After our last trip the the Sierras, we decided that we would like two things. Number one, we want a bigger trailer. Yes, Boldlygo has been wonderful for us. We have slept comfortably in the heat, in the rain, and in the snow. We have cooked many a fine meal on her stove. We've made popcorn in the microwave and coffee to wake us up in the morning. But alas, it has just gotten a bit too small for us. However, since a bigger trailer is number one on the list, number two was, of a necessity, a more powerful truck. Well now, there was a bit of a problem with that. I love my truck!! It has everything that I need and nothing that I don't need. It's not all fancied out inside with 'rich Corinthian leather' or any of that sissy stuff. It's utilitarian. It's comfortable. It's four wheel drive . . . what more can a cowboy use? Well fortunately, we were able to find an identical truck to replace our old one. Uh, identical with three exceptions. It is a different color, it's a year newer and it has a Cummins Turbo Diesel. Common all of you Tim the Toolman wannabes!! Say it with me!!! HUH, HUH, HUH!!! On May 30, 2009 we picked up 325 horses and 610 foot pounds of torque that will pull your house right off of the foundation!! Hmmmm . . . maybe this truck is a bit over kill? No, not really. It is capable of pulling pretty much any RV that Sandy and I would want to own. But even pulling boldlygo, our fuel mileage has been a good 18-20% better than the old truck. And, our mileage running empty is also appreciably better than with the old truck. The best of both worlds, or so it seems. Now it's off to look for a bigger trailer, one that will better accomodate the three of us - yes, I have to count Buck in there. Momma's boy needs a place to sleep too :-)
Here's some pictures of the new truck.
Every year in Bishop, California, there is a week long festival which surrounds the Memorial Day weekend. This festival is world famous and is called Mule Days. Having lived in a very small town for a few years, I fully understand how cheesy small town doings like this can be. Regardless, the residents of Bishop and the surrounding area are very proud of Mule Days - and rightly so. What 'big city' folks think of as cheesy is really just good, old fashioned, clean fun. We try to make the Mule Days parade every year. Now, this year's Mule Days parade was extra special. Why? Because BUCK WAS THERE!! Yes ladies and gentlemen, Buck got to enjoy his very first Mule Days parade! To tell the truth, he wasn't at all interested in the mules and horses. No, he was MUCH more interested in the little kids sitting around us and all of those people walking down the street. I think he thought it should be him out there. After all, it's all about Buck, right?
It was hotter than blue blazes out there on the parade route, sitting on the ground in the sun. Of course, we were able to grab bottles of water to keep ourselves hydrated and a little bit cool. Not so for Buck. He hasn't mastered drinking out of a water bottle yet. Besides, I didn't want to carry around a bunch of water for him anyhow. Solution? Make him carry his own water - and his own bowl!! Here he is with his backpack on, water bowl strapped to one side and a couple of bottles of water in the pouches. He was so self important!!
As mentioned earlier, Chris and Florica joined us on this trip. Here is a picture of them enjoying the parade.
We arrived in camp about 1:00 in the afternoon, the day before the opener. We normally stay at the Upper Sage Flat campground, but upon arrival we were informed that it was closed for at least a week so that they could get their water well repaired. Apparently it did not survive the winter. The camp host was there, but the gates were locked. We chatted with the host for a while, a real nice fellow named Roy, recently retired from a job as a correctional officer. As an alternative, we ended up having to camp at the Sage Flat Campground, about a mile downstream. It's a very nice campground, but I still prefer Upper Sage Flat. After getting camp set up, we relaxed by the fire for a while. Actually, we spent a great deal of time sitting around the fire on this particular weekend. It really is relaxing to just sit around and talk. No TV, no phone, no distractions. Chris is wearing short pants in the picture below, but don't let that fool you. The temperature at the time this photo was taken was about 52 degrees. At night, the temps dipped into the low 30's. Opening day morning, the thermometer was hovering right at 30. A might nippy for sure, but it really did make that fire feel good!!
On opening morning, we were up at the crack of dawn and off to the creek. The bite was pretty slow in the morning, probably due to the cold weather. Regardless, we were able to pick up a few nice trout. Below is a picture of Chris with a couple of his fish.
Nice looking fish, huh? The one on the right was just under 14".
After working up an appetite fishing, we came back to camp for a nice hearty breakfast. I just couldn't resist taking a picture of the bacon frying. Nothing like bacon on a nice crisp mountain morning. We added some pancakes too and had a camping feast. Of course, we had to eat fast. It was still so cold outside that our food would chill before we could finish eating!
Well, that's it. Just a short account of the latest adventures of Boldlygo. Next trip - back to the same place for Memorial Day!!!
Buck is up to about 40 pounds now. He's not huge, but he's not tiny either. Here's a pic of him inside of Boldlygo, laying in front of the bathroom door. It doesn't pay to have an emergency when he's laying there:
Most of the time while we are driving, Buck prefers to lay in the back seat floorboard. On the way home, he finally decided to sit on the seat and look out the window. Here's a shot Sandy snapped while he was so doing:
All in all, it was a successful weekend of camping with Buck. There were some challenges, no doubt. For instance, I would have liked to sleep in past 5:30. However, when you have a pup, you learn to get up early to take him out to pee. Otherwise, he may just find a convenient place to do his business inside - like right where you step first thing in the morning. Some other challenges that the RVer faces when camping with a dog (especially with a pup) is that some dogs don't like to pee or poop while on a leash. This was not a problem with Buck. He acted the same as always, that is, feed him a pound of food and within an hour he'll evacuate 3 pounds of poop. Not sure how that works . . . but trust me on this. Another challenge is getting enough of his energy sapped for him to be ready to go to bed at a decent hour. This is more difficult than it may seem, since he had to be on a leash all the time we were outside. Of course, one of the biggest challenges is the fact that he is a dog and therefore lays on the floor. Where on the floor? Well now, that depends. Do you need to use the bathroom? He'll be laying in front of the door. Do you need to cook dinner? He's laying in front of the stove. Do you need to do dishes? He's laying in front of the sink. Do you need to go outside for something? Well . . . you get the idea. Our Boldlygo is a pretty small travel trailer. Just the right size for Sandy and I as long as only one of us is walking around at any given time. With Buck along, all bets are off. We may just go looking for a larger unit in the near future . . . not because of Buck, but because Boldygo DOESN'T HAVE AN OVEN!!!
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.
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. 