Petrified Forest National Park

Izzy, Lucy, and Madisun

Meteor Site in Arizona

Cousin Lucy

I had soooooooo much fun playing with my cousin Lucy!!

Santa Fe Double Rainbow

This was one of those rare moments when you realize you just have to forget about your schedule and destination for a few minutes and pull over for a moment of awe and bliss.

We are on HWY 285 just outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico and it’s easily one of those moments of a lifetime:

Truman and Great Grand-dad

San Luis Valley, Colorado. Great grand dad is a semi-retired potato farmer and rock and mineral enthusiast. He also has a fine appreciation for a hound song

Family Ties

Truman and Izzy are on an epic road trip this summer. We left California on August 1st, and have been to the Grand Canyon, The Painted Mountains, The Petrified Forest, (Arizona), Albuquerque, Santa Fe, (New Mexico), the San Luis Valley, Alamosa, Salida, Gunnison, Crested Butte (Colorado).

Highlights along the way included pet friendly hotels in Wilson, AZ (Motel 6 East), as well as the Days Inn in Albuquerque, NM, camping with coyotes at the Grand Canyon, meeting cousin Lucy the Basset Hound, Leigh and Madisun (the humans) in Alamosa, CO, meeting great grand father Ellithorpe (the human) in the San Luis Valley, and gram and gramps Still in Salida, Co where I had my first green chili micro brew at Amicas, coupled with a fantastic pizza topped with green chilies, goat cheese, pesto and and several other clouds of deliciousness. You can see the menu if you click on the link, and all I can say is that the world should have much more green chili beer and wood fired pizza, so don’t miss a chance to eat at Amicas if you’re in the Salida, CO area.

We also drove through Truman’s birth town, Espinola, NM. Not too much happening there, so much time was speculated on what inspired his guardian to bring the whole litter up to the Boulder Human Society where we first met Truman at 12 weeks of age and Izzy at 8 weeks.

OOOhhhhh – and not to be neglected was the double rainbow outside of Santa Fe after an astounding dinner in Santa Fe at Pascual’s. Pascual’s is part of the local, organic food movement and even the meat comes from animals that had only one bad day in their happy free range lives. The service was world class, and we are still day dreaming about what so far is the best taco we’ve EVER had in our lives. The hostess even sent us off with free homemade cookies to fortify us for the trek to Southern Colorado.

In Salida we sent Izzy off with gram and gramps Still. While Truman found this added disruption to the routine unsettling, Izzy jumped into their car immediately with the happy understanding that the upcoming days will be filled with belly rubs, naps on the couch and table scraps.

We headed on to Crested Butte, Co where we stayed with Truman’s Aunt Heather and Uncle Scott (humans), and cousins, Jake the Dachshund, and Wally the Schnauzer before heading up the mountain to the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab. Dogs are not allowed at RMBL because of the small mammal studies, so Truman stayed in South CB. According to Scott and Heather Truman did not have an easy time with the initial separation of the pack, but as the week has progressed he’s realized he’s actually having the perfect summer vacation with dozens of neighborhood dogs and peeps to bay at, a giant yard for sniffing and sun bathing, his own guest room with a futon, and of course ear rubs, yummy treats and alpine hikes.

Izzy and Truman don’t know it yet, but they will be reunited tomorrow and in a few days we’ll be on the road again headed east. In the meantime, here’s a picture of Truman at Yule pass. We’re up at over 12k elevation, so apparently Coon Hounds have no difficulty with altitude acclimation:

I Got My Own Tent!

My peeps have gone off the summer fun deep end. From the looks of it a camping trip is about to start. There are miserable sleeping bags and tent polls everywhere. And the coolers! The coolers are always the biggest give away. Wish I had a way to explain to them that living in a house is a GOOD thing! Peeps and dogs have worked hard for living inside with solid doors and picture windows! Plus, camping is so dangerous! The last time we went out I got attacked by a skunk, and don’t get me started about the raccoons – TERRIFYING beasts!

I am feeling a little more comfortable with this particular upcoming trip though, because they got me my own mini-tent to go inside the big tent:

Jesusita Fire

My girlfriend, Grace, is a Jesusita Fire survivor. She and her peeps lost their house and all their toys. She has also been very sick since the fire, and her family is struggling with the medical bills. If you would like to find out how you can help please leave a comment with a way for my mom to reach you. You can also help by doing your online shopping through the “My Favorite Things” page of this blog. My mom set up a program where if you buy something at our favorite stores she earns a commission – which she will donate to Grace’s family. This is a picture of Grace taking a nap on what remains of her house:

Ho…Ho…Ho…