Moab

We were finally able to escape the lingering winter weather that's been in Telluride last weekend and hit the road for Moab, Utah with the monsters. After a bit of searching we found a great campsite along the muddy Colorado River in Negro Bill Canyon. This was Mayhem's first camping adventure and we were a bit worried since he usually sleeps in his crate on how he would do with us in the tent. We had done a few trial runs outside the crate before the trip and he seems to be fine as long as he's near us and Chaos.

We also managed to catch up with some Sugarloaf friends who were on a small road trip for some warm weather and biking. It turns out that Moab also was in a bit of a cold spell but it was still much better weather then Telluride and camping was comfortable. Our sunshade that we picked up last summer for Telluride Festivals was a great hangout for the small rainstorms that hit us during the weekend.

Before we had a fire Chaos helped clean the old charcoal out of the firepit. He wanted to feel helpful and it reminded him of eating the charcoal that we used in the winter at the Maine CampChaos for traction on the snowy driveway.

Chaos and Mayhem would spend time wrestling at camp and Mayhem also had a favorite chew stick to play with. Chaos was allowed to be off leash if he was behaving... which he did until the neighbors made dinner.

I'd also take the pups on the hiking trail and we found a small swimhole for them to play in.

At night there were canyon river tours in the Colorado River and they light the walls as they cruise through.

We did do a drive through Canyonlands National Park and got some great views. We had the monsters with us and the park was not very pet friendly and they were only welcome in the parking lots.

It was a good relaxing weekend in our campsite by the river and I think the boys were bummed when we packed up camp and loaded the 4Runner to head back to chilly Telluride.

 Chaos could have just been bummed to have his brother crowding him in the back of the truck...

campchaos welcomes a little mayhem

It's offical... campchaos is now also home to a little mayhem. We picked Mayhem up yesterday and he is settling in well to life at campchaos. Mayhem is almost a year old and a pure golden. We weren't able to see photos before we picked him up and were pleasantly surprised that he looks similar to Chaos. We've been talking about getting a second dog and this was set into motion around Christmas when we asked our landlord. She knows Chaos well and consented. Last week she called and asked if we were interested in an older puppy. She had a friend who's daughter had a golden that needed a new home. It was a big week and we decided to have Mayhem join campchaos. We kept it quiet in case it fell though... what if they backed out? what it the puppy was a monster? 
So Friday morning we were up and on the road before the sun to go pick up our new pup. We did drive through a storm because it was the first time we've ventured past Montrose all winter and that's the way the world works. Since we drive the car so infrequently we also learned at the top of Monarch Pass that it was time to invest in some new windshield wipers for the 4Runner. Thankfully there are a number of places to pull over a clean the windshield.

Chaos has the entire back of the 4Runner to spread out in on the way there and ended up curling up on top of our bags. The normally six hour drive to Colorado Springs turned into an 8 hour drive and we all felt a little cooped up by the time we arrived in the Springs. (Go Turtle!)

We picked up Mayhem and went over to the nearby Garden of the Gods Park to walk the boys together. The weather was moving in and we grabbed a quick gluten-free dinner at PF Changs before the long drive home. They just added a few more items to their gluten-free menu and it was great to be able to try them out.

21 hours after we left, we returned home with our new monster.

This morning I took the boys out for a walk and Mayhem had his first gondola ride. He slipped his collar and was afraid to get on but Chaos climbed in like a seasoned pro and I scooped up Mayhem and added him to the cabin. He rode it fine after that and I tightened his collar for the exit.

We had a good walk and the boys romped in the fresh snow.

Chaos has a lot to teach his new little brother... Mu-nee Kitty checked out his crate last night and has not made an appearance yet today to make comment on this new addition.

heading west again...

after plum island (it's in Mass... google it) Chaos and I headed to NH to meet Conor and catch up with JJB then to CT to see Carol. We caught up on some work and worked in a hike as well. Gertie, our trusty GPS, sent us down to South Carolina through NJ/NY instead of PA and we listened... while it made for some fun city driving it was a long day in slower traffic.
chaos has been enjoying the warm weather...although the high of the trip was 95 degrees in new hampshire... he had kendra direct him to every park and water fountain available and took a day off in AC comfort while we visited with family in North Carolina.
Today Kendra took us outside the city and to Rainbow Falls. Chaos loved the hike except for the part where he had to go down a pretty good sized obstacle. tomorrow it's back in the car where we hope to make it to a new time zone by the evening...

a little drive....

so for off season i thought i would use up some vacation time and go for a little drive. We left Telluride two weeks ago and ended up back in maine. Dave came along for the first part of the trip and we went bouldering on our drive in Kansas, stopped in MA to see his parents and visit Fenway then hit Sugarloaf for some Reggae and time with good friends at sno dundah. Dave flew home then i hit the road with chaos to visit family in northern maine then will head to south carolina in a few days before making the drive west again.



Here's a little video of Elvis and Chaos playing this morning at a park in the county (super northern maine). My brother has a pretty sweet computer hookup and last night I played Elvis some videos of her cousins in Asia.

4Runner's first big trip

we piled in the 4runner today with jared and jess and took a trip to paonia to pick some apples and pumpkins. it was a good mellow day with a nice drive to mcclure pass. The 4runner proved to be very comfortable for 4 adults. We didn't test out the dog worthiness today as chaos had two friends over for the weekend and we were sure they would be more comfortable at home.

i took my dog pack on a good walk this morning and let them roam in the woods. the dogs needed a good run after a long red sox game last night. the power went out halfway through the game and our entertainment became the playing dogs by candlelight for an hour until the power and game resumed.

and the winner is...

We found the new car for campchaos. After hours of online shopping and comparisons we selected a 2007 white Toyota 4Runner. It has lots of space for Chaos & friends (his and ours), comfortable seats for all and can tackle the snow and mountains.
I went to Denver after work on Monday and met with the insurance company and then headed over to the Toyota dealer. I had planned on "just test driving" but everything fell into place (a check from state farm and good financing from the dealer) and ended up finding the right car for us. The conundrum was that I had planned on just testing and booked a round trip rental from Telluride. I called the company to see if I could return it elsewhere and it was possible for a small fee ($450) needless to say I brought the rental home. The Toyota went to live with Sam and Meghan in Summit County. Sam brought it down Thursday and Meghan joined in on Friday for a weekend in telluride. Friday we hit the town with some Telluride friends with a tour of the infamous spots. Beers at the buck, dinner at Fat Alley then a trip to play silly games at o'bannon's. The boys made plans to ski today with Jim and Jared up on Imogene Pass. Late night plans never go as planned and today the boys got a late start without Jared. They made a few hikes up for their turns the we all regrouped for pizza at Jim's this evening. We have become quite the dog house and picked up Mako for the night along with Chaos, Kaya and 7 month old Echo. They do well together and are learning each other's quirks.

dave's view....

Go Turtle....

So every time I drive anywhere in Colorado-other then our shopping trips to M-town- it snows. Yesterday rang true to that. I always told my parents it was a good thing I drove in every storm the first year I had my licence and this is what it was preparing me for. I did have a good drive despite the sketchy start. It was fun and I got to stop and get a great smoothie from the coffee shop in Gunni and drive by the house on Georgia Ave that I lived in for my junior year. I even got a shot of this crazy phenomenon.... the one arch McDonald's.

Yep- that's no joke. I even saw another today in Denver but had to work on my city driving skills and not take photos while shifting the truck.

In a somewhat related item the truck has mascots from our trip last spring. Here's our McD's turtle navigating for me... in my defence of my ramblings and silly pics I'd like to let you all know that Denver happens to be a bit of a drive. It would be like driving from Sugarloaf to Boston and halfway back all at once. But this is the fun of living out west in wide open spaces.

The turtle does have a bit more history as well... this winter when our dear friends from Sugarloaf came to visit Mother Nature presented them with weather challenges the whole time... snow before they left Maine, delays, lost luggage and other challenges. Chaos & I ended up driving to DIA to ensure that they would make it to see us. Of course it snowed and I drove across the state to find roads closed so I took a more roundabout way to get to Denver. Once I hit the interstate I thought I'd have smooth sailing... turns out that I went 5 miles in one hour! Our friends (who had been through a lot already) were hanging out in DIA trying to entertain themselves. Sara looked over at Farva and asked what could be delaying me. Farva explained to her that I was getting ready for a big turtle race and ensuring the rests stops were all in order for the turtles. (if you don't think this is funny then you need to get delayed in an airport or have a 6-7 hour drive take 8-9 hours!)

I'm here until Friday then I head over to Summit County and meet up with my puppy monster and Dave. Then Sunday it will be time to hop in the truck for another drive across the state. Who wants to bet it snows?