Farewells to Colorado, Hello Texas via New Mexico

Monday, June 29, and I have to leave Loveland. I am still amazed by the sight of the mountains so close and find myself reaching for the camera even when stopping at a gas station!

My friend of 38 years and I enjoyed some iced tea and girl-talk on
her front porch during my last afternoon in Aurora.

I took several pictures on the road over the next two days' road trip from Aurora to Austin, Texas. This one is near Colorado Springs. There is a large cluster of antenna on the top of this "hill." I was told that there is an underground military installation near there.

This one taken from I-25 nearing Pueblo, CO. Just found the clouds over the mountains and the shapes interesting. Nearing Trinidad, CO in this next picture. And not far into the Northeastern corner of New Mexico, Capulin Volcano - an extint one, but it helped explain the black volcanic rock outcroppings I saw in the area.

Late afternoon with clouds beginning to look stormy straight ahead of me, I saw this sign. Then this appeared over Amarillo. We spent the night in Amarillo and left for Austin the next morning, Wednesday, July 1.

Rhys Celebrates his Third Birthday, June 28

Another 8 am ring time only today Pems showed after about 24 other dogs. We ended up showing around 9 am and Rhys received the first place blue ribbon in Open Dogs. We stayed in the ring for Winners Dog and Mrs. Betty-Anne Stenmark moved Rhys to the head of the line and he won Winners for two points. Then, after all the girls were judgedwe went back into the ring with the five Specials for Best of Breed. After going around the ring for the second time, Mrs. Stenmark moved us up behind one of the Specials and Rhys received Best of Winners. Oh what a glorious day! After a brief photo session with the judge, we went back to our grooming area where Rhys got a much needed drink and a bit of a rest while I clipped his ribbons to his crate then sat down to finish my morning coffee and make a few phone calls.

After spreading the news, I had to take Rhys shopping for a new toy - his choice. After all, this is our tradition when he wins points, and that Sunday was his third birthday, and we had to celebrate. So, I dressed him up in his cowboy hat and we went through some of the vendors' booths. A few people stopped to comment on his hat lost track of the number of smiles and "how cutes" we heard. He had his picture taken four or five times.

We checked out a variety of stuffed, plush squeaky toys, tug toys, rope toys, and just about any other item he gave a good sniff. Nope. No real interest in any of them, not even a good bite on the squeaky toys. And then he found his prize. A real raccoon tail. Yes, this was definitely the toy he'd been looking for.

I contacted a friend of Rhys' breeder as we had pre-arranged to meet after Rhys and I finished our day at the show, Buzz,. We were invited for supper and to spend the night with Helen, her lovely Golden Retriever, Noelle, a Basset-Beagle mix, Buzz, she was dog-sitting, and her horse Willow. Cheese and fruit with crackers, chips and salsa greeted us as we all got acquainted. Molly warmed up slightly to the other dogs, but Rhys just wanted nothing to do with that big blonde girl. Noelle is sweet and incredibly mellow Golden Retriever. She tried everything a doggy could to get Rhys to play. Nope. Not this boy. Poor Noelle. She looked so disappointed.

I could not tell whether or not Buzz was disappointed...his expression changed only at meal time. Molly and Rhys were both very interested in and curious about Willow. Molly insisted on barking at the lovely mare every time she could see the horse.

Rhys spent more time sniffing along the fence beside Willow than barking and I knew exactly what was going through his sweet Corgi brain: "I'd give up a week of cookies for one good roll in that pile over there...."

After a great steak from the charcoal grill and a little more conversation, our hostess showed us to a comfortable bed in a room with tropical flair. With the open window giving us a nice cooling breeze during the night, we all three slept quite well.