Last Travel Day...now off to San Fran! E

We have about 200 miles to go on our trip. We are abbreviating it by about two days as we had a small wrinkle in our moving plans develop on Friday. I'll have more in a minute on that.

We spent the night in Medford, Oregon last night. We unanimously vote Oregon as the most scenic and pretty of the states we have driven through. The mountains and the trees combine in great ways unseen in other states. It is really beautiful here. We also agreed that Oregon has the newest and smoothest of the roads we have traveled.

Here are some totally non-important stats...

Miles traveled: About 4,450 in 18 days
Miles Pepper spent under the passenger cab seat: 4,449
$$$ spent on gas: About $1,800
Slim Jim's consumed: (Biggie's count as two) 60
Bottle's of Bud Light Consumed: 120-ish (Give or take 10)
Miles I ran while on trip: 120
People who care about that: 0
Times any of the 22 Disposable Cameras were used: 0
Cost of KOAs: $580 or so
Best tourist attraction: Crazy Horse Monument
Worst Tourist attraction: Custer, SD


A great time was had by all. We all highly recommend getting out to see the country in this fashion. It may not be the only way to see the US but it may be one of the best ways. We all agreed that we would do it again.

So...what's next? Most of you know that we are moving to San Francisco. Our condo in SF is officially ours and we are going to be moving this week. We had not anticipated that Mayflower would not be able to guarantee a date of arrival, so we are UHauling our stuff down ourselves. Movers will pack it and unpack it for us. This is not a big deal really. The UHaul is basically the same as what we have living in the last three weeks....except it has no windows.

What of the blog?

Well, Mr. Wendell and Pepper are probably going to have some adventures in San Francisco that they might want to talk about...if anyone is interested in reading.

Thanks for reading about our trip. We have not told Pep or Wendell yet about the move..I am sure there will be some commentary once we have that "talk".

Ed

Back to RV Reality by Mr. Wendell, Pepper, King Syrus and Miss Tracy

Back to RV Reality…Mr. Wendell, Pepper, King Syrus and Miss Tracy


Miss Tracy: The circus side show family that showed up a few days ago piled back into the CruiseAmericamobile this morning. I am glad. I kept sniffing Mr. Wendell wondering what he had rolled around in to make him smell like a cattle drive. I never did figure it out. The fact that he and his brat sister will soon be 3 hours away may make MY hair fall out like my big brothers.




Mr. Wendell: Sorry Miss Tracy. Frankly, Pep and I would have rather stayed here and hung with you and King Syrus in Carmel Valley. The last thing we wanted to do was get back into the back yard aluminum tool shed with windshield wipers.




King Syrus: Well, your humans apparently enjoyed themselves. You would have thought they were from Bangledesh or some other impoverished nation. Judging from comments like…


“The water is so clean here and plentiful.”



“Ahhh, a bed, what a great invention.”


“These things on the side of our food plates made of metal…what are they? What do you do with them?”


“Cool, the outhouse is inside the building…we don’t have to walk to find one.”




Pepper: I was really embarrassed. I have to admit, there were NO moments where I was thinking about anything other than what new adoptive parents might be like. Our cousins, King Syrus and Miss Tracy were gracious hosts. They shared bones, let us run in their yard and did not mind sharing a pee pad or two. Margaret and Ken were also awesome…



Miss Tracy: My mom and dad took the group to Pebble Beach, the 17 mile drive and Carmel. Not because they wanted to give them a tour…but because they wanted your parents out of the house.



Here are a few pictures. Including one of tourist trinkets “Carmel-Style”!



Apparently, the downtown Carmel tour did not last long. Ed’s newly grown mullet, wife beater T-Shirt, “This is not a beer belly, it is a gas tank…” hat and chained-truckers wallet was not welcomed in Carmel. Clint Eastwood reportedly wanted to go Dirty Harry on Ed for real and he was asked to leave.


King Syrus: Good riddance. If I hear “Syrus is soooooo cute” one more time by the one they called Christine, I am going to yack up a can of Alpo.


Only 800 more miles to go…Wendell

A tribute to Garlic!

A little diversion...

Apparently Gilroy, California is the garlic capital of the WORLD! Who knew?

Yup, it is true. Christine and I were driving through Gilroy last night from San Fran and it smelled like an Italian resturant! Since we had to back track a little this morning on our drive north to Oregon (Not oregano!), we decided to stop...and I present the following for your enjoyment!

We stopped at this place...GARLIC WORLD!!!!

Inside was a garlic lovers paradise....fresh garlic, diced garlic, pickled garlic, galic minced, garlic cloved, garlic braided, stuffed garlic, garlic powder, garlic spices, garlic graters, garlic storage containers, olives stuffed with garlic, garlic butter, garlic logo'd coffee mugs/clothes/hats.....

Well, you get it....if it was made of garlic, Garlic World had it!

Of all of the cool things in the store, this was my favorite: That is a Dean Martin Doll standing next to about an 18 inch tall plastic Garlic.

This place truly trumps the Pez Dispenser Museum!

Carmel Valley, CA and a few days break from the road...Mr Wendell

We have pulled to the side of the road for a few days.

My grandmother is visting her sister and her husband in beautiful Carmel Valley, CA. We are camped out in some pretty sweet digs. My Great Aunt's furry kids...King Syrus and Miss Tracy are living pretty large in a custom designed, beautiful canyon home 15 minutes from Carmel, CA. My great aunt and uncle have been awesome hosts...

I will post some pics and some other stuff sometime in the next 48 hours. My dad is not able to get a signal on his cell phone to transfer pictures today, so it will have to wait for a few days.

We have traveled 3,500 miles so far...we have about 1,000 to go before Sunday.

I guess I can give a three bark cheer for a few of the things we have observed on the trip...

First off, the KOA system is really good. Every one of them have been hosted by friendly people. All of them have been clean. With the exception of the Circus Circus KOA, the folks that hang out in them seem to be a mix of foreign people seeing the country, senior citizens enjoying retirement or folks that seem to be permanent RV travelers in big expensive tour busses. My mom and dad think that if they need to travel again and cannot find hotels that don't take me and my sister that they will stay in KOAs instead.

Secondly, though my sister has complained about the Cruise America RV, it has been a good home for the last two weeks. It is plenty large enough for four adults, everything works and it is pretty easy to drive.

Finally, it is amazing how many miles of great roads that are out there...even in the most remote of places.

Anyways, I think I smell my dinner...gotta go!

Wendell.

Las Vegas...

The last two days, we were hanging in Las Vegas. Vegas is everything that is right about our American way of life. And...everything that is wrong with our American way of life. Both in one compact 5 mile strip of 100 degree concrete, neon, glass and pavement.

24/7...The best entertainment. The best food. Lights. Gambling. Great people watching.

And then, the converse horrific counter images of people that have lost the way in every sense of the word lost. Gambling problems, substance abuse, the wearing of mullets and people wearing clothes 14 sizes too small.

Two days is all most sane people can stand...and we had a good two days. We ate well, gambled smartly and saw a show...and got the heck out!

We stayed at the KOA in Vegas, which is behind the Circus Circus Hotel Casino. Circus Circus is to a casino as Big Lots is to high end retail. The hotel attracts the kind of folks that don't hang out at the Venetian or Bellegio. The Circus Circus is a quick slide a lot further down the human evolutionary scale.

The Circus Circus KOA is basically a parking lot that attracts the kind of folks that cannot afford to stay at the luxurous, swank Circus Circus hotel...(Link to 100's of photos of sophisticated people). Sadly, this parking lot is where WE stayed. It was a simultaneously entertaining and unnerving experience. Upon arrival, we were witness to a very loud verbal fight between two gentlemen who were together and arguing about some other guy.

Lots of drama at the Circus Circus KOA. We kept waiting to hear the theme music for Cops! (Bad Boys, Bad Boys...) as this place is sketchy in CAPS.

This morning we took off for California for the last leg of the trip and our next stop...Sequoia National Park. Getting here we traveled through the most barren of places in the US...the Mojave desert. Miles of nothing but dirt, occasional brush and plenty of HOT. We were amazed at how beautiful and ugly 100s of miles of desert could look...but it somehow manages to pull it off.

Sequoia next!

E

The Grand Canyon…blah, blah, blah. I want to go home. By Ms. Pepper

I am putting my paw down. It is time to go home. I hate everything about this trip. From the smelly RV to the inane road conversations. From the dry chicken my supposed “Wizard on the Grill” dad cooks for us to the constant worry of snakes and scorpions. I have had it. Period. I want to go home. This sucks.

It is not just the trip. My kiss butt brother and his stupid smile and wagging tail is getting on my nerves. No matter what my over caffeinated parents say or do, he is there in sycophantic agreement. Yeah, let’s go to the Grand Canyon. Wag-wag-wag-wag! Yeah, let’s go see Mount Rushmore. That’s cool. Wag-wag-wag-wag! Sure I would love to walk through the Garden of the Gods (big pink rocks…who cares?). May Mr. Wendell pee on an electric fence…wag your tail then you adopted mutt. That’s what I say about that.

I want to go home. I hate this. Oh yeah, I am supposed to post some pictures of the Grand Canyon. Another big rock. I will get to it when I am good and ready. What are they going to do? Feed me unkosher hot dogs next?

At least we are now headed to Vegas. Hermes, Dolce and Cabana, The Bellagio, off Broadway shows…maybe I can get my four paws manied and pedied there…do a little doggy spa time. Shadows of my previous life…the life that I deserve to live. From the nice house in the burbs, to the rental townhome to this tin can with wheels attached, I am afraid to think about what is next. Will it be riding the rails as a hobo family? This was not what the travel brochure looked like.

Oh yeah…here are the stinking Canyon pictures…




Oh yeah. I almost forgot. HEY YOU! French Lady. Yeah, you know who you are. For your information, I was sitting perfectly comfortable in my AT3 Dog Stroller zipped up and quiet. Then you and your “Oui’ Oui’ “bull-crap come sticking your face up to my window screen. Of course I am going to bark and jump. Oui’ Oui’ that! You unbathed foreign voyeur. And then you act SOOOOO surprised. If some ugly moron stuck their face up to your window at home and blew foul smelling cigarette breath at you, you would bark too. Go away. Leave me alone. Do I look like a &*((@! petting zoo???

Only 9 more days to go…or less if I can figure out a way to get them to go home early. Can dogs become alcoholics?

Pepper

It was bound to happen, but we had a rain day today in Santa Fe. It did not stop us from heading downtown to take in some of the museums and shops that are unique to the city.

Our first stop is a beautiful Catholic Church built in the 1600s to serve as an outpost for the folks attempting to get the Indians some religion.

There is a beautiful statue in the courtyard...

The second stop was a real rip off. It was the Institute of American Indian Art Museum. $5 per adult...to view three rooms of paintings that were all done in the last 30 years. You would have thought that they would have had some older era exhibits or more than three rooms worth of stuff for $5 per person. It took us about 20 minutes to go through the 40 paintings or so and then 20 minutes to go through the even more interesting gift shop. Unanimously, we vote this venue as the biggest tourist trap we have encountered so far.

We then spent a few hours hitting some of the art galleries and shops that surround the town square. Most of these shops contain high end southwestern inspired sculptures and paintings. There are also a number of (ahem) less than high end shops....

There is a large shop filled with nothing but skeleton art...

One that had nothing but sun bleached steer skulls....$45!!!

And this...a Mexican Mask...on sale today!

We made it back to the camp and are preparing for a long day tomorrow as we head to the Grand Canyon!

Ms Pepper wanted to add some of her thoughts but she is now curled up sleeping...as usual.

E

Tourist Cheese Part 2...and a trip to Garden of the Gods

Day 8.

Today we had an ideal day. Everyone was up and at em at a decent hour this morning. I had a nice 8 mile run in the predawn light. At 6.500 feet or so running 8 miles is real work if you are not used to the altitude. By the time I got back, everyone was up and ready to hit the trail.

We packed up and headed to our tourist destination of the day. The Garden of the Gods. This is a beautiful mountain area that features red rock formations in spectacular fashion. It is about an 8 mile loop through the park. Here are a few pictures we took. Pretty awesome huh?

Enough of the nature walk.

Keeping in mind that people want to see cheesey tourist pictures and things, I submit to you Cheesey Tourist Gifts Collection B. These gems were found in the Garden of the Gods Trading Post.

First, my favorite of the day...the tire swing pig. About 12 inches high....

Then, just in case the Leg Lamp from "A Christmas Story" is too tasteful for you...I present the MGD Lamp...hard to see, but yes, there is a bulb in there.

My pick for the ugliest piece of ceramic/glass of all time....

A knocker with pithy thoughts to hang outside your bathroom....





And finally, for those who likely get into bar fights on Saturday night...Some "going out" clothes....

Tomorrow? My favorite city, Sante Fe and some comments from Ms. Pepper.

E

A Rant Against Fountain,Colorado....by Ed

Today, the tribe outvoted me and decided that we needed a down day from site seeing. Instead of touring the best Cheyenne had to offer, the team wanted to pack up and get to Colorado Springs early. The idea being we could set up camp, hang out, watch some TV, nap etc. etc. etc. and not do anything too strenuous. Though I was wanting to head into Cheyenne, I decided getting to Colorado early would not be so bad either. What the heck...I could hop on my bike and pound out some high altitude miles.

So, I get my bike put together and head out. Fountain, Colorado is about 12 miles south of Colorado, Springs. It is a pretty area in general with Pike's Peak within view and other mountains in site. It really is a post card.

I bike about 6.5 miles out from the camp site and I was feeling good! It was really hot, the road was nice and there was little traffic. I had lots to think about considering all we have seen in the last week.

My bicycle bliss moment was interrupted by the sound all bikers dread. POP!!!!PSssshhhhhhh.....POP!!!!! PSSSssssshhhhhh! The dreaded double flat. Any flat is a pain in the butt...but two? Ouch! Irritated, but smug in the fact that I ALWAYS carry three tubes and three air canisters, I set about getting ready to do the double lung transplant.

Well, if you remember back, maybe you recall the TSA agent fiasco I had in Louisville? Well, this time the TSA agent did his job on the trip back from Louisville to Seattle. They removed the air canisters from my bike bag (against airline rules) and packed my bike nicely. So nicely, that it looked like they did not open it...I badly assumed they did not even look at it. I never checked my bag when I got back to Seattle.

So, here I am in the middle of no where...with two flats. 6.5 miles from my RV. I called Christine and let her know that dinner may be a little late. I started walking...side by side with my bike...in my road bike shoes...click, click, click....6.5 hot, longggg miles...

So...now for my rant.

On my walk back I was passed by at LEAST 100 empty bedded pick up trucks. No one slowed or stopped. So much for country hospitality. Fountain,Colorado folks must be fresh out of friendly. Not one of the trucks stopped. It could have been my imagination but it seemed that more than a few sounded like they hit the passing gear as they passed. I guess a skinny guy, in lycra, walking a bike with hubs that cost more than your truck has to be a sight unseen in these parts.

You would think someone would stop and just ask if I was okay. Nope. If I saw one of these chuckleheads on the side of the road standing by a dead horse on it's side, I would stop and ask if they needed help. I guess they figured a guy on a bike must be mentally slow or something.

And, to top that off, Fountain's Police were on patrol. In the 1:47:13 hours it took me to walk home, four of Fountain's finest passed me. How many stopped? Not one!!!!

You have got to be kidding me! Serve and Protect? How about just SERVE? What else are you doing out here? I suspect Fountain, Colorado has one of the lowest crime rates in the US...surely there is time to check on a guy walking beside a bike? They could have at least asked if I was okay. Heck, check me out to see if I am on a Most Wanted poster...do anything but drive by. I guess the jelly doughnuts down at Mabel's Cafe just got out of the oven.

1:47:13...I walk into the camp site...hot, tired and thirsty.

Thank goodness for cold beer.

Ed

The Crazy Horse Monument...Mr Wendell

This morning the traveling carnival bus rolled into the parking lot at the Crazy Horse Monument in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is a short drive from Mount Rushmore and a natural next stop on the tour.



My parents thought since pets WERE allowed into the venue that they would let Pep and I take a stroll with them. My sister proved that she cannot be taken anywhere. My mom, intent on giving us some culture, loaded us up into the AT3 stroller and we headed towards the entrance. It did not take long for my sister to start whining and barking. Thinking that she would simmer down, my dad took Pepper and I into the Visitor Center. That lasted about 20 seconds. Little Miss Whiney Butt started barking at anything that moved. My mom, disgustedly sent my dad to take us both back to the RV. Where is the justice? My sister misbehaves and I get sent to my room? I am about to go Pit Bull on her.


Anyways, the Crazy Horse Monument was spectacular according to the two legged ones. The story behind it is the monument is interesting. The descendants of Crazy Horse wanted a monument to celebrate his life, his spirit and his accomplishments. They chose a engineer named Korczak to start the project.


Korczak single-handedly worked on the project the last 14 years of his life. Now his family is taking up the rest of the project. What is also remarkable is that they have turned down government grants (aka your and I's tax money) twice to the total tune of $20,000,000. It is all funded through park entrance fees and gift shop proceeds. Why self fund? The Korczaks did not want to spoil the integrity of the project. They doubt that the government has the perseverance to see the project through. It is hard to tell from the pic, but the monument will be several times larger than the Mt Rushmore Monument. (It is still about 20 years from completion.)


Here is a picture...






There is an Indian Culture museum attached to the Crazy Horse Monument Visitor Center. In it are all sorts of pictures, artifacts, books, models and other items. We all found it interesting. The Indian way of life is a true American cultural heritage that we must preserve. Looking at the displays, you cannot help but respect the way of life, the respect they had for the earth and the traditions they celebrated. Looking at photos like the ones below, you can see the pride of life on the faces,

Of all of the places the two legged ones visited, they think this was the most interesting.

Tomorrow, we are hanging out in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

W

Oh yeah, a special shout out to Miss Tracy, Fancy, Rudy, Princess, Sarah and Candy!!!

Cheesey Tourist Traps...and Mount Rushmore...

We had our first bad weather of the trip. It started raining last night accompanied by some high winds and stayed nasty until about 8 this morning.


We headed out to Mt. Rushmore...if you look closely below you can barely make out not much of anything:







Obviously, the fog took more time to lift than we had anticipated. Deciding that we did not want to hang out in the trailer all day, we continued on to a place called Custer, South Dakota. Custer, SD is the epicenter of tourist tackiness. Christine and I have been to several cheesey tourist places...Myrtle Beach, Cancun, Pikes Market etc. etc. etc. However, no place matches Custer in sheer over the top gross. It is a tribute to the white trash way of life. Who buys this stuff?


I submit the following three exhibits:













And finally, what I would call the grand finale of bad taste:




We spent about 30 minutes in Custer. That was about all any of us could take without laughing out loud. I observed several people seriously checking out some of this stuff and could only imagine the looks on people's faces as they received the gifts. "Oh boy Cecil, you really should not have. What am I going to do with a battery powered musical dancing gold prospector?"



We then headed back up to Mount Rushmore as it appeared that we would be able to see what we came for. We were not disappointed.






The monument is awe inspiring. Inspiring not just because of the accomplishment of carving four faces into granite...though that is certainly enough to make you shake your head in wonder. What is awe inspiring to me is that they were able to get enough people behind the project.

Imagine what would happen today if someone wanted to carve some faces into the side of a mountain. First off, the 22,117 special interest/race/religious groups that exist in this country would find fault with any candidate for such a monument. Secondly, environmentalists (maybe rightly so) would be up in arms for the damage done the mountain/environment. Finally, who would pay for it? I just don't think it could be done today.



Anyways, we had a great time there. Next up? The Crazy Horse statue and monument.

E

Day 4...

Both Pepper and Wendell are taking the day off from writing today. They growled something about re-energizing their creative juices today. I think they were too busy curled up in blankets sleeping to bother.


Btw...the underlined words in the blog are links to other sites. If you want to see the location or pictures, just click on the link. When you want to go back to the blog hit the back button.


Day 4 was our best day so far as a "travel team". We got up early, got the camp site squared away and headed off to our tourist site of the day. The Custer Battlefield Monument and Museum.


I am not going to bore anyone with a long history lesson. Everyone has the basics down. Several Indian tribes decide that reservation life is not for them. They do what anyone else would do and decide to protect a way of life. Imagine a foreign nation trying to take New York City by force. Good luck with that! The US Gov't decides that resistance is not going to do and send in the Army. The Army fresh off some successes were cocky and arrogant. They incorrectly think bows and arrows don't kill people for real. Custer's ego and miscalculations lead to a major butt-kicking of the Army and his own death.


We spent a few hours on the site of "Custer's Last Stand". The Park Service has a Ranger that talks you through the issues and the battle. He pointed out various locations on the huge area that the battle took place and talked the crowd through the time sequence.






Where Custer and his "management team" fell, they created a cemetery. If you look close in the middle there is a brown headstone. That is where they found George, looking like a human pin cushion if you get the drift.










There is also a monument to the Indian warriors who fought (and died) with Custer. That was a surprise to us, but apparently in the mixed up political times that existed "The enemy of the enemy is a friend"...leading to some tribes helping the US put down the resistance.






We had a good few hours on the site and headed off to the Black Hills of South Dakota and our next stop; Mount Rushmore. It was an easy drive and we are looking forward to seeing it.



Ed

Day 3...By Mr. Wendell

We have been in Montana now for two days. We spent the first night in Deer Lodge and tonight (after a long drive) we will stay in Hardin.

Yesterday, the two legged ones spent a few hours at the Grant-Kohrs Ranch. My dad had originally wanted to head off to the Frontier Prison Museum. However, the ladies in the house decided that a prison tour was too dreary and depressing. It was a nice day, so they decided to hit the ranch. Judging from the talk afterword it must have been pretty cool.



Here are a few pictures:





The story goes something like this. Conrad Kohrs and Johnny Grant were amongst the first western cattle barons. They developed a pretty smart business consisting of taking worn out cattle that had made the trek west and trading settlers 2:1 for healthy cattle. Western pioneers were happy to dump off two sick/weak steers or cows for a healthy one. Conrad and Johnny got two heads of cattle that they usually could nurse back to health and trade again 2:1. Over time, this business allowed them to amass 35,000 healthy animals. They leveraged this wealth into mining and irrigation systems and became pretty big deals in their time. This house was built to house the enterprise.


The tour also featured bunk houses for cowboys (house rules included a mandatory weekly bath), an ice house and other assorted buildings. At one point the ranch consisted of over 30,000 acres and the cattle grazed over 11,000,000 acres of public lands. The ranch was donated to the Federal Park System in the 70s. The 4,000 foot ranch house has been fully (and beautifully) restored with original furniture donated by the Kohrs family.


The rest of the day went pretty well with one minor exception. When Pepper gets back to civilization, I believe she is going to file a suit for canine racial discrimination against the State of Montana. First off, she is fuming over the phrase “Punch them Doggies”! She thinks if humans walked around yelling “Slap some Swiss!” or “Beat a Canadian!” it would probably land them in jail for domestic terrorism/hate crimes. She is probably right. Secondly, dogs are banned from stepping foot on most park ground and must be leashed at all times. Pepper asked...What about the out of control kids not on leashes? I have to agree.



It is time for a nap. All this Pepper drama and riding in this aluminum sided and wood paneled monstrosity makes me sleepy.

W

Day 2

My brother exaggerates. I submit photo "Exhibit A" as evidence that I am perfectly happy and well adjusted in my new mobile residence. By the way, the RV is more like an airport shuttle bus than it is a moving van. Here I am being a shoulder mounted GPS. Do I look stressed at all?


The first stop on our version of the Griswold Family Vacation was Couer D'Lene, Idaho. CDA is a beautiful little town about 30 miles east of Spokane. It features one the prettiest lakes you can imagine surrounded by mountainous terrain. It has a cool little downtown filled with shops.

We spent a few hours at Lake Couer D'Lene Park (NO DOGS ALLOWED!!! What the heck?). There we walked part of the lake and spent time in the park.

Wow. Beautiful. My dad wanted me to interject that Lake CDA features one of the North American Ironman races and that there was someone in the water obviously training for a triathlon. Big whoop. I will delete this paragraph later when he is not looking.

We spent the night in Deer Lodge, Montana. Deer Lodge reportedly has 22 acres of museum floor space. We are planning on hitting the Old Prison Museum. Seriously. Check it out here...

Old Prison Museum

My dad took a run this morning. Reportedly several pick-up trucks slowed down, the drivers (they all looked like this guy...)




rubbernecking at the guy running out in the middle of no where.



"What is that guy doing Bill?"
"Not sure, Joe...it looks like running."
"What is he running from, see anything chasing him? Bears? Cops?"
"Nope. Must be one of those west coast fitness freaks they talk about."
"Got a light?"
"Hold on, let me put my beer down."



I will have pics from the prison museum of Deer Lodge Montana later.

Pep

The Darkest Day of Pepper's Life...by Mr. Wendell

Today we started out from Seattle headed to the Spokane area. My dad and grandfather picked up the RV early and brought it back for loading. It took a couple of hours to get all of the supplies into places.

My mom may show up on an episode of the A&E Show "Hoarders". She packed 22 disposable cameras, 17 outfits for Pepper (including doggie clothes hangers) and a big calculator. A calculator? What are we going to do with a calculator? Tax returns for strangers to pay for gas?

Let me tell you about Pepper... Instead of taking a cheap shot at my sister, I have decided to just state the facts and let you judge her.

It was simply the worst day of her life. Pepper has lived a pampered existence her entire 4 years. She has flown first class at least 8 times, stayed in swank hotels, lived in nice places and eaten the finest of hand cooked dog cuisine. So...picture 5th Avenue Pepper entering her new "home". Her first steps into the RV were a sensory assault. Scent. Sight. Touch. You name it. She immediately started hyperventilating and nearly suffocated herself. It was a scene.

Once my mom got her calmed down we decided to get moving down the road. Now, for those of you who have not sat in a moving RV (at least the one my cheap butt dad rented), it is loud, creaky and you can hear all sorts of rattles. This symphony of sound reduced my sister down to a trembling ball of fur. She jumped to the floor and hid herself under the passenger seat in the cab. She did come out a couple of times to check to see if she was just dreaming it all up. Once satisfied that her private hell had not disappeared and she was in fact in a moving van with windows, she went back under the seat for the remainder of the day.

No stops yesterday other than food and fuel. Today is the first "tourist day".

I am hopeful that the AT3 Dog Stroller stays in the RV.

Mr. W

24 Hours To Go...by Ms. Pepper

This morning I made a feeble attempt to throw myself in front of a moving car while my mom drug me around the neighborhood for my "morning walk". This was a protest attempt. Not because I was angry about being rudely taken from a warm bed and pulled though wet grass naked...though that would surely be motive enough. Nope, this time I was protesting the idea of being loaded into a UHaul van with windows and a kitchen to tour the western US. What's next? Country music?

Call it an RV all you want. You are not fooling me. Oh yeah...the big "RENT ME" sticker on the side of the moving van with an air matress? Classy. Real Classy. It screams to the world that not only do you have the poor taste of embarking on a 21 day marshmallow and weiner roast...but you can not even afford to buy a real RV. You have to RENT one! Take me back to the puppy mill I say.

My brother showed me a few other of the locations that my dad is thinking about visting (click for more info).

The National Pez Dispenser Museum:




The World's Largest Quilt Museum! (Please make it stop!)








And finally, this gem. Imagine the joy on your children's faces as you pull into the parking lot of the National Outhouse Museum!!! "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"




I have tried my best to prevent this trip. I have one last card to play...I truly feel like I am coming down with Swine Flu.

H1N1 is my last hope...otherwise, it looks like this thing is on...

Pepper