Points Southwest - a Dogs' (and Cat's Story)

Bandido, Tequila, and Big Chuck here...  

Big Chuck:  Ever since mom and dad picked up the changed motor home, it has been difficult to find a soft place to rest my weary feline bones.  As you can see, I am forced to share my soft pet bed with smelly Tequila, now that the couch is gone.  And, now it looks like Bandido is planning to push us both out.

Bandido:  You bet I am.  I need some place, other than the entire bed, to relax.  

Tequila:  Hey Chuck!  I am not smelly.  I just spent a week in a spa, got a brush and a bath, AND a pedicure.  I am a dainty little girl.  But, I do understand about the lack of lounging places in our house.  

Bandido:  I have another issue, actually TWO other issues:  1), after my buddies Sophie and Ranger left us at Clifty Falls, a storm shook the motor home.  I am terrified of storms, but at least there was not any thunder.   2), I am sick and tired of mom and dad driving the motor home to places where we have no place to run, chase balls, and wrestle.

Tequila:  Yeah,  we spent our first night in Central City, Kentucky (whereever that is).   Was there a dog park?  NOOOOOO!

Big Chuck:  Then mom and dad groaned about the Hughes Net modem transmission line not working.  Big deal!  So much drama!  What is that anyway?  They both seemed so upset about not getting internet.  They need to get a life and get the smelly dogs some place to relax, away from me!

Bandido here:  That's right, Big Chuck, except for the smelly dog stuff.  I got a treatment at the spa, too, and at the risk of questioning my masculinity, I feel fabulous.  Anyway, mom and dad said they needed to go a few miles out of the way to a place called Paducah where they could find a Verizon store to buy a FiOS internet hot spot.  The good news is that they found one and it seems to be working.  AND, the campground in Paducah (Duck Creek RV Park) had a HUGE dog park where I could chase my blue ball.  

Tequila here:  That's right, Bandido.  We got to spend a couple days at a great place. I love stealing your blue ball from you.  

Big Chuck here:  AND even better news, mom and dad found two comfy beds for you dogs, so I can have my private life back.

Big Chuck:  Hey Bandido, you just enjoy your comfy bed next to dad with your blue ball.  I am headed to the bedroom for some kitty peace and quiet.

Bandido:  Dad drove our motor home to a place called West Memphis today.  Is that in Egypt?  Dad says we are at the Tom Sawyer RV Park on the Mississippi River in Arkansas.  They are planning to walk up and down Beale Street in Memphis, TN tomorrow.

Tequila:  Oh, great!  Does that mean we will be alone for a few hours tomorrow?   I am ok with that (especially when they leave us with treats), but I know how you (Bandido) hate it.

Big Chuck:  Mom seems to think that she has the best view of the barges on the Mississippi River from her new recliner.  It looks to me as if the smelly canines have a better view.

Newmar - Big Chuck's Big Adventure

Sunrise on a foggy morning in Nappanee, Indiana

Well, hello there... Charlie the cat here....  But then you really don't know me, do you?  Mom and Dad always let the smelly dogs post these blogs.  Now it is my turn.  I am mom and dad's 12-year-old cat who used to roam free in Pendleton, Indiana before they sold their house.  I am named after Mom's cousin Charlie.  I was born in his barn on their farm near Mulberry, Indiana.  When Mom's granddaughter (would that make her my niece?), Kaia, picked me up at a family gathering when she was a little girl and I did not scratch her, they took me home and I became a part of their family.  Mom and Dad call me Big Chuck now, probably because I weigh as much as an elephant.  But, I am not as heavy as my smelly sister, Tequila.  

My life has been in turmoil lately.  Allow me to show you my new home.  The opening picture  was taken on a foggy morning near Nappanee, Indiana.  But, did I get to see it?  Noooo!  I was in a crate in the back seat of this car between my two smelly dog siblings. 

This is how it has been.  Last Friday we arrived at this place called Newmar, and all normalcy ended.  At 6:00 a.m. (Yes, six in the morning - still dark, foggy and cold) Mom and Dad put me in my crate and take me to the miniscule car.  They do bring my litter box and food, but my world shrinks from my spacious home on wheels to a tiny car!  Then Dad talks to a guy in a golf cart for a while, and Mom brings the dogs to sit on both sides of me.  Trapped! 

The golf-cart guy drives the motor home away and  we stay away for nine hours before coming back and resuming our normal lives, until the next morning when the alarm goes off at 4:30 and it all starts again.

Mom and Dad seem happy about all this.  They keep talking about how they like the golf-cart guy and the people who work with him.  

The stinky dogs (my siblings) brag about walking twice a day in the pasture across the street.   I could go, too, but I refuse to walk on a leash.  With me it is more like dragging, and I simply refuse.

I am really weary of hearing Dad wax ecstatic about how much progress the golf-cart guy is making with the motor home.  It does not affect me.

- dent in the back where Dad swung into a gas station barrier (clumsy Dad) ... ready for paint. I never see it.

-  new gutter on the side of the roof ...  ready for paint.  Like they would ever let me climb on the roof.

-  new headlights that aren't foggy and yellow...  I am not allowed outside at night so I could care less.

-  automatic steps that work every time... That is actually a good thing because sometimes they do take me outside.

-  a new motor for the awning so we can have shade...  OK, I can deal with that.

- bedroom lights that work all the time... I would rather be alone in the dark.

-  new screen for the door....  The smelly dogs did that, not me.

- a working pocket door next to the bedroom... They think they can keep me out of the bedroom now, but I will just pound on the door until they open it :-).

Dad says that the Newmar Golf Cart guy still has a few things to do, so I guess I will be a captive in the car for a few more days.  Just one more thing before I talk about the very few good times.  I would not mind this nearly as much if Dad would buy a jeep and have it and our motor home painted like the one in the picture below.  After all, I am a cat.  I do have some vanity.

I have to admit that I have had one great day, and another that wasn't too bad, while I was banned from the motor home.  The great day was at Potato Creek State Park.

It was a sunny, warm day.  Some of the trees were turning red.  I remember that from my past life roaming free and rolling in the leaves in our backyard.  We drove by a quiet lake.  Dad stopped the car so mom could take pictures. 

I got to see a two big birds sitting on a log in the water.  It looked like there were two more upside down in the water.  I would have liked to stalk them, but I don't do water.

When we finally parked the car, we were surrounded by these strange people.  Bandido was afraid of them.  Mom and Dad thought they were great.  I just pretended they were not there.

Mom, Dad and my stinky siblings went hiking in the woods for a couple of hours.   It was still cold out but they parked the car in the shade and cracked the windows for me anyway.  They let me out of my crate so I could use the litter box, eat, hide under the seats, and climb on the dashboard to hiss at birds.

When they returned from their walk, we all enjoyed three hours lounging around on the lawn.  By then the sun was out and it was nice and warm.   Even I enjoyed it.  

I had lots of room to play on my expandable leash.

I even had my own tree for sharpening my (nonexistent) claws.



Dad fell asleep while reading his book.  I guess these early mornings are too much for him.

Then he got up and fell asleep again laying on the ground next to Bandido.

Then Tequila licked Dad on the face and woke him up.  PRETTY FUNNY!  Don't let anyone know I have a sense of humor.

The next day was the not-so-bad day.  After a shorter trip in my crate, we arrived at a city park in Goshen, Indiana.  It was a foggy day and a little chilly.  Mom did not want to get out of the car.  Mom does not cope well with imperfect weather.  So Dad and my smelly siblings hiked about four miles along the Pumpkinvine Trail.  It was good to get rid of the stinky dogs, AND I got to spend the time sleeping and purring on Mom's lap while she did Sudoku.  It does not get much better than that.  

Since I am the author of this post, the pet pictures of the day are of ME!

I am the alpha male in this family.

Time for my close-up.

Mom thinks I have pretty green eyes.

Badlands National Park near Wall, South Dakota

Hi all, Dianne here.  Another spot we wanted to revisit from our early 1980s trip west was Badlands National Park near Wall, South Dakota.

  One of our favorite all-time vacation photos occurred on that trip, when we weathered a severe thunderstorm in our pop-up camper and were rewarded with a fantastic rainbow as the skies cleared.


This year as we toured the Badlands we had a perfect day to explore; sunny, 70s, gentle breeze.  We packed a picnic lunch and headed out to take several short hikes in the park.

Much of the scenery looked as we remembered from our earlier trip; the difference this time was that we could hike without meeting the needs of two little girls. 

 Gotta say, though, that that trip is etched into our memories as an all-time favorite, for obvious reasons!


Roger will now describe the Notch Hike that we both started and he finished without me, and why!

Roger here...  Ah, the Notch Hike.   We had already taken two short hikes on the east end of the park.  Both provided wonderful views and opportunities to walk on the formations.  Fun.  

However, I was wanting something a little more challenging.  The Notch Hike departed from the same parking area.  It was only a one-mile round trip jaunt, but the literature said that it was a moderate to strenuous hike.  It also said that people with a fear of heights and small children should pass.  Unfortunately, Dianne read the description before we departed.  She has a fear of heights, and a definite fear of ladders.  I knew that there was a ladder on the trail, but since it was not free-standing and bolted directly to the rock, I didn't think it would be an issue.  


After some mutual fussing, Dianne agreed to start the hike with the understanding that if she saw something she did not like, she would go back.  Fair enough.  

Off we went.  The first part of the hike was on a canyon floor and reasonably flat -- a little hopping over some of the formations and some mud, but nothing major.


Then we arrived at the ladder.  As you can see, it was not steep at the bottom, but became much steeper at the top.

Dianne decided that I should go first.  She followed behind.  As I neared the top, the ladder started to sway with each of my steps.  Dianne did not like this.  She told me that I needed to finish before she went any further.  I scampered on up and looked down.  Dianne took a couple more steps, then said, "I can't do this."  She told me to go ahead.  I felt badly, but knew of her fear and knew that she would be much happier waiting back at the parking lot.  I went back down to meet her half-way to retrieve the camera, then climbed back to the top and snapped this picture of her making her retreat.

After walking a few minutes, and turning a corner, I looked down at the trail below and watched Dianne until she disappeared from view.  If you look closely at the center of the picture.  The dot of pink color is Dianne.

I moved pretty slowly on the upper portion of the hike.  Much of it was right on the edge of a vertical drop with only 3 feet of pathway, sometimes covered with loose gravel.  

Dianne would have been miserable.  I am so glad that she turned back when she did.  I found it exhilarating, but I must admit to being a little nervous and more careful of my footing than usual.  

The trail went up and down along the canyon edge.

I spent quite a bit of time on all fours, either climbing or crab-walking -- not trusting my balance near the edge of the cliff. 

Eventually, the "Notch" became visible in the distance.  The final walk to the notch was veered away from the canyon drop.  Whew.

The expansive view was of the green valley below. It took three tries to get all of my head in the self-photo below.

Back at the ladder, I talked with several people about the treacherous sections ahead, including one family with three kids.  I am guessing that they were all under the age of eight.  Very scary.

Dianne again....  We saw some fabulous scenery that day, way too many photos to include in the blog.  Something neither of us remembered from our prior trip were the beautiful colors of the hills on the west end of the park.  We decided that we must not have made it that far into the park in the 1980s.  Here are two more of my favorite photos from this area:

For the complete slideshow of all photos from that day, here's the link to my Photobucket Badlands album:


http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y14/DianneN/Badlands%20National%20Park%20South%20Dakota/?albumview=slideshow

Of course, no trip to Wall, South Dakota is complete without a kitschy trip into Wall Drug.  Our visit there in the 1980s trip produced an indelible, favorite family memory:  We let each girl pick out a souvenir there, and Amanda (our animal lover) picked out a flocked prairie dog bank.  She LOVED that bank (never used it as a bank).  She slept with it, played with it, and kept it for years, long after all the flocking had worn off.  Roger and I hoped to find one and send it to her in Florida, just for old times' sake, but alas, the only flocked banks now are buffalo or "jackalo" banks; just not the same!  

Here's a photo of Amanda on that trip with her precious prairie dog.  No souvenir this time, but through the wonders of technology, with my iPhone I was able to send her a snapshot text message as we walked through the prairie dog village back at Devil's Tower with a "Wish you were here."  I got an "Awww, me too" text back from that one.

The pet photo of the day is entitled "Some cats have all the luck."  This motor home was parked next to us here at the Sleepy Hollow RV park in Wall.  Check out the outdoor pen they attached to the outside of their motorhome for their two cats.  To say Charlie was jealous is an understatement, to say the least!