Kevin and I kept in contact via Facebook. I'd snap a photo of a place and then upload that to my wall so that he and other family members would know where I was during my roadtrip. It was my first road trip using a smart phone. Although the photos my Samsung Galaxy takes are low-resolution 3mp, the photos came out OK for reference as long as I had daylight. What I really enjoyed was the GPS feature; three times I used the GPS to find out where I was along the way and learned I was off-track.
The month came and went. I got to see a few more things that were always on my US travel list to see: the Mall of America, the Effigy Mounds in Iowa along the Mississippi River, and Nauvoo, Illinois. Once in Chicagoland I took a week-long trip with Erin and Ethan to the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Now granted, this is a man-made attraction but it's worth a stop when in the area. I had this place picked out for Ethan, because as a four-year-old he'd enjoy the amusement park that's in the middle of this huge mall, and get to meet all his favorite Power Ranger characters that show up every day several times a day. We stayed at the Country Inn and Suites on the south side of the mall and walked to the mall from the hotel. The mall itself is nothing special other than being the largest mall in the United States, with 520 stores and restaurants. Some of the chains have multiple stores in the mall. We didn't shop much but we did walk around a lot. We stayed there three days but also took the light rail into Minneapolis to walk around there as well. I've always been a big fan of our American rivers, especially the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio Rivers.
On our return trip to Chicagoland we drove south along the Great River Road, alternating between Minnesota and Wisconsin as we headed toward Prairie du Chien before turning east. Ethan had his first official hike at the Effigy Mounds, Iowa, walking a scenic three-mile loop hike with beautiful views over the Mississippi River, which was at flood stage by then. My third spot I got to see was Nauvoo, IL, a former Mormon settlement where Joseph Smith was murdered. I got there with an hour before sunset so I couldn't see the restored homes. The place is nicer than I thought. Many of the restored homes are now used as private homes for church elders. I am not a Mormon but I do admire the old Pioneer spirit as Mormons and others blazed the trail west, and my return drive was along that same former trail as I traveled across Iowa and Nebraska before turning southwest at Colby, Kansas.
It was great to be with family for the month, but I did miss my dogs. Carol's rat terrier Peanuts had died in March, so her home was quiet; there was no barking dog to greet me whenever I came home. Peanuts had been suffering from a degenerating brain mass to the point where the brain's shriveling mass was giving her seizures. She was already losing her vision as well and was running into things.
When I hiked the Indiana Dunes trails, which is where I developed my love for nature as a child growing up in the Chicagoland area, I really missed Sadie as back in 2009 she frolicked with me along the lakeshore. I missed her as well while hiking a few short trails around Colorado Springs and all throughout my stops in that beautiful state. Whenever I'd see a dog, especially a German Shepherd Dog, I'd miss her even more. I missed just having a dog sit next to me in the passenger seat while I was driving. I never stopped worrying about Sadie, but luckily she didn't have any seizures in my absence.
My drive back was slightly different than my drive to Chicagoland, but both times I drove through Colorado. I drove south across the Navajo Reservation on US191 and saw plenty of "community dogs," dogs that roam the streets near people, begging for food. These dogs are used to being around humans but do not benefit from a gentle human touch. They suffer from upper respiratory infections, are not neutered or spayed, and live outside, sleeping in culverts during the day and resting in the shade of a gas station's overhang to keep cool. I fed one young pair of dogs while gassing up in Sanders, AZ. I had one spare can of dog food in the van for this purpose, but I should have brought a 12-pack because that is how many dogs I saw across the Navajo reservation. And that does not include the two dead dogs along the way, dogs that were killed while running across the roads.
Eric was to walk Sammy and Sara while I was gone. That probably happened the first week, because I saw no weight changes in either dog when I returned. Sara's incontinence could not be diagnosed without a urine sample so the DVM jut put her on Clavimox, but yesterday I saw her peeing again while sitting down. I've taken her on daily walks in the evening, just the .8-mile loop, and she constantly had to stop to pee. She pees as much as Sammy does. This condition concerns me. Yes, she is a geriatric dog at 11 years old, and keeping her healthy will get expensive, but she is worth it.
The big news in my month absence was a scary message I got from Kevin on June 21 at 3:14pm:
"Big ass dog fight this morning about 0600. Minnie and Sweetie. Minnie started it and Sweetie came close to killing her. Sweetie had Minnie on her back tearing at her throat. Minnie was quite shaken by it. I took her inside inspect her; no open wounds to either. Sweetie will defend herself and that is what she did. Minnie has to go. She is too aggressive to the other dogs as well. Including Sara and Sammy. She is a sweetheart but at times, when she growls, she scares me. She does that a lot. Great dog but not here. Zeke is just an idiot but Sweetie is a fighter who doesn't start trouble but will finish it. My opinion from my observations is that Minnie has to go. We need to keep the peace here..."
Minnie has to go? My hiking dog Minnie? Naturally I had a long phone conversation later that day. I told Kevin that Minnie is a high-energy dog that needs constant "work" an as an alpha dog she expects top billing. The dog fight happened when both dogs were laying next to Kevin, with Minnie in the front as is appropriate for alpha dogs. Sweetie tends to lay behind Kevin on the back porch. Both are devoted to Kevin and even when I'm around Sweetie tends to favor Kevin and stay by his side. I told Kevin to keep the dogs separated while he is with them, but to give Minnie her needed playtime. I explained the requirements for an alpha dog and I do think he followed my advice. There was one smaller dog fight the next day but nothing bloody.
I have now been back two days. The dogs were all excited to see me. Only Sara seemed concerned when I came in the front door. She didn't bark but she didn't jump with joy, either. She kept her distance and watched the door from the hallway. She only approached me when she heard my voice. The other dogs did back flips and somersaults on the porch as I gave Kevin a run-down of the trip. He was busy working his crossword puzzles and politely stopped to listen to my chatter but I could tell he really wasn't that interested. His insistence to get rid of Minnie have subsided since we talked about the dog fight.
Pache, Bobby and Mo are accounted for. Pache was gone for a few days while I was gone and that had me concerned. Kevin never did update me to let me know he came back on the fourth day. Pache welcomed me home by sitting on my lap as I chatted with Kevin. He has a few new battle scars around his head, bites from other neighborhood cats. Mo was outside for several days as well and I had to bring him back inside. He had been sleeping in the cat house I have created for Willie but didn't come to me when I called him. Willie hasn't been seen all week according to Eric. I haven't seen that cat yet since my return.
My new concern now is what looks like sarcoptic mange on both Sammy and Sadie. Sadie has a raw bald spot on her rear right leg that she's been biting and scratching and Sammy seems to be scratching all over. Getting them checked out is now my first priority. School starts up in a month and I also want to enjoy the monsoon season with an early morning hike up Carr Peak with my hiking dogs. (That won't be today as the house is filthy!) I came back to Arizona just in time for the summer rains. I love the aroma of damp sage. It's one of many reasons to live here where I am.
The animal shelter I volunteered at is open again and already has eight dogs and six cats for adoption. Yet the staff so far has not photographed them all nor uploaded the pics anywhere. The PetFinder link is void of current photos. A sign on the front door says "no cell phones or cameras" and people are getting frustrated that no animals are being shown. This is sad. I still want to volunteer there, but I need a few more weeks away from that place. The staff needs to get organized and start reaching out to the community. So far it has refused to do so. But all this is for another blog for another day.
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