Snow, snow, and more snow

Hi all! Just a quick update from the North Pole northern Utah, where Winter masquerades as Spring, and Summer pretends that it is mid-Winter.

*ahem*

I am not feeling too good today - my stummy is a little upset, and since I didn't eat dinner, and only half-heartedly bit Abby on the butt when we were outside, Mom is going to take me to the V-E-T tomorrow - so I'm looking for a little time away from The Little Monster my dear sweet sister Abby and put up a bloggy post.

Just a couple of things about the last post. We get moose in the yard pretty much every spring and fall. This one was a female - she didn't have a calf with her, so Mom and Dad are guessing that this was a maybe year and a half old female. She looked very healthy for this time of year, which was good. Needless to say, Mom and Dad don't let us out in the yard when there are moose in the yard. Since this one looked like she was ready to settle in, Dad had to go out and tell her that our neighbor's yard was Much More Inviting.

Mom says she has since seen her strolling around the neighborhood - I guess she's looking for a yard that can match ours in comfort and foodables (she seemed to be very interested in our bushes...).

Anyhoo, it has been snow for, um, like EVER. I haven't done much running around today, but yesterday Abby and I went out zooming around in the snow....

Heehee. She's so cute, pretending that's she a fast zoomie dog!

Now this is how it is done, youngster!

She's learning...
Heehee. She's not fast enough. Yet!

Biggify this one to see puppy-jaws of doom!

Here I am, teaching the Little One how to run like a Big Dog!

Happy snow days, everyone!

*kissey face*
-Fiona

PeeEss: Yes, these photos really were all taken yesterday. Yes, I know that tomorrow is the beginning of May... While we'd like to be hiking, this snow stuff if pretty fun!

Snowy Days

Mom's keyboard is dying - the 'T' key has fallen off, and she's working really hard in an effort to use 'T' as little as possible. Anyhoo, we had snow yesterday, today, and likely tomorrow. Here are some pics from Wednesday!



TLM is learning the ropes in the snow!

A hard day, indeed!


Oh, and we had a moose in our yard before the snow came!

Snow is falling now, BTW....

*kissey face*
-Fiona

Abby is now officially an Autocross Dog!

This weekend we were off to the historic Wendover Airfield for the first autocross out there of the season. The Utah Region is hosting a couple of National level events in May, and Mom and Dad (and Uncle Charlie and Aunt Linda) want to be prepared for them. Because Wendover is 130 miles away, Mom and Dad decided to go out Friday night (Mom and Dad aren't exactly morning people...). Friday didn't start off as a particularly promising day; we had snow. We sent Abby out to make sure that it was real snow... Heehee!


But, by the time we were leaving Park City, the weather was starting to lift.

We picked up the car trailer in Salt Lake and were off to Wendover. Abby took my napping spot (again) so I got to sit with Mom. Abby thinks that she's got the best spot, but I think I've got the best spot! Which, now that I think about it, means that we're both happy. As for Mom? I hope she realizes how lucky she is to have me as a lap dog! Heehee!

I wanted to stop on the way out there to see my buddy Clive, but Mom and Dad wanted to get to Wendover before dark.

Clive! I didn't know you were So Close! And you are so important that you've got your own freeway exit!

Oh. Mom says that's a different Clive. Gosh darn it. I was so excited to see you! I guess I'll have to wait until Air Fiona is operational again before I can come visit.

We arrived at Wendover before the sun set, and Abby got her first sight of the hangar where the Enola Gay was housed stateside during WWII.

Mom says that for those of you who have asked about the House With Wheels, when we tow the trailer, we are 64.5 feet long. (The legal limit in most western states is 65 feet...)

When the sun set, we settled in to relax for the night.
This way we could be up bright and early the next morning. We all slept well (well, except for Mom, because Abby has decided that she should be a pillow dog like me, and I guess there isn't quite as much pillow room in the bed in the House With Wheels) and were raring to go the next morning!


Unlike some autocross events where we are parked so I can sit and look out the window at Mom driving the Big Yellow Car, at this event, we were parked a fair distance away from the course, but still close to all the cars and people in the paddock. Abby took to the whole autocross business fairly quickly, and was pulling her 'cute face', suckering people left and right.

I swear, this girl has no shame sometimes!

Anyhoo, after a late start, Mom and Dad spent the day dashing back and forth to the House With Wheels to let us out on walks, in between racing and working. Notice how Dad is scattering the course workers here!

Dad at the start.
When they were done, Mom and Dad took us on a long walk, so we could check out the sights of the historic airfield.
We got to see the old barracks

(Mom says that every time she sees these buildings her brain automatically plays footage of a nuclear bomb going off. I have no idea what she's talking about...)

And bits of airplanes.
A most excellent walk in a most historic place!

The next day, Mom and Aunt Linda drove the Big Yellow Car, while Dad and Uncle Charlie drove the little silver and black thing.

Mom and Dad both had a great time, and Mom apparently made great strides on Sunday (but we don't have any pictures of anyone driving on Sunday - Mom and Dad were too busy working and driving to get any pictures), so it was a good weekend; I know Mom seemed really happy with how she drove on Sunday - I think Dad was happy, too, but I think he was too tired to be really excited!

Sunday was kind of a long day, though, because Mom and Dad didn't finish driving until 5pm or so, and then they had to load up cars and get the House(s) With Wheels packed up and ready to go, and then we had to drive back to Salt Lake and drop the trailer and then drop the motorhome in Park City and go home. We didn't even get home until 10pm! And then after Mom and Dad were all exhausted, Abby decided to get under the bed (she barely fits!) and bark incessantly for like 10 minutes. For No Good Reason, other than that she's a puppy. Like that's an excuse. *sheesh*

Today was a bit of a recovery day; Mom and Dad had spent a lot of yesterday running around (literally!) when they weren't driving (not to mention Dad driving us all safely home after such a long day!), and so they were pretty worn out today. Me? I was happy to kick back and keep Dad company, but Abby had to have a serious case of puppy-itis, so Mom took her to Petco to wear her out a bit! And Mom saw Jessi, the lady who is training Mom to give us turkey hotdogs, and Mom says that we will be going back to school for more education. I totally blame Abby for this continuing education. Unless it involves more turkey hotdogs, in which case it will all be okay. I guess.

Mom wants to add a few gratuitous racing photos, so you can see what this autocross is all about.



Oh, and I should mention that Abby is totally cool with the autocross - my little sister is becoming more and more of a real dog every day! (And yes, she is getting BIG! I would be nervous about her getting so big, but I know that I can run faster, corner better, and change directions quicker than she will ever be able to, so I'm not too worried - she won't ever be able to catch me!)

Heehee!

*kissey face*
-Fiona

Back Home For Now

Finally, an update! I know, I know. I’m not going to harp on Mom’s “busy” status; I’m just going to have to accept that until I grow opposable thumbs, I’m going to have update according to Mom’s whims. *sigh* Anyhoo, we had to head back to Park City today (I’ll explain in a few), but just mentally insert several hikes (ones that pretty duplicated ones that I have already posted pictures of, and one that was short, and was along the Virgin River that had rapids and all sort of cool scenery, but for which Mom forgot the camera… *ahem*), a little bitey-face and me hiding under the chair to get away from The Little Monster.

Oh. Wait. I’ve got a couple of pictures of that last bit.


Okay then. Moving on. We came back up to Park City because Mom and Dad have a car race this weekend. One of the reasons for going to southern Utah in the first place was to pick up the House With Wheels from its warm winter home, so that we’d have a nice comfy place to hang out while Mom and Dad do their car racing thing. We were going to come back on Thursday, but the weather is calling for snow (or rain, depending on which weather forecast you read) the next couple of days, and Dad didn’t want to be driving in bad weather. So, we loaded up the House With Wheels and departed this morning.

While Abby and I have the entire HWW (House With Wheels) at our disposal (I should note that this is the HWW all folded in, for travel - Mom took this picture from the passenger front seat while we were driving - as you know, we have TONS of room when it is parked and all opened up!),

We choose to hang out up front with Mom and Dad because that’s where all the interesting stuff happens…

We can keep an eye on Dad’s driving.

And we can play two-headed hydra.

And we can see how closely we can squash in to nap.

And I can keep a close paw on Abby, when needed.

In all fairness, the little rat slept 99.9% of the trip. Which meant that she was taking my usual sleeping space. Which meant that I had to find someplace else to hang out.

Heehee!

Anyhoo, we are all back safe and sound and back in the House Without Wheels. Mom is going to get the House With Wheels cleaned up so it is ready for the car racing this weekend. If the weather is better than predicted, Mom and Dad have promised to take us on long walks. And if the weather doesn’t cooperate, I’m guessing Abby and I will be running around the in yard, getting Super Muddy Feet!

I’ll keep you posted!

*kissey face*
-Fiona

PeeEss: I have been really bad in following bloggies as of late; I'd like to promise that I'll do better, but I have to accept that Mom is a slacker in helping me. I'll do my best to keep up with everyone, but don't take it personally if I don't get to you for a few days at a time.

We've been hiking!!!

Mom is really starting to slack again. But I have decided that I can’t really fire her without having a replacement lined up, and frankly, it’s pretty hard to find someone who will work for dog cookies and kisses who isn’t already working for someone else. So… I’m stuck with Mom’s slacking. It’s just so hard to get good help these days.

*ahem*

We’ve been on two more hikes since the last post. See, Abby suffers from CPS (Crazy Puppy Syndrome), and as such if she is inside the House With Wheels for too long, she starts to bounce off the walls and chew on my tail. I’m not too worried about the walls, but I prefer the plumage of my tail to stay where it is. So, I have implored Mom and Dad to take us hiking Every Day so that the symptoms of CPS don’t become overwhelming and I have to go in hiding behind the chairs.

And in all fairness, Mom and Dad have been really good about upholding their end of the bargain. That said, I have to warn you, because of Mom’s slacking this post is pretty picture intensive, as I’ve got pictures from both hikes…

Yesterday we hiked the ‘Guacamole Trail’ up Dalton Wash. Don’t ask me why it is called ‘Guacamole – I saw no signs of chips or salsa anywhere, and I was looking everywhere! I hiked part of this last fall with Mom and Dad; it is ‘slickrock’ (i.e. sandstone) for a good part of the trail, so it is kind of rough on my feet, and so Mom and Dad didn’t want to go the full 7 miles of the trail. The felt the same way yesterday when we hiked it. For all of her boisterous obnoxiousness energy and enthusiasm, Abby is still a young pup – not quite 18 weeks old, and while she can go 5+ miles with no problems, Mom and Dad wanted to make sure that her tender puppy feet didn’t get too roughed up on the trail.

But first we had to get up there; the trail is on top of a mesa, and the road up gets pretty steep at points (unfortunately the camera doesn’t really give you a sense of how steep it is, and Mom was too busy holding on to the door handle with white knuckles while Dad was driving over some washed out sections that had been ‘shored up’ to get pictures…). Here’s a view from the top of the mesa down, and if you look carefully, you can see the road winding its way down; it goes all the way down to the valley floor, BTW.

Anyhoo, Dad’s driving skills and the fact that we have a Jeep ensured that we got up there with no problems. And then it was time to go.

Which way, Dad?
Oh. You think the arrow is pointing the way? How clever! Heehee!

The air was cool for, oh, like, the first 15 minutes so Mom started off in a long-sleeve shirt. And you have to admit, the scenery is pretty stunning! (Even if Abby looks like a doofus!) Typically, Dad walks me, and Mom walks Abby, but for some ‘photo ops’ Mom or Dad will take both of us so we can pose. Or not….


See, we can pose!
Enough with the photo ops, let’s GO!

Oooh. Cool. You can look all the way over the edge!
The part of the trail that goes along the edge of the mesa
More photo ops!
Back to the slickrock!

Heehee! Hi Dad!

Enough scenery, Mom, let’s GO!!!

Abby was learning how to follow the trail…

Hey, um, Dad. I think the trail markers point for us to go this way…
Heehee. Double scratchy break!

And 5 miles later we were back at the car! Mom thinks this picture should be part of a Jeep ad…

So that was yesterday. Today we were back up and at ‘em. Mom and Dad were considering taking a day off, but by 10:30am Abby was starting to show signs of CPS, so Mom got us all ready to go out the door. We went back to the JEM trail, but we parked at trailhead a little further in than we usually do, so that we could make it to the Virgin River Dam; Mom and Dad had seen the signs for it, but had never made it all the way there before, so the plan was to go find the dam.

The trail is kind of dry and dusty, because we are quite a ways above the river (on yet another mesa…) but Abby took time to stop and smell the flowers!
And Dad is very generous with the water! (Mom carries extra so none of us go thirsty…)

After a couple of miles we saw the river, again!

And then we saw the dam.

Dad had to climb out on a ledge to get these pictures. Kidding! Although he did go off the trail so he could get the pictures – we couldn’t actually see the dam from the trail.

Today was a pretty hot day, so after looking around a bit,
we headed back.

(I don’t know why Mom says we are doofuses…)

And then it was back to the car, and another one of Mom’s “Jeep Ad” shots.
And then nap time!!!

Alas, these hikes only temporarily wear Abby out. By 7pm or so, she’s wreaking havoc again. I think Mom should take her on two 5 mile hikes a day. I’m just sayin’….

*kissey face*
-Fiona

PeeEss: I know that this really should have been two separate posts, but I've got to get Mom when she is in a posting mood; if I waited too long, I'd have, like, pictures from 5 hikes backed up...