back Pizza is great. Seems to be a cult like Star Pizza.

I'm on a diet. Mom rations out 8 treats per day and that's all I am allowed. She says I am getting too old to be such a puppy cookie eater. Rats!

My life after Ike

It's back in the RV for me. Not that I was tired of my back yard yet. It has only been a week since I got home. But lots of wind came, and it became quite warm in the house. I began to pant and pace. I really do not understand mother nature.

So, off we went, on another adventure to Austin to Camp Sierra. I used to love Camp Sierra, but now, I am so afraid of being left there I can't enjoy its amenities, such as five acres to roam, squirrels, deer and chickens to chase. I used to chase them with the rest of the pack.

Miss Terry feels badly about all this, because she likes me to visit and she swears she never mistreats me when I stay there, which is true, and I really like Miss Terry. She keeps telling me to stick up for myself. Mom says she is going to take me to a doggie hynotist to see what deep dark secret is haunting me.

I have become deathly paranoid of Sierra, who has always been alpha. Now either she is super alpha, or I am super zeta. Just to make matters worse, there were two more dogs visiting after the storm. One of them alpha'd me into a corner, and I never left, not the whole time. I sat at the gate waiting to leave. I came inside only to sit under my dad's legs, and sometimes I moved to the corner of the yard where he was working.

Guess what we did. We built a greenhouse. That's me and Terry and Dad and Scout showing the frame off. Then at the end, I'll show you a completed project photo. By the way, Scout grew up in a crawl space, so you would think he would be grateful to me for bringing Aunt Terry to Yoakum to rescue him. But you know what he is doing instead of being grateful? He's practicing Alpha on me. He knows Sierra won't put up with it. Sure knows how to take advantage of a dog when I'm down. Please, I want to go home!

Well, here's the final project, folks! What is the deal with the see-through? Why go to all that trouble for an invisible shed? I don't get humans sometimes.

16,200 miles, and then some

Ooiyy! I am one tired dog. How many dogs you know have traveled this far? Anyway, here's a movie of me the way I look in the RV, sleeping my life away.



The next video is me back home, re-adapting to my big old yard.



So, just to show what a smart dog I am, here's a few mileage facts.

We went over 16,000 miles, left May 13, got home September 5th. We bought 957.7 gallons of diesel.Remembering my long division, that's about 17mpg, not bad for a house, I guess. And the cheapest diesel we found was back home in Texas, in Ozona, at $4.09. We paid a high of $6.812 in Bell, which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere on the Cassiar Highway. Who's going to argue with them about their price when they are the only gas station in the territory? We could have paid over $7 in Dawson City, Yukon, but luckily the guy in Chicken Alaska warned us to fill up on his $6 something cheap stuff.

We left that bear Rosabella in Johnson City, and if you ask me, that's a good thing for her. Have you seen the hurricane coming here? I have NEVER been through a hurricane, and this one is a doozie! It's humongous! Tomorrow I will be in the eye of it, and I have to say, I feel a little scared! Mom's been telling me that eye is no big deal, it's the before and after that gets you.

However, I just want to say that I am no wuss! I don't cowar at the least little drop of rain like some previous sammies did. I am ready. Bring it on, Ike!