so, lets talk about driving from portland to basalt, colorado with a 9 week old puppy. yes, insane. yes, overwhelming. yes, perhaps the sweetest thing i ever did. i always wanted to go on a road trip with billy because he just loved being in the car. billy at 7 yrs old in the car & jack at 9 wks is different.
there were many pee stops.....a few mountain roads with no turn offs or pull outs so a few lil misses. luckily i have leather seats and billy had a lil blanket that we now left in a best western (sorry!!)
we left at 7am and drove till 9pm....not by choice. let me explain:
i had half a tank of gas and decided to drive till i needed more and then grab a chai & jack could pee. this worked well and i continued to think he'll sleep, i'll drive & sing along to my ipod and life will be great. that's until he started squirming and moving and climbing. not good while driving so i put him in a mesh crate....that lasted 40 min due to intense whining and his being so anxious that he was way too hot. so we stop again, he stays in crate while i rearrange car (hmmmm, i was adding on 3 hrs for puppy stops, better make that 4!)
so with my julia sweater laying over the divider between passenger & driver seat, hiding the ipod/charger etc and all possibilities of slipping under seat. i then added his lil sheepskin rug to the front seat & stuffed some items on the floor of his seat so no slippage. then created a lil bed on fuzzy pillows right behind the passenger seat up high if he needed more room. again, i think, if reincarnation exists i better come back as a dog to someone like me! the julia has oh so many uses.
we're making good time, were about 400 miles out of pdx & jack really needs to pee & i need gas. but there are no fuel stops for 16 miles & i realize he can't wait! so, no pee accidents!! no no no i don't want to smell pee in the heat of a car. eww. so i pull off at a 'no services exit' that takes you on a windy road the kind removed from freeways where i believe it would be easy for me to be trapped, stuck in a ditch or snatched & jack the pee'r can't help me! so i head back to near the turn off (more people may see me!!) and open the door to get out & then let jack out. the wind is insane and almost blows my door shut (volvo's have heavier doors) this is scary & jack is freaking out. i grab him and am trying to block the wind from him while he's trying to pee. as i'm more concerned he won't blow down the cliff i soon see my map quest directions blow out my door and down the cliff!!! no no no no no. hmmmm. we get back in the car, jack is freaking out, i'm thinking hmmm, i should have downloaded that gps app. he's shaking so i open up rescue remedy (my new bf) and am putting a few drops on his treats when he jumps in my lap and the entire bottles contents fall into my lap. at the risk of sounding crass, yes in the crotch area of my jeans it now looks like i've pee'd. in less than 2 minutes jack is relaxed and dozing on the julia. i on the other hand am thinking: i need gas. i have to pee. i have to get out of my car to do these things and it already looks like i pee'd my pants. more importantly, just a tiny amount of rescue remedy remains & i've got 800 more miles to go. i remember that i did type the directions into my bb (hmmm, well planned? or i know myself well?) so i am no longer worried and keep on driving. my plan is to get to woods cross, ut. of course, after i stop to get gas looking like i pee'd myself. all vanity is gone.
we pass through idaho (thank you for the 75mph speed limit) and the sky is blue, puffy white clouds with intermittent black ones that cry a fierce rain for a few minutes then back to blue skies. here's the sign saying 'welcome to idaho'. what you can't see it? yes, my camera didn't click fast enough. but i swear that was it
we're now in utah and it is a lot of open space. the speed limit seems to mostly be 65 which isn't too bad. jack is getting restless but not terrible so no need to give rescue remedy as i need to ration it. we're having fun stopping at the fast food places (hmmm, perhaps a chain of salads should be made available or something healthy) with pretty grassed in areas. jack enjoys his meals, water and some playing with his toys while everyone at the joint tells him how cute he is and pets him. then a teenager comes over to play with jack and she's very nice, but my momma fear sets in 'is she going to grab him'? someone is in her truck with the car idling and she just keeps asking questions and talking to him and i'm thinking i must be crazy, but still i watch. she tells me she's just coming back from visiting her fiance in prison (sad) and she's laughing as i am waiting for jack to poo. she heads to her truck and brings out a newborn of hers and says 'mine just poo'd so hope yours does too'. yes, road trips are fun!!
here is our 'welcome to utah' sign....i swear.
it's 7:30pm and i'm about 45 minutes from wood cross and so happy as my head is pounding, jack is restless and we need food and sleep. ok, i need sleep, he's been sleeping all day. so according to my notes in my blackberry i need the I5s so i am looking and looking and stay on the current frwy looking for the I5s. i head about 20 miles and realize i have to be wrong because i was only about 20 exits away before. arghhhhhh. i call hotel i've reserved and let it ring for 6 minutes, yes 6! and no answer. i had already called them to find out how close i was and she said 45 minutes. well it had been that long and i know i'm wrong. so i head to the rest stop and ask some truckers. there was a very nice husband and wife and i explained the fly away directions, the I5s i'm looking for and she said, 'honey, if your writing is as messy as mine, maybe you actually wrote down the 15s and not I5s because the 15s is what you needed. you must be from california and thinking the 5' ARGH....note to self, work on penmanship! if i can't read my own writing, who else will be able to.
so i head back 45 min in the direction i had gone, called hotel and after 27 rings she answers and i cancel my reservation as i took it out on her. not fair, but i told her where i was and that i was looking for the I5s and she said 'sure you're 45 min away'. not fair, but who cares it's now 8:47 i've been driving over 11 hrs and am way over it. i head towards downtown salt lake (ooh ferris wheel!) and stay at the best western which is surrounded by fast food. jack and i head in and he is NOT sleepy. he's freaking out about the room, the bed, the fact i'm showering & trying to sleep. it's heart breaking because he's so little and so scared. so i have another wtf am i doing to this poor puppy and myself. i grab a sweater and shoes and his leash it's about 12:45am and we go out for a little walk to relieve him and try to calm him down. we're back at a little after 1 and we both pass out. he wakes me up at 5:27 and we are out the door on our way by 6am. now, side note, utah, i am not happy with the 45mph speed limit for 20+ miles saying work area when nobody is working. argh.
WELCOME TO COLORADO!! 6 1/2 hours to go...or so i thought...........
xo
suzisouchi & jack
