Westward Ho!

Dear Blog Readers,

For the moment I have taken over my Mom's computer.  (You would be surprised how creative and clever I am.) For ten days Mom and I did something we have never done before; we took a trip...a long trip.  I knew something was up as soon as I saw bags being packed (a whole bag for books). My dog dishes, my food, lots of bottled water, my arthritis medicine, my bed and blankets were loaded into the car.  When my Mom makes up her mind to follow a dream, she does it.  She also said Hattie Big Sky over and over.

First we headed north toward the Mackinac Bridge.  Little did we know but the bridge was under construction causing us to change lanes several times with only one lane open for traffic each way.  I heard quite a bit of words repeated with reverence.  We made it to Wausau, Wisconsin our first day on the road.

I decided I didn't like my dried dog food any more so Mom had to call my vet and have them fax a prescription to another vet in St. Cloud, Minnesota during a torrential rain storm.  The canned food is much more to my liking.  Going through St. Paul/Minneapolis was a tad bit tricky.  We got to walk along the Lake Woebegone Trail at Avon, Minnesota and discovered a Little Free Library right on the trail.

Friends had advised us that the Badlands in North Dakota were as good as if not better than those in South Dakota.  I know Mom agrees with them!  We walked along the trail at Painted Canyon in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  I heard many exclamations of joy.  We made it to Jamestown, North Dakota our second day on the road.  They have an amazing park and cement walking path.

For some reason once we got to Montana Mom would not let me walk in the grass at the rest stops.  It might have had something to do with all the signs she read.  Grass is grass as far as I am concerned.  When we first saw the snow-capped mountains, Mom stopped the car.  There were more exclamations of joy.

It was dark by the time we were going up and down through the mountains toward the city of Missoula, Montana but Mom kept on going.  We finally arrived, stopped and called for directions.  We stayed in a pretty nice hotel for two nights but our friends wanted us to move in with them for the remaining three nights.  I really liked sitting in their grass at the top of the hill looking at the mountains.

We found a great park in the city for all kinds of sports including a great walking path around the perimeter.  You are surrounded by mountains on all sides.  We even went down a trail along a rushing river back into the woods one day.  They have a great public library. Missoula is the home of the University of Montana.  It was heavenly.  One day blended into another of peaceful bliss.

Before we knew it, we were back on the road again.  This time we took a more northerly route.  The first two days were uneventful but day three, Friday the thirteenth and a full moon worked their spell.  At one point I heard Mom say we were on our way to Canada.  Oops! I heard many more words said with reverence when we went over a bridge in Duluth, Minnesota going to Superior, Wisconsin.  All in all we were about three hours late getting to the Mackinac Bridge. 

Mom remembered reading that Mackinac Bridge provides drivers for people who are afraid.  This is an amazing service without cost 24/7.  A really nice guy named John drove our car over the bridge.  There was no praying heard in the car this time, only polite conversation.  Mom did put her hands over her eyes.

We arrived home very early Saturday morning.  Mom has not stopped hugging me and telling me how good I am.  I have a feeling she is up to something; planning special blog posts for the week.  It might involve canines...lots of dog books.  As far as I'm concerned, that is paw-sitively wooferlicious!

Best to all of you and your pets (even cats),

Xena