This time last year, Bandit was officially diagnosed with cancer and we, as a dog family, decided that, so long as Bandit was able, we would take as many weekend road trips and car rides together as possible. In the blog post titled, “Don’t put off ‘til tomorrow what can be enjoyed today,” I promised that I would blog about those adventures and, although it’s been well over a year now, that’s just what I plan to do!
I kept a journal in my nightstand while Bandit was sick and, when he and the rest of the family were sleeping or off doing other things, I wrote about the events of the day. I cried when I initially wrote them and I tear up reading back over the entries today, but I am so very thankful for those memories and I’m glad I had the strength to write about our experiences as they happened - both the good and the bad.
Here are five of those stories:
Land of Fire and Ice - On January 24th, 2009, the dogs, Dan and I set out for El Malpais National Monument, near Grants, New Mexico . The area is known as the " Land of Fire and Ice" because of its proximity to both the Bandera ice cave and volcano. We didn’t visit the ice cave or walk any of the trails in the Bandera area, but we did take a nice long drive along the lava flows within El Malpais itself and stopped off at La Ventana Natural Arch. Unfortunately, the lava caves at El Malpais were closed due to snow, as were the craters, but we will try to circle back and see them another time.
Journal: “Let me just say that this first trip was an emotionally draining and difficult one for me (and for Dan, too), but I'm glad we did it. Hard and trying times like these will only make our relationship stronger. Bandit did very well in the back of the Jeep and settled in on his heated dog bed relatively quickly and Darby only tried once to escape by jumping out the back window while we were stopped, but I caught him nearly mid-air and just before his landing by grabbing a hold of him by the fur of his nape and tail and quickly tossed him back into the Jeep within seconds! The day was, nevertheless, filled with a whole lot of "Lay down, Bandit," "What are you doing, Darby," "Take it easy, Bandit," and "Stop that, Darby" moments, but thankfully Scout and Daisy were less of a handful! We, of course, had to lift Bandit in and out of the Jeep and carry him to different points along the way, but we didn't mind and he seemed to enjoy the car ride and being in the great outdoors with his family. All and all, this was a good trip.”
Here’s a photo of our entire family at El Malpais.
Billy the Kid and the Spotted Hounds - On Saturday, January 31, 2009, we decided to pack up our sleeping bags and head out for a quick little road trip. As you can see from the photo below, we wore our best giddy up gear and visited the gravesite, a couple of historical markers, and the stagecoach at the Billy the Kid museum. It was a beautiful day and, despite the morning’s rocky start, I am glad we decided to make the trip.
Journal: “You see, earlier in the day (and just as we’re getting ready to head out for our little road trip), Darby decided to gobble down an entire days’ worth of Bandit’s pills. Yes, an entire day’s worth! I was helping Bandit out the back door to go potty and had just set the pills out on the counter so that I could pack them into our bags when Darby came running in from outside, propped his front feet up on the counter when my back was turned, and scarffed them down. Needless to say, we immediately called our vet and then the Animal Poison Control hotline. After paying $60.00 to access the hotline, the vet with poison control told us to induce vomiting with peanut butter and hydrogen peroxide. Boy howdy! That concoction really did the trick! Darby was hurling within minutes and we got all five pills back instantaneously! Thank God! Here’s the recipe: 2 slices of bread, ½ inch smear of peanut butter, and 2½ tablespoons of 3% hydrogen peroxide. We ended our journey by tucking our tails in for the night at the KOA in Tucumcari, spending the evening in another cute little KOA Kamping Kabin. You might remember that we first discovered Kamping Kabins in Hillsboro on our trip to Winslow and the Petrified Forest . I can’t say it enough – those cozy little cabins are just awesome! So, despite the excitement of Saturday morning, we very much enjoyed our trip to Ft. Sumner.”
Here’s a photo of our spotted gang in Ft. Sumner.
Pup Portraits - The weekend of February 7, 2009, Dan and I set up our own little photo studio and had some fun with the kids. Why no road trip you ask? Well, my bosses bought me tickets to the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra for my birthday and, instead of trying to pack a quick trip into just one day, we decided to take things easy and stay close to home. As for my birthday, Dan had to go into work for part of the day and the youngsters went to dog camp, but I enjoyed a nice relaxing morning with Scout and Bandit, cake with Dan and our friends Alli and Von in the afternoon, and dinner at home with Dan that evening, followed by a night of music at Popejoy.
Journal: “Now, don’t get me wrong, but WOW! What a difference between 30 and 35! When I turned 30, I had a big night out on the town, complete with a dinner party and dancing on the bar, and this year it’s dinner at home and an evening at the symphony! Ha! Who would have thought 5 years would make such a difference in a person’s life! Look out 40, here I come!”
Here are four portraits of the pups, as taken by Dan and I that weekend.
New Wheels for the Four Wheeler - Just in case you were wondering, “Four Wheeler” is the nickname Dan and I gave Bandit because of the way he’d jump into bed with us in the morning, climb up and over our bodies (and the bodies of his brothers and sister), and perch and teeter on the highest point possible, just like any other ATV on rugged terrain!
Journal: “We decided to go ahead and order a pet stroller from justpetstrollers.com after our last family outing. For our maiden voyage, Bandit and I took a quick spin around the block. He wasn’t sure what to think of the stroller at first, but it wasn’t long before he was happily sniffing the air and wagging his tail. As a matter of fact, he liked it so much that he even took a little nap in the stroller while he waited for Mom to figure out how to get him out! Anyhoo, now that we have the stroller, we can really get out and do things, like cruise the neighborhood or take a nice relaxing stroll along the Bosque. I'm certain this stroller is going to turn out to be one of the best investments we ever made!”
Here’s a photo of me and the kids enjoying a walk along the Bosque.
Four Dogs, a Stroller, and the VLA - For Valentine’s Day weekend 2009, we had originally planned to take a trip down south to Roswell, NM and visit the UFO museum (yes, dogs are allowed in the museum!) and stay overnight at the KOA in Carlsbad Caverns, but we decided the long drive of 5 ½ hours each way might be too much for Bandit and opted for a quick day trip to the Very Large Array (VLA) near Socorro, NM. The VLA is pretty much an astronomy observatory, consisting of 27 radio telescope antennas arranged in a Y-shaped pattern. Each antenna is 82 feet in diameter and acts like a zoom lens on a camera collecting data for the scientists. For me, the most exciting thing about the VLA is its ties to the movie industry. Much of the outdoor footage of the movie Contact (starring Jodie foster) was filmed at the VLA and, according to Wikipedia, the final scene of the alien-invasion film The Arrival and the beginning of the movie Independence Day with Will Smith also featured scenes shot at the VLA.
Journal: “To be honest, there really wasn’t much to see or do at the VLA (other than the fun whispering thing at the beginning of the walking tour), but the drive was beautiful and it ended up being a nice little outing for our gang. Dan got some really great shots of the antenna and several fun photos of me and the kids.”
Here’s a photo of the dogs and I in front of one of a VLA antenna, together with one of the antenna by itself.
I kept a journal in my nightstand while Bandit was sick and, when he and the rest of the family were sleeping or off doing other things, I wrote about the events of the day. I cried when I initially wrote them and I tear up reading back over the entries today, but I am so very thankful for those memories and I’m glad I had the strength to write about our experiences as they happened - both the good and the bad.
Here are five of those stories:
Land of Fire and Ice - On January 24th, 2009, the dogs, Dan and I set out for El Malpais National Monument, near Grants, New Mexico . The area is known as the " Land of Fire and Ice" because of its proximity to both the Bandera ice cave and volcano. We didn’t visit the ice cave or walk any of the trails in the Bandera area, but we did take a nice long drive along the lava flows within El Malpais itself and stopped off at La Ventana Natural Arch. Unfortunately, the lava caves at El Malpais were closed due to snow, as were the craters, but we will try to circle back and see them another time.
Journal: “Let me just say that this first trip was an emotionally draining and difficult one for me (and for Dan, too), but I'm glad we did it. Hard and trying times like these will only make our relationship stronger. Bandit did very well in the back of the Jeep and settled in on his heated dog bed relatively quickly and Darby only tried once to escape by jumping out the back window while we were stopped, but I caught him nearly mid-air and just before his landing by grabbing a hold of him by the fur of his nape and tail and quickly tossed him back into the Jeep within seconds! The day was, nevertheless, filled with a whole lot of "Lay down, Bandit," "What are you doing, Darby," "Take it easy, Bandit," and "Stop that, Darby" moments, but thankfully Scout and Daisy were less of a handful! We, of course, had to lift Bandit in and out of the Jeep and carry him to different points along the way, but we didn't mind and he seemed to enjoy the car ride and being in the great outdoors with his family. All and all, this was a good trip.”
Here’s a photo of our entire family at El Malpais.
Billy the Kid and the Spotted Hounds - On Saturday, January 31, 2009, we decided to pack up our sleeping bags and head out for a quick little road trip. As you can see from the photo below, we wore our best giddy up gear and visited the gravesite, a couple of historical markers, and the stagecoach at the Billy the Kid museum. It was a beautiful day and, despite the morning’s rocky start, I am glad we decided to make the trip.
Journal: “You see, earlier in the day (and just as we’re getting ready to head out for our little road trip), Darby decided to gobble down an entire days’ worth of Bandit’s pills. Yes, an entire day’s worth! I was helping Bandit out the back door to go potty and had just set the pills out on the counter so that I could pack them into our bags when Darby came running in from outside, propped his front feet up on the counter when my back was turned, and scarffed them down. Needless to say, we immediately called our vet and then the Animal Poison Control hotline. After paying $60.00 to access the hotline, the vet with poison control told us to induce vomiting with peanut butter and hydrogen peroxide. Boy howdy! That concoction really did the trick! Darby was hurling within minutes and we got all five pills back instantaneously! Thank God! Here’s the recipe: 2 slices of bread, ½ inch smear of peanut butter, and 2½ tablespoons of 3% hydrogen peroxide. We ended our journey by tucking our tails in for the night at the KOA in Tucumcari, spending the evening in another cute little KOA Kamping Kabin. You might remember that we first discovered Kamping Kabins in Hillsboro on our trip to Winslow and the Petrified Forest . I can’t say it enough – those cozy little cabins are just awesome! So, despite the excitement of Saturday morning, we very much enjoyed our trip to Ft. Sumner.”
Here’s a photo of our spotted gang in Ft. Sumner.
Pup Portraits - The weekend of February 7, 2009, Dan and I set up our own little photo studio and had some fun with the kids. Why no road trip you ask? Well, my bosses bought me tickets to the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra for my birthday and, instead of trying to pack a quick trip into just one day, we decided to take things easy and stay close to home. As for my birthday, Dan had to go into work for part of the day and the youngsters went to dog camp, but I enjoyed a nice relaxing morning with Scout and Bandit, cake with Dan and our friends Alli and Von in the afternoon, and dinner at home with Dan that evening, followed by a night of music at Popejoy.
Journal: “Now, don’t get me wrong, but WOW! What a difference between 30 and 35! When I turned 30, I had a big night out on the town, complete with a dinner party and dancing on the bar, and this year it’s dinner at home and an evening at the symphony! Ha! Who would have thought 5 years would make such a difference in a person’s life! Look out 40, here I come!”
Here are four portraits of the pups, as taken by Dan and I that weekend.
New Wheels for the Four Wheeler - Just in case you were wondering, “Four Wheeler” is the nickname Dan and I gave Bandit because of the way he’d jump into bed with us in the morning, climb up and over our bodies (and the bodies of his brothers and sister), and perch and teeter on the highest point possible, just like any other ATV on rugged terrain!
Journal: “We decided to go ahead and order a pet stroller from justpetstrollers.com after our last family outing. For our maiden voyage, Bandit and I took a quick spin around the block. He wasn’t sure what to think of the stroller at first, but it wasn’t long before he was happily sniffing the air and wagging his tail. As a matter of fact, he liked it so much that he even took a little nap in the stroller while he waited for Mom to figure out how to get him out! Anyhoo, now that we have the stroller, we can really get out and do things, like cruise the neighborhood or take a nice relaxing stroll along the Bosque. I'm certain this stroller is going to turn out to be one of the best investments we ever made!”
Here’s a photo of me and the kids enjoying a walk along the Bosque.
Four Dogs, a Stroller, and the VLA - For Valentine’s Day weekend 2009, we had originally planned to take a trip down south to Roswell, NM and visit the UFO museum (yes, dogs are allowed in the museum!) and stay overnight at the KOA in Carlsbad Caverns, but we decided the long drive of 5 ½ hours each way might be too much for Bandit and opted for a quick day trip to the Very Large Array (VLA) near Socorro, NM. The VLA is pretty much an astronomy observatory, consisting of 27 radio telescope antennas arranged in a Y-shaped pattern. Each antenna is 82 feet in diameter and acts like a zoom lens on a camera collecting data for the scientists. For me, the most exciting thing about the VLA is its ties to the movie industry. Much of the outdoor footage of the movie Contact (starring Jodie foster) was filmed at the VLA and, according to Wikipedia, the final scene of the alien-invasion film The Arrival and the beginning of the movie Independence Day with Will Smith also featured scenes shot at the VLA.
Journal: “To be honest, there really wasn’t much to see or do at the VLA (other than the fun whispering thing at the beginning of the walking tour), but the drive was beautiful and it ended up being a nice little outing for our gang. Dan got some really great shots of the antenna and several fun photos of me and the kids.”
Here’s a photo of the dogs and I in front of one of a VLA antenna, together with one of the antenna by itself.
