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

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 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: