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...

Update on Many Things

Note from Mom: Thanks very much to everyone for all the kind words about TaiChi. At her age, and certainly with all her age-related health issues, we knew she wasn’t going to live forever, although 19 is about as close to forever as a miniature poodle can get. And truthfully, passing in her sleep was the kindest thing she could have done for me; she hated the car and the vet's office, and I am certain that she wanted to spare me the pain of having to make a hard decision about her. As for the statement about me only knowing her for 6 years, I should clarify; my husband knew her from a young dog, but I didn’t meet my husband until slightly over 6 years ago, and thus TaiChi didn’t come into my life until 6 years ago. Although as soon as she met me, she saw “SUCKER” tattooed on my forehead, and glommed on to me as the provider of treats and belly rubs. I joke that I married my husband for his dogs, but as much as I joke about it, I pretty much mean it regarding TaiChi! ;-) I think that as soon as TaiChi and I met it was love at first sight for both of us, and we adopted each other almost immediately. Looking back, I can’t imagine life without having had TaiChi in it. She was, and will always be my little girl. So thank you again for all the kind words; if I know TaiChi, she is bouncing around, having tracked down her brothers that had gone before her, and has them whipped back into shape (as I’m sure Ben and Billy were wreaking all kinds of havoc across The Bridge)!

***

Abby and I second Mom’s words; TaiChi was a great little big sister, and I will miss her always, and will never forget the lessons she taught me about respecting my elders.

That said, Mom and Dad have done their very best to keep us busy. When we were here in the fall, we found this really cool trail called the JEM trail that goes along the Virgin River for a while, and then goes for miles and miles and miles. Abby is new to this whole hiking thing, but has taken to it like a pro; I finally have a great hiking buddy!


We have been doing variations of this trail pretty much every day (it’s close, and it goes forever) since we’ve been here. Except for yesterday, when it rained, and we stayed inside and watched it rain.

Mom, enjoying a good rain.

And we played bitey-face.


Or tail, or something.


In other news, Mom had her birthday this last weekend, and Abby and I inspected the cake to make sure that it wasn’t poisonous.

(Well, it would have been to us, but Mom didn’t let us eat any. It didn’t seem to kill Mom, so I guess it wasn’t poisonous! She was going to try to hide her age, but *sheesh* Mom, if you didn't want people to know how old you are, you shouldn't have bought ginormous candles!)

Abby gave Mom a kiss for luck!

Happy Birthday, Mom! (Even if you are on your way to becoming old!)


Today we went on a 5.5 mile hike, and we were all pretty worn out afterward!

(Yes, the Little Monster made it all 5.5 miles, but she’s been sleeping pretty much since we got home! I think Mom and Dad need to take her on longer and longer hikes so she doesn’t have extra energy at the end of the day. Because her excess energy always seems to transfer into bitey-face. And I have to hide behind the chairs to get away from the beast!)


Mom promises to take the camera on tomorrow’s hike, and hopefully she’ll get some good hiking pictures (although she’s saying something about how it’s harder to get pictures when one hand is full with Abby’s leash…). Hmmm..

Thanks again, everyone.

*kissey face*
-Fiona

TaiChi, 1991-2010

TaiChi crossed the Rainbow Bridge last night at about 3am. She was sleeping comfortably and surrounded by her family. She did me the ultimate favor of deciding for herself when she was going to leave us, rather than forcing me to make the decision for her.

As you know, TaiChi had been struggling with her health for a while, and it seemed as though the drive to southern Utah had taxed her even more. Yesterday it was at the point that I had called a local vet and was prepared to bring her in to say goodbye, but within a half hour of making the call she had rallied and was up walking around, eating, drinking, and very alert, making it clear that she wasn't quite ready to leave us yet. She had a good dinner of steak and got lots of snuggie time with me and her sisters. She left us quietly in her sleep - her final act of "I'll do what I want to do, when I want to do it". Stubborn old lady! ;-)

She will, of course, be sorely missed, but I feel very lucky to have had her in my life for the 6 years that I did.

Run free, my beloved girl!