Pa'rus Trail, Zion National Park

Tequila here....   Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!  This time, Bandido and I get to go along on the hike!  The picture above shows us trying to get out of the back of the car at the trailhead.  We could not wait.


I don't understand why we can't go on most of these hikes in the national parks.  They look like adventures that we would love.  It just doesn't seem fair.  But enough whining.  We did get to go on this one.  Dad told us that Zion National Park has set aside a 3.5 mile paved hike just for us dogs... and people, and strollers, and bicycles.


We were able to get on the Pa'rus Trail as soon as we got out of the car at the Visitor Center (whatever that is).  Well, not right away... Mom and Dad had to go pee first.  They called it a restroom.  That's another thing I don't get.  Why do they go inside to pee when they insist that we pee outside.  Humans are so strange.

Anyway, off we gooooooooooo!


Dad said we had to have plenty of water.  Mom and Dad carried theirs in these funny packs that they tied around their tummies.  Bandido, being the gentledog that he is, carried water for the two of us in his spiffy, red pack.  Dad said something about Bandido needing a job.  I am glad that he did all the work so that I could concentrate on chasing lizards.

Look!  There's one of those pesky lizards right there!


There sure are lots of pretty mountains to look at here.  That's what Dad says.  I really did not notice them.  Still looking for lizards.

The trail followed the Virgin River.  I asked Dad what virgin meant, but he told me that I was too young for that kind of information.  Any way, it was fun looking and listening to the water.

We got to see a couple places where the water dropped over some rocks and splashed into more water.  I liked it.  I wonder who is pushing all that water over the edge.  Dad said something about gravity... another thing I don't understand, yet.

We saw some dog prints in the concrete path.  Wow, that must have been some big and heavy dog to make a print in concrete like that!  Or, was it a mountain lion?  Mountain lions make me scared.  I heard they are mean.

Speaking of scared.... Do ya wanna hear something funny about Bandido?  (He's gonna be mad that I am tellin' you this.)  Bandido is scared to go across bridges!  He jumps over walls. He barks at strangers when they get close to the motor home.  Dad says he is strong as an ox (big cow).  Dad talks about how smart he is. He acts like he is such a tough dog all the time.  BUT, he is afraid to go across a bridge.  SO FUNNY!

Look at him with his nose next to the bridge while he is being very careful with every step.  Not me!  I trotted right across.  I am a brave dog.

Mom and Dad let us stop several times to get a drink of water.  One time we got treats while Mom and Dad ate food that looked a lot better than ours.  Not fair!  Here is a picture of Bandido drinking water.  That is my nose on the far lower right, waiting for my treat.

LIZARD!  LIZARD!!!!!!!  It was movin' around right next to me in the tall grass next to the trail.  You can see part of it in the lower right part of the picture.I saw it first and lunged at it.  THEN, it lunged at me and tried to bite me.  Whoa!  The lizard tried to bite me?  It's a good thing it missed because I would have been a "goner" (whatever that is)!  Mom pulled me back right away.  Dad said it was a coiled Diamond Backed Rattler.  Now he was acting scared.  Mom tried to get a picture of it with the photo zoom lens (whatever that is).  Dad told her that she could not chase this snake like she did the other day.  Because Dad was so hyper, Mom's pictures weren't that good.  Drat. I really wanted to see what it looked like.  All you can really see is the back of it.

Mom and Dad told a park ranger along the trail about the rattler.  The rest of the hike we had to stay in the middle of the trail.  What fun is that?  How was I supposed to harass the lizards?  Dad stayed in the middle of the trail too --- to set a good example for me n' Bandido.

To change the scary mood, Mom decided to take pictures of flowers along the trail.  Even though this does appeal to my feminine side, chasing the lizards was more fun.

OK....  We got back to the car, and we're on our way back to the motor home.  Dad says that I have to call this last picture, "The Pet Picture of the Day."  Mom took it when I fell asleep in the back seat when I was sitting up.  I was so-o-o tired!   I am mad that she took a picture of me without my permission.

Travels Through New Mexico

Roger here....  This post is mostly about three travel days on our way to Mesa Verde in southwest Colorado.  Most of our travels were in New Mexico (a place that we intend to spend quality time in the fall).  


The opening picture was taken by Dianne at Balmorhea State Park in West Texas the night before our journey.  (She NEVER takes sunset pictures and makes fun of me when I do, so this shot had to be documented.)

After leaving Balmorhea, we still had THREE more hours on I-10 before the city traffic in El Paso and our entry into New Mexico.  At I-25 we turned north and spent the night at Caballo State Park.  It was an easy stop, right off the interstate.  This stop was our first in a New Mexico State Park and it was a good one.  We had a nice water/electric site for $14 and enjoyed walking to the lake.

DIANNE TOOK ANOTHER SUNSET PICTURE HERE.  Is this a trend?

She also took a picture of an Ocotillo plant as we left the park.  This was not a surprise.  She may want to add one to our backyard at Retama.

The next driving day started well.  It was an easy drive on I-25.  In order to avoid the city traffic in Albuquerque, we took a short cut on NM 6 so we could connect with I-40 on the west side of town and avoid a construction area.  It was a good decision.  Pretty.  Quiet.  BUT....  As soon as we turned onto the road we found ourselves behind a slow-moving vehicle pulling a weaving (very low-to-the-ground) trailer.  There was no way to pass this combo on a two-lane road (the portion in the above photo was just before I-40, so it was 4 lanes).  So we turtled along at 45 mph for about 40 miles.  Please notice that I was not tailgating.

Going west on I-40 we encountered Jaba the Hut! I did not know that after the Star Wars Movies that he landed in New Mexico.


It was early in the day, so we decided to bypass a casino campground and forge on to Gallup so that the next day would be shorter.  It turned out to be a good decision except for a scary moment.  Just before we entered the Gallup area, a rogue gust of wind slammed into the side of us.  It forced us into the next lane --- really glad no one was there.  It took an eternity for me to get the motor home back under control as we weaved back-and-forth for several hundred feet.  A friend of ours asked if we needed to make an emergency laundry stop :-).

We spent the night at the USA Travel Park.  It was good to unwind.  The park had an enclosed dog run that the pups enjoyed.  Bandido had not chased a tennis ball for a long time.  We were surprised when he jumped over the cinder-block wall on our first visit, and relieved that he came back to us when we tempted him with a tennis ball.

The next day's drive on a mostly two-lane highway (US 491) was beautiful.  We passed endless mesas emerging from the flat landscape.  The highlight of the trip were the rocky spires that seemed to grow right out the flat plains.

The shiprock formation was a little too far away to get a good photo.  But, here is a somewhat hazy attempt.

Just before crossing the state line into Colorado, Dianne took this picture.

We intended to park the motor home at the Morefield Campground in Mesa Verde National Park, but it does not open for a few days.  Our excellent alternative was the A and A Mesa Verde RV Park, just across from the national park entrance. 

 We have a great site here with a great view.  (AND, we have the whole upper portion to ourselves -- D.)

As a bonus, a couple of beautiful horses graze next to our campsite, just on the other side of a barbed-wire fence.

The doggies are enjoying the horses, as well.

Dianne here...the pet photo of the day is actually a video clip I took of Bandido and Tequila playing "Who's got the ball?" inside the motor home one day while Roger was at a seminar at the recent RV Dreams rally.  Our furniture leads a hard life; hence the sheet over the couch.  They play hard, but they sure have fun! 

Picnic at the Palapa & New Pup!

Hi all, Dianne here.   We all know how dog-crazy I am.  Roger would say "emphasis on crazy."  Well, a couple of weeks ago I saw a photo of a red-heeler-mix up for adoption at Cinderella Pet Rescue (where we got Bandido last January).  I just couldn't get her out of my mind, and finally persuaded Roger to go take a look.  Well, you know how that goes....

Bright and early on adoption day we took Bandido to Cinderella to meet his new little sister.  The photo above shows Bandido as he first sees her coming toward the office.

When we got home, we ate a quick lunch and then took both dogs on a long hike at the state park next door, so they'd get used to being together in our new "pack."


Tequila is a little overweight, so we need to get her into an exercise routine to get in shape... 

 ...This became evident as we got into the state park and she staged a "protest"!

After a few stops for rest and drinks, we made it home.

Both dogs were hot and tired, and immediately stretched out on the cool tile floor.

We'll keep at it with our walks and play time at the dog park, and help her build up more endurance.  She is still an pup, 7 1/2 months old.

Speaking of the dog park, Tequila made her first debut at Doggie Play Date Sunday morning.  She was a little timid at first, but after about 30 minutes she was running and wrestling with the best of them!  The dog in the front is our whippet friend Klick.  I learned long ago that it is very difficult to photograph a whippet without catching just a blur.  

I did a bit better with Klick's brother Gabe running at full tilt.  Poetry in motion!


  

Here is a good shot of Tequila and Bandido wrestling in the motor home this morning.
This action will look familiar to our friends Chuck and Cindy and their dog Sophie, a/k/a "the luckiest dog in Fishers, Indiana."

They play hard, but then it's time for a nap.  










One other bit of excitement is that my wildlife cam finally caught an identifiable photo overnight:

  This is a black-tailed jackrabbit in the green space area just beyond the chain link fence in our back yard.


I'll turn this blog over to Roger now, so that he can write about our fun hot dog and ice cream picnic at the palapa on the Rio Grande.  I'm sure they could smell our hot dogs cooking in Mexico!

There were lots of hot dogs left over from the Retama Village walk-through a few days ago.  What to do with them????  One of our neighbors, Linda, thought it would be fun to have a hot dog roast down by the river.  Linda and a few friends organized the event and invited the Retama community.  


What do I mean when I say, down by the river?  Why, the Rio Grande River, of course.  Bentsen Palm Development, which owns Retama Village (among other properties) maintains a palapa right next to the river.  It is only about a mile from our park.   Getting there was simple.  You just drive out of our park onto a nicely paved road, head toward the National Butterfly Center, stay on the road when it becomes gravel, go up the rise onto the gravel-topped levy, wave to the border patrol agents, drive a quarter mile on the levy, exit the levy, stay on the gravel lane until it turns to dirt, avoid sliding into the boat dock, and you are there.  


For our Indiana friends....  What is a palapa?  It is a thatch-covered, open structure (similar to what we midwesterners call a shelter house - except the roof is made of grass.)  VERY tropical. 

Neighbor Jim arrived early to get the fire going underneath the grate in the giant fire kettle.  Jim also hung around to roast all the hot dogs.  He even dipped ice cream.


Everyone was asked to bring chips and dips (Dianne brought two dips: one with sour cream, the other was me.) People brought their own beverages and folding chairs.

Nothing brings out a crowd like free food!  We counted around 125 people who enjoyed the food while relaxing by the river.  There were swim noodles available for people who wanted to float in the river, just kidding.  (Dianne again:  Yes, that IS Mexico just across the river!)

Friendly border patrol agents drove through and flew over.  Often you can see them in boats on the river, but not this day.  They are ever-present.  These guys work very hard and do a great job ensuring that this is a safe area.  We would not have had such an enjoyable afternoon without their ongoing service.

(Dianne again:  If any of my friends up north watch Border Wars on the National Geographic Channel, this is the same helicopter that is often seen on the show.)


All of the beautiful Retama people were there.  Check out the cutie in the sun glasses.

To top everything off, there was left-over ice cream from a recent ice cream social.  The men took over the serving responsibilities.  Yep, that's me in the orange, with chocolate ice cream up to my elbow.  Lots of people.  Lots of fun.  A great afternoon.

Now for the pet picture of the day.  One of my duties here at Retama is to post an updated activity calendar on the bulletin board next to the mailboxes.  I do this every Sunday.  Since I knew we would be busy at the hot dog roast,  I printed the calendar before we left and put it on the counter for later posting.   Well......  It seems as if our new puppy is a counter surfer, and she is not particular -- food, treats, and apparently paper.  The picture below depicts Charlie the Cat letting us know that Tequila did it!

The Dog Ate Roger's Homework!!!!