Mary – 07-11-14 Banff Trip – Midland, TX

I had recently reconnected with my aunt, Bobbie, after many years of estrangement. Bobbie is my mother’s younger sister and only sibling. She’s 88 and living in a retirement apartment. It was wonderful to see her and reminisce and catch up on cousins and nieces and nephews and 2^nd cousins and great nieces and nephews.  She is doing pretty well & feisty as ever. Love her. Forgot to get a snapshot, but hope to fly over for a visit in the fall or winter. We got up early Friday and headed toward Amarillo.

Mary – 07-09/10-14 Banff Trip – San Antonio, TX

On the way to San Antonio, we were surprised by acres of marshmallow fields. Who knew? Put a smile on our faces.

The first two nights were spent in San Antonio for Mary’s Neurologist appointment on Thursday, July 10 and Bentley’s mobility training (actually, Mary’s train the trainer training) with Laurie, his service dog trainer. Unfortunately, Laurie was going through a rough time and wasn’t able to meet with us for training. It may have been for the best because I was pretty tired and enjoyed the rest. On Friday morning we finally started heading north for Banff, Alberta. Yippee.

Mary – 07-09-14 Banff Trip - Home

We had a little bit of a rough start on our vacation this year. We are going to Alberta, Canada; planning to leave on July 9, 2014. Conni retrieved our passports on Friday, July 4^th only to discover they had expired late last year. We were able to get an appointment at the Dallas passport office on Monday afternoon and pick up our passports on Tuesday. With neighbors signed up to look after things at the estate, the house locked up and Bentley onboard, we hit the road on Wednesday, July 9.

Mary – 07-14-14 Banff Trip – Cheyenne, WY

When we reached Denver we found our way to the suburb of Aurora where BLD is located. I had talked to the owner, Katrina, a couple of months ago about the best time to order Bentley’s mobility harness. I decided to wait until he turned 18 months and x-rays confirmed his bones and plates were fully developed and set. It was very nice having the experts do the measuring for us since we were getting different numbers every time we tried.  Katrina custom makes the mobility service harness (MSH) and I think it helped her seeing him in person. She was so impressed with his beauty and build, she asked if she could use him to model her infinity harness. He did a very good job of posing – not something he does for me. As thanks, she gave us an infinity collar AND a new leather collar. It is beautifully made. This was a two hour delay, but well worth it to me. We’ll pick up the harness on our way home so they can do a perfect fitting and teach me.

The RV Park in Cheyenne had a small BBQ restaurant on the grounds. The food was good and the location was perfect. We try not to unhitch the toad (Jeep) during the one night stops.

Figment – 08-20/21-12 WY/Canada Trip –Merriam, KS to OKC to HOME!
I must tell you, after the Mamas had their last visit, it was all about getting home. There was definitely a drought in Kansas and northern Oklahoma was not much better. Once we got to southern OK and into TX, it was much greener.

I’m filthy, I’m tired, I’ve got bugs on my face, but I am so happy to be home! The Mamas promised to clean me all up before I have to go away to storage. You know I don’t like that part, but I don’t think it’ll be long before we go on another adventure.

Mary – 08-19-12 WY/Canada Trip – Waukee, IA to Merriam, KS (Kansas City)

We were in 3 states today - IA, MO, and KS. In Kansas City, we crossed the Missouri River and the Kansas River. It is always easy to tell when the trip is coming to a close -- the state's Thank You and Welcome signs seem to come faster and faster.

Today was another very special day. We were able to spend the night just south of Kansas City, KS and have dinner with our very dear friend Brad. We first met and worked with Brad when the three of us were working on a TDY (temporary dudy) assignment in Puerto Rico. Many of you have probably heard the 'OMG, there is a drought here' stories from Puerto Rico. If you haven't, let me simply say it was a real bonding experience when everyone knew everyone else's personal hygiene habits. Brad even took a shower in our condo because there was no water at his for 48 hour spans. Anyway, Brad is a wonderful, kind, funny and inspirational person we are proud to call our friend. We love you Bradster!

 

Figment – 08-18-12 WY/Canada Trip – Woodbury, MN to Waukee, IA
First thing today, I got to step into Wisconsin for a little bit. We went across the St Croix River and it was really wide. Such a beautiful setting. There was a large marina in Hudson where we could see lots and lots of sail boats. In just a few miles it empties into the Mississippi River. I could spend some time here, but Mama Conni just wanted Mama Mary and me to see where she had taken Gully to get cleaned up. It was so pretty that she wanted to share and I’m glad she did.

 

A little later we backtracked back to I35 and crossed the Mississippi River. It took me a long time to learn how to spell that. Mama Conni had to keep correcting me. Anyway, I was really surprised to see that the Mississippi here was not as wide or pretty as the St Croix River.

Also, we crossed into Iowa today and I just thought I had seen corn fields before!! I mean mile after mile. I can see now how America also feeds other countries.