I guess I Lied!!

 

Though I posted almost six months ago that Eggrollings was history, I feel an update is called for.  When I started this blog in 2011 there were three members of our traveling crew.  Wanda, myself, and Sally.  Sally being the four legged member.  We adopted her in June of 2009.  Received a phone call while returning from the Casita Utah Tour.  A standard dapple dachshund needed a home.  We agreed to meet her the following weekend, but when I spotted her my first thought was "that's not a dachshund".  We decided to keep her, but changes were in order.  She was a butt ugly dog with a tail so long she couldn't raise it over her back.  It resembled the letter S, lying on its side.  When we took her to our vet for spaying we requested that her tail be docked.  Our vet wasn't too cool with the idea but agreed to do it while she was sedated.  That one thing improved her looks 100%.

 The first couple of years on the road with her were trying, to say the least.  She was headstrong. Her way, or no way.  She had the habit of chewing her leash in two, and taking off.  Not running away, just visiting everyone in the campground while not allowing herself to be caught.  More than once she would have been a dead dog if I had a gun handy.

 By 2011, and the beginning of Eggrollings, she had become more manageable.  She loved most all people, as well as dogs.  Her strange appearance got her many compliments from total strangers.  Everywhere it was legal to do so, she accompanied me on hikes.  There are many pictures on this blog of her at the end of the leash while she pulled me down one trail or another.  

 She made every trip we did for 12 years.  Through three trucks and two Casitas.  I figure we traveled over 175,000 miles with her sitting or sleeping on the back seat.  Mexico to Alaska, east coast to west, she did it all with us.

Her health begin to fail last Winter.  Kidney disease was an unexpected diagnosis.  We started her on a special diet, which she hated.  As each month passed she became more withdrawn, spending most of each day sleeping.  She wouldn't eat unless it was something we prepared for her.  Scrambled eggs or boiled chicken.  Foods the vet said she didn't need.  

 As we prepared for the Kansas gathering after Labor Day, she moved to her favorite spot.  Halfway between the house and the Casita, monitoring the movements as Wanda loaded the trailer.  Though she could hardly get around, she wasn't going to be left behind.  We asked our vet for a letter for the road, just in case the time came. We made it to Kansas, and we all had a good time, though she was failing fast.  We left Kansas and headed for Craig, Colorado.  My brother has a cabin in the mountains, there.  We arrived on Saturday, the 18th.  On Tuesday morning about 2AM she woke me up.  Staring me in the eyes, she let me know it was time.

I called a vets office in Craig that was recommended by a friend.  They listened to my story and said to bring her in.  The vet came to the truck, petted her, and gave her a sedative.  We talked to her while rubbing her head as she became sleepy.  Thirty minutes later she was sound asleep as the vet administered the shot.  She was gone. 

 We carried her back up the mountain.  I had dug a grave beneath two Aspen trees.  She now rests there for eternity, in one of her favorite places to roam.

 I'm sure we will get to the point of not looking for her, but I checked that back seat numerous times on the way home.  Though she's gone, it will be a long time before she's forgotten

........jc

That's All Folks!!

 This blog came to life on April 23, 2011.  All my life I had looked forward to the day I could travel this great country of ours at my own pace.  That day came on April 18, 2008.  Retirement after 42+ years in the communications industry.  We immediately hit the road with our Casita travel trailer.  The West had always had a magnetic draw on me, and we let it lead us to some great adventures from 2008 till 2011.  Yellowstone, Glacier, the Tetons's, Colorado, Southern Utah; we stayed on the road as much as we could.

I had been reading blogs for a number of years, even before retirement, and looked forward to reading each and every post of my favorite travelers.  Early in 2011,  I had the idea to start "Eggrollings".  No one that I knew of chronicled traveling with a Casita.  I did a little digging on the how-tos, and "Eggrollings" was born.

I won't bore you with details.  You can read it all if you like.  For ten years I documented our travels.  Wanda and I, along with Sally the tag-a-long,  have lived our dream the past ten years.  Forty six of the continental 48 States, Northern Mexico, four Canadian Provinces, and my lifetime dream, Alaska.  It's all documented in Eggrollings.

One of the highlights of blogging was the opportunity to meet fellow bloggers.  We attended either two or three bloggerfests in Quartszite.  Met some of my heros.  Al, of  The Bayfield Bunch; Mark, of Box Canyon Blog;  John, of Just Finding our Way;  Geogypsy;   Tin Tepee; and a number of more.  Some I've never met but consider them close friends such as Horst, of Texas Reflections.  Finding our blog on "HitchItch" was like winning an award of some kind.

Times have changed.  Blogs have been replaced by all the social media outlets. Campendium will tell you everything, about everywhere.  There are no secret campsites anymore.  Someone has posted the locations on the web, and now most are littered with garbage, human waste, and toilet paper blowing in the wind.

It's been a great run.  April 2011, to April 2021.  I can't think of a better time to say goodbye.  We appreciate all the comments through the years. We look forward to still reading posts from our favorite bloggers, and maybe a new one or two. That's not likely to change. 

May the memories of Eggrollings stay with us till the end.  If not, we can hopefully read it on the web.

Happy Trails till we Meet Again........jc

 

 

 

 

 

We're Still Kicking!!

At the time of my last post, almost two months ago, a lot, and not much, has happened.  We had plans to leave for Arizona on the fourth of January.  We were looking forward to being in different surroundings.  The desert was to be a welcome respite.

My brother in law became ill the week before Christmas.  He was thought to be in good health and figured he had a bug of some kind.  After a few days of the same, he visited the emergency room due to dehydration.  Some tests were done, he was admitted to the hospital, and passed this life on January 19th.  His death was such a shock.  Reminds one of how quickly our lives can change.

Needless to say, our travel plans were scrambled.  We cancelled the reservations we had at Kartcher Caverns, Lost Dutchman, and Organ Pipe.  Missed seeing all our Quartzsite friends for two years in a row.  

A major benefit came from staying home, though.  The state of Mississippi has done an awesome job of rolling out the covid vaccine.  Wanda and I have received both shots.  Our Governor handed the job over to our department of health, and the national guard.  A website, along with a phone number with real people to talk with, was put in place.  A few bugs the first few days, but has worked flawlessly since.  As vaccine becomes available word is spread by television and social media.  One goes to the website, or makes a call,  and picks your appointment time and location.  It's drive through, but the longest time we spent in line was around fifteen minutes.  Seeing all the car lines in some other states makes me thankful to live in  a "backward State". 😂

Once thing settled down from brother in law's passing, we wanted to go someplace.  Arizona was out of the question at that late time.  We looked around and decided on East Bank campground.  Though the address is Bainbridge, Georgia, twenty miles away, the campground is within about a mile of the Georgia, Alabama, and Florida lines.  The closest town being Chattahoochee, Florida.  It also sits within a quarter mile or so of the Eastern/Central time zone.  Our phones were constantly showing the wrong time, depending on which cell tower they was using.  We could have used better weather as it rained, and was cold with high winds most days.  We were joined there by friends from Alabama and made the best of the two days of sunshine we had.

Once back home we spent our time waiting on Spring to arrive.  We fed birds and other wildlife.

And then came the Arctic front.  The local weather folks were beside themselves.  They were talking about its coming two weeks beforehand.  More folks should have listened to them.  Thankfully, Mississippi was spared when compared to Texas.  Our part of the state had mixed conditions.  At our house it was sleet.  Almost three inches of frozen pellets of ice.  Sleet causes very little damage in the way of falling trees and power lines.  Just a few miles away it was freezing rain.  Trees and power lines down everywhere.  We never lost power, but endured four days with temperatures from 12-31*,  We had no frozen or busted pipes when it was over.  Now, we wait for our electric bill as our heat ran forever, it seemed.

                                                           That's sleet coming down.

 

 

Our driveway.

 

 

 

Our road.

                                                                           It's all ice.

 

 

Not happy!

 

 

We were feeding Cardinals, other small birds, and squirrels; then the black birds appeared.

 

We're already planning for next year, though.
 

                                                 Looking forward to days like these, again.

 

 

HAPPY!!

Let it snow..

 

 

That;s all our news for now.  We do plan for a few days on the road in March.  Another short trip in April, then a month long journey In May.  Plans, without them you'll never get there.....jc