The day after Christmas, we finally decided that it was time to get another dog. So, we thought we would look around at a couple of local pet stores to see what they had. I am a bit leery of pet stores and where they get their animals. We didn't want a puppy that came out of a 'puppy mill'. Rather, we wanted a pup that came from a respectable breeder. Buck came from a professional breeder in Arkansas. I suppose that makes Buck a red neck. Of course, with a name like Buck, being a red neck is part of the territory.
Here's a couple of shots of me with the Buckster. Yeah, his name is Buck, but we have come up with a number of variations of his name, depending upon his (or our) mood. For instance, when he is playful, he is the Buckster. When he's been bad, he's a Buck-head. When he whines, he's Buck Owens. When we're really upset with him, he's a Buck-face. The list goes on and on, but you get the idea. Post edit: It has been pointed out to me that our pet names (pun intended) for Buck could be taken to mean something that we are not implying. When we call him Buck Head or Buck Whatever, please insert the word 'Butt', NOT THE OTHER WORD!!
Buck was in the first pet store we went to. He was right out front, laying down sleeping when we first saw him. Of course, it didn't take much coaxing to get him to play with us a bit. Sandy fell in love with him immediately. It took me a few more minutes to warm up to him, although I knew in my heart that this was the dog for us. I have always loved labs - and especially black labs. They have such a wonderul temperament as well as being very intelligent. They make wonderful pets and are especially good with children. They are not normally aggressive and are easily trained. Of course, we are in the middle of training right now. House training, leash training (the most difficult thing it seems), command training (sit, stay, down), etc. It's a lot of work, but a dog that is obedient is a joy to the owner and content with himself.
We were a bit reluctant to take on the responsibility of another dog, but in the end, our hearts won out over our heads. It has been years since we raised and trained a puppy. My brother and sister in law came over on Saturday to meet Buck. They brought a squeaky duck toy for Buck to play with. It has become one of his most favorite things!! While here, my brother mentioned that he thought the dog was a bit lethargic. We had an appointment with the vet on Sunday, but wishing to err on the side of caution, we decided to call the vet and take Buck in that day. I'm glad we did. We were concerned about Buck possibly having Parvo and although his Parvo test turned out negative, we did find that he had parasites. Hmmm . . . what the heck is a parasite? I've known a few people that I considered to be parasites . . . so was the doc telling us that we were parasites, since Buck had us? No . . . well maybe . . . but actually, the doc was telling us that Buck had worms. Oh joy . . . Anyhow, the doc gave us some medicine for Buck and as of this writing, he is doing much better.
So now you are introduced to Buck. Right now, he's wagging his tail. I guess that must mean that he is happy to meet you. :-) Watch for pictures of Buck while he roams around with us on our frequent forays with Boldlygo!!
Next, we visited Los Alamos. Los Alamos dates back to the 1880's. You can do a Google search if you would like to know more about the town. Suffice to say, since Sandy and I love all things historic, we were thrilled to find this little hamlet. There is a hotel in town that was built in 1880, then burned to the ground and was re-built in the early 20th century. It now serves as a bed and breakfast. Here's a pic of the hotel. 
As in Los Olivos, there is an old gas station that has been shuttered for who-knows-how-long. We had to take a picture of the prices on the pump. Notice that it is in liters. Also notice that it is leaded gas. Must have closed sometime in the early 70's. Here's the station. 
And here is the gas pump showing the price.
37 1/2 cents per liter. Hmmmm . . . that works out to about a buck and a half a gallon. Hmmm . . . Of course, gas is getting pretty close to that number around here over the last couple of months. But, slObama hasn't taken office yet. Stock up on all the gas you can before that lib-dem taxes it up to 9 bucks.
Now, you also may say that 'camping' in Anaheim is not really camping. I will grant that . . . we weren't really camping, rather we were RVing. The Anaheim Resort and Campground is a fairly large park, with accomodations for smaller rigs, like our Boldlygo, all the way up to and including huge buses and 5th wheels. It's basically a concrete slab with a couple of strips of grass here and there. Definitely not our favorite type of 'camping'. However, it afforded us the opportunity to get away for a weekend, just the two of us, without the distractions of all the things we would "have" to do if we were at home. It was a really relaxing weekend. Oh, I need to mention that, although the RV park had free WI-FI, they didn't have cable television!! What the . . . ??!! No problem, we brought a DVD along and watched that instead. Mmmm, Mmmm . . . a big old juicy steak, baked potato and mushrooms along with the movie Talledega Nights. Now, what could be better?
On Saturday, we went to Disney Walk - a place that we had never been. It was okay I suppose, although I prefer Universal City Walk. Then we headed over to a little Mexican place named Los Sanchez for a nice lunch. Then back to the park to just sit and enjoy the afternoon. Some of our best conversations come when we are sitting around outside of Boldlygo, with nothing to do except be together. 
Above is a picture of one of the things that Shawanda did best . . . sleep! When I picked her out at the pet store back in '97, I could hardly get her awake enough to see a little of her personality. She pert near slept through the whole thing. And then when I got her home, I lay down with her on the floor, where she put her head on my arm and fell back asleep! She slept next to my bed almost every night for the next 11 years. Of course, she could be a bit of a noisy sleeper and although that didn't keep me awake, I think that Sandy spent a few sleepless nights because of Shawanda's snoring - not to mention the occasional fart that would make your eyes water! We finally decided that certain types of table scraps were not conducive to a good night's rest. Sometimes the farts were SBD's, but often they were actually audible. She's the only dog I've ever known that you could hear her farts. She'd rip one off and then look up at me . . . I always thought that she thought it was funny. On other occasions, we've seen her rip one and then get up and move, as if to get away from her own smell! I know it's funny to admit, but I'm even going to miss her farts.
Above is a picture of her at an earlier time, before we moved to our new house. I don't remember exactly what she was doing in this picture, but she was probably staring at a bird. Although she was a German Shepard/Black Lab mix, she was the birdiest dog I have ever seen. She would chase birds all day long when she was younger. Bird was another word that she recognized. I would say "where's the bird" and she would look up in the sky, gazing around to find the bird.
Here's another shot of Sandy's bestest friend Emily.
Here's a shot of Boldlygo and our big ol' Dodge. The area that we were camped in was actually a group camp area. However, it was just the 6 of us, our friends in their trailer and us in Boldlygo. It was very nice and peaceful over here. On Saturday morning, we had a Coyote approach the trailer. I went outside and the critter got within about 30 yards of me before he finally winded me and figured out I wasn't his friend. I sure wanted to shoot that thing, but I don't think Thousand Trails would approve of me blasting away in the middle of their campground.
The last picture here is of me dumping the poopies out the back of Boldlygo. This is a ritual that takes place about a half hour before we leave any campsite that includes hookups. It's not exactly the most fun part of the trip . . . but someone has to do it. I haven't talked Sandy into taking on that job . . . yet . . . so for the short term, I will continue to do it . . . and complain :-)
The photo above and the one below are of Sequoia Redwoods at Calaveras Big Trees State Park. These magnificent trees are cousins to the giant redwoods in Sequoia State Park a little south of here.
On Sunday, we attended services in Modesto, where a friend of ours is pastor. On the way back, we drove past a ranch that has a host of exotic animals. The picture below is a Bison, commonly referred to as an American Buffalo.
In the town of Sonora, there is an excellent museum where the sheriff's office and jail used to be. Here is a shot of Sandy in jail again!!
They also had quite an extensive firearms display. Of course, that was the biggest thrill for me personally. The guide that was running the museum that day was quite entertaining.
So while in gold country, we visited Jamestown, Sonora, Angels Camp, Murphys (our favorite), Calaveras Big Trees and Jackass Hill, along with numerous little stops along the way. We can't wait to go back!!
