And why this Oregon trip was the worst ever: We pulled out of Arapahoe last week and I made a McDonald's stop in Lander for a bacon egg cheese biscuit. Heading up South Pass I had about three bites and the darn thing was trying to come back on me. I filed the rest of it and drove on. I was not hungry but stopped at Denny's at the Flying J at Exit 99 on the other side of Salt Lake for supper. I ate about half of my chicken fried steak and gave the rest to the dogs. I could tell then I was a late arrival so I called the Motel 6 in Winnemucca-no rooms. We slept in the van in the parking lot of the Flying J in Winnemucca. Way before daylight we started across the 200 mile-no services, no gas, stretch from Winnemucca to Lakeview, Oregon. We stopped at a rest stop for the doggie's comfort. Then after we came down a six mile steep grade, I stopped at a place we usually stop to let the dogs run. They ran. I watched. We loaded up and near the highway I suddenly realized I was in trouble. No restroom but I hopped out, engine running, dropping trousers as fast as I could...but not fast enough. Underwear, trousers, socks, shoes, ruined. What I had at my disposal were a partly Buddy-shredded roll of paper towels and a bottle of high potency Windex for auto glass. Of course I had a change of clothes. There I was 20 yards from the highway with my shirt-tail flapping in the wind-and nothing else, trying to clean up and change. Buddy decided to jump out of the van and run around on the highway. If I could have found the transmitter to his training collar, I would have lit him up like a Christmas tree. Luckily, traffic was non-existent. Standing on the rough volcanic gravel in my bare feet raging at the dog and my predicament, I was a wild man. I considered just leaving the clothes but I double bagged them and we went on to Lakeview where I found a laundromat, opened the bags under water and continued my repairs. I was white as a sheet and not feeling well at all. With clean clothes and a lost hour, we soldiered on to the Cedar Lodge and a long hot shower. I did not feel really well until yesterday.
Recounting my tale of woe to brother Rich, he had one so similar on the same day it was eerie. He stopped for a breakfast sandwich at McDonald's, went traveling around Wyoming seeing his clients, and had to excuse himself from an appointment at a place that had no restroom, squat behind his car. I think I know what happened to those salmonella eggs. McDonalds is off the approved list.
Coming back, we stopped for the doggie's sake at the rest stop just this side of Wendover. Buddy had earned "never without a leash" status in Oregon. Walking the two dogs is like having a tug of war with Honey on one hand, and trying to yo-yo with the other while Buddy bounces everywhere. The rest stop dog area at that stop is rudimentary. It took exactly three minutes to get the leashes so tangled I had to lead Honey with the choke chain and carry Buddy back to the car. The hand crank flashlight I bought to aid breast cancer was verplunkt. So there I was in the dog poo section at 3:00 a.m. in the morning with my cell phone for a flashlight, extricating the leashes. It took me 20 minutes in broad daylight in Evanston to separate them.
Aside from some obvious management issues, Buddy turned out to be a pretty good traveller, and I really do enjoy being on the road. The dogs are always ready to go, I love the sights, and the movement and enjoy being where we are going. Medford presents some challenges and I am wondering if Van modification or a small camper would be a good idea. The dog friendly Cedar Lodge is in decline and more expensive. I would like to stay longer. This event costs more than a month in Florida. The dogs are non-grata at Eve's after the Clara contretemps.
Ah yes, the Clara story: Eve has an ill-tempered 14 year old cat: Clara. In her salad days she would perch on the refrigerator and jump on and attack passersby. She has mellowed and will allow some petting before she turns on you and bites these days. The first words I spoke to Eve were "Is Clara safe?" "She is around here someplace," Eve said. Someplace was discovered by the dogs and we saw a streak of orange bounding across the yard and up a tree. There she remained for some ten hours after we were long gone. She bit Eve as she was coaxing her the last few feet from the tree. NO DOGS ALLOWED.
