September 22, 2014 There's no place like HOME

Monday September 22, 2014

 

I smell it, but I can't see it.  I will patrol though...

 

It is still dark when I woke up, but I am excited to be going home.  I can see a wee bit of light on the horizon.  We spent many years camping on Lake Mohave right above Laughlin.  I would see the first hint of light and the excitement to go skiing would take over.  I would make coffee and make enough noise to wake everybody else up so that I could be the first skier on the water at the earliest of light.  Everyone thought I was nuts, and maybe I was, but the beauty of the morning had my heart, and this morning reminds me of those times.

 

I decided to walk along the river before it got too light.  It is cool for this area, maybe about 70.  There are lots of feral cats.  A raccoon comes walking up to me like he owns the walkway.  The cats let him have his way and he sauntered towards a hotel.  It is obvious he has been fed before, although he was standing right before a sign forbidding the feeding of wildlife.  I guess Rocky can't read...  Spouse came by on his bike.

 

We then headed back and readied Hannah for the trip home.  The ride from here is the longest ride on the planet.  And it is boring.  And Spouse can make it even longer.  He just has to drink sodas... and what goes in must come out, and we stop, and stop, and stop. 

 

But we ultimately make it home.  There are mounds of mail but Crew kept the house decent and the plants look good.  Lots of my orchids are getting ready to bloom!  Yay... Now comes the real work of the trip... Unloading and cleaning.  yech.

 

Rudy loves being back in his own yard.  He is frolicking beyond belief.  He is back in his routine... 

September 21, 2014 The trek home begins

Sunday September 21, 2014

 

I want my yard.  I want to frolic unfettered.

 

Today is the real push towards home.  It is a long haul and we don't expect to do it in one day.  We cross the Indian reservation of northernmost Arizona.  It really is quite amazing.  It is vast and out of nowhere, rocky outcroppings pop up.  But it is a long drive when you want to get home. 

 

We decided not to cut through the Grand Canyon.  Instead, we head to Flagstaff, then west on I40.  We eventually land in Laughlin.  It is aggravating that they want to charge for WIFI here.  I won't do it on principle!  They will get enough of my money tonite...

 

No sign of the mouse in Hannah.  Rudy is sniffing from vent to vent.  We have traps set.  Once we get home and empty Hannah, there won't be much of an attraction as far as food.  But we know those little devils can do a whole lot of damage.

 

Hannah is limping home.  She is missing a window, her hydraulics don't work, the antenna is broken,  Spouse just noticed the kitchen faucet is not right.  She is dirty but all in all, she did us just fine.  We did about 12,000 miles on this trip.  Things are bound to happen.  She will get all the care she needs once we get home... TOMORROW!

September 20, 2014 EEK!

Saturday September 20, 2014    

 

What is that, and why is it in my house?

 

Getting ready to go, I saw something very concerning.  As I was standing INSIDE Hannah with Rudy at my feet, there by the reclining chair was a MOUSE!  INSIDE Hannah!  I did not eek!  I was a big girl.   I watched as it climbed inside the heater grate and I ran outside... SPOUSE!!!!!  Rudy is sniffing.  Where did it go?  How did it get in here?  How long has it been an illegal alien in Hannah?  Have we been violating wildlife laws?  Most important...  How will I sleep tonite...  Will I have Indiana Jones dreams?  Since we are at a Wal-Mart, Spouse bought some mouse traps.  We will take Rudy's collar off tonite so he can be stealth.  He keeps sniffing the vents... oy.  Spouse turned on the heater, but the critter did not exit.  argh!

 

We are heading back to Farmington today.  I had a major fight with Samaaaaantha.  For some reason, she just did not want us to take hwy 550, which is the shortest route and a big hwy.    We let her stew in her wrongness as we got to Farmington our way in less miles than she was recommending.

 

Oh, don't think this is the last blog.  Mouse updates are forthcoming!  Oops!  Spouse just stepped on a mouse trap...  oh the four letter words!

September 19, 2014 Visiting Sandy

Friday September 19, 2014

 

I like this spot.  Lots to look at.  Lots to chase, if my humans would let me.

 

Since Spouse cannot walk much, I decided to do a morning hike all by myself.  I don't like to do this as it really isn't safe to hike alone.  But I grabbed some bear spray and a walkie talkie and headed out on the viewpoint loop trail.  It is barely past 7am, the time when wildlife is on the prowl, so I made lots of noise as I progressed on the trail.  It starts along the water's edge walking on rock ledges.  Then the trail turns to rock as it climbs.  It is not easy but it is not difficult either.  Being at over 6000 feet, it is a cardio challenge.  At the top along the rocky ledges are sweeping views of the Pecos River and the valley below.

 

 

 

 

 

I hail Spouse on the walkie talkie. 

 

LOOK AT ME!  I am on the top waving my arms.

I can't see you.
Look left.
I can't see you.
Look lefter!  (Pretty hard for Spouse to look left).  I am in RED.  You can't miss me...
Finally, he sees me.  I take a selfie.

 

I continue on and the trail turns to a soft sand like a dune.  There are wildflowers still in bloom.  I am clapping and singing warding off wild beasts.  Some quails fluttered off scaring the begeezus out of me.   The trail turns back to rocks and rocky ledges until the 2.5 mile trail comes back to the bridge.  Nice way to start the day.  I sure hope Spouse can hike again someday! 

 

We ready Hannah for the curvy ride back to the highway.  We are headed to my friend Sandy's house.  A local gas station lets us disconnect Hannah and leave her there with our precious feline cargo.  Then we head over the freeway along the frontage road, through the one lane tiny tunnel, go right to the dirt road, go left and left and over the really bad dirt road pass the bad ess then down a bit and turn left on Chocktaw.  Yes, we are in the middle of nowhere!

 

I have known Sandy for 32 years.  We roomed together on an African Safari.  She was a nurse until injuries sidelined her.  She lives in a little casita, totally off the grid, with her critters and a whole lot of stuff.  She sells things at flea markets, and she has a garage full of ... stuff!  We spent the day with her, then some of her friends came to dinner.  Jan and Jeanette live out here also.  Three great tough chickies doing it alone in the boonies!  It was a great visit.  We left a tad before it got dark so that we could find our way back.

 

We hooked up Hannah (which is getting more difficult each time we disconnect) and we headed to a Wal-Mart in Santa Fe where we would spend the night.  By now, it is 9pm, we are not into finding a campground just to sleep.

September 18, 2014 Happy Anniversary

Thursday September 18, 2014

 

There is a critter that is fluttering inside.  My humans are trying to help me capture it, but I just can't seem to do it.  I must practice more.

 

It is a breezy morning but not terribly cold.  Warm enough that I can walk in shorts, but have some long sleeves for warmth.  Spouse's foot has really been bothering him since his fall off the ladder.  It seems that there is something very wrong there.  He has been riding the bike to get some exercise.

 

After we were done with our morning rituals, we readied Hannah for departure.  We were worried about getting out of this space, but our neighbor moved his truck, and another neighbor moved his chairs so we were able to easily make our escape.

 

We are headed south on I25 through the high plains.  The mesas and buttes of New Mexico are on the horizon.  We pass through Raton Canyon with a summit of around 8000 feet.  It is very scenic, with cottonwood trees and rugged cliffs.  We are on our way to visit my friend Sandy who lives in the middle of nowhere between Las Vegas and Pecos, near Santa Fe.

 

There are not a lot of campgrounds around.  We were thinking of just pulling over at her highway exit, but then decided to check out the Villanueva state campgrounds, about 12 miles off I25 on hwy 3.  It is a narrow road and we notice that our cell phones are useless.  We are skeptical of this place.  Where does this road go?  Can we turn around?  We finally stumble upon the campground.  It is somewhat primitive in that the sites do not have water and sewers, but many have electricity.  It is right on the Pecos river, which is pretty small here, but it is absolutely beautiful.  Tall rugged cliffs surround the campground like a giant C.  We have found that the RV parks that offer limited services are more to our liking in that they are closer to nature.  RV parking lots are fine if you are not there to enjoy the scenery, but to run errands or explore elsewhere.  If you want to enjoy your site, chances are regular RV parks are not the right fit. 

 

 

 

 

Today is our 32d anniversary.  I don't know how that can be since I am only 27...

September 17, 2014 A day on the links

September 17, 2014

 I am a magnet.  When I am outside, people just can't help coming to pet me.  And I let them!

 Today, we have a tee time for 8am at Pine Creek golf club with Tom and Sandy. 

 We are normally early people.  We are usually awake before 7am, and frequently before 6:30.  But, there is something unnerving about having a time commitment where you HAVE to be up at that time.  Why is that?

Pine Creek is a beautiful course with Pike's Peak in the background.  We are probably at about 6700 feet elevation.  The course is tough, with little margin for error.  I did decently on the front nine, but the back nine ate me up.  Spouse was his usual self.  Walking the hills at this altitude was a bit challenging.  Sandy walked AND carried her clubs!  She is one toughie!  It was an enjoyable way to spend the day.

 

The day is warm, but not hot.  There are puffy clouds and it is very clear.  The day was meant for golfing.

 

We bid our farewells, and come back to get things ready for departure tomorrow.  We toyed with going to a cannibis shop, but in the end, we didn't feel like it.  The last thing we need is any encouragement for eating...

 

I am amazed at how well Spouse and I have gotten along on this trip.  However, today, he did something almost unforgiveable... he put a knife in the spoon slot in our silverware drawer!  What was he thinking?

September 16, 2014 Going down

Tuesday September 16, 2014

 

The most comfy spot on the bed is the geographic center.  Sometimes, I have to really work to move my humans around so that I can have the sweet spot.

 

Today, we have a short drive to Colorado Springs, 70 miles.  Spouse is helping another neighbor with an RV problem.  He is just Mr. Fixit, or Mr. Helper.    We ready Hannah and start south.  We leave the busy Denver area and get into open land.  The Rockies are on our right.  We want to stay in town as we have errands and we are playing golf with some friends.

 

We end up at Goldfield's Rv.  We tried to stay here with our boat seven years ago and they would not let us stay.  But this time they did, and why we were bent on staying here is beyond me!  The park is very old, which normally is not a problem.  But the site sizes are not meant for the new class of RV with sliders on both sides.  I could reach out and touch our neighbor through our window.  It is a pull through site, which is easy to get into.  Getting out?  Well, this will be artwork!  Fortunately, our neighbor is willing to move his truck which ought to help, but this will be a real challenge.

 

After running our errands, we had dinner with our friends Tom and Sandy Yukman.  I worked with Tom in the 80's and we have skied, water skied, camped, golfed and played in general.  It was great to catch up.

 

And it was great to watch the Rockies/Dodgers game on TV even though the Dodgers lost.

September 15, 2014 PLAY BALL!

Monday September 15, 2014

Sometimes, I have to remind my humans that I am the center of their universe.

 

Woke up to another cold morning, upper 30's.  We readied Hannah and started heading across the plains south.  Today, we saw both deer and antelope, no buffalo though.  Only cattle.  It is vast and beautiful.  We crossed into Colorado.  Hannah has some injuries.  We stopped at a Camping World so Spouse could get a new sewer pipe.  When he went to hook it up, it is not the right size, so he had to repair the old one.  Hopefully, it will get us home.

 We were going to head to Colorado Springs, but we stopped in Denver instead so we could catch the Dodgers playing the Rockies at Coors Field.  I get so excited going to a new ballpark, and with the Dodgers in the pennant race, how can it get better.  There's Clayton Kershaw!  The BEST pitcher in baseball today!  And Yasiel Puig... oh, his batting average is below .300.  Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Dee Gordon...   Will this be the year?

 

 

 

 

 

With our ticket, we get a purple T-Shirt and a $10 food ticket.  And, they had something I would actually eat!  A delicious veggie wrap with spinach, shrimp, cukes, black beans and other stuff.  It was good!  Of course Spouse had some normal ball bark crap, but only as much as the freebie would pay for. 

 

We watched the girl next to us eat.  We are in a state that allows cannabis.  She had a big bowl of nachos with all sorts of meat on it.  An inning later, it was fried something with cheese and green onion.  A couple of innings later, a churro.   I would have been stuffed had I eaten just the nachos.  She was very impressive - and not fat!  Had to be the cannabis!

 Matt Kemp's 2 run homer started the game.  It was 3-3 going into the 6th when the Dodgers scored 8.  In Colorado, you expect high scoring games because the balls fly out here in the thin air.  But the 8 runs were scored without a home run and it was enough to seal the deal.  There are a lot of Dodger fans in the stands.  Ahhhhh!

 

 

September 14, 2014 Back road nirvana

Sunday September 14, 2014

 Sometimes, I feel I have to help my human operate the little house that moves.  It might not look like much, but it is exhausting.

 

It was a cold morning.  We turned on the heat and it was at least 30 minutes before we got out of bed.  But we finally did.  Spouse went to check on the little kitty at the cabin.  He brought her food and water and she was as sweet as ever.  Before we left, he made sure there was lots of food and water under the patio of the cabin.  As we left, we did not see her.  We know the girl in the office was going to try and find a home for her so she may have already caught her.   Who knows... this time, we will not be turning around to go get her.  Rudy is our boy and he likes being king.

 It was almost 11 am before we pulled away.  One of the people in the RV park is having the same problem with getting his trailer to raise up as we are.  Spouse is giving him lessons on manually cranking.  I am afraid the guy will have a heart attack.  He is about 100 pounds overweight and he is having to work to get this done. 

  For us, we are back onto hwy 44 west to Rapid City where we caught 79 south to 18 to 85 to...  From Badlands, there really is no direct route out so the back roads are our path and they are beautiful.  I have to say this... the east has its pretty points, but the west has the WOW factor.  The west is open, it is vast, it is ...  WOW!

 We leave South Dakota into the range of eastern Wyoming, where the deer and the antelope play.  Ok, we only see antelope, sobeit.   Spouse wants to do some work on Hannah so we stop near the town of Laramie.  Rudy has been helping with the driving.  He keeps Spouse's right arm steady...

The RV park where we are is in the middle of nowhere.  The plains are the view from the back window.  There are lots of people that will be here for the next year on a project having to do with oil.  They are all cat people.  The kids were all over Rudy and I met one of the ragdoll cats - a cutey.  I cheated on Rudy once again...

 

And Spouse washed the mud off the truck and Hannah.  Won't we look pretty when we head to Colorado!

 And many thanks to my dear friends who are tending my gardens and fixing the hoses that are exploding in the intense heat. 

September 13, 2014 Bad

Saturday September 13, 2014

 

I think my humans are cheating on me.  I saw them with another feline.

 

We were slow getting started this morning, by choice.  We have been on the move daily so it was nice to just sit.  Spouse took Rudy for a walk and what did he find...

 

He comes back and says there is a feral cat.  Let's give it food.  (Deja Vu). 

I get some of Rudy's food and go over there.  She was a young kitty, about 5 months old and she is a polydactl just like Rudy!  I call her and she comes running (just like Rudy).  She is purring and cuddly.  She is hungry, she is thirsty.  Sound familiar?  Rudy hissed when he saw her.  I couldn't stop cuddling her and she was good with that.  We played.  We do NOT need another cat.

 

 

 

Spouse went to the office (just like Rudy).  But this time, they said they think they know where she came from and would work on getting her back there.  She is supposed to be a barn kitty next door (which is a far piece away).    If she does not belong there, they will get her a home.  Spouse took her to the office and she had a hissy fit.  She wanted to be back at the cabin where she hangs out under the patio.  Coyotes can't get her there.  That is where she is now.  There are new tenants in the cabin that are cat people.  We left them some food for her.  I hope it goes well, but we can't take her.  Rudy won't stand for it.  We cheated on him, but he is our true love.

 

This area of South Dakota is breathtaking.  We drove into the Badlands National Park.  Here is where the prairie meets the buttes.  Badlands is very much like Bryce Canyon in that it has a gazillion rocky outcroppings popping up from the prairie, but they appear to be sandstone as opposed to the hard rock of Bryce.  Riding along the top of the mesa provides sweeping views of the valleys below with the rock spires.  Within the first five minutes of driving, we spot bighorn sheep on top of the spires watching the cars drive by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spouse is back to being crippled so all he could do was look.  I took some of the walking trails and did some exploring without taking too much time away from Spouse.  It is white (hmm, must be why the name White River).  It almost looks like the moon.  It feels like dried mud but a bit softer.  Oddly enough, there are some wildflowers popping out here and there.  More bighorns.  The hiking trails are not clearly marked outside of the trail heads.  Because of the terrain, the trail does not look worn, and it would be easy to lose the trail.  But I did not walk too far for that to be a problem. 

 

We continued driving on the road through the various viewpoints.  Hey bighorns, get off the road so we can get by.  At one point, we headed over to the town of Wall, known for the Wall Drug Store.  Really?  Yep!  It is a drug store, souvenir store, t-shirt store, and a bunch of little vendors and stores.  There is a T-Rex that roars and actually looks a bit scary.  A great way to scare a toddler!  It's just one of those places you need to see if you are near there. 

 

We left, going back into Badlands to do the off road trail along the mesa ridge.  To the right, green prairie grass stretches as far as the eye can see.  To the left is a valley of gazillions of rocky spires.  I would love to have had more pictures, but I didn't charge the camera batteries.  Blond!  We went by a prairie dog town.   Cute little rodents with a sophisticated society.  When I got out, they started squealing to one another.  It was only a warning once they saw I was not a threat.  But they did keep their eyes on the 3 coyotes on the horizon going after their relatives.

 

We continued the road until we exited the park and got back on to hwy 44.  The water at this RV park is horrible.  We found a store and bought some water.  I couldn't figure out why my tea tasted so bad.  Then our coffee this morning, yech!  Now all will be better.

 

And the battery to the camera is charging...

 

September 12, 2014 Who knew!

Friday September 12, 2014

 Sometimes, my purr box gives me away.  I try to be true to my felinity.  When one of my humans picks me up or drags me and cuddles, I try to be aloof.  I try to ignore them even though it feels good.  My cover is blown when my stupid purr box goes off! 

It rained through the night.  It is quite muddy outside and we have miles of dirt road ahead of us.  Oh goody...  The rain stopped long enough for us to ready Hannah for her journey.  This really is a beautiful location.  It is right on the Missouri River at a point that is uncontrolled.  Samaaaantha knew how to get us out of here along the maze of dirt roads.  There are woods, rolling hills and farms.  A couple of white tailed does come frolicking in front of us then disappear into a maze of tall corn with nary a trail, just like the baseball players in the movie A Field of Dreams.  The roads go up and down.  Even though they are dirt roads, they are well graded.  But they are wet, and we are getting pretty darned muddy.  We continue through the magnificent scenery, passing some more does and flocks of wild turkeys.  We finally hit hwy 12, a paved road.  I must admit, this diversion was a real treat and allowed us to see a beautiful part of the country that we would never suspect it would be where it is.

We would be heading west today, not sure of our final destination.  I suggested we go to Badlands in South Dakota, but Spouse did not want to go north again.  When we switched and I started driving, he looked at the map.  Let's go to Badlands.  Gee, what a good idea!  So that is where we headed.

All through Nebraska, we did not go on a main highway.  The back roads have a 65 mph speed limit, but they do occasionally go through a small town where you have to slow.  But this is a much more personal way to travel and I am glad we went this way.  We pass little farms, big farms, hills, woods, streams, etc.  It is a very green year, they have had a lot of rain.  On this road, it feels like you can reach out and touch the farmers, look at their gardens and see their lives.   We continued on the back roads in South Dakota to the town of Interior, right outside the Badlands. 

 Here, the terrain is starting to change some.  There are still the green rolling hills, but there are also buttes and rocky outcroppings.  We plan to stop for a couple of days.. and rest... and clean the mud off the truck and Hannah!

September 11, 2014 Wynot?

Thursday September 11, 2014

 What the heck are those things?  They have... horns!  Take me back home!  NOW!

 

Another cold morning.  I am only doing a short walk to test my legs.  It is very difficult for me NOT to walk.  It is every bit as much mental as it is physical so it is hard to hold myself back.  And I did a bit more than I intended.    My injury is better, but not yet gone so I need to be careful.

 

There is a little petting zoo here with goats and emus.  We took Rudy over to see them.  He wanted NO part of them!  I am not sure if it was the goats or if he felt he was too far from Hannah to make a mad dash.  Whatever, he was glad to get back home.

 

Today, we are heading over to John's (son-in-law) hunting home in Wynot, Nebraska.  Why?  Because we can.  It is on the way home more or less, and we thought we would check it out.  We escaped the Minneapolis area with minimal traffic.  No, we did NOT go to the Mall of America (the biggest mall on the planet).  I don't like small malls, so BIG is not better in my book.  Had the Minnesota Twins been in town, I would have gone to a ballgame but they are not, so neither are we anymore!

 We head south on hwy 169, then onto whatever hwy Samaaaantha told us which took us to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  Samaaaantha told us about a butterfly house in Sioux Falls, so we went and enjoyed some fluttery friends .

 

 

 

Butterflies are cool critters.  They come in various sizes with all sorts of colors and markings.  Some look like one thing when they are hanging, but when they are flying, they look completely different.  They are friendly and enjoyable to watch.  It was a small place but we were happy to engage with our fluttery friends for the time that we spent.

 

Then, off to the garden spot of Wynot.  It is a town of, oh, maybe 250 people in the north east corner of Nebraska.  It is really a pretty area with rolling hills, farms, rivers and trees.  I guess that is what attracts the animals that constitute 'hunting'.    John told us we could stay in Hannah on the street, but it was way unlevel.  Instead, we headed to a restaurant John recommended; the Sportsmen.  We asked someone how to get there...

 

Go to the street that is halfway between here and the highway.  Turn left.  Go to the Green Triangle building and turn left.   Just keep turning left and you'll find it.

 

Really?  Well, that is what we did...   I guess this is the street before the highway so it must be the right one.  There is a green building.  But it isn't a triangle.  We are on a dirt road but we keep on going.  Ultimately, we saw the Green Triangle building as it has a sign on it that says Green Triangle.  Who knew?  We continued on the dirt road for a few more miles, passing flocks of wild turkeys, turning left and we did stumble upon the Sportsmen, which has an RV park and is right on the Missouri River.   Spouse went inside... tonite, they only had hamburgers.  They only do steaks on the weekends.  Spouse said it reeked of cigarette smoke.  I would not have liked that one!  But the RV site is decent, and it is late and we are done for the day so it will have to work.  To find this place, you have to know about it, or know someone that knows about it.  You probably wouldn't read about it in an RV book or a magazine.  But the locals all know it, and they keep it alive.  Good for them!

September 10, 2014 Pegging the ARGH-o-meter

Wednesday September 10, 2014

 Me-out!  Me-out!  ME-OUT!!!   Whoa... what is that?  It is wet and cold!  Nevermind.

 It was cold last night.  Since I seemed to have strained my groin, I gave myself permission not to walk tomorrow, so when I woke up and heard the rain falling, I got a little chuckle.  Until the morning that is...  Spouse didn't tell me that we needed a code to use the RV park bathroom.  I traipse over there in the arctic rain only to find I couldn't get in.  I traipse back, get the code, then slog through the grass to the head.  ARGH!  I am walking a bit better but I will probably need another day of minimal walking.

We ready Hannah for her day.  Actually, Spouse did all the outside readying.  It is cold, about 40 and windy so it feels like it is 40 below.  Even Rudy didn't want to go outside.  I threw him in the truck while we finished getting ready, and when I got in the truck, he quickly plopped himself in my lap, stealing my warmth.

 
We headed southwest on hwy 61, which follows Lake Superior.  It is still very rural but there are a lot of condos and resorts nestled in the trees.  They are barely visible from the highway, but we see the street signs.  Yet, there are very few services, such as restaurants and stores.  At one point, the wind is so strong, we stopped to look at the waves crashing against the shore.  It was very impressive.  And so cold!

 

 

At Duluth, we caught I35 which is Michael Connelly's fictional detective Lucas Davenport's territory.  We leave the lake behind.  Our goal is to get to Camping World near Minneapolis and see about a new window, as well as some other parts we need for repairs.  We stop to eat, to stretch, etc.  It is COLD, still only 46!  Samaaaaantha then takes us on the usual wild goose chase.  What should have taken us 3 highways took us at least that plus that many little country roads through tiny towns with speed limits and lots of turns.  I can't figure her out.  She doesn't always do this, but I catch her from time to time.  And right now, I do not have a detailed map of the area we are in so I only catch it after the fact.  Argh!

 When we got to Camping World, they were essentially useless.  They did not have the parts, and could not help us with the window.  Now, why did we come here?  Why did we pass up some of the places we saw earlier so we could get here?  Another ARGH!

The final ARGH...  we checked Samaaaantha for an RV park.  She had a KOA in the city, but it looked like just outside the city was a park on a lake.  We plugged it in, and promptly retraced our path by about 20 miles.   This was not her fault, it was because we didn't have a detailed map and could not get a good enough reading on the GPS.  We are looking out on Ham Lake and it is pretty... and cold!

 

Since we went to the botanical gardens in Montreal, Spouse has been raking Rudy's litter box like the Japanese gravel garden.  Zen, Rudy... zzzeeennnn.

September 9, 2014 The cripple leading the crippled

Tuesday September 9, 2014

 I missed being Thunderpaws yesterday.  I must make up for it today.  Not only will I run and jump, I will claw things till the humans let me out.  Then I will purr.

What a beautiful night last night.  Through my bedroom window, I saw a full moon shining on the lake, with the water shimmering below.  Every time I woke up, I looked outside to the various phases of the night, and all were beautiful.  But I didn't dare take out the earplugs to listen to the waves...  I couldn't let the snoring in...

 

Houston, we have a problem... while we were readying Hannah, Spouse could not get her to lift her front end to attach her to the trailer.  He had to manually crank her up (he is now buff!).  He got her attached.  What is wrong?  Dr. Brown probes, thinks, looks.  I can see the smoke rising from his brains.  He ultimately tightens a battery cable.  He thinks this is the problem but won't know until we run a while and see if it is charging.  So, we had been contemplating continuing west to Winnipeg, then south, but we thought it better to head south to the US.  There is a Camping World near Minneapolis, and we need a new window and a this and a that too. 

 

It starts to rain.  Will our temporary window hold?  We still have a few dollars Canadian, so we put it to use by buying gas.  We get several beautiful views of the lake, and once we get onto hwy 61, we see some of the most beautiful scenery on the trip.  There are rocky buttes that are heavily wooded, with meadows and wildflowers still in bloom.  We didn't have our camera handy, but I don't think it would have done any justice to the scenery anyhow.  As we approach the border at Grand Portage, Minnesota, the road construction is horrendous.  We can see the border crossing, but we are stuck... Finally we can go, we cross the Pigeon River and re-enter the US without incident.  We are now on Central time.

We decide to stop to eat in Hannah.  There is an old fort here and it is part of the National Park Service.  We take a hiking trail to the top.  It is only 1/2 mile up, but it is pretty steep.  Spouse is pretty good for a while, then the whining begins.  He makes it this time.  I wasn't really prepared for a real hike.  I only had my Tevas on but they held ok.  The summit had breathtaking views of Lake Superior.  We hiked down to the fort, where Spouse joined a tour.  I went to the visitor center. 

 

 

 

 

This town was a major part of the fur trade in the late 1700's and early 1800's.  Canoes were used to ferry goods down the Pigeon River until they had to be portaged the final 8 miles to the fort, where they could go out onto the lake.  The ojibwe, French and English all happily co-existed.  Then those pesky people from the new United States changed the border north of Grand Portage and the trade was moved up to Thunder Bay.  Can we ever leave things alone...  There was a great movie I watched... then I tried to get up and leave... What's this?  OW!  Oh Crap!!!  Seems like I strained a groin muscle.  I am walking like Frankenstein.  OW!

 

And when Spouse gets back, he is nearly crippled!  What a fine pair we are!  But Rudy is good...  Since we spent so much time at the Fort area, we decided to stay right down the street at an RV park at a marina.  I would love to go look at it and maybe rock hunt, but I can't walk... oh well.