Billings, MT_07

Highway guys

090417 - Farewell To A Dear Friend

Today we mourn the loss of The Highway Guys’ wing man. Peter was a great companion and good and loyal friend.
He knew my moods and my weaknesses and responded well to them.

His childhood and early years were unknown.
The rescue agency advertised him as a 4 year old Lab mix. It took us 4 years to find out his Breed was Korean Jindo. On his first visit to the Vet, Dr. Winter suggested he was at least 6 years old and now I think he was being kind at that but I didn’t care.

I often told him that if his mother could see him now she would be very proud of him.
He grew up strong and handsome and entered a noble profession.
Peter lived by two rules in life:
1. “Women love a guy in uniform” and
2. “If you’re good looking, you can get away with anything”.

In the short time we had together, we traveled the highways from coast to coast, made many friends, and experienced an adventure most people only dream of. He was always happy, his tail always wagging and very adaptable. Every time the RV door opened, he would have to find a new tree or bush or rock to mark as his, but as long as he knew where his water and food bowl was, he was content. A recent development of arthritis had slowed him down, creating a limping gait and I’m sure some pain, but he never complained and did not give in. He was so macho.

He was more than a travel companion – he was my exercise coach – making sure I got my needed exercise by walking at last 3 times a day, regardless of the weather. I think he especially liked our midnight walks when it was peaceful and quiet with only Mother Nature for a soundtrack. The cooler the weather, the faster he walked – I think he was part sled dog.
He was also my social director – determining where we went and what we did for fun.
He was my protector – keeping the bad guys at a distance but always allowing kids and friendly adults to pet him.
Most of all he was my psychiatrist- listening to all of my thought and ideas – not passing judgment and always offering encouragement and support.

I will miss those warm, inquisitive brown eyes looking up at me every time I was eating or even opening up a jar of peanut butter, expecting me to share – which I always did.

He was a noble beast, who taught me the meaning of unconditional love, total forgiveness and responsibility.
He had seen places and done things that most dogs and many people have not.

He’d been to Mt Rushmore, Disney World, Epcot Center, Kennedy and Houston Space centers.
He had visited presidential libraries and a presidential tomb.
He was interviewed and featured in a major newspaper article. Thank you Robin.
He’d been to the Baseball and Football Halls of Fame.
He’d been to Ben &Jerry’s Ice Cream Plant and the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory.
He rode a small boat in and out of the harbors and coves of Maine… and a Mississippi Riverboat out of New Orleans.
And attended a New Orleans Mardi Gras and even caught a few strands of beads.
He’d been to museums all over the country and historical landmarks including the site of Custer’s Last stand.
He traveled to the top of a mountain in New Hampshire in a tram and rode a train thru the Great Royal Gorge in Colorado.

One thing he never got to do was fly in an airplane, but he came close by walking thru one. It was the 707 that President Lyndon Johnson used as Air Force One and it had a unique feature – a doggie door for his beagles, which Peter tried out.

He died on Friday, April 17th, 2009 about 5:45 A.M. on the way to the emergency hospital. I can only guess that he ate something poisonous.

The emergency center was 16 miles away. I quickly unplugged our power line, and headed out. Peter was now breathing hard and emitting sharp but weak barks. After exiting the freeway, stopped at a light, I looked back and listened and he was quiet.

I pulled into an empty shopping center parking lot and turned the lights on. He was lying on his side, flailing with his front paws as if he was boxing, and then I saw him expel a little urine and he went still. I lifted his head and cradled it but it was limp and lifeless. I gently laid it back on the floor and stared in disbelief and wept.

There was suddenly no reason to do anything but mourn and cry. Alone in the middle a vacant parking lot we sat as the sun began a new day and Peter would not be part of that day or any other ever again.

I was now faced with the horrible decision of how to dispose of the body. What a horrible word “dispose”..So degrading and dishonorable.

I decided I should cremate him and keep his remains in the RV.

I waited till 8 am and then called a nearby veterinarian about any crematorium facilities nearby. He gave me the name a service in Palm Desert and I called them.

The owner of the company, Desert Dove Pet Crematory Service, Larry, was very kind and told me that he could perform the service today.
We had plans to be in the Phoenix area in 2 days and I wanted to just get away as soon as I could.

Larry was a very warm and compassionate man.
He gently removed Peter’s body from the RV and placed it on a gurney and wheeled it thru the back door of his store. I remained in the Beast. – I could not follow, nor did I want to witness the process. He told me he could have the service completed by the end of the day so we could leave town before sundown. At 5:30 he knocked on the door and presented me with Peter’s remains in an attractive wooden urn, a little larger than a cigar box – and offered his condolences.

I wrapped Peter’s collar around the box and placed it in his favorite traveling spot –under the passenger seat by the small window he would look out of as we drove.

Peter was an inspiration and motivation for me to enjoy life on a daily basis and now his memory will have to fill that role.

The DEAD POOL, consisting of The Beast, Peter and myself, had the smart money on me going first. This bothered me because I worried about who would take care of Peter with me gone. Now there’s a problem I can cross of my list.

I drove to a truck stop just across the Arizona border, gassed up a nearly empty tank, had a silent dinner and went to bed.

A strange thing happened the day he died – the electric generator stopped working – and the water pump started malfunctioning –by discharging water out a valve to the ground.

It was as if the Beast had gone into mourning for Peter by shutting down. I was not able to use my computer – or go on the Internet – or even run the air conditioner or microwave since we had gone on the road and planned on boondocking. It was as if the Beast wanted me to spend my time in thought with a little suffering and not be distracted. I couldn’t write my blog or even use the vacuum to pick up Peter’s shedded hair.

I left his toys and water bowl and food dish in their usual place as a shrine to him for now. I can’t bear to put them away because it will mean that he will never need them again.

You know that I believe that God laughs whenever you tell him your plans:
God must be really laughing now.
..Last month I took out an accident insurance policy on Peter – he never got to use it.
..I order a refill on his anti-inflammatory and pain medication to make his life more comfortable – he doesn’t need them anymore…. He’s no longer in pain
..I ordered a portable folding ramp for Peter to be able to get into high access vehicles – like SUVs and trucks without having to struggle – he won’t need that anymore.
..I ordered shinny new recovery dog tags for his collar – he won’t be getting lost anymore.
..I just renewed his annual dog license – doggie heaven doesn’t require a license.

For the time being, I will stay on the road, visit some friends, spend time in parks and forests where Mother Nature does her best work and reflect on the past 6 years we spent together. April 28th would have been our 6th anniversary.

Without him by my side, the roads will seem a little longer, the nights a little darker, but his memory and good deeds will never be forgotten and his impact on my life made his life a monument to friendship.

090403 Palm Springs Air Museum

Friday April 3, 2009
Palm Springs Air Museum

We took a brief walk around the park for Peter's benefit and said farewell to some of our friends.
The weather was bright and sunny, but the radio reported high winds in the area and driving carefully in vehicles such as ours was suggested. When you have a vehicle like the beast, Square, flat sided and aerodynamically challenged any good gust of wind can have you changing lanes unexpectedly.
Since we were only going to be driving about 30 miles. We did not feel in any danger, but halfway to our destination. We encounted some very strong crosswinds, and lowered our speed. When we arrived at the Palm Springs Air Museum, we even have a difficult time, opening the RV door against the wind and we were being blown around on the way to the entrance.

We have been to many aviation museums across the country, both large and small, but always find that each one has its own unique and distinctive personality.
The outstanding feature of this particular museum is that practically every world war two airplane in these two hangars are all flight worthy and are frequently flown for holidays demonstrations and special events. They are all completely restored and beautifully painted.

In one hangar there is a diorama of Pearl Harbor, as it was the morning of the attack on December 7, 1941. Along with flashing lights, depicting the various positions of the ships that were attacked, there is a stirring narration describing that fateful day.

Along one wall are models of several types of ships that battled in the Pacific in World War II. One of those models is the battleship Missouri. I have a particular fondness for this battleship, because my father and a “few of his friends” built this ship in the Brooklyn Navy yard. At least that's how he told the story.

Many of the volunteers that run the tours, and dispense copious amounts of interesting facts about each plane are former military pilots with battle experience, and even some from World War II. Their enthusiasm, experience, and talented storytelling contributed greatly to our experience at this venue.

The museum is located on Gene Autry Trail, just south of Interstate 10. I mention this because as we were starting up the engine and listening to the radio there was report of an 18-wheeler being

blown off the road at the intersection of Gene Autry Trail and Interstate 10. In fact, they were reporting that Gene Autry Trail was being closed to traffic because of the high winds and danger. Of course, this was the route we had planned on taking from the museum to our next destination. As we exited the museum parking lot and turned on to Gene Autry Trail. We encounted, severe crosswinds, but no traffic was being interrupted or diverted.
We proceeded with caution, and as we crested the overpass at Interstate 10. We could see the tractor-trailer lying on its side off the road. Needless to say, this encouraged us to drive slowly and carefully.

We arrived at our destination, Desert Pools, Desert Hot Springs, and were assigned a handicap site adjacent to the pool and main building. All of the main facilities such as the card room, poolroom, library and dining room are built around the pool area so access to all activities should be quite convenient. Even inside the park with some sheltering walls and shrubbery the winds remained ferocious, and so all we did was plug in our electric power and called it an early night after dinner. I thought about taking Peter out for our usual late-night stroll. But even he was unhappy with the windy conditions and decided he'd rather stay indoors for the night. Needless to say, this does mean I will have to get up early, because he doesn't like to be cooped up for long periods of time and has a. Particular way of letting his feelings be known ... and I will say no more.

090402- Lake CAHUILLA

March 30, 2009
Today, we got a new neighbor with a 37-foot Monaco, and four slide-outs
He also has a new bright taxi yellow Hummer and a very shiny and expensive motorcycle.
Jay is a swinging Bachelor, 51 years old, and a full-timer.
He owns the boat concession at the other end of the lake where he rents out small electric powered boats for people to cruise around the lake.
It's a new business for him and he has great hopes for a successful one.
We spent a few evenings sitting around the campsite talking about motor homes, traveling, women, and life in general. Peter took a liking to him, and that bodes well for him.
He is staying at the park through the summer, running his business but I'm sure he won't be bored or lonely. He offered us a free boat ride around the lake, but unfortunately, it would have been too difficult for me to access the boat and I still don’t know if Peter can swim and I’m not going to find out the hard way.

Thursday night, April 02, 2009
This is our last night here, and were getting a send off with a continuous blast of LION wind.
I call it LION wind because it’s ferocious and roars through the campsite.
Since we've been here these strong and blustery winds have rocked us to sleep quite a few nights.
It hasn’t had any adverse effects on the Beast but our neighbor had his new Hummer damaged by the blowing sand causing paint and window damage.
This past week has been very pleasant, with predominantly warm sunny days and cool nights.
Tomorrow, if the weather is nice, and my knees aren't hurting we will try to do some sightseeing at the Palm Springs Air Museum.
Tomorrow night, we’ll be sleeping in a park located in Desert Hot Springs, and hopefully we'll get a spot near the pool and dining room. This Western Horizon's Resort’s claim to fame is its mineral hot pools, which I may venture into.

090329- Maria, Pablo & Aldo

Sunday March 29,2009
Lake Cahuilla,
La Quinta, CA

Another example of friendly people at campsites
Peter and I were doing a little walk around and began chatting with a young Mexican man who was inquiring about Peter and his age and breed, He was walking a handsome young German shepherd named Aldo. He and his wife were a couple of campsites away from us in a tent.
There were no vehicles or obstructions between our two campsites, and as I read and Peter snoozed. I noticed that Maria was cooking and preparing lunch for the two of them.
To my surprise, Pablo came over to our site and asked me if I would like some lunch. I politely refused, and he looked offended, so I told him that it would be very nice if it was no bother for them.
A few minutes later, he delivered a very attractive, pleasant smelling and delicious plate of food, which consisted of guacamole, fried beans and a marinated piece of steak and a couple of slices of bread.
Peter and I thoroughly enjoyed the meal, and with a wave of the hand and nod of the head and a big smile, we conveyed our appreciation and satisfaction.
The following morning, when we awoke and ventured outside for our morning stroll. They had already packed up and left the park

These are the memories of events and kind people we carry with us that bring a smile to our face whenever we need reassurance that this world is full of goodness