Day 22 – Tuckertown, Rhode Island

Compared to yesterday, this morning was pretty laid back; late sleep-ins by everyone, including me.  Don and I did get in a good morning walk, allowing me to inspect recently vacated campsites for any abandoned food items, and to chase three squirrels up their respective trees.  A good time was had by all, except for the squirrels.  We got the truck hitched up, the tanks dumped, and the rig squared away for travel a little after eleven, and headed for the gate.  And what did we find in the single-lane drive out to the road?  A couple of neophyte campers who had decided to do their toad hookup in the middle of the only exit from the Park!  They soon realized the folly of their decision when they saw Don glowering down at them from the wheelhouse of our lofty coach.  Their activity became frantic, as Don shut down the engine, leaned back in his pilot’s chair, crossed his arms and stared at them.  They finally completed their hookup, raced up to the cab of their camper, and hauled out of there as fast as they could.  Bet they won’t be doing that again. 

We cruised down to Rhode Island on Highway I-95, the East Coast version of our I-15, then turned east to pick up Highway 1, the coastal route.  Garmy had to be overruled only once during this transit.  We were at our destination, Worden Pond Family Campground, before two o’clock.  Not many people here, we’ve got things pretty much to ourselves.  After getting the rig set up, Don vainly tried to catch a satellite signal from DirecTV, but had no luck at all.  So we hopped into the truck and headed for the gatehouse, where Geri and Don asked the guy in the office about the TV reception.  He recommended moving the rig to a different area on the site and trying again.  We agreed to try that, and took off for Joanne’s place. 

Are there any of my followers who don’t know who Joanne is?  Maybe there are, so let me introduce her.  Many years ago, maybe thirty, Don was employed by the General Electric Company in Long Beach.  The secretary in their office was a snotty, ill-tempered and vindictive little harridan, though Don could see that this veneer was only a defense mechanism to protect her from being hurt again by making another stupid choice of husband or boy friend.  He knew that, with the proper coaching and counseling, she could eventually abandon the protective shell she had built around her, and become a person that others would want to have as a friend.  So, with the help of another friend and GE employee, Mr. Nathaniel Waller III, he worked to bring the butterfly out of her chrysalis, and put her on much better terms with the world.  He counseled her on her relationships, taught her how to cook, told her when she was being an unreasonable snot, and helped her get a divorce.  Over several years, she grew in her own self-respect, and earned the admiration of others.  In time, she was able to win the love of a thoroughly admirable and highly capable Merchant Marine Engineering Officer, marry him, and move to Rhode Island, where she now lives like a Queen.  That’s how Don tells the story; I suspect Joanne has a different version.

Arriving at Joanne’s, we found her in conference with her pool contractor, reviewing details of the approximately three acre swimming complex nearing completion in her back yard.  I ran up the driveway to see her, only to be ambushed by her new companion, a compact and agile, solidly built Black Lab lady, by name of Gracie.  I immediately underwent a full TSA-level inspection, and apparently passed, as she made advances to play with me.  I guess nobody had told her that I wasn’t really a PlayDog, ‘cause she kept on trying to get me to do run and chase and pretend fight, and all those other silly play things that some dogs do.  But, I must admit, she was awfully pleasant and very pretty.  She warmed up to Don right away, so I had to admire her taste in humans. 

We all retired to the enclosed porch at the end of the house, where Geri, Don and Joanne talked and Gracie and I vied for their attention.  After a bit, Joanne fixed up some pasta and salad for dinner; both Geri and Don were extremely complimentary regarding the pasta sauce, which I didn’t get to try.  Seems that Gracie hasn’t offered her services as a Plate Clean-Up Professional, and encouraged Joanne to reduce her plate cleaning workload by enlisting her efforts.  Oh, well, maybe she’ll catch on.  Don took us out on the porch and treated us both to Yummy Chummys, which I think Gracie hadn’t had before.  She really liked them!

We headed back to the rig before dark to make the location readjustment, which went very well; in about twenty minutes, the coach was moved over about fifteen feet, and Don had satellite reception of the highest quality.  We watched some TV, did the Blog, and got to bed fairly early.  We’ll have another day with Joanne and Gracie tomorrow, should be fun!  See ya then!

Day 21 – Bellingham, Massachusetts

Do you realize that today we’ve been on the road for three weeks?  Doesn’t seem that long to me!  This trip has been clicking by pretty fast, if you ask me.  This is our last Boston day before we head down to Rhode Island and the folks take off for New York, and we made it as long a day as we could.  Don was up at five, Geri up before six, and Don and I were out for our walk by seven.  We could see that some of the other campers were fixing to vacate their sites already and head for home.  We got our collective acts together and piled into the truck before eight to head for Winchester. 

When we got there, we found that Rina had gone to the hospital to get treatment for a bad sinus infection that had developed overnight.  But Mike was ready go with us to downtown Winchester for the Memorial Day Parade and presentations.  We got parking places right near the parade route, and the folks headed for the local bagel shop to get some goodies.  I was very attentive to the bagel consumption, and Don rewarded me with a generous bite of his, which was very good.  We watched the parade go by, which included Thomas in his High School band uniform playing his trumpet, and everyone thought that they played very well.  We walked over to where the presentations were to be held, and met several very nice dogs along the way.  I got a lot of attention from people on the street, and several nice compliments on my manners and appearance.  The parade members showed up again, and played a few more pieces before the presentations started.  My folks found the program to be very well done and moving, with speeches by Iraq war veterans and readings from patriotic material.  They think very highly of Winchester, and are glad that Mike and Rina are living in such a lovely town. 

We cruised back to the house after the program was finished, and soon the whole gang was together again; Andrea was finally up and around, Nikki showed up, Rina got back from the hospital feeling much better, and Thomas had completed his duties with the band.  There was lots of discussion on who was going to go where and when, and when we would all reunite.  It was finally decided that the boys would go on an expedition to the USS Constitution, while Nikki and Geri would head out with me, drop me off to stay with Kevin, and do some more shopping.  That was fine with me, as Kevin is a really nice guy, and I enjoyed spending time with him.  When we got to his place, I had to do a full scale investigation of every nook and cranny to find where things were hidden, like treats.  Didn’t find any, but had fun playing with Kevin, and eventually laid down to nap for awhile.  I hope my snoring didn’t bother him too much.

Nikki and Geri eventually returned to pick me up and take me back to Mike and Rina’s; they were very pleased with the results of their shopping expedition.  Geri was particularly pleased to have found another pair of shoes that she liked and felt good, bringing the in-house total to 74 pairs.  Nikki had also gifted Geri with a speaker system with an amplifier, to work with the iPad in listening to radio stations that we can’t get on the car radio.  Sounds like a good thing.  Don and the boys showed up soon, and Don was terrifically pleased with their outing.  They had enjoyed a guided tour of the Constitution, which is apparently a very old Navy ship, but they had also received a personal guided tour of an engine room aboard an old Navy Destroyer, the Cassin Young.  Mike and Thomas seem to have enjoyed it, also.  Geri was glad that she hadn’t had to participate.

I had to stay at Mike and Rina’s while the whole family went off to have dinner together at an Italian Restaurant, but they were back before too long, and I got my dinner out of the truck.  We hung around the house for some time, until Geri and Don felt the need to head for the rig.  We had our goodbyes, and I was sad to leave the really nice people who had been so good to me and had given me such a fun time.  I could tell that Geri and Don were reluctant to leave, too, but had to get moving to meet their other commitments.  I sure hope we get back here soon!

So, tomorrow, we’re off to Rhode Island to meet with Joanne and Gracie, her young Black Lab.  Sounds like it might be fun!  I’ll give you a full report tomorrow!  See ya then!

Day 20 – Bellingham, Massachusetts

A much quieter day for me than the last couple have been.  Don and I had a nice walk in the woods this morning, not too short, not too long.  We had all slept in, so the morning schedule was substantially delayed, but that didn’t bother me.  We actually started getting ready to hit the road a little before noon, and pulled into Winchester around one o’clock. 

The big item on the schedule today was a pool party at the Winchester Swim Club, which is right down the road from Mike and Rina’s place.  As far as I was concerned, the party was principally a napping opportunity, as the Swim Club had the usual anti-canine prohibitions that you find in many public places.  So, I stayed in the back of the Ranger, which Don had backed into a cool, shady spot for my comfort.  During the course of the afternoon, I had lots of people coming out to check on me, including Don and Mike, Nikki, Andrea, and Alique.  I got reports on the progress of the party, and the great food that people had brought, including some wonderful Armenian delicacies, smoked salmon, some great cheeses, and, finally, chicken shishkabob and steaks.  For better or for worse, I didn’t get any of it.  You know that I would have loved to have been able to wander around through the tables at the pool, meeting people and inviting them to share their food with me, but such was not to be.  Well, I probably needed the rest more than I needed the food.

As the party was ending, Mike, Andrea and Alique came to take me for a walk up to Mike’s house, and I was able to get some play time in with the girls.  After awhile, Thomas showed up, and the back yard turned into a water battle between him and Alique, which I tried hard to stay out of.  Someone, maybe Andrea, tried to win my affections by giving me a big salami treat; it was really good, and I understand better why Don likes it so much.  When the rest of the gang showed up, I got to meet Kevin, Nikki’s friend, and I could tell that he really liked me.  I’m going to feel kinda bad about leaving here, ‘cause I’ve got so many old and new friends!

Don gave me my dinner before we left Mike and Rina’s place, and, after they made their plans for tomorrow, we headed back to Bellingham.  We stopped for a few needed supplies at a WalMart, then headed home to find a bunch of neighbor campers partying around the fire ring in our space.  Poor form!  I got my treats and went to bed, and Geri and Don followed suit shortly.  Tomorrow’s our last day here, and we want to make it a good one!  I’ll let you know what happens!  So long for now!

Day 19 - Bellingham, Massachusetts

Again, I'm beat.  Going to bed. Dead tired.  Catch you in the morning.

Hi, Friends!  I’m among the late risers this morning; even Don slept till almost eight, and Geri’s still in the sack.  But I’ve snagged the phony paper, had my breakfast, and coerced Don into helping me put together the events of yesterday for the Blog.  Even though I’d like to get a little more nap time.

Yesterday started normally enough, with a nice walk through the woodsy part of this campground, a very pleasant bacon treat from a fellow camper, and a close encounter with a horse, who I thought was very impressive and a little scary.  The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent resting up from my previous day’s exertions, which I had considered to be major in scope.  Geri was doing some sweeping and vacuuming, while Don performed some minor repair items.  Pretty quiet and relaxing.

Around mid-afternoon, preparations were made to get underway in the truck, and we all piled in and headed for Winchester.  It was pretty hot out, so Geri let me ride in the space behind their seats in the truck’s cab, where I had full benefit of the air conditioning.  It’s a little cramped for someone my size, but OK for short rides.  I once did a whole Vegas trip like this, and it wasn’t that pleasant.  So, we get to Mike and Rina’s place, and there’s no one home!  Geri called Mike, who told her that they would be home shortly, so we went for a little walk in the neighborhood.  We met the little Lab puppy, Zoey, next door; she was very charming and happy to make our acquaintance.  A few minutes later, Mike, Thomas and Andrea came around the corner in the car; Thomas was driving, and he was able to make the car sound like the truck does when Don is reengaging the drive shaft.  Very impressive.  So we walked back up the hill to the house, where Andrea showered me with attention; we’ve had a thing going between us from years ago.  She actually cried when I had to leave after my last visit!  She really is one of my favorite people. 

A bit later, Rina’s Dad, Norair, arrived, with Rina’s nieces Alique and Zuzu.  When I last met Alique, she was maybe 3 or 4 years old, and now she is a very sweet ten year old, a charming girl.  Zuzu (I think that’s not her real name) is four, I think, and a bundle of high octane energy.  I was really pleased to see both of them, and they were really happy to have me to play with.  I don’t have a lot of play time with kids at home, and I had kind of forgotten how much fun it could be.  But I soon got with the program, and was chasing everything they threw for me, running with them, and playing pretty hard.  I got occasional breaks for petting, and Mike played frisbie with Zuzu for awhile, giving me a rest period.  Boy, that Zuzu is nonstop!  The only thing I didn’t much care for was when the girls found some Super Soaker water guns and started firing at me!  You know I’m not a big water dog, so I wasn’t really comfortable having water shot at me! 

Rina got home finally, and we all got organized to go out to dinner; I had mine before we left, so I was very happy with the way things were going.  We all caravanned into Cambridge, to a fish restaurant that Norair really likes, and I guess they sat around eating fish for a couple of hours.  They took turns coming out to visit with me in the truck to make sure I was doing OK; Alique spent some time braiding some of the hair in my ear flap, looked kinda cute, I think, particularly when she topped it off with a pretty little flower.  Mike and Don talked to a dog trainer who was hanging out near us, who said that Goldens were his favorite breed to train, ‘cause we’re so anxious to please our humans.  Well, that’s not news to me.  When everyone was done eating fish, they got in their cars and we all headed to Arlington, where Norair and his wife (Rina’s Mom), Melanie, live.  Don told Geri that one of his recurring nightmares was having to follow Rina through Boston traffic, as she is very adept at making her way rapidly through the maze of roads.  Fortunately, she appeared to be slacking off on her speed, for which Don was thankful. 

When we arrived and Norair and Melanie’s, the girls insisted that I play with them some more, and they took me up to their play area, located at the top of a long set of stairs in the back yard.  I don’t know how many times I was up and down those steps, but I was having a lot of fun with them, and wasn’t feeling the least bit tired.  Don and Geri were having cake and coffee with Aline and Bob, the girls’ Mom and Dad, and the rest of the gang.  When we finally decided it was time to head for home, it was around nine o’clock, and I was starting to feel weary.  I was able to jump into the truck, but I went to sleep as soon as we hit the road.  When we got back to the coach, all I wanted to do was get my final cookies and head for bed.  So, that’s what I did!  Feeling very good this morning, though, and looking forward to a new day of fun and friendship; I’ll let you know what happens!  Ciao!

Day 18 – Bellingham, Massachusetts

Dear Friends, I hope you’ll forgive me, but the hour is very late, we just got home, and I am dog-tired from all the excitement and good times today.  I just got my Going-To-Bed Cookies, and I’m going to do just that.  I’ll try to make up for lost time in the morning, assuming I can get Don to cooperate.  Maybe I’ll give him some of my cookies.  See you in the morning!

Good morning to all!  We’re all up and kinda busy, I’ve had my breakfast, and am feeling pretty bright eyed and bushy tailed, which is sort of natural for me.  I got Don to cease his morning browsing to assist me in finishing up our blog from last night (he was through with his comics, anyway), so here goes.

Yesterday morning, Don and I did a walking tour of the RV Park, which is quite large and has a lot of facilities for camper entertainment.  He didn’t take me over to see the farm animals they have here, so I’m going to try to get to that today.  After returning from our walk, Don attacked the bug accumulation on the front of the coach, which he has to do at every stop, while Geri and I did some cleanup on the interior.  We were getting close to lunch time when Don asked if Geri would like a hot dog from the place that Mike told us about yesterday; she declined, but said that he should go get one for himself.  He was off like a shot.  He was back a little less than an hour later, hauling a huge bun and an even huger hot dog, smothered with chili, up the steps.  He sat at the table working on it for quite a while, eventually consuming the whole thing!  In between bites, he told us about the guy that ran the hot dog stand, an ex-submarine sailor.  He and Don had a lot to talk about, as Don was involved in submarine construction for several years. 

It was getting pretty warm outside, so Geri suggested that we pull down the big awning on the side of the coach to get some shade.  We all trooped out to take part in the process, only to discover that the awning refused to unlock itself from the side of the coach, no matter how much coaxing we gave it.  May be time for another Pro to give us a hand.  Just then, who should show up but Granddaughter Nicole (Nikki in real life), who I was enormously glad to see, she’s one of my favorite people, ‘cause she’s always so happy and upbeat.  Geri immediately grabbed all of Nikki’s attention to give her iPhone lessons, which prevented her from giving me all the attention I deserved, but that was OK. 

It wasn’t much later that Mike showed up, with one of his buddies from work, Walter, who I really enjoyed meeting, he obviously appreciated my good attitude.  Another of Mike’s work friends, Alex, appeared a little later, and we all stood around engaging in man talk about cars and things.  I was really having a good time, drifting between the girls and the guys, getting lots of petting and adulation.  The party broke up after awhile, with Don going off with Mike to his office, and Geri heading out with Nikki for some shopping.  I was left to do some napping in the coach, which I think I needed. 

An hour or so later, Don appeared at the door of the rig, and invited me to get into the truck, which I was happy to do.  We drove out to the road, where we fell in behind Mike’s car to head for Winchester, where he lives.  The trip involved getting on the Massachusetts Turnpike, the toll road we were on yesterday.  When we got to the booth where the guy gives you a piece of paper, Mike cruised through on his pass, and Don got behind a guy who was having a nice conversation with the ticket handler in the booth.  For some reason, Don found this to be upsetting, and I heard prolonged honking of the truck’s horn, plus some unusual language coming from Don.  When we finally made it to the booth, there was more high volume, and one-sided, discussion.  It took awhile to catch up with Mike, but we lost him again at the toll collection end of the Pike, where the gal in the booth insisted on knowing if Don was having a good day; I’m not sure what he told her. 

Fortunately, Don knows the way to Mike’s house pretty well, and we got there before he did, mostly because Mike had stopped to get some supplies (beer) for Don.  When the front door opened, who did I see but Grandson Thomas (who I initially didn’t recognize because of his beard and mustache) and Granddaughter Andrea (who doesn’t have those things), which pleased me enormously, as they have been so kind and loving to me in the past.  I was really excited to be reunited with so many of my favorite people, and I ran around the house to show off my investigative skills.  Mike’s charming wife Rina showed up a few minutes later, and I was really happy to see her again; then Mike appeared, Geri and Nikki drove up, and the whole family was all in one place finally!  Don and Mike went down to the new garage to take inventory of all the cars and motorcycles, while Thomas and Andrea played with me in the back yard.  It was a really exciting and fun time, and I expended a lot of energy just running from group to group. 

After a while, I was escorted back to the truck, and we all caravanned off to a local grocery to get some food for me, as Don and Geri had miscommunicated regarding bringing some from the coach.  We met again in downtown Winchester, a lovely little village, where I got my dinner and they went into a Chinese restaurant for theirs.  After I got a much needed nap, they came out of the restaurant, and told me about how great their dinner was.  Sounded fine to me, even though I’m not a Pekinese.  We went for a little walk through the village, the kids got some ice cream, and we all visited some more, before getting back into the truck and heading out for Bellingham and our home on wheels.

A big, exciting day, reuniting with some dear people that I haven’t seen in years!  I loved every minute, and know that the rest of our time here is going to be lots of fun!  Will try to bring you today’s adventures this evening, if I’m not too tired again.  See ya!

Day 17 – Bellingham, Massachusetts

Really nice walk this morning, all around the RV Park, which is really big!  It’s very woodsy, with lots of squirrels who need a good scare, and many different plants and trees to admire and sniff.  Don told me that Geri had said that I was not allowed to go wading this morning, so I stayed away from the river so I wouldn’t be tempted.  This is a really lovely Park, and I hope that we can come back here again sometime, and stay longer.  But today was the final push to our destination near Boston, and we got moving a little after ten, heading east on Highway 84 into New York.  We crossed the Hudson River for a bridge toll of $5.50, which Don said was the cheapest toll we’d ever paid for the Hudson. 

We rolled on through New York, which was very green and pretty, and into Connecticut, which was also very G and P.  We were doing great until Garmy suddenly ordered us to take a right turn onto a highway we had never heard of before; we were in a lane with heavy traffic that prevented us from making the turn, and Don wasn’t much inclined to do it anyway.  So, we pulled into a Rest Area to research a map and see what might be going on in Garmy’s mind.  A quick look showed that she was trying to get us on a route that would avoid going through downtown Hartford, and not any longer than staying on 84.  Her heart was definitely in the right place!  I made use of the Rest Area to get some good rolling in on some beautiful grass.  We made it through Hartford with no problems, not much traffic, and good directions from Garmy.  We soon arrived in Massachusetts, and got onto the Mass Turnpike, a toll road.  Don says it’s the only one in the state, and it’s probably the worst maintained road in the state.  Another bone rattler.  We didn’t have to stay on it too long, as we soon headed south on the 495 toward our RV Park, which we pulled into around three in the afternoon.  We got located in a big, grassy field, in an end spot with a lot of acreage, which I love.  Don got the rig set up for living, and went to unhook the truck, which he found to have a dead battery, due to his failure to turn off the radio.  As Geri and I embarked on an exploratory walk, Don was fishing the jumper cables out of the rig’s basement to get the poor little guy running. 

Just as he was disconnecting the jumpers, a black Toyota 4-Runner showed up and parked in front of the rig.  And who was in it but son Mike!  I hadn’t seen him in years, but I remembered him immediately, and ran to greet him.  I think he was glad to see me, too, and Geri and Don too, of course.   We all had a good time visiting with Mike around the picnic table, until he had to go home and we had to make dinner.  Don fixed some curried chicken chow fun, which we all thought was very good; my plates were very tasty. 

We’re going to have a lot of fun and excitement in the next few days, so we’re going to turn in early tonight so that we can get an early start in the morning!  Or, at least, that’s our plan.  Hope you get a good night’s sleep, too!  See you tomorrow!

Day 16 – Milford, Pennsylvania

Wonder of wonders, we got underway just after nine o’clock this morning!  I wasn’t even shortchanged on my morning walk!  Everyone got up about six, got their eye-opening coffee, and turned to on their departure chores.  As we headed out toward the highway, Don spotted a sign that promised to get us to highway 81, maybe more easily than the way we had planned.  This resulted in an in-depth tour of the town of Williamsport, including all of their educational facilities, before we actually got on the highway.  We made a stop just as we entered Pennsylvania, at Keystone RV, where one of the technicians straightened out the problems with the truck’s brake and turn indicator lights.  We were soon back on the road, headed north through the hills of Pennsylvania.  Nice scenery, lots of traffic.  We had a fairly well executed fuel stop, and a very nice pause in a rest area that had gorgeous grass. 

At Scranton, we switched over to the 84 highway, headed east through the Pocono Mountains.  Scenery lovely, road ugly and bone-shattering.  We breezed into our stopover park in Milford, just short of the New York border, in the late afternoon.  Geri took me for a walk while Don got the rig set up for living, and I was pleased with the looks of the place; lots of nice grassy areas, trees, squirrels and chipmunks, and a big river, which Geri told me was the Delaware, running alongside the park.  It was still pretty warm, so I decided to cool off by taking a wading excursion into the river.  Geri cautioned me not to go too far into the river, as the current was very fast and strong, so I stayed close to the edge.  It felt really good to have the cool water on my legs and belly. 

We went back to the coach, where Geri toweled me off, and I got my dinner on time for a change.  They raided the refrigerator for odds and ends, and I got some pasta sauce leavings out of it.  We all decided to go for another walk then, back down to the river, where I indulged myself in another cooling wade, and had the opportunity to chase some shore birds, who squawked in outrage over being disturbed.  I really like this place, and wish we could stay here longer than just overnight.  Lots of fun things to do!  I think Geri and Don like it, too.  But tomorrow we’re off to our Boston destination, where we’ll be staying for several days.  Maybe we can stop here on our way back!

I think we’ll be turning in early tonight, after the blog is finished and I get all the cookies that I’m entitled to.  When we get together again, we’ll be in Massachusetts!  Until then, have a bella notte and buon dia!

Day 15 – Hagerstown, Maryland

So we go from days filled with adventure and excitement to a day like today; like watching paint dry.  Actually, today was designated, according to Don, as “Rope Yarn Sunday”, even though it was Tuesday.  That’s an old Navy term (I mean old) for Sundays at sea, reserved for cleaning and minor maintenance, including salt water showers for the crew.  This happens every couple of weeks when we’re on the road; Geri works the rig’s interior, spending a lot of time on the floors, and Don works on whatever maintenance problems have cropped up during the trip.  Today he was working on a bad lighting circuit in the bedroom area that was blowing fuses, plus a problem with the brake and stop lights on the truck.  He thought he had the fuse problem licked, until Geri reported that she had heard a pop from the fuse box and the bedroom light went out.  Looks like both of these problems are going to go to the Pros soon. 

By mid-afternoon, they had run out of things to do, so they embarked on another shopping expedition.  As it was pretty hot and muggy, they left me in the coach under the air conditioning; just as well, as I still had a nap time deficit from the last two days.  They returned a few hours later, and told me about their visit to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal locks in Hancock.  This is a canal that they started to build back in the 1820’s, and was in operation up until a few years before Geri was born.  I think they still had mules pulling the barges then.  They said that the locks on the canal were built out of huge blocks of stone, and that the canal went over streams that it crossed in aqueducts.  They also had to tell me that the grass around the canal was beautiful, and I would have loved it.  Maybe, but I sure wouldn’t have loved the heat.  They took some pics, and I’m sure Don will post some.  Geri did some shopping, too, and got some stuff she liked.  That’s a good thing.

Dinner was Ham and Yam, which I like, ‘cause I get some great yam skins out of it.  Short work on the blog, and then ready for bed.  We’re on the road north to Pennsylvania tomorrow, with a stop at a RV facility for a look at the truck lights.  Hope to be near the Connecticut border tomorrow evening.  I’ll be giving you a full report!  Sleep tight!

Day 14 – Hagerstown, Maryland

Another busy day, not as active or as much fun as yesterday, but lots of activity.  You wouldn’t have known that anyone was going to do anything if you looked in on us around seven this morning.  Don was just getting up, Geri was going back to bed, and I didn’t want to be aroused.  Off to a very slow start, not getting rolling until nearly noon.  I guess yesterday took a lot out of all of us; I can certainly attest for myself.  I loved my afternoon with Abby, but I don’t think I have the stamina to keep up with her.  Don and I did get in a nice walk this morning, without any excitement, and that was a good thing. 

We got on the road, like I said, just before noon, heading south down to Harpers Ferry, a place Don has wanted to visit for years.  It didn’t take too long to get there, and we stopped at the Visitor Center before we went into the town.  I was very pleased with that stop, as the grass in front of the center was made for rolling, and I threw myself into a veritable rolling fit for four or five minutes.  Felt really good.  We drove down into the little town and were fortunate to find a parking place at the railroad depot.  We walked into the “downtown” area, which is mostly very old, historical buildings that have been converted to museums and other displays of the town’s history.  Don told me that many people think that this was the place where our Civil War actually started, years before that incident in Charleston Harbor.  Mr. John Brown, a person who was very strongly opposed to the concept of slavery, decided to demonstrate the depth of his opposition by attacking and seizing the U.S. Army Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, a feat which he almost accomplished.   Brown and his followers eventually were cornered in the Arsenal’s Firehouse, and held off the Army for a couple of days until Marines were brought in to rout the invaders.  Gary will like that part of the story.  Anyway, that incident touched off a big argument over slavery in the USA, and the Civil War started a couple of years later. 

What I can tell you about Harpers Ferry today is that it is really a step back into the past, in a truly beautiful setting, situated on a point of land where the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers converge, both of them mighty rivers, amid a bunch of railroad bridges, some still working, some long gone.  The buildings of the Arsenal are also gone, having been destroyed in the Civil War, when the town endured several battles.  I really enjoyed the scenery and the feeling of the place.  I also enjoyed finishing off the remnant of Geri’s frozen custard, when it went too soft and mushy on her, and she had to get rid of it.  Don ate all of his. 

We stopped on the way home in Hagerstown to do a little shopping, then back to the rig for a pasta dinner, resulting in some yummy plates for me.  Don and I put the blog together, then watched a little TV with Geri.  To bed early, not to repeat this morning’s snore-in.  Don’t know for sure what’s happening tomorrow, but I’ll be sure to fill you in!

Day 13 – Hagerstown, Maryland

Wow, what an exciting day!  No, I don’t mean that every day that we’re not hunkered down in the coach ripping off another 400 miles is exciting, I mean that this day was really fun!  To begin with, Don and I had a really good morning walk up into the woods above the Park, where there were lots of interesting plants and smells to investigate.  We encountered a couple of Yorkies who threatened to kill me while their boss lady had them on leash.  But when we later ran across them up in the woods, and they were off leash, they were as friendly as could be, and conducted a very thorough but gentle investigation of my persona.  We followed a rather steep path back down to the Park, and went down to the river bank, where we met some large and noisy geese.  I wanted to get to know them better, but they immediately set sail on the river, honking vigorously at me. 

After our walk, Don got the Ranger ready to hit the road, and we all piled in.  We had a brief stop in Hagerstown to refuel and get a quick wash of 2000 miles of dirt accumulation.  Thankfully, Don let me out of the truck before he did the wash, as he knows that I hate all the growling, hissing and spitting machinery in the car wash.  We headed south then toward Washington and Alexandria, Virginia, which was a long ride.  After a couple of hours, we pulled into the driveway of a lovely home, and I was introduced to a very lovely reddish coated Goldie lady by the name of Abby, who greeted me effusively with lots of kisses, like I was a long lost lover.  Her housemate, a Pekinese guy named Scooby, was also pleasantly welcoming, but Abby seemed like she had been waiting for me forever!  I was introduced to their humans, Doug and Kathy Halo, and their daughter Samantha, also known as Sammy.  They are old friends of Geri and Don, and Don told me that their first “date” was with these guys on their boat here in Alexandria, many dog years ago.  We were invited into their home, and Abby, as the perfect hostess, offered me some of her food immediately.  Naturally, I thought that this meant all of her food which was in a big bowl on the floor, and I gobbled quite a bit of it before Geri took it away from me. 

Now, you all know me to be kind of the strong, silent type, not given to a lot of effusiveness, but I have to admit that Abby’s exuberance was contagious, and I found myself enjoying and responding to her playfulness.  I was really having a good time with her!  We both got tired about the same time, and laid down together at the table where our people were sitting and talking.  The folks had a big lunch, and I heard them discussing the food that Doug had fixed, including what he called a torta, and Geri claimed was really a frittata, a dish with potatos, eggs, onions, and cheese.  The important thing is that Doug told Don how to make it, so I think we’ll be seeing it at home eventually. 

After lunch, Abby, Scooby and I socialized with all the folks, and Sammy took us out to the yard to keep us in touch with nature’s needs.  When we got back in the house, Abby offered me one of her treasured rawhide chews, which I gladly accepted.  Unfortunately, after I let her know that it was a particularly delicious specimen, she had second thoughts about her offer, and attempted to regain custody.  I was reluctant to accommodate her request, and retained ownership.  Our people had trooped down to the basement to see the magnificent recreation facility that Doug and Kathy had constructed, which included a home theater, a pool hall, a mini-casino, kitchen, and a truly awesome bar that Doug had designed and built with great craftsmanship.  Even I was impressed, and I let my attention wander from the chew.  Abby took the occasion to try to snatch it from my mouth, but I was determined to retain possession.  Scooby attempted to adjudicate the confrontation, and succeeded in making Abby back off for a while.  We adjourned to the front yard, and Don decided to make me do the gentlemanly thing by taking the chew away from me and giving it to Abby, which she gratefully accepted.  It took me about two minutes of reasoning with Abby to work out a deal whereby she got my duck toy, which I had in the truck, and I got what remained of the chew.  Sammy helped to implement the trade, and we were all happy with the outcome.

We all had a wonderful time with the Halos and were sorry to have to leave, but when you’re a blog proprietor, you have to get home and go to work.  So, here we are, with the chew having been chewed completely on the way home, and doing our best to put the story together.  We have another adventure scheduled for tomorrow, but I don’t see how it could be as good as today!  I’ll sleep well tonight, hope you do, too!

Day 12 – Hagerstown, Maryland

Our gang got off to sort of a slow start this morning, but that was OK, ‘cause we didn’t need to go as far today as we have been recently.  I have to admit that I was kind of lazy, even a little reluctant to charge down the stairs and retrieve the phony paper.  That is, until Don told me that he would eat my cookies himself if I didn’t get the paper.  That convinced me, and I scrambled down.  After my breakfast, he took me for a nice walk over to the outdoor stadium and left me outside while he went to the rest room.  While he was gone, a little brown short-haired dog came up to me and introduced himself.  He wanted to know all about me, where I was from, how long I was going to be here, did I like to play, a whole lot of personal stuff.  I got a little uptight about all the questioning, and was glad to see Don come out of the building to rescue me.  We continued our walk, with the brown dog tagging along with us, still peppering me with questions.  I tried to ignore him, but finally resorted to bounding up a hill where I thought he was too little to go.  I thought wrong, he was right behind me.  I went running back to Don, who understood that I was feeling bedeviled by the little guy, and headed us back toward the stadium.  We walked up the steps of the seating area, with the LBD in close company, and stopped to rest at the top.  At this point, the LBD went absolutely bonkers, and started a display that was beyond Crazy Dog proportions; running at very high speed through the seating area, up and down the steps, running by me and barking at me, even taking a little nip at me.  I asked Don to get me out of there.  I knew I couldn’t run, ‘cause the guy would catch me and think I was playing with him.  So we walked back to the rig, with the little one running in circles around us.  I guess I should have felt sorry for him, as he obviously had no folks, and no identification on him.  We stopped on our way out of the park and Geri gave him some of my treats, which was OK.

We headed on up Highway 79 toward the northern border of West Virginia; as we passed the off ramp for Highway 33, Don told Geri that, if we were to turn onto that road and go about fifty or sixty miles, we’d be at a place called Yokum’s VacationLand, which has a RV Park.  Geri said that she had checked our agenda, and she was sure that Yokum’s VacationLand wasn’t on it.  Oh, well, maybe next time.  We were rolling through some lovely, hilly country, covered with trees; West Virginia is a really pretty place, we all agreed.  Don continued to be amazed not to see the name of Senator Robert C. Byrd anywhere!  We finally entered Maryland, and grabbed a stop at a rest area, where Geri and I went for a walk and Don washed bugs off the windshield.  A bit later, as we crested a hilltop, there was a sign identifying the “Eastern Continental Divide”.  Geri and Don were both perplexed by this, but finally figured out that this was where the waters going into the Atlantic and into the Gulf of Mexico were separated.  Sounds OK to me!

It turned out that the route to the RV Park we had reservations at (another KOA!) was very tricky, going over some roads that were just wide enough for our rig.  But we made it OK, and got assigned the last big rig spot they had.  Don spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up the front end of the coach, and getting our poor old Ranger unhitched and running.  He’s been towed for nearly 2000 miles straight!  Geri took me around the Park to get me properly introduced, and Don fixed some bratwurst on the grill, with some red cabbage and Bush’s Beans.  Don has discovered a problem with our microwave oven, so he’s using the stove top more till we get some repair work done.  Geri and I took another little walk, resulting in some nice treats for me at the Park Office, then back to the coach to work on the blog and watch a little TV.  I understand that tomorrow, we’re off to visit friends in Alexandria, Virginia, and I’ll get to meet a lovely lady Goldie by name of Abby!  I’m really excited!  Catch you tomorrow night!

Day 11 – Flatwoods, West Virginia

This morning in our park in Louisville, everyone in our rig was up early and ready to get a good start on the day.  I did my paper retrieval very smartly, only having to be reminded twice what I was out there for.  Geri was up at the first smell of coffee, which Don is responsible for brewing, as he is usually first on deck.  It was a good thing we got an early start on the morning, as we had lots to do before we headed out.  First was my morning walk with Don, which led us down some railroad tracks before we were blocked by an overpass trestle.  I knew that I could walk over it on the ties, but Don didn’t want me to take the chance.  We walked back to the park area across the street from the RV Park, and I spied a bird on the ground down from the berm we were walking on.  On impulse, I charged down the berm and sent the bird flying for its life; in celebration of the chase, I did a wild crazy dog routine, with only Don for an audience.  I continued my walk down in the lowlands, while Don stayed up on the berm, keeping an eye on me.  Altogether, an exciting walk with some good exercise.

When we got back to the rig, Geri was ready to go over to the RV dealership next door to get some stuff for the rig, so we all trudged over there.  The girl at the reception desk was very partial to me, and gave me a very nice treat when I did pop-up dog.  They made their purchases and we headed back to the rig.  Don had to try one of his new gadgets, a window washer, on the windshield of the coach.  While he was engaged in this, he got into a conversation with the guy in the coach next door, who lived in Bangor, Maine, during the summer and in Florida in the winter.  They had a lot of stories to swap, and the windshield cleaning took a lot longer that usual, even with the new goodie.  Our final job was to refill the propane tank, which was down pretty low, and we finally got underway sometime after eleven.

As we drove over the bridge at the Ohio River, Don pointed out that it was still close to flood level, and looked to him to be as big as the Mississippi usually is.  He said that there is still lot of water on its way down river.  He has told me about his idea for constructing some nuclear power plants, a bunch of huge pumps, and some mammoth pipelines to take water from the Mississippi and pumping loads of water across the country to Lake Powell, where it could be used in California, Arizona and Nevada.  Makes sense to me!

I stayed awake to look at a lot of the Kentucky scenery, and it was all quite green and attractive.  We even saw some horses, even though they were in a retirement farm!  We crossed a bunch of big rivers, enjoyed the tree-studded hills, and found that Kentucky is a lovely state.  We made a fueling stop just before we crossed into West Virginia, executed with flawless precision.  Moving into West Virginia, the landscape became a bit more hilly, but just as green with trees and grass, very attractive.  Don was shocked that he didn’t see a single bridge, highway, or building with the name Robert C. Byrd on it.  Geri was shocked to see a lot of large, modern homes.  We think West Virginia has gotten some bad press.

We pulled into another KOA, (I think it’s our 47^th this trip), a very attractive hillside development, and made camp very happily.  Geri and I had a nice walk while Don did a fish dinner, we all chowed down, watched some TV, did the blog, and hit the hay.  Hope your day was as good! 

Day 10 – Louisville, Kentucky

Another day, another KOA.  At least I’m feeling a lot better than I did yesterday.  I have to say, the Park in Missouri we stayed in last night was very nice, with a large doggy play area, or bathroom, and some semi-wild areas that I would have liked to investigate, had I been feeling up to snuff.  Geri and Don liked it too, and Don said he would write a good review of it for RV Park Reviews. 

We got our usual tennish departure, but we weren’t on the road long before we stopped at a WalMart to do some shopping.  My two humans trudged through the rain to get their needs fulfilled, and came trudging back through an even heavier downpour an hour later with a cart full of stuff, all of it essential, I’m sure.  We took off again for the east, and soon reached the junction where we were to leave our faithful I-70 for another road, the I-64.  Unfortunately, we sailed right past it due to a misunderstanding between the pilot and the navigator.  The next half-hour was entirely occupied with plotting to regain access to the 64, mostly through very circuitous means.  They finally accomplished their aim, and we headed into the mess of beat up roadways through St. Louis.  We saw the Arch, crossed the mighty Mississippi, which was filled to the brim, sped through East St. Louis, and finally entered an area of bucolic charm, southern Illinois.  We crossed another large river, later identified as the Wabash, when we entered Indiana, which, to my eye, looked just the same as Illinois. 

I should have mentioned that when we were arriving at the Walmart in Missouri, they had asked Garmy to guide us into the place, and she had botched the job very badly; fortunately, Don decided to ignore her, and we had glided in with no problem.  So, when we were trying to get a route to the KOA in Louisville, Geri asked Garmy for advice, and Don decided to ignore it.  When we were all of the opinion that Don’s choice of heading was in error, we fell back on Garmy, who guided us unerringly to the park.  I have to commend Don on one point, however; had he not sought out and downloaded all of the KOA locations to Garmy, we would have been up a creek.  Or, maybe, the Ohio River. 

We were guided into our spot at the KOA by a rather crusty guy, who was kind enough to compliment Don on his piloting in confined spaces.  Geri took me for a short walk while Don set up the coach, and I got to meet some nice people who were having dinner at a picnic table; I wagged and smiled a lot, but didn’t get any offers of food.  Geri and Don had their microwave dinners from WalMart, and Geri took me for a longer walk, which I really needed.  When we came back, I worked with Don on the blog and got a lot of petting for my work.  Geri suddenly discovered that we had entered the Eastern Time Zone, and it was almost ten o’clock!  We didn’t last long after that.  So, I bid you adieu, and hope that what you do, you do well. 

Day 9 – Danville, Missouri

I had a really punk night last night, sick to my tummy, feeling really bad.  I don’t know what caused it, I know that I didn’t sneakily eat anything bad for me on my walk with Geri, ‘cause we didn’t have much of a walk, as it was raining.  Maybe the thunder upset me; I’m not really afraid of it, Don has told me that it’s just one of nature’s spectacular shows, and it will never hurt me.  But you’ve got to remember, at heart, I’m still a dog, and dogs find thunder upsetting.  Anyway, I woke Geri up to let her know that I needed to go out.  She was kind enough to accommodate me, and I ran around in the rain puking and pooping until I was all pooped out.  She lost track of me at one point, and had to call for me; I knew that she was upset and worried, so I immediately ran back to her.  We got back in the coach, and I immediately went to bed to sleep.  I don’t think she was able to do that, so she didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. 

When Don got up, Geri tried to get a little more sleep, and I went to the living room with Don.  He went to the door to look out at the weather, and I thought he was tossing the phony paper out for me to retrieve, so I got up and stood at attention, ready for duty.  He saw what was going on in my head, and got the paper out there for me.  The thunder was still thundering, but I bravely went down the steps, got the paper, and clambered back into the coach.  I got my cookies, which made me feel better.  Don made me a light breakfast, and I felt better yet, good enough to go back to bed. 

Don and Geri got the rig ready to roll around ten, and I got a little pouty about not having my regular morning walk, but it was still raining and it wouldn’t have been a great walk anyway.  I slept all the way through the rest of Kansas, including what Don told me was a highway maze through Kansas City, and the first part of Missouri.  I woke up for a fuel stop we had in western Missouri, and got to witness Geri’s aggravation over the methods that the Pilot Truck Stop used in preparing their receipts.  It got a little ugly, apparently. 

We finally sailed into the Lazy Day RV Park in Danville, which we don’t think is really a town, and found it to be very pleasant.  I was feeling a lot perkier, and Geri took me for a nice walk while Don set up the coach.  Don cooked up some chicken cacciatore, resulting in some tasty plates for me, and we settled in to watch some TV and prepare the blog.  I think it’s an early bed time for all tonight.  Catch you in the manana!  (I know, there should be a tilda in there, but our keyboard doesn’t have one.)

Day 8 – Salina, Kansas

We got our typical ten o’clock start this morning, and started heading east on I-70 again.  This is a much different Colorado from the one we experienced yesterday; the mountains have been replaced by rolling farm and pastureland, the rivers are gone, and the road is relatively flat and straight.  The only excitement is the return of high, gusty winds that keep Don holding tight to the steering wheel.  At one point, the winds were trying to open the awning over the door, and were partially successful.  We had to stop, and Don got out the duct tape to secure the errant awning to its restraints.  For the most part, though, I wasn’t visually stimulated enough by the scenery (or lack of it) to keep me awake, and I spent most of the day napping.  We had a brief stop in a rest area, where I was able to find a small patch of grass worth rolling in. 

We made it into the Salina KOA about six in the PM, got assigned a very nice site, and made ourselves at home by ordering a pizza from the park office.  When it arrived, Geri and Don were surprised and pleased by the quality of the pizza, and I found the sausage that Don had thoughtfully provided for me excellent.  Geri took me out for a very pleasant walk through the park, and we were both very impressed with it.  Don and I worked on the blog (briefly, as you will notice), we watched a little TV, then hit the hay fairly early. 

I forgot to mention yesterday that Geri and I had the opportunity to meet a lovely Goldie lady by name of Maddy at the Denver KOA during our walk.  She was very sweet and personable, reminding me so much of my friend Savannah, who I socialize with every afternoon at home.  Except that Maddy is a lot, well, bigger than Savannah; she must be a real food hound.  Well, who am I to talk!

Hope to be reporting to you from deepest, darkest Missouri tomorrow; see you then!

Day 7 – Strasburg, Colorado

What a long day this has been!  We all got up pretty early, and went through our morning routines, me fetching the phony paper and getting my breakfast, Don perusing the comics and news on the computer, and Geri doodling on her iPad.  I had been hoping for an outing in the park in town, the one with the big missile in it, but Don wasn’t going to unhook the truck for anybody, even me.  Instead, we had a brief tour through the RV Park, walking carefully to avoid getting stickers in my feet and finding no grass to roll in.  Third rate walk.  We got the rig ready to roll, and were out the gate before ten!

Don wanted to top off the fuel tank before we got into the Rockies, so Geri tried to scout a truck stop in Grand Junction for him.  It didn’t go too well, probably due to the fact that there are no truck stops in Grand Junction.  They finally decided to try a Conoco station about a mile off the I-70, but when we got there, it was obvious that it wasn’t set up for access by about sixty feet of motorhome and pickup truck.  Don had to pull into a shopping mall parking area to get the rig turned around and headed back to the highway, and he was muttering things I didn’t fully understand.  We finally located a small truck fueling station about twenty miles up the road, and Don got his wish for a full tank. 

We drove through some spectacular country, with the highway paralleling the Colorado River, which is unusually huge this year.  Geri took photos out the windshield of the mountains and the river, which I’m sure Don will post.  We stopped in a place called Glenwood Springs, a little resort town on the river, and I finally got some good grass to roll in.  Don was interested in the history of the place as a big resort during the late 1800’s, and learned that someone by the name of Doc Holliday died there.  I have no idea what the import of that is.  The route up Glenwood Canyon, east of the town, was truly spectacular, a narrow gorge with the Colorado rushing through it, and a major highway going multi-level to find a usable route.  We went through Vail, where there was still a lot of snow on the ground, and were very impressed with the lovely homes and hotels there.  From there, it was a long, slow grind up the mountains to reach the entrance to the Eisenhower Tunnel, which I thought we were never going to get out of, it was so long!  Actually, we went through the Johnson Tunnel, but nobody calls it that; the westbound tunnel is named for Eisenhower, and he seems to be a lot more popular that this guy Johnson.  I have no idea who either of them were.  From there, it was mostly a downhill run with the JakeBrake activated most of the time into Denver, where I-70 immediately became a traffic jam.  It took the better part of an hour to fight our way through it, though Garmy was giving lots of suggestions on how we could get on surface streets and avoid the mess.  Don wasn’t having any of it, as he has had some really bad luck with Garmy’s suggestions in the past, so he hung tough and sweated out the traffic.

Finally free of Denver, we barreled down the road to this burg, Strasburg, and this pretty good KOA Park.  Well, the grass isn’t very good, and there are sticker patches all around, and the roads are gravel, which hurts my dainty paws, and there are lots of small dogs who seem to want to kill me, but I’m with folks who love me, treat me with respect, feed me very well, and give me my treats almost on schedule.  What more can I ask for!  We’ll be heading east into Kansas tomorrow; I’ve never been there, but Don says I haven’t missed much.  I’ll give you a full report of my impressions tomorrow!  See you then!

Day 6 – Green River, Utah

Yay!  We made it out of Vegas, all the way over to the edge of Utah, lovely Green River!  It was an interesting ride today; the wind was up, and buffeting the coach regularly.  Don had to be extra careful about keeping a firm grip on the steering wheel the whole way.  I was next to him during the whole trip, though occasionally napping through the excitement. 

But first I must tell you about our brief morning walk out to the gate area, where the Monster Mocker had decided that I was not the real enemy, Don was!  The bird’s attacks were constant and ferocious, first on Don’s back and shoulders, and then getting right in his face and fluttering his wings!  He made a few minor assaults on me, but concentrated on Don with the greatest hostility.  I told Don that I didn’t want him to have to put up with this, and that he should accompany me over to the guard shack for treats.  He agreed easily.  Don got a few pictures of the bird, and I’m sure he’ll post some. 

We got underway a little after nine, quite a feat for us, and headed up I-15 through LV; Don was glad it was Sunday morning, and not Monday.  We drove through the spectacular Virgin River Gorge, and Geri took some pics out the window.  We had a fuel stop in St. George, Utah, and continued north on the 15.  Geri was mightily preoccupied with her new iPhone toy, after having gotten some basic tutelage on it from Matthew last night.  Information was flowing from her, based on the new “apps” that she had acquired, including the fact that there was a Rest Area just ahead, and she recommended we stop there for the purpose of my relieving my bladder.  I shook my head when I heard this, ‘cause, like Don says, I’ve got a bladder the size of Lake Powell.  But, that’s OK, it’s nice that she’s thinking of me.  We pulled into the Rest Area and parked, then struggled with the coach’s door, trying to close it against the force of the howling wind storm that was raging.  Geri and I went across the road, and I dutifully raised my leg to indicate performance of the unneeded function.  The wind was bringing so many odors so fast that it was dizzying to me; not a comfortable feeling.  My snout was twitching uncontrollably, and I told Geri that I thought it was time to go back to the rig.  After a monumental struggle to close the door, we made it aboard, and hit the road again.  There were no more rest stops.  Oh, yeah, there was one, when Geri needed to retrieve her recharging cord for the iPhone from the truck; she had to battle the wind again to get aboard!

We turned east on I-70, through windblown pasture and farmlands, until we hit the desert area, where the scenery turned spectacular.  With the phone charged up, Geri was engaged in making videos of some of the more exciting panoramas through the windshield.  Don says we might even try to post one.  We finally pulled into our RV Park where we stayed last year, Shady Acres, which has lots of acres, not much shade, and no grass.   If you would like more information on the village of Green River, please refer to my travelblog2, which provides a wealth of information on this locality.  It’s a lovely area, with lots of good stuff, including a great John Wesley Powell Museum.  If you’re out this way, spend a few days here.

Don cooked up some tortelloni for dinner, and I got the leftover sauce, which made for great lickings.  Watched a little TV, then headed for bed.  Tomorrow, Denver and beyond!  G’nite, friends!