A Sad Day

It doesn't matter that you know this day is coming, it is still heart rendering when it does. Our old friend Max has crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

Max

Now every dog is special and I have had some great ones in my time on this rock. Max came to us late in life, we found him and his sister Maya at the rescue in Canmore, Alberta. We were actually sent there by an old blogging friend Sandra Merrikin who knew we were looking for a border collie type dog, we had recently lost our Meg, and had found one on the internet. We had just seen this meme on the internet and thought it was time.

Look close at the dog in this picture and Max, is that a coincidence or WHAT?

Getting them home is a story in itself. But although we figured he was a beagle/lab cross and we have had a few border collie's in our time, Max was the only dog I ever had that understood complete sentences. Some of those border collies had pretty big vocabularies but Max was the only dog I have had that you could actually converse with and get a response like he knew exactly what you said and why.

He had that ability right from the get go with us. When we went to the Rescue to look at a border collie type dog they had there, we were chatting with the manager of the place and asked her if that dog, Maya, got along with other dogs. She said she wasn't sure, but she did get along with Max. We asked "well who is Max?". She told us Maya and Max had been surrendered together and wondered if we wanted to meet Max. We said sure, well he came into the room, took a spin around it, and set himself down in front of me and proceeded to bark at me. His eyes, his body and especially his tail were giving me every indication that he was telling me some kind of story and I had better listen up. To this day I believe he was explaining that if we were thinking about adopting Maya we had better make room for him, because like it or not he was coming along. We got the message and although he had been spoken for by another family, the manager worked it out so this bonded pair could come home with us. Like all Brown family stories, that leads to another story, but one I have told before on this blog so just follow this link back to it.

Long story short, they both came home, eventually and the last seven years have added immeasurably to our lives. They travelled with us, going south to Arizona every year and camping around Alberta in the summer, while Max still made sure that the coyotes here at Dogpound North knew exactly where they were allowed and where they weren't.

He was a happy guy!

Maya and Max enjoying a summer day at Dogpound North

He loved going to walkabouts in the desert with me.

Yesterday visiting Cain and Camo, Matt's two Mastiffs

Day One Done

Yesterday was the first day of Brenda's Scrambler (Calmare) Therapy and although it wasn't the instant relief she was hoping for today she says it is better than it was so maybe after a few more sessions next week, she will be good to go as far as the nerve pain is concerned.

Probably part of the issue with the slow start yesterday was the fact that after the treatment we hit an RV spot to pick up a new water pump, ours is on it's last legs and will need a replacement. Then we slipped into Costco in Mesa to pick up a few of life's necessities, before stopping at Basha's in Gold Canyon for some other groceries and the Shell for a little propane to keep Dogpound Anywhere nice and warm during the cool spell we are having right now.

Other than that excitement we have been just chilling here at Picket Post enjoying the every changing scenery and muttering about the cool weather.

Boxing Day, the 26th for our American readers, Max and took a little walkabout up and down some of the surrounding hills and tried to find some different scenery to capture.

Picket Post Mountain and the Saguaro's

Our friends heading out for a ride

Beware of the cuddly cactus or jumping cholla

Picket Post Mountain in the background

The picture above is almost the same as the picture below with a little bit of flash and definition added. No Photoshop though.

Max added in of course

And of course my walkabout partner, enjoying his freedom.

"c'mon let's go"

Tonight we headed into Superior to Hermanos for some Mexican food, it was as good as I remember it and the waitress was delightful. We came away with some homemade tortilla's and a whole Lemon Meringue Pie as well. Score

In Search of a Canine MASH Unit.

Maya has had an ear infection that Brenda has been treating for about 10 days. She develop a swelling in her ear that made us decide she needed to see a vet before Christmas. We started off looking around Quartzsite without much luck although the vet in Parker could see her after we got the appointment organised it turned out that vet was in Parker, Colorado, a long drive from Western Arizona. We tried Blythe but they couldn't do anything till mid next week, so we figured we needed to head for somewhere bigger. Yuma was our next choice of spots and they have 4 or 5 vets but as we got hooked up and heading down the road Brenda called them all and none of them had time yesterday to squeeze us in.

I guess through the miracle of social media Brenda got in touch with our own vet back home. Heather Van Esch from the Cremona Vet Clinic gave her some advice and a few tips on what to look for and some possible treatments.

Meanwhile I found a Truck/RV Wash in Ehrenberg, Arizona so we pulled in their before we crossed the border into California to wash some of the road grime off of our rig. It is a cash only outfit so I had enough to get them started then I ran over to the Flying J to raid a bank machine for the balance. It wasn't the greatest job, but they did get the big lumps off so it is better than it was. After that we headed through Blythe and then south towards the Dunes and Ogilby Road. We found a little spot just east of the road on Road 707 where we got ourselves set up. It was a little cloudy and cool yesterday, great day for traveling, but the sunset was pretty nice.

Dogpound Anywhere photobombing a great sunset.

Today we got up early and headed into Yuma to set up a blockade at the Ironwood Vet Clinic. They opened at 8:00 and Brenda was ready to knock the door down to get Maya looked at. We pulled into the parking lot about 7:00AM and one of the tech's was just getting out of her car. After hearing our sad story she took us in and we filled out all the paperwork and prepared to wait till they could squeeze us in. Fortunately an early morning surgery they had scheduled was late showing up so Maya was first up. Turns out Heather had nailed the diagnosis all the way from down the road from Dogpound and even the treatment, so we have some prednisone to deal with the hematoma in Maya's ear and the infection that was there last week is all cleared up so it is just a matter of time till all is right in her world again.

The vet visit out of the way we headed over to Walmart to re-stock our larder, we were running low on ice cream and that is critical component to our well being while we are down here. Picked up some other stuff and then headed back to rig.

It was a beautiful day today so we read a little, sunned a little, snoozed a little and then Max and I took a walk in the desert which brings us to now. No excitement planned over the next few days but who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Hi Jolly

We left our spot at Picket Post a few days ago, and headed down to Thunderbird Farms to visit Lorrie and Trish. They were good enough to give us a place to park for the night and we had a great pasta dinner in town.

I had a new antenna for our cell booster sent to their place so we should have that fixed in a day or two. Early the next morning we hooked up to Dogpound Anywhere (DPA) and hit the road west, while Trish and Lorrie headed off to Vegas and the festivities surrounding the NFR and the World Series of Team Roping.

We were headed out towards Quartzsite to meet up with our friends Bill and Margaret from Dease Lake, I used to stay in their RV Park in Dease Lake on the Cassiar Highway while I was working up there for a few years a decade or so ago. We have been meeting them down here in the desert for years and although it has been a couple since we last crossed paths, it was like it was just yesterday. Good friends make it easy to pick up just like you had never been apart.

Quartzsite is an interesting town, probably deserted in the summer but this time of year it is starting to come to life and by this time next month it will probably be a madhouse.

We are in the 14 day BLM camping spot just north of town called Hi Jolly, although we are usually somewhere in the desert this is not our normal kind of spot and later in the winter it will be jam packed with folks living off the grid but jammed in cheek to jowl. Those who know us know we like a little more space, like a half mile between us and others, but for now this is pretty good, the nearest rig is a couple of hundred yards away and we have a spot kind of tucked out of the way and Max and I can slip off into the desert for our rambles.

This morning we had to run into town, Brenda needed sugar for her tea, and thought we would grab breakfast at Mickey D's. It was jam packed with folks but the service was quick, but for the record this was the most expensive McDonalds I had ever eaten in, and that includes the one in Moscow's Red Square. I guess they figure if they only have a few month's in winter to pay the bills they should make hay while the sun is shining.

I did get the antenna mounted on the roof but the cell service is great here anyway and our Verizon Jetpack is working well so we haven't turned it on as yet, but we will find places where it is a necessary part of the rig.

Well that is it for now, stay tuned and we'll update when we have something interesting to say about our journey Down the Road from Dogpound.

The day begins

Thanksgiving

I am trying to keep this blog up to date a little more, just as a record for me. I have looked for other journaling solutions, from online diaries to video logs but all have issues, the online diaries don't seem to salve my need for rambling on and on about nothing in particular, as for the video logs, wow, they are a lot of work, and although I have managed to surround myself with a beautiful family and friends the star of the show is not to photogenic and I am not sure I am ready to unveil that on an unsuspecting public. I have a few vlogs I follow, mostly sailing or RV'ing types of folks, and maybe I can develop some kind of vlog that will showcase the places we go and see so that I can have that for when my eyes get to weak to look back at this journal here.

There that has salved my need for nonsensical rambling. It is hard for me to believe I actually used to find enough stuff to write about multiple times a week, but I guess it is a process, and I actually think you do more stuff when you have a blog entry in the back of your mind so maybe it will come back.

We are getting our doctors and dentist visits all up to date around here, winterizing what needs winterizing and our family RV storage lot is gradually filling as those who don't flee the snow bring their rigs back for their winter hibernation. We have our rig winterized but we are hoping we managed to bust it out of winter sometime next month and head for warmer climes. Brenda has a couple of dentist appointments that we have to stay north of the Medicine Line for but mid November we are hoping for a weather window that will allow us to escape.

Yesterday we celebrated our Canadian Thanksgiving here at Dogpound North with the girls, it is always great to see them and especially the grandchildren. Here is the requisite Thanksgiving Dinner shot.

I won't bore you with all the great photos of my grandchildren I got, those of you who are on Facebook with me have already seen them all, but here are a couple of my favourites from the day.

Auntie Becky and Alle horsing around 

Max seems to be thinking "I wonder if it is just my super canine hearing or are these guys extra loud today"

Looking out the window it is looking like winter has returned to DPN and I hear it is out in full force up at the Buffalo Creek Ranch in East Central Alberta as well, so it may very well be province wide.

Boondocking

We headed out of Dogpound South last Wednesday towards a spot over near the La Paz Valley. We have been there before but it was a long while back, in fact almost 6 years ago was the last time we left there. It was great to get back to that wonderful spot. It is quiet and off the beaten track and although the madness that is Quartzite in January is only an hour away it doesn't spill over towards our spot. Although this a great spot for chillin' and riding the Can-Am it would not be so good for the ponies as it is pretty rocky. I spent some time riding some old trails that I had walked extensively 6 years ago, but although Blue II can cover a lot more ground in a lot less time than Shank's Pony he is restricted to existing trails where on foot you can roam wherever your mind tends to lead.

Some of this weeks trails

My riding partners changed on an almost daily basis, sometimes Brenda came along, but when she opted to enjoy the peace and quiet in camp Max was more than willing to climb aboard and see the country.

Max along for the ride

 He is probably wondering where to get some of those Doggles that Emmi from Montana has for riding the desert.

Our low profile toy hauler

Camp along the wash

Great for an ATV but not so great for horses

A Panorama from atop TV Hill

 Long time readers will recall some shots from atop this hill taken back in January 2011. I am here to tell you it was a lot quicker and certainly easier on the lungs getting back up here on Blue II rather than Shank's Mare. If you click on this shot and enlarge it the red arrow is pointing at our site this year.

 This quartz outcrop is just poking out of the desert.

Just a shot of a small hill along the trail

Sunset with what I call TV Hill in the centre.

Blue II waiting patiently for Brenda and I to investigate a mine flooded with water. 

Doing our part to repatriate some Carbon back into the atmosphere

Max and Maya chillin' in camp.

An old Mine Site

A beautiful vista

An interesting piece of wood, looks like a leg roast

 I stumbled on these store fronts along the trail, I have no idea how or why they came to be there. Out back are pens that look like stabling but not much sign of critters being held there.

Star Struck

An interesting piece of wood that I found along the wash.

We thoroughly enjoy our stay in the desert, I think between Brenda and I, we consumed about 7 or 8 books and still saw a lot of country. Although we didn't see to many other folks out there it is obvious that we are pretty pokey when it comes to ATV'ing, we rather enjoy moseying along at 6 or 8 miles an hours snooping in every nook and cranny and watching for the things that those hurtling along at breakneck speeds might miss.

Everybody is going somewhere. Those are all trails in the sky

On a Roll

Well we are really on a roll this month, four blogs and the month is barely half over. Well I don't think it will continue as we have had a great first two weeks of the year, what with winding down from the kids visit at Christmas, then a trip up to North Ranch and visits from friends the last couple of days. Last week was taken up mostly with just hanging here at Dogpound South, although I did sneak off most days for a couple of hours to get a swim in at the brand new rec complex in Maricopa. It is a wonderful set-up with an eight lane lap pool that a lot of days has only a couple of diehard swimmers in it. Fine with me and keeping swimming allows me to keep doing the things I really like, eating Brenda's cooking and of course my ice cream therapy.

And on the day I didn't swim an old friend, Phil Staden, and his family came by, loaded up Wink and I and hauled us out to Picket Post for a ride around the mountain. Hard to believe but I didn't take a single picture along the way but it was just as beautiful, if not more so, than it is every time. Definitely one of my favourite all time rides. Just after we had our lunch and got going the skies opened up though and we had a through soaking. Water was running in the washes and some of that slick rock was SLICK. We all came through safely though, if a little wet.

Friday afternoon we were expecting company and before you knew it the Big Pink Motorhome and bright Yellow Jeep with Treasure State plates were pulling through the gates here at Dogpound South.

Mike and Janna and the Tin TeePee were coming to visit on their way back to North Ranch after visiting other friends in Tucson. We had a great visit and then headed into town to Plaza Bonita for a great Mexican dinner.

Mike, Janna, Emmi and Max in the background

Saturday we continued our visit and along about 11:30 Rene and Jeanette from RV Voyageur pulled in the gate on their Kawasaki motor cycle. They are camped over at Gold Canyon and we had enticed then over to Dogpound South for a visit. Although the two couples had never met they have been following each others blogs for a long time so like always, it was old home week and we solved most of the world's problems and ate a way to much of Brenda's good cooking.

Jeannette, Mike, Brenda, Rene, Janna and Emmi, Maya and Max thrown into the mix also.

Sadly the afternoon passed quickly and Rene and Jeanette had to hit the road home. We convinced Mike and Janna that they could stay another night with us though so we had a little more yakking and then finished off the day with another feed of Brenda's Carrot Cake topped with some good Blue Bell ice cream.

This morning the Clark's were off for North Ranch and I was off to Cowboy Church so we said our goodbyes and headed off down our own trails.

Room in the Bucket

Time is flying by here at Dogpound North. We have kept pretty busy, doing what I am not sure, but busy just the same. That might be a good reason to get my blog up to date and keep it that way. I would be able to go back and check just what it was I have been doing from time to time.

Of course July always starts with a bang around these parts. The first day of July the whole country gets put on hold so that they can celebrate Miss Ella's birthday. It is a national holiday and across the country there are parades and fireworks to mark the day.

Ella, her cousin, and Grandma's Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

Face Painting

Oh yah, and a little thing called Canada Day happens on that date also. As a nation we are 146 years old now. Just a little trivia, before that date 146 years ago Western Canada was in the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company and was bought for $10,000,000, not a bad deal I am thinking.

Once we got over celebrating Ella's day we were busy getting packed up to head out with our ponies. We had made plans to meet Ken and Verna Pohl out near the South Ram River along Hummingbird Creek. Ken and Verna were bringing along some friends of theirs Bev Schrader and Vic Lamond. We got setup in a pretty spot along the banks of Hummingbird Creek

The view from our campsite

There are a lot of trails in this part of the country and between the Pohl's and Vic we had pretty good guides for our first trip out here. Our first day we headed out along the South Ram River for a look see. Although the river had dropped down to more normal levels after last month's rain there was evidence that it had been up, in some places, 15 feet higher than normal. Must have been some heavy rains out there in the West Country.

The lower cascade of what I am calling Upper South Ram Falls

And here is a picture of Brenda and I at the Upper Cascade

 Long time readers may recall our visit to the Lower South Ram Falls a couple of years ago.

Here is a shot from a couple of years ago of the lower Ram Falls

Once we got the required photo's we headed up river to see the country. We crossed back and forth across the river multiple times to stay on the good trails.

An overlook high above the Ram looking to the West

Making our way upstream R to L; Ken, Verna, Brenda and Vic

For this ride we went out of camp on the South Ram trail and returned across country on the aptly named Muddy Trail. No photos of that as it was all in the trees and pretty wet and boggy.

Saturday we just did a short ride up Hummingbird Creek to a new Trappers cabin and back, Brenda sat that ride out to rest her knee so I ponied Wink along behind Blue, most of the time anyway.

Then Sunday we headed into the high country. Ken led us on a beautiful ride that just got better and better the higher it went. We were destined for a place called Monument or College Heights. The monument part I figured out as there were numerous monuments and even a couple of memorials to riders who have gone on ahead to scout the trails in the sky, but why it is also called College Heights escaped me. Maybe just because when you are up there you can see forever and it could be a place of "higher" learning. Sure was a great place to get the lay of the land from.

Here the group is taking a break as we broke out at treeline, typically ~6500 feet in Alberta.

From there we kept climbing through the alpine, enjoying ever expanding vista's as well as the wild flowers along the trail.

Shrubby cinquefoil, thanks Sandy

Wild Thyme

Forgetmenot

Once we got to the top we could see forever and certainly felt closer to heaven.

A Panorama from the top

Brenda and Verna at the top

Brenda on top of the world.

It was a great day to be up there, nice and warm, only a slight breeze and just some big puffy clouds floating by.

Bev and Vic at the top

Ken and Beauty along with Penny playing in the snow

Verna and Ben

Heading down the hill

Here we are crossing the Hummingbird coming back into camp. Our rigs are visible in the background.

Although generally we had good weather we did get a few opportunities to try out our slickers from time to time. In this country, unlike Arizona, you sure don't leave them in the trailer.

Getting the fire going with my F&BS

As well as being another place checked off our bucket list, hence the title of this entry, it was also our new pups first camping trip and they had a good time and didn't drive anybody to crazy.

Brenda and her "posse"

This week we are hanging around home while some of the renovations are going on, but we'll be back on the trails soon. Maybe another new place.

A Google map below for those who are really curious about where we have been riding, but keep it a secret we don't want the hills full of people.

Hummingbird Rides and some Points of interest.