Countdown

We are heading to Yellowstone for a family vacation next week.  Years ago, my mother and father would load up our family (three kids), into a station wagon and we would head out to see America.  We went west mostly, although we made a trip east one year to see D.C. and a lot of civil war battlefields.  We didn't go to amusements parks (I've still never been to any of the Disney crap); we went to state and national parks.  I believe that family history tells that my first visit to Pike's Peak (pic below) was in a stroller.  When my folks started these vacations we were camping in a tent.  Although we went through a series of progressively larger travel trailers over the years, they never approached the size and level of luxury you see on the roads today.  We were all about soaking in the culture, history, and environment of the places we visited.  One of those places is Yellowstone and my mother is taking us all there again next week.  "All" includes my two sisters and our respective spouses, a gathering that we haven't had since one Thanksgiving several years ago because we are spread among Kansas, Montana, Kentucky, and Virginia.  The occasion is my mother's 80th birthday, which is actually this Sunday, the 29th, but the following week was the closest we could get everyone's schedules to align and get reservations in the park. 


Pike's Peak, taken from an airport shuttle bus on a business trip to Colorado Springs last week.

Although I did some backpacking with friends to the Tetons, Pike's Peak, the Grand Canyon, and the John Muir Trail in later years, I haven't been back to Yellowsone since I was there with my family as a kid.  I still have a souvenier buffalo from there that I'm sure is now a collector's item.  I saw one in a museum display about the history to travel to the national parks last year when we were in Montana.

So we are all looking forward to the trip, although it's going to be difficult to pack clothes for cold weather when it's been hot and humid here in Virginia this past week. 

And so the countdown to our departure begins.  One day of work to go.  Fifteen dogs to deal with.  (How the hell did I get back up to 15?)  Someone is coming this morning to pick up little Ryland.  I took him to the SPCA in Charlottesville yesterday to meet cats and he was great.  He saw the cat, but had no interest and made every effort to avoid contact and confrontation.  I'm guessing that Ryland's nose has probably encountered a cat's claw at some point in his life.  He was very good so I think he should be fine in this temporary foster home. 

Zoe the boxer is also going to a temp foster home where she will have two young male dogs about her size and speed to play with.  The rottweilers and Trooper will stay at home to guard the housesitter and secure the premises.  The rest are being split between two boarding kennels.  This arrangement gives me the peace of mind I need to be able to leave home and enjoy myself. 

While I was at the SPCA yesterday I also met my next intake, a mixed breed of some sort named Gypsy.  She's just a puppy but apparently didn't pass the temperament test because she would protect particularly high value food items.  I think that's nothing more than puppy behavior and I have some dogs around here who can train that out of her.  Mostly she needs to run off her energy and learn to play, eat, and live among other dogs. 

She's cute, she's sweet, she's just a big pup, and she's still growing. 

I'll find her a home without small children who might wander too close to her food dish.  She is said to be very smart and trainable too, so I'll have to find her a person who is smarter than she is.  That's not always easy to do.