This month we went on a kind of weird road trip that started in Kansas, before mom and Raven disappeared and we ended up somewhere in Iowa.
It started out when mom and dad took Raven and me on a ride out to the Flint Hills — a big region of hills and prairie in eastern Kansas. Apparently it has the densest collection of tall grass prairie in North America. It certainly has the densest collection of wind. Oh my gosh.
We went there with a bunch of other people, and since everyone had off-road vehicles they didn’t really stick to the interstate. Instead, we all trekked way back into the hills by following old farm roads, dirt tracks, gully-washed, rutted, not-a-road-anymore roads, paths, creeks, and other stuff.
Along the way, we saw a bunch of interesting things, and I got to get out and explore a little now and then. We even found ancient ruins that are literally hundreds of months old!
Now I know you’ve all heard the story of the Three Little Pigs and how their stone house was the big deal to thwart the wolf. Yeah. Based on these ruins and the wind around here, I don’t think it would have worked out well for the pigs. Just sayin’.
We also found an old school house that is still used for something. We have no idea where kids would have walked/ridden from to get here since there was nothing around.
It was a really long day, and I’m pretty sure we went home that night, but the next thing I knew, dad and I were driving somewhere up in Iowa, and mom and Raven were gone. Maybe they fell out? I wasn’t really sure. I was so worn out the day before that I thought maybe dad just forgot to do a head count when we got back in the jeep! I guess if we drove all night that would make sense.
Dad didn’t seem too concerned though, and we spent the next few days exploring. We hiked a bunch of trails.
One trail started out with great big bridge that we had to use for a photo op.
After the bridge, the trail went up and into the woods and fields and we had no idea where we were when it started to get dark. We didn’t know which direction led back to the parking lot, and I was doing my best to sniff the wind for something useful when dad figured it out. Some app on dad’s phone had a magical blue dot saying where we parked, and even though it couldn’t show the trail we were on, we were able to use it to sort of head toward the dot until we popped out about a half mile up the road from where we started. Phew. I was getting worried because hey, my dinner is in there ya know?
One day we found this big old truck. I tried to get dad to help me hot-wire it, but he said it wouldn’t fit in our garage.
In another park, we were walking a nice gravel path when we noticed some heavily used deer trails crisscrossing it. So it only made sense to leave the nice manicured path and follow a poop-studded dirt path into the woods, right? We branched off and went WAY back into the forest. I tried to point out all of the rabbits and squirrels we encountered and taste-test anything suspicious as we walked.
We never did see any deer (Or wolves, or elephants for that matter.) and eventually the trail crossed the fancy path again and we were home free.
We also found this picturesque little pond. It was very peaceful and became our dinner spot where we ate the french fries we killed that afternoon.
This huge tree was by the fishing deck on one side of that pond. I bet this tree made a sound when it fell…
One day we stopped to see my friend Anna and meet her puppy, and on the way out of town we saw a sign for a place where sheep shop, so of course we had to go check that out.
Shouldn’t we shop in the shop where the sheep shop, if a sheep shopped in the same shop? On a Saturday? Seriously? Sheesh.
Seriously, it’s a sheepskin company! Who knew? Like, I always figured sheep came, I don’t know, pre-assembled? Nope, there’s a shop for that! I wonder when they decide to shop? Do they wake up one morning and think, “this feels kinda tight, I think I’ll get a fresh one in a long cut.” Do they have little lamb onesies for the newborns?
I have so many questions.
Anyway, we checked first and they said I could come in, so we sniffed around awhile. My nose went into overdrive with all the smells of leather and wool and stuff. Everyone there thought I was super friendly so I got lots of attention.
I even got to go meet people “in the back” because I was so popular. I even found this funky sheepskin covered dog-sized chair to sit in.
Oh yeah, and here’s the official “end of the day I’m exhausted” photo. This was me almost every night. Traveling with dad wears me out.
We hiked around someplace different almost every day. One day after a long walk in a park, we were looking for dinner and heard about a nearby dog park, so we went. I got to run around with new friends ranging from a Beagle to a Great Dane. I’ll tell you what, being chased around a park by a giant Great Dane “puppy” will get your blood pumping! They sound like a horse galloping!
Eventually we ended up back home and found mom and Raven alive and well, so I guess they didn’t fall out after all.
OH, and speaking of the black tornado… she’s up and around again. Her surgery went well and other than a bald leg and some stitches, she’s able to walk and run around on it, and can go up and down stairs by herself almost as quickly as before.
She’s got metal parts in both legs now. She’s going to cause quite the stir in airports from now on!
She does have to wear a lamp shade when she’s left alone (just for the first couple of weeks) which is annoying because when mom and dad BOTH leave, I have to be in my kennel but SHE gets to be loose. I guess her lamp shade thing doesn’t really make it easy to move around in her kennel.
If I dress up as furniture do I get the run of the house too?
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