The life of "our" dog

Spoiled - putting it mildly. When we finally decided to get another dog, we said it was going to be raised correctly. It would not be the "alpha" it would be a member of the pack. This means no getting on the furniture, no sleeping on the bed, no running and pulling on the leash and encouraging it to obey. Well, for the most part this has worked out. Annie over the last few days has begun to get comfortable with the routine. Even though at 4AM she decided to get sick. Once that little bout was over, she went back to sleep until I got up (not being able to go back to sleep) at 5AM. Annie had drank water and had a few treats, but had not eaten any dry dog food since we brought her home. So being the person that I am, I cooked some rice and added some chicken broth to it. This she devoured like her last meal. So, we will feed her this a few days and try and get her onto the dry food along the way. Of course once she ate a little, she started to feel like a puppy and promptly found one of Deb's socks to play with.
She still will not go out into the backyard by herself. If she is "pushed" out the door the first thing she does is stand on her hind legs, and looks in to see if someone inside will open the door.

With a little work, she could probably open the door herself.

The Dog is in the house

Since our return from Arizona our lives have been focused on bringing home our new (new to us) dog. Annie (formerly Muffin) was picked up at The Haven - No Kill Animal Shelter here in Lubbock (Haven Animal Shelter). This search for a dog has been on going (at least by Debbie) for the last couple months. Dogs from Clovis, NM to the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex were reviewed (mostly on-line with some telephone contacts) until a "winner was selected. 

Annie is about two years old, she is part Terrier (what kind is still under debate) and what else is still being debated. She weighs about 26 pounds has long hair (shorter now, a trip to the groomer was her first stop), stands about 20 inches high and has big feet. Annie came to The Haven in July of 2010. She and three other friends were owned by an elderly lady on the South Plains. When she passed away, the family members took all the dogs to The Haven. We are happy to report that all have been adopted.

Being a rescue dog, she has a few little quirks that we are learning. She also has some great traits. She is loving and would rather be in your lap than on the floor. She travels exceptionally well in a travel "crate," we introduced her to her wire kennel where she will stay during the day for a while - she immediately made that her "sanctuary." The first night at bedtime, we took her into the bedroom and pointed to a dog bed next to our bed, she laid down and that was that. She now has a tendency to prefer that to the family room. If she needs to go out at night, she puts her front feet on the bed and licks Deb's face until Deb wakes up. 

At this time she will stay at the Tipton Pet Hotel when we travel. Maybe later she will get to go in the motorhome on trips that are just Deb and I.

Well, got to go walk the dog - Next time I will post more about out trip - with a post on the Desert Bar and other sites.

Trip is completed, now some of the sites

I think the last "big" post ended with our arrival in Quartzsite, AZ. A sleepy town in the summer months, it is a RV mecca in the winter months. Our original intent was to spend the night on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) Land just north of Quartzsite on Hwy 95. We were low on fresh water and the folks traveling with us had there coach batteries die. A decision was made to spend the night (Saturday) in an RV Park. The Shady Lane got the "nod." Service was exceptional, a nice clean RV Park right on Hwy 95.

Walking around the town, one could see that RVs were an important part of Quartzsite's existence during the winter months.

After a night in Quartzsite, it was on to Lake Havasu City. We wanted to arrive early as we were planning on going to the Desert Bar outside Parker, AZ. Hwy 95 from Quartzsite to Lake Havasu is mostly good two lane. It has some spectacular sites - like this one coming into the Parker area.

Of course orange signs and cones are evident everywhere along our travel route. Coming into Lake Havasu is also very scenic. This is the back of our friends motorhome as we drop into Lake Havasu City from the south.

Going to jump a little ahead to Monday and our trip to Oatman, AZ and Laughlin, NV. Posts on the Desert Bar and around Lake Havasu will be in another post.

After leaving our motorhome at 3-T's RV Repair for a little suspension tuning, we jumped in the Jeep to head to the city of Burros. As always the road to Oatman (Route 66) provided some great scenic vistas.

This is a very scenic area that never ceases to amaze us, especially when the sun is at the right angle like it was on this drive.

Now there are a few dangers when going to Oatman, OK, not really a danger, more of an attraction. The wild burros.

Not only do they greet visitors to the town, they have a tendency to slow traffic. Joyce tries to lead one out of the road so this pickup can pass. The burros are oblivious to car horns.

Of course they can get really up close and personal with vehicles. They are curious and are looking for handouts. Carrots are sold by most of the businesses for the tourists to feed them.

It appeared to us that an effort was being made to keep the burros out of town, as on the south end, a business had opened which provided a feeding bin for the burros, carrots for the tourists to buy for feeding to the burros and of course the usual tourist trinkets. It did provide a great photo opportunity for those that wanted a picture with the burros.

Planning to leave Van Horn, TX soon for the last leg of this trip. Upon arrival home we will fuel the motorhome and make a list of needs for the next trip.

Left Yuma this AM after a great visit with our friends Dan and Cindy. Arrived in Benson, AZ and had dinner in a nice mexican place a couple blocks from Wal-mart

Arrived Yuma yesterday about 2 pm. Windy trip down 95. Not like the last time, which was in the dark and rain. More tomorrow or later today.

Got behind on the posts. Off to Yuma in a little while. Headed for home on Friday. Will try and get another big post out soon.

The trip does continue

We are in Quartzsite now, (OK actually Lake Havasu when I finished this) and I have a chance to catch up and give a little more of an update than just the quick text things, and to add a few photos. This first one is the windshield style, taken near Van Horn, TX on I10.

After a stop for fuel and Camping World in Anthony, TX it was on to New Mexico for the first "real" night on the road. Our choice was to stop at a Tourist Information Center in Lordsburg, NM. this was a great choice for the night.

After a good nights sleep, it was off to Arizona and a night in Quartzsite, AZ. Of course we always stop every two hours or so to stretch legs (well the driver does) and to try and shake out the kinks.

The photo below is taken along I10 in the New Mexico/Arizona area.

First stop after leaving Lordsburg, NM was the Texas Canyon Rest Area just outside Benson, AZ on I10. This is a very beautiful Rest Area and we hit it at a perfect time for photos.

After leaving this beautiful Rest Area it was on to Eloy, AZ to get the Motorhomes washed and to fuel. On the way we passed through Tucson - again a "windshield" picture.

After passing through Tucson, we passed the mountain or rock formation that must have been used in the westerns for more than 20 years. Called Picacho Peak it is very photogenic and has a nice looking RV Resort at the base.

From Eloy, we continued onto I8 to Gila Bend, and then went north on 85 back to I10. By doing this we by-passed the Phoenix area and the traffic there. Along 85 were lots cactus and brush. Pretty in its own right.

Then we arrived at Quartzsite. That will be another post.

Started a post yesterday with pictures but got side tracked. Will try and finish tonight or tomorrow. Now we are off to Oatman, AZ then to Laughin, NV.

Today we started from Lordsburg, NM. Currently in Eloy, AZ waiting to get the motorhome washed, then on to Quartzsite.

Well, 25 miles east of El Paso. Has been an adventurous trip so far. Step, jack and water problems. All not on the same coach.

Looking forward to getting our start tomorrow.5 degrees in the morning and a high of 25 does not sit well with us anymore. Be late Friday before it will warm up

From a high of 47 earlier today, it is now 12 degrees. Calling for 1-3 inches of snow. Will winter end? Guess we will wait and see.

Made it home - Ready to go again

Well we made it home yesterday, without problem, except for getting the motorhome very dirty as the roads were wet. The snow continued pretty much all day (yesterday), but no accumulation on the street. Re-winterized the fresh water system on the motorhome before we left the RV park.On Thursday, we will bring the motorhome to the "stick" house to fill the water tank and flush the antifreeze out. Plan to be on the road by 2PM with a stop to fill the propane tank before our first night in Midland, TX, where we will join our friends for this trip, David & Joyce. Then off to Lordsburg, NM on Friday morning. Stay tuned.

If we did not have the weather, what would we talk about?

So we took the motorhome out yesterday. Nice day, mid 50's, a little wind (this is the south plains), sun out, prairie dogs out enjoying the sun. Very nice after what we have had. I flushed all the antifreeze out of the waterlines, and we spent an enjoyable night. About 4 AM today, it rained a little. Not bad, temperatures were above freezing. About 8:30 it started snowing. Big wet sloppy flakes. Grass is white, it accumulated on the roads a little before melting. We will take the motorhome back to storage about 2 - things should be nice by then.

It is getting warmer - maybe

After a high of 20 degrees yesterday, we started with 14 this morning. We still plan on taking the Motorhome out this weekend to make sure everything works correctly, even though snow is predicted for Sunday. Ten day forecast look a little better, but who knows.
Went to dinner with some friends last night and got ths picture - something you don't see here often.

Stay warm -

After yesterday's start of 0 degrees, todays 5 degrees is almost a heat wave. Yesterday we reached about 17 and had blowing snow. Don't know if was from the sky

Cold Weather Continues

It reached a high of 17 degrees today. The wind chill was much lower with a constant 15 mile an hour north wind. This is the most number of days below freezing in Lubbock since 1997. Seems that we have lived in a lot of places where we experienced the worse winter in that area in the "last 20 years."  Guess that just comes with the territory.

Planning on taking the Motorhome out this weekend to check everything out before our trip to Arizona next week (February 10). Weekend temperatures are to be high 50's with lows in the high 20's. Guess that will work, probably will re-winterize the water system before we put it away just to be on the safe side and wait to fill the fresh water tank until before we leave. 

Looking forward to a few days in Arizona where we hope it will be a few degrees warmer. 

Well, the "winter blast" predicted for today arrived. It was 8 degrees at 5:30 this morning. Some blowing snow, probably less than 2 inches, with some drifts.