In 2015 we took our first Caravan with the Airstream Club
#1 – Durango
We’ve been trying for almost a week to get Lee started on writing a travelogue and haven’t had any luck. Therefore, I’m going to prove I’m more than a pretty face and write my own.
The adventure started Wednesday August 19. Tammy and Lee brought the trailer home and started loading it. With those obvious signs, any good dog would know a trip was coming. However, no matter how much 4-Bits and I jumped, they wouldn’t let us go outside. Were we about to be left at home? Thursday morning brought more of the same. Then when I thought we were going to die, the door was opened, and we headed for the truck. Sure enough, the truck started and it was time for a nap. When we woke up, we were in some town called Amarillo. It was an OK place with a decent dog park. After a good power nap, getting to stretch the old legs felt pretty good. Besides, there were lots of sniffs.
The next morning after breakfast and another trip to the dog park, it was back in the truck for another nap. This nap ended in a different city called Durango. The dog park at this new place was about the same size as the last one, but it had some great dirt to kick up. After a good romp, Tammy and Lee brought pizza home. As usual, they only let us have a couple of pieces of the crust. They call them pizza bones, but I know they are eating the good stuff. Oh well.
Saturday was a short trip across town to an RV park with bunches of other trailers that looked a lot like ours. We don’t get to go in the other trailers, but some of them also had dogs. Not only were there other dogs, but this park had what I call a real dog park. The brochure said it was two acres. All I know is that I could run full speed for a long time and never have to turn. That’s good because sometimes I fall down when I try and turn. Some of the other dogs came out for a run, but they were mostly small dogs that got tired quickly. No problem, I was able to bite 4-Bits’ tail enough times to get him interested in chasing me. Then it was back to the trailer while Tammy and Lee went to learn what they would be doing for the next 6 weeks.
Sunday was the best day ever. Tammy went with a bunch of the other people for a raft trip. She said the water was so low they kept hitting bottom. Even then she tried to fall out once, but only managed to lean really far back before some other people pulled her back. Lee spent the day taking care of a few minor issues while Tammy was playing. After all the time power napping in the truck, Lee took us for a long session in the dog park. Boy did it feel good to run. One by one, I wore out all the little dogs. Then I wore out 4-Bits. I was ready to give up when a new dog about my size showed up and wanted to run. Boy he could run, and he found an area in the park I hadn’t gone to yet. Right there was a ditch with beautiful brown water in the bottom. After all my running a cool refreshing dip was in order. It felt so good I called 4-Bits over to show him how to dive in a roll over. The cool dip made running fun again, and running made diving in the ditch feel refreshing. Lee kept yelling something at us, but I was too busy to pay much attention. We finally got to go back to the trailer for our mid-day nap. I was ready to plop down, but Lee kept rubbing a towel over us. I hated to see the mud go, but at least he couldn’t rub the smell off.
Monday was a new treat. We were in the truck before 7am. When the door opened, I could hear lots of other dogs. Sure enough, there were a bunch of new playmates and even a pool to jump in. The only bad thing is that all the clean water got rid of most of the smells I had picked up in the ditch. While 4-Bits and I were having a great time, Tammy and Lee got on a steam train bound for Silverton, Co. They said it was awful pretty and took a lot of pictures. When they finally got back it was time for dinner. I’m not even sure where I slept that night.
Tuesday was Tammy’s day to stay home while Lee took a Jeep ride. Tammy thought the bouncing might not be the thing for her back, and she wanted to catch up on her sleep. I also decided to sleep most of the day. For some reason, every time I got up, my legs felt weird. Lee came home in the early afternoon, and I felt good enough for a walk. We went past the dog park several times, but Lee missed it each time. Dinner came early, which was a good thing. Then 
after dinner 4-Bits and I each got a big bone. The next thing I knew, Tammy and Lee had been gone for 5 hours. They went to an old historic hotel for dinner and a live theater. If I’d known they were going to be gone that long, I’d turned down the bone and eaten a pillow instead. They tricked me.
Wednesday started out with rain. Tammy and Lee got up early to help the other people leave. They had the job of checking everyone’s trailer to make sure the steps were up, the antennas down, and the lights worked. Wouldn’t these people have a better learning experience if they hit something with their steps? Anyway, then it was in the truck again, but only for an hour. The new city is called Farmington, and we are parked in a really big parking lot next to a casino. I’m glad I’m not one of those dogs that needs grass to pee or poop. We’ll see how this place goes.
Layla
#2 – Farmington Flood
Our first evening in Farmington will definitely be remembered.
We were scheduled to have 4 other couples over for a meet and greet at 7pm. The clouds looked threatening, but we were hoping they would miss us. At 7:05 the bottom dropped out. Ten people don’t fit in an Airstream, so everyone made a mad dash for their own trailers. Tammy and I set down to enjoy the steady rain. The thunderstorm cooled off the air and we got a few minutes of big wind. I would guess 30 to 40 kt wind with a couple of gusts to 50.
I was enjoying the fact we could leave enough windows open to enjoy the cool air without being rained on. I was also regretting not pulling my flags down. I got a break in the rain and got the flags in and the dogs got a quick walk. Then it started raining again. It had rained for maybe 30 or 45 more minutes when the big thump happened. We are talking a “BIG” thump. It was raining pretty hard, so I didn’t want to go outside. Looking through the windows I was shocked to see how much water was flowing across the parking lot. When I opened the door, I could see the water was over 6 inches deep and trash was piling up against our wheels. It turns out the thump was a car tire and wheel that was floating downstream and hit us.
The Fire Department showed up and advised us to move to higher ground. By this time it was obvious they were right. The water was rising and falling 3 to 6 inches in a minute or two. It didn’t take too long to get the truck hooked up, but it was no guarantee we were going to get out. By now there was about 3 inches of mud covering the parking lot, so the trailer and truck were buried. The brush was piled up about a foot tall against the wheels and causing a lot of drag in the water. It was also depositing the mud in the lee of the trash. After I got the jacks up, I told Tammy to get on the bed and prepare for a ride. It took several tries to break it out of the mud, and we left some pretty big divots behind.
It’s now 10:15 and we’re spending the night in a different lot that’s up hill and close to 10 feet higher. Tomorrow we can go hunt for our other chair and step ladder. I found one chair as I was hooking up. Our step stool was wrapped up in the brush piled up against the leeward jack. I found a corner of our mat sticking up out of the mud. I had to move the trailer before I could get it out.
All in all, it was an exciting evening.
Lee
#3 – Chaco Canyon
OK, I’m back by popular demand to give you the dog’s view of this caravan.
First I want to make a note that I was not allowed to play in the water in Farmington. I was a little sleepy, but it sure looked like I was missing a good time.
The next day the schedule required a little rearranging. The big deal near Farmington is the Chaco Canyon. It’s an hour and a half drive each way, so it’s an all day trip. The group was split in two with half the people going on Thursday and half on Friday. This meant Tammy could stay with us one day and Lee the other. Unfortunately, the dirt road into Chaco was closed as a result of the 
floods, so the Thursday trip was cancelled. Tammy and Lee flipped a coin and Tammy won, so she was able to stay with us while Lee went to Chaco. (Actually, Lee had volunteered to drive and had 3 other people depending on him going. Ed) We enjoyed a wonderful day of bed laying and getting on Tammy’s book. She took us out every 2 hours for a pee walk. I decided it would be fun to play a little trick on her, so 4-Bits and I both agreed not to pee until Lee came home. Boy was Tammy confused!
Lee said Chaco Canyon was worth the trip. No one is 100% sure, but it appears to have been the cultural center of the Pueblo people around 1000 AD. One place they got a tour through was a 600 room, 3 story building that appears to have never had more than 100 people living in it. The main walls were aligned North-South and East-West. They also found the root system of a large Lodge Pole pine in the center of the main court. This would have served as a sun dial and allowed them to track the sun’s path. There were many other sites in the canyon where single families would have lived and farmed, but there wasn’t enough farming to support the large building. With the construction changes over time, the current theory is that the social structure was changing from a single family matriarchal society to a more complex system, most likely with Men running it. In any case, there were roads fanning out to many other sites to allow people to come to Chaco.
Saturday we drove up to Mesa Verde. Tammy and Lee pitched camp, made lunch, and drove off. I was a little concerned we were being left, but it was nap time. About 4 hours later they came back just in time for dog dinner. I ran laps around the trailer just to make sure they knew I appreciated them coming home.
When Tammy came in, she looked just like I do after a full day at doggy day care. They were only gone for 4 hours, so I couldn’t figure out how she got a whole day’s running in so quickly. Lee explained to me that they had been on a tour that included a walking tour of the Cliff Palace. It seems the people that lived here chose to build this Palace several hundred feet below the rim of the canyon. Therefore, the tour involved lots of steps down, and several times as many steps and ladders to get back up. I tried to ask Tammy about it, but she fell sound asleep long before dinner.
When Lee was here as a kid, the theory was that they built in the cliff side as protection from their enemies. Now, they think it was mainly to be near the source of water. The people had lived on the top of the cliff and farmed the area for over 400 years before they moved down. The top layer is sand stone with lime stone below. Rain would soak into the sand stone and filter down until it hit the lime stone. Then it would travel to the canyon wall and form a seep. For 400 years the women had to go down the walls and bring water back in their baskets while the men farmed and hunted. I guess the women all got together and decided it was time for the men to commute to work rather than the women.
The schedule is flexible for the next couple of days, so I’m hoping for some good walks. There’s a lot of deer around here, and I’ve already seen some of those wonderful treats the Deer leave behind for dogs.
Layla
#4 – Bluff & Torrey
I think all the time 4-Bits and I are spending in the trailer with Lee and Tammy is working. Tammy and Lee are getting much more dog like. On Monday (8/31) they slept late, did a little walking, ate lunch, took and afternoon nap, and ate dinner. The worst part of the day was when they got the steaks out and met all the other people for a cook out. Can you believe they did not invite the dogs?
Tuesday we loaded up the truck and drove to Bluff Utah. (Bummer, another RV park with no dog park.) Oh well, walks are fun too. Wednesday was fun. I got to go for a ride through Valley of the Gods. Most of the cars had 4 people, but Tammy couldn’t find anyone that wanted to share the back seat with 4-Bits and I. The trip was fun. We got to stop and pee while all the people took pictures. The road was probably 15 miles of dirt which kept us slow. Eventually the people got the idea and decided they needed to pee. I don’t know why they have to walk so far?
Eventually we turned onto a paved road again (Utah Hwy 261). There was a sign warning about trailers and oversized vehicles. Why would they put such a sign on an almost straight stretch of payment? Well, there is something called the Moki Dugway. This section of Utah Hwy 261 is gravel and was built to get trucks up to a uranium mine that has since closed down. In three miles of switch backs we climbed about 1,000 feet up a sheer cliff. Boy if someone didn’t read the warning sign at the last intersection, they would be really surprised that a state highway was that narrow and steep. Jim Gower would have loved this section.
After a full day of bouncing in the car, Tammy decided to pass on the trip to Monument Valley, so while Lee took a ride in an open truck, Tammy and I got to spend the day sleeping. I’d say we got the better deal. Lee came back talking about really big piles of rocks. He says they were even more impressive in real life than in pictures. At dinner time, 4-Bits and I got our regular while Tammy and Lee headed up to the local steakhouse. They had something called pie, that Tammy said was really good.
Friday it was back in the car for a drive to Torrey Utah. The route took us through a series of canyons. The canyons just kept getting more and more spectacular. There were canyons with sheer cliffs, canyons with multiple layers of different colors, canyons with the layers in swirls, and a canyon that looked like poured concrete. The new camp ground is OK. There are trees between the trailers and the people are happy, but I don’t see a dog park. One thing that I like better about this park is that we don’t have to use the AC. In the last park, we ran the AC all the time. We got to this park at 2pm and just opened the windows. Tammy says it will be in the mid 40’s tonight, and she seems happy about that. All I care is that the windows are open so I can smell everything.
Layla
#5 – Capital Reef
Saturday had potential, but I was disappointed. Lee went fly fishing and claims he caught two fish. However, he did not bring them home. I don’t care if they were only 6 inches long. I had my hopes up for some fresh fish, and all I got was kibble. Bummer. To make matters worse, Lee, Tammy, and all the other Airstream people went to a local restaurant for a fancy dinner.
Sunday was a good news / bad news day. I got locked in the trailer while the people went for a drive through Capital Reef park. However, they did leave some leather bones behind, so it wasn’t all bad. They came back talking about the interesting geology. Who cares about rocks that were at the bottom of a sea millions of years ago? To make matters worse, they ate at a local hamburger joint and still didn’t share any with me.
Things may have made a turn for the better on Monday. We got back in the car a drove to a city called Moab. As they were parking the car, I spotted the dog park, and it was only one parking space away. Before long Tammy took 4-Bits and I over to the park and let us run. I may be losing my touch. I couldn’t get 4-Bits to chase me no matter how many times I bit his tail. They say we’re going to be here through Friday, so maybe I can get him running by then.
Layla
#6 – Moab
Moab was great. I got to go to the dog park 2 or 3 times a day (I’m not too good with my numbers). That’s why I’ve been busy and haven’t written.
Tammy and Lee say the scenery was spectacular. In the morning the cliffs to our West would glow red, and in the evening, the cliffs to our East would glow. I wonder where all those colors I’m not supposed to be able to see came from?
Every morning the owner of the RV Park cooked pancakes for any of the Airstream people that got up. I could spell pancakes on Lee’s breath every day, but Tammy decided sleep was better. Pancakes sure smell good.
One day I got locked in the trailer while Tammy and Lee went for a Jeep ride. I think they called it rock crawling. The owner of the RV Park (Doug) is also a dealer for Teraflex suspensions, and he took his demo Jeep out to impress any of the people that wanted to go. Lee and Tammy both said they were impressed. They headed out on the highway for a couple of miles to get to the park. Lee knew enough to know that any serious offroad suspension would wander and weave on the highway. This one handled like a normal Jeep, so this Teraflex stuff was probably all show and no go. It seems they went on a trail called Fins and Things. It was rated difficult enough that a stock height Jeep can’t make it over the rocks and will break off both bumpers. The first obstacle they came to was a pretty serious downhill over some big rocks. Doug pointed out that if a normal Jeep dropped its left front wheel into that first hole, the right rear end would raise up until the Jeep cartwheeled down the slope. Of course, he’s saying this as he drops his left front wheel in the hole. Then there were the uphills that were so steep Doug had to look out the side window to know when he reached the top. On one equally steep downhill Doug stopped to let everyone see how really steep it was. Then he backed back up the hill. Oh did I say that the Demo Jeep was a 4 door hard top with air conditioning? Tammy now understands why people raise their Jeeps and spends lots of money on new suspension pieces.
On another day I got locked in the trailer again while they went to Arches National Park. They say it was full of arches and more colored rocks. There was even a valley called Salt Valley because of the way it was formed. It was something about salt being deposited as the seas receded and forming a salt dome 2 miles thick, 3 miles wide, and 70 miles long. Then as the rocks over the dome eroded, water got in and washed away enough of the salt that the roof dropped and formed a valley. More geology lessons. At least they took me to the dog park as soon as they got back.
The last night in Moab, the owner of the RV Park brought in his brother, his son, and his brother’s son to give everyone a concert while they served fajitas. I guess Tammy and Lee got to enjoying the music so much they forgot 4-Bits and I were locked in the trailer without fajitas.
Today was another driving day. The distance to cover was about 270 miles, so I got a lot of sleep. Tammy and Lee took the alternate “short cut” that saved about 5 miles, but added an hour to the drive. Look up Utah scenic route 12. In the drivers meeting they said the road would be OK with trailers, but not for people with a fear of heights. Like I said, I slept through it, but I kept hears lots of wows from the front seat.
We are now at Ruby’s Resort at the entrance to Brice Canyon. There is no dog park here, so I hope we don’t stay very long. Lee is going on a trail ride in the morning. Tammy said something about not riding over her dead body, or something like that. Anyway, there are trees here, and we’re back over 8000 feet, so the nights will be cold. I’m planning on hogging Tammy’s blanket. We’ll see how much luck I have.
Layla
#7 – Bryce Canyon
Bryce Canyon was a bummer. Lee came back from his horse ride, and he was walking funny. As a result, he didn’t want to spend the afternoon walking us dogs. The next morning both Lee and Tammy went for a bus ride with a ranger to see the park. When they got to the first stop the fog blew in as they were walking to the scenic overlook. By the time they got there, the visibility was down to maybe 50 feet (So much for seeing 100 miles). By the time they got back to the bus, the bus windows fogged over and it started raining, so they didn’t see anything the rest of the trip. When they got back to the campground it was raining pretty hard, so they still didn’t want to walk us dogs. Then they left for a dinner and show leaving us dogs in the trailer again. The food must have been really good, because there were no doggy bags.
It rained all Monday night, and was still raining when we got up Tuesday morning. The only walks I’m getting are barely long enough to “do my business”. Well, they packed everything up again, and we drove to a place called Zion National Park. It rained most of the way, and everything is muddy in this new park. When do we get to walk again?
I heard on the radio that they’ve had some major flooding in this region, especially in a town called Hildale south of here. Apparently they’ve lost 3 hikers (4 more missing) in the park and had a van with 13 people was swept off the road in Hildale. Maybe missing my long walks isn’t the worst thing that could happen. At least we’re all happy and dry in our little aluminum dog house.
Layla
#8 – Zion
Zion is turning out much better for us dogs. Like I said, it was a little muddy when we got here, but I insisted on getting a walk around the campsite loop a couple of times. Who cares if the floor is a little wet and muddy?
Wednesday morning the alarm went off kind of early. This surprised me, since they haven’t been setting the alarm. Tammy and Lee both got up and loaded a lot of food out of the frig into the truck and drove off. They said they were the cooks for “breakfast in a bag”. It seems if you put all the fixins for an omelet in a Hefy freezer bag and put the bag in boiling water for 10 minutes, you get an omelet. Apparently the cooking went well, but a bunch of people chose to sleep in with the chance of rain. This means they brought back a dozen eggs and a bunch of omelet fixins. The possibilities are looking good.
The rain held off, and I got to go for several good walks as long as I stayed on the paved road. I still don’t understand this thing about bringing mud into the trailer. Around noon Lee and Tammy walked down to the shuttle stop for a tour of the park. They were gone a few hours and both said it was some of the most spectacular cliffs they had seen yet. The Airstream parked next to us spent a good bit of the afternoon and evening with a camera and tripod pointed at the cliff above us. Every time I looked, the cliff seemed to be a different color as the light shifted. I’ll bet he has an interesting series of pictures. He said something about combining the pictures and playing with the colors.
Speaking of neighbors, Tammy got kind of sad last night. It seems the trailer on the other side of us belonged to the lost hikers, and their family showed up to pack it up.
Lee got up this morning and fixed the people eggs and stuff. It started out as omelets, but ended up more like scrambled eggs. I can’t understand how he forgot 4-Bits and I. We were at his feet the whole time. Tammy is sleeping off the big breakfast, so I think it may be time to stretch our legs a little.
More later.
Layla
#9 – More Zion
Can you believe it, 2 emails in one day?
Yep, Zion is cool. As soon as I sent the last message I got to go for a long walk. I saw the biggest dog I’ve ever seen. First, a dog the size of a Great Dane trotted by. I know it wasn’t a Great Dane, because it had long stand up ears, and I’m pretty sure it was about the same age as me. I tried to get Lee to let me play with it, but he said no. Then the “BIG” dog strolled up to us. This dog was looking eye to eye with Lee and seemed a little pissed. I’m pretty sure this big dog was the first one’s mother (I’d hate to see the father). She walked up to within 8 feet of us and had a staring contest. Lee kept telling me to sit, but I knew I could take her. Finally she just turned and walked away. I’ll bet either one of them could run like a deer.
Today’s tour was in our truck again, and I got to go. We went through the tunnel to the Eastern part of the canyon. This tunnel was built in 1930, and I guess cars weren’t as wide back then. If you are over 7.5 feet wide or 10 feet tall, they have to close the tunnel and make it one way, and they charge you $10. Normal cars and pickups go through for free. This is a state highway and a major entrance to the park, so I bet a lot of people get surprised by the $10 fee for a wide vehicle or the 20 minute wait if the flow is against you. It would have saved us at least 20 or 30 miles to have entered the park from this side. However, our fearless leader told us all to go the long way around and enter from the West. It seems it would have taken hours and several pissed government employees to get 30 of us through the tunnel.
Tammy and Lee seemed to enjoy the scenery. The road was pretty curvy and hilly. I know Tammy sucked all the air out of the truck once when a tour bus coming down the hill too fast had to use 2 or 3 feet of our lane in a turn.
Tonight they have something called a pie social. I don’t know what that is, but Tammy sure seems excited about it. Tomorrow we drive to something called the Great Canyon (or something like that).
Layla
#10 – North Rim Grand Canyon
The Great Canyon was pretty grand. Our campground was in the middle of a bunch of really big pine trees. When we went for walks there were lots of pine cones lying around. Whenever Lee wasn’t looking, I’d grab one. I guess Lee could see me chewing and would make me spit it out. It didn’t matter, there was always another one. The other thing I noticed about this campground was that there were not nearly as many cars as we were used to seeing. This is like the secret National Park.
The first afternoon Lee and Tammy went to the Lodge for a drink. They came back smiling, so it must have been good. Later we all went for a drive to a place called Inspiration Point. I said earlier that there weren’t many cars. Well, this is a major viewing spot and the parking lot would hold maybe 15 cars. That was OK, because 13 of the parking spaces were empty. I had to stay in the truck with 4-Bits, but it smelled good. I’m thinking the smells came from a long way away. When Lee and Tammy got back, their knees were shaking a little. They got to go out on a skinny little point and could see down a couple thousand feet on both sides at the same time.
After our evening meal and walk, Lee went back to the Lodge and walked out on Bright Angel point to watch the sun set. He says it was a good viewing place and hadn’t been spoiled by OSHA yet. He got some pictures looking straight down without having to climb over any guard rails. He says it was fun watching the rocks turn different shades of red as the sun got lower. What is red?
Saturday morning Lee managed to get Tammy, 4-Bits, and I loaded in the truck by 8:30 for a trip to Ruby Point. I got stuck in the truck again, but Lee and Tammy were gone for a pretty long walk. I didn’t expect Tammy to walk that long, but she said the views just kept getting better and better. Then 4-Bits and I got locked in the trailer while the people went back to the Lodge for a buffet lunch and view. After a couple of hours, they were back, and Tammy crawled into bed to sleep it off. Lee took all their clothes somewhere and brought them back without their people smell.
I guess no place is perfect. It’s sunny with a high of 67 the first day and 70 the second. It got down to 40 at night, and the air is crystal clear. Maybe the air is so clear because there just isn’t any air. The altitude is around 8500 feet, so I notice myself panting after our walks. I’ll take the thin air, because that means the trailer gets left open all the time, and I get to smell lots of things.
After the North Rim we drove to a place called Lake Powell. There are no trees or pine cones here, but the air is a lot thicker. We have a beautiful view of the lake and get to watch the light play games on the cliffs in the evenings.
When we got here, Tammy was having a little medical problem (her ear hurt). The night before she fell asleep with her hearing aids in and lost the rubber cap off one of them. Lee looked in her ear, but couldn’t see anything. The next morning (Monday) they got one of those funny flashlights and found the cap was way down inside her ear. They got some help and managed to pull it out. Her ear still hurt, so she headed for bed while Lee took the tour to Antelope Canyon.
It seems the Antelope all left when the lake was formed, but they swear there used to be Antelope around here. They rode a pickup truck with 14 people in the back as far up the canyon as it would go. Then they got out and walked into a slot canyon. (Lee had checked the weather for rain up stream.) The guide knew a lot about photography and showed everyone where the good pictures were. When Lee got home Tammy was starting to feel better, so they headed down to the marina for dinner. When they got back they were feeling no pain. It seems the drinks at the Marina were on the strong side. That would have been OK, but they had forgotten the schedule. It seems the folks from Kentucky had all brought their favorite bottles of Bourbon and scheduled a tasting for everyone. I guess Tammy wasn’t too drunk, because she still didn’t like the Bourbon.
Tuesday Tammy was healed, and they took a boat cruise of the lake. They came back talking about the different canyons and the really big house boats. Where do the people live that put a $1 million dollar house boat on this lake in the middle of no-where?
Wednesday they took a tour of the Dam and ate a Calzone that was bigger than anyone’s head. Again they forgot the schedule. Wednesday night was Pot Luck, so that was two big meals in one day.
Tomorrow is a day of rest and maybe laundry. I sure hope we get a dog walk in also. Then we will head to Gallup on Friday. Lee has checked the internet for doggy day care places in Gallup and found one listing. We are all hoping they can take 4-Bits and me, we need to RUN!!
Layla
#11 – Gallup
Gallup was OK. The RV park had a dog park, so 4-Bits and I have gotten to run several times.
We had to drive 260 miles to get to Gallup, and we lost an hour somewhere on the way, so it was about 4pm when we arrived. To make life easier, the RV park served a rib dinner for everyone except dogs.
Saturday morning Tammy went flying in a hot air balloon. She had never done it before, so that is now checked off her bucket list. The weather was near perfect, and they launched from a city park. There were 6 balloons full of people, and they just about filled the canyon they were using as a launch pad. The cool thing about flying balloons around here is the terrain. There’s lots of interesting rocks and canyons to dip in and out of, so you’re not just flying over some city hoping for a place to land.
While Tammy as flying, Lee brought 4-Bits and I back to the trailer and did the laundry. Tammy came home a little before noon, and they headed out for lunch at Pizza Hut (no pizza bones were brought home). Then at 1pm they got a tour of Richardson’s Trading Post. The same family has been trading with the local Navajos for 100 years. It seems it is a very strange business and more like a cross between a pawn shop and a bank.
There is the normal trading function where they buy Navajo rugs or jewelry from the Indians for resale. Here they compete with the other trading posts for the business, and they have made a reputation for treating the Indians fairly. The pawn side of the business is a little different from what we are used to. It seems theft is a big deal on the reservation with high unemployment. Therefore, they will pawn a $1,000 piece of jewelry for $30 and pay the $3 fee every couple of months to have a safe place to store it. Then if they need it, they can buy it back and pawn it again later. For example, they had 1400 saddles in storage. The room with jewelry was amazing. Of course, if they need money, they can get closer to what the item is worth. The guy giving the tour stressed that his profit was in repeat business, so he always wanted the customers to get their item out of pawn. He could make a short term big profit on a item that wasn’t reclaimed, but they wanted to make a long term profit on repeat business. I think he said something like 95% of the items would get claimed. Judging by the amount of items in his back rooms, I’m guessing that a large portion of the net worth of the Navajo Nation is in his building. He did say their insurance premiums were a big chunk of his costs.
The weather is nice here. It was warm enough in the afternoon to run the AC, but it is dropping to the low 40’s at night. Even Tammy got cold last night. That’s good because I get more bed time if Tammy is cold.
Monday we took a drive to Toadlena. I got almost an hour nap on the way. The reason for going was to visit the Toadlena Trading Post. You drive through a lot of nothing to get there and find a building that is over 100 years old. Inside you meet a man named Mark. Let’s just say he has the gift of talk. A couple of other cars got there before we did, so Mark was talking about Navajo rugs when we walked in. Two hours later when we left, Mark was still going strong with the last car load. I don’t think he took a breath.
The Toadlena Trading Post exists to deal in Navajo rugs from the surrounding area. He has taken the tack of paying the weavers higher prices than other Trading Posts and encouraging higher quality rugs. I’m no expert, but I could see the difference. He showed us a rug he had bought that morning. He laid it on the floor and folded it in half. The first thing I noticed was that the rug had perfectly straight edges. Then Mark slowly pulled the top part back to reveal the bottom part. The pattern between the two ends of the rug was a perfect match. Then he did the same thing with a corned to again reveal perfect symmetry. One of the couples in our group bought that rug. If you have any interest in Navajo rugs, google Toadlena Trading Post. They have a good website and ship anywhere. Bear in mind that he only deals with weavers that live within 12 miles of his trading post, so all the rugs come from the same community. You will see the similarity in designs. He can show you specific traits that identify the exact family that made the rug. Another thing to remember is that many of the rugs use no dyes. They have sheep with different colors of wool to make up the patterns.
Tuesday we drove out to the Petrified Forest. Tammy could remember how disappointed she was as a kid when there was no forest, and she didn’t really want to go. After being there Tammy admitted there was more than she remembered. What I don’t understand is why us dogs are required to stay on the path. I don’t think peeing on petrified wood is going to hurt it.
Wednesday was moving day. I can tell when Lee and Tammy are getting ready to move, and boy do I get excited. It meant giving up my dog park, but I’m always ready for something new. I did my best to help them hurry by jumping and running. As we left Gallup, our leader told us to take a last look at trees, and I think he knew what he was talking about. If I stand on my back legs, I’m as tall as anything within sight. This new park is connected to a casino, and the people got treated to a buffet dinner the first evening.
Thursday the people headed out to visit Sky City Pueblo. It is the oldest continually inhabited community in North America. Their visit started at a nice visitors’ center. It was a little odd since the rugs were either made in India or were the Pendleton rugs. It seems the people in this region are noted for their pottery rather than rugs, and boy they had some fine pottery. Then a tour bus took everyone up to the top of the Mesa for a guided walking tour. There are about 100 people that live there full time, but it is still the cultural center of their tribe. For major events there will be about 5,000 people. The guide gave a good history lesson going back to the Spanish times. I don’t think the Indians liked the Spanish. At the end of the tour, the guide gave everyone the choice of riding the bus back down or taking the walking trail that predated the road. Lee and 4 others from his bus took the walk. He said it was clear that OSHA did not have a field office in this area. Lee and Tammy were able to get lunch at the visitor’s center before they ran out of food. Then they came home for a nap. Of course, 4-Bits and I had been napping all morning, so I showed Tammy how to do it properly.
Tomorrow we’re heading into Albuquerque. This is the one time we will violate our rule about not traveling in a group. It seems we have to meet a guide car at the Camping World to take the group into the parking area, and they want us all at one time. If you want to see a string of 29 or 30 Airstreams, be on I-40 west of Albuquerque in the morning.
Layla
#12 – Albuquerque
I’m in Albuquerque and stuck in the trailer while it rains, so I thought I would give you an update. Saturday was a beautiful day for hot air balloons. It was sunny and the box winds were working. They launched directly over us heading south. Then they could climb to a couple thousand feet and head back north. Lee and Tammy went down on the field to mingle with the masses and watch them launch. I stayed in the trailer with 4-Bits and tried to catch up on my sleep. Friday night was a little warm and we’re dry camping, so no A/C. This meant Tammy kept getting up. Then every time she came back, she would make me get off the pillow.
Saturday evening the winds were a little high for the balloon glow, so it was cut short. Then they had a good fireworks show. Whoever made their fireworks was good at making special shapes (hearts, spirals, squares, dollar signs, and many more). Of course, they had the standard ones also. It was a really good show.
This morning there was a chance of rain, so we didn’t know if they were going to launch or not. Then it cleared enough to go up a little after 7. The box winds were kind of working in a more east west direction. However, there were a lot of shifts, so things were more interesting. Lee and Tammy stayed at the trailer today. They said it was a lot more relaxing to sit under the awning in a chair. I think a lot of the pilots were nervous about the weather and made pretty short flights. The rain I mentioned came around 10 just as Lee was heading down to the field to watch chain saw carving and parasail races. It didn’t rain too long, so he headed on down there. He wouldn’t take me, so I decided to nap with Tammy. Apparently motorized parasail races are something to see. Imagine racing around pylons while having to do things like kick a ball on the ground with your foot. No one died, so I guess it was a success.
Shortly after Lee got back, Tammy and Lee left to see their bowling buddies from Robson for a late lunch. When they got back there was lots of activity around the oven. They were saying something about a potluck and needing to get brownies finished. No sooner did they get the brownies cut, they headed out for dinner. (I wish I could eat that often.) Since Lee and Tammy weren’t hungry, they were letting the line get shorter before they went for a tasting. Well, just as they got in line it started to rain. There were lots of people running for trailers with plates of soggy food. I volunteered to clean the plates, but no one took me up on the offer. The bad part was that the rain cancelled the glow event and the fireworks for the evening. We’ll see what happens in the morning.
Layla
#13 – Albuquerque
Well, I was wrong about the fireworks being cancelled Sunday evening. I sent out my message and curled up for the evening. Tammy got out her book, and Lee headed for the shower. The there was a big bag followed by another. After Lee got his clothes back on, he and Tammy turned their chairs around and watched the show from inside the trailer. They thought it was another good show.
Monday morning we got to sleep late. There hadn’t been a need to set an alarm on the weekend. The helicopters would let you know when it was time to get up. For some reason the helicopters don’t fly on weekday mornings. There we were sleeping, and all of a sudden a balloon lit his burner right over the trailer. This was good, because it woke up the people. When the people wake up, I get fed.
The box was really working, and a lot of the balloons were climbing up after they flew over us and heading back the other direction. After all the balloons were up, Lee went down to the field. They had targets laid out, and the balloons were throwing streamers at the targets. He was surprised to see how many of the balloons made the circle flight to get back to the center of the launch field.
Monday afternoon Dave and Dolly moved into the Presidents RV spot at mid field. Lee and Tammy took some tamales and ate dinner with Dave and Dolly. They fed me before they left, so I was taking a nap. Then things started getting a little noisy with big bangs in the sky and wind rushing around the trailer. About that time Lee and Tammy came home. We got a little rain, but nothing special.
Tuesday morning was clear with light winds. Lee was out early enough to see the Dawn Patrol where 6 or 7 balloons are sent up before dawn to check the winds. He thought it was worth getting up before dawn to see the balloons light up right over us. It really got fun when all the balloons would flicker their burners at the same time. Then after dawn there was the mass ascension. As soon as the balloons were all gone, we hooked up the truck and left ourselves. The next stop was a little North of Santa Fe. Again there is no dog park, so I’m not happy.
We got a pretty good rain Tuesday night, and the temperatures fell. By morning even Tammy had pulled down a second blanket. Wednesday morning Lee and Tammy went down to Santa Fe with the other people and took a trolley tour around the town. With the temperature in the 50’s with a threat of rain and no sides on their trolley, they were a little concerned, but it all worked out OK. They are back home now and I am fed. It looks like it will be another night in the 40’s so I should get plenty of bed time again. Life is good.
Layla
#14 – Heading Home
Yea, I just got back from a dog park. We’re in Amarillo and should be home tomorrow, so this will be my last update.
The last time I wrote we were heading to bed Wednesday evening. It was cold again, and I got to spend a good bit of time in Tammy’s bed. I heard Lee get up a couple of times to make an ice pack. That didn’t make sense to me. Then Thursday morning Lee went to a dentist. He says the dentist decided it was a tooth with a previous root canal and it would require a specialist to work on it. Fortunately the tooth wasn’t hurting as much by then, so she ground off the top a little to relieve pressure on it and prescribed a course of antibiotics. Lee said he’d be fine until we got home.
When Lee got home Tammy wanted to go see the metal foundry she had heard about, so they headed back down to Santa Fe. Lee said the art displayed at the foundry was all the rejects that no studio would sell. The trip wasn’t a waste because there was a glass studio next door. Tammy found a couple of fishes she liked and the artist lowered the price enough that Tammy decided she would buy them. They must not be very good fishes, because Tammy keeps calling them birds.
Friday the people took their last trip. Most of the people got up early to visit a quaint church. Lee and Tammy were running a little late, so they met up with the group for lunch. The eating place was way out in the sticks, but it was really good.
Saturday was the last day of the caravan. I got left in the trailer again while Tammy and Lee went to visit Los Alamos. There were a couple of good museums but not much of the original buildings. They got home in the middle of the afternoon, and I got a good walk. Tammy was on the crew to decorate for the final banquet, so I got an early dinner before she left. When they got home I was ready for a doggy bag, but they didn’t bring me one. Bummer.
Sunday some people were heading out when I went out for my first pee. I wasn’t about to let Lee and Tammy start packing without feeding me breakfast. The people kept coming by and saying goodbye. When Lee took us for a walk he had to stop and talk a bunch of times, so the walk took a little longer. We finally got on the road. As usual I fell asleep as soon as we hit the road. They stopped for lunch in a city called Las Vegas, and I got to pee on grass. I haven’t seen that much grass in weeks. Then when we got to Amarillo there was more grass. Wow, I guess we are heading home.
Layla