happy day of appreciation

we have not enough internet to blog pictures or email, and the phones have no service, but we have lots of beautiful back roads to cruise. we have a 35 acre park of our own (no one else is here at this campsite) and a 63,000 acre lake of bass (they aren't biting). our apartment on wheels has all we really need. we have sunsets on our pretend ocean. we have mosquitoes in November (they are biting), which is better than snow. we have no turkey, but ducks call in the distance through the fog.

we have our family and friends gathered in our hearts today, grateful for each special one.
 

ArkLaTex, USA

 we're all cleaned up from our baths at Hot springs, so now what...
 let's go south...to Mineral Springs...  

a real town in ArkLaTex

 let's find a nice lake at a low price, and let's stay a while....

how come you study the boat rules but you don't care about the Alligator Warnings? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

they are every where and they are after me!

there is only one other camper here at Millwood Lake: Prince and his parent, Paul. Prince is some kind of pure dog. he has credentials. i don't know what that means, or care, but he is quite beautiful. and he smells really good.

Prince, my new BFF. sorry, Chequers...

Trick or Treat

what do you think--Growl?

help me choose my costume: shall i play it tough or cuddly?

or no growl, just mismatched eyes...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

my costume was supplied by the girls at Petsmart. they gave me my first report card and wrote "she was wonderful."  they even wanted to adopt me. so even though i don't think much of them dressing my like a girl, the fact that they were crazy about me forced me to tolerate the bows. at least they have pumpkins on them. also, i smell like a candle shop. i'm not going to let it get me down. there's probably a pile of something around here i can roll in by midnight....

we stay in this awesome National Park, called Hot Springs, and everybody keeps talking about "the baths..."    apparently the water here is magical, especially when delivered through fantastic buildings built in 1910, with marble tiles and benches, beautiful stained glass windows and skylights, and numerous sculptures and fountains.  plus, as my peeps reviewed their experience they talked about togas and steam and needle showers. Petsmart was probably better...
 

leaving Branson, going south

ok, Rahhhn. i'm ready.  anywhere at all

the joys of the open road...

 Branson for almost a week, and though the State Park had great walking trails and a nice lake to look at (Table Rock), we were waking up to 30 degree mornings.  south, please.  i don't like that pink sweater they make me wear.

fall color

 it's what they call "hills and hollers"














nice Arkansas scenery...

 no hill for a climber

river of rock?

and the happiest captain Rahhhn

lots of oooh's and ahhh's from the human gallery

ok, i get it, it's a beautiful state...

quaint...

they call it "the natural state..." for good reason and wouldn't you think my peeps would wash the windows?

time out. enough scenery already!

 so after a few hours, i said Hours, of swaying and rotating and lumbering along, listening to all that raving about Scenery... i couldn't take anymore.  no dogs, no scents to track, just "fall color" whatever that is...
but at last we stopped.  i was ready, standing by the step, willing to wear whatever contraption they decide will tame me, and please, Higher Power, let me feel the earth under my feet.

landing at last, at Hot Springs National Park camp ground. Now we're talking! 

no fish, just my reflection.

meeting Rangers is always nice. this lady was cute and had a lovely accent,
and she liked me quite a lot, but time to go.

at last. solid ground. other dogs nearby (there is a law that peeps traveling in coaches or fifth wheelers must have a dog--preferably a lap dog). i can pull them up the hill across the creek. it's a sheer rock face, but only .8 miles.  i can do it.  i've been practicing.  if they would lose a little weight i could pull them up that wonderful trail. i'm a rock solid 12 pounds. i pull as hard as i can, and with a good wind i can bring them across the road before they weigh me down.

Home Sweet Home, they've opened the basement doors so they are serious!

see my red dog house at the rear?  see me?  Rahhhn parked me near a fire ant colony and oops he received the brunt of the placement.  yikes. two bites on his right hand. this happened once before (in Florida) and it's notsogood. he seems to be allergic to fire ants. of course, isn't everybody?  those suckers are ruthless. a little benadryl and time out and he'll probably be fine.  at least we're on solid ground and we live in a beautiful park, and we'll just see what happens next...

branson, usa

my peeps' brothers reunited in this mecca of Patriotism and Christianity, and count me in.  we stayed at a camp on the wrong side of the tracks, but we hiked the State Park trails every day, so we're happy. my peeps kept disappearing and going to the condo instead. well, who wouldn't?

Card Playing Suspended for a jam session.  Look at these beautiful women and two brothers!

a great conversation, and Ned checks his watch because "Noah" may be starting soom...

"Noah" was apparently a fantastic production, and i've been hearing about the inside of an ark for too many days.  'leeen wants to build an ark.  rahhhn says not yet.  

there was a rumor of something called an Addibaby, but i was never allowed to see for myself.  i had to stay home. no dogs allowed on the right side of the tracks. Addibaby was apparently extremely entertaining, cute, animated, alert, brilliant...unending list of favorable attributes...

Grandpa Attaboy (awesome provider of condo accommodations) and Addibaby 

as these brothers left, 'leeeen gleeeened steaks, spaghetti, all kind of wonderful fruit, grapes, melons, persimmons, peaches, and we're in hog heaven (they eat everything).

Providers of sweet 'taters, persimmons, watermelons, muskmellons, peaches,  satsumas, and Jam!

mostly my peeps were gone to be with four brothers, four sisters-in-law, three nieces (one great one), but when they came back to the camp i wagged my way along Table Rock Lake and there was never a dull moment.  grasshoppers, birds, gnats, you name it, i chased it. 'leeen has happy tears in her eyes, and it's fairly cold (freeze warning) so we need to go south.  in a good way...

sooo long since my last entry

thanks for checking to see if i'm alive. yes, friends, i am. i am always the happiest dog in the USA.

we rolled down the mountains, crossed the plains and parked in illinois. i hung out with Lilly and Kevin, Pariah and Patchy.

aren't Lilly's new glasses cool?  i want glasses. red ones.

new raincoat?  pleeeeze.  the kids don't have to wear raincoats...

i loaned Patchy my raincoat. she needs my raincoat. she's a hairless senior poodle who shivers all the time. my peeps  think we should take her with us. but then Kevin would miss her...

before i had time to rest up, we drove to North Carolina so i could love and amuse Ava and meet someone (finally) smaller than my self.

Ava liked my dog kennel

uh oh. she seems to have a plan...

naptime in my kennel? it's ok. i share...

she's so cute. she can walk me anytime!

so, here comes this little bitty caninette, Olivia.  two pounder.  makes me look like , well...sorta big like my peeps!

no sooner do i turn my back than she takes off with my skunk!!! named Flower, of course.

we sadly left the East Coast allinoneday and no sooner did we arrive illinois than they tell me we're leaving again. these people of mine can't seem to stay in one place. they are always in a hurry!

rolling power outages

we are green. ok, we're not. but we want to be green. i even got a green stripe for my first tatoo (against my peeps' wishes). we have solar panels. we recycle. we're trying to follow Trav's lead and leave a carbon wheelprint smaller than our bus, but our batteries still aren't talking to our panels, and boon docking at Walmart State Park has run us dry. so today we've said uncle and pulled into a campsite in Wall, South Dakota. it has a dog yard!  a fenced play pen for me and all my friends.  i want to stay here forever.

they roar and paw the dust and seem really, really mad

our rolling power outages keep me from telling the complete stories, but fast forward: bulls in Ellensburg. this is what the professional rodeo bulls do in their spare time. they squabble.  i'm just glad they didn't notice me staring from the other side of the fence.

ok, it looks like we're falling off...

that must be the Big Rock Candy Mountain

she's right. these roads are a bit steep...

another ascent

i'm a good traveler, if i do say so myself. with a name like Road
RunnerDog, i have a reputation to live up to. sorry i ended that with a preposition. if i say i have a reputation up to which i must live, i'll lose my followers. we've crossed Lookout Pass, Fourth of July Pass, and Stakeout Pass, and they were back to the roller coacher syndrome that makes 'leeeen have autoTourettes and yelp out accidental words and sounds. i just take it in stride. Rahhhn had to drive the 7% downgrade at 25mph.

wonder if there's a dog in that car...

so about the puppies i won't be having...no one told me my party was over.  Buddy and i had a plan for a large family.  yes, he's fixed, so he'd have to have a reversal, but we were game. but no. my peeps put an end to my dreams.  i've been depressed (a little) and brought my baby skunk dog (named flower of course). we whiled away the miles thinking of what might have been.

oh well...

i would have been a good mother...

                             

but ok. i got over it. this is my new pal, Hooligan. he's a professional show dog, except something about his feet pointing out keeps him from winning. go figger! his peep said i'd win a mutt contest because my prance is the best you've ever seen.

Hooligan is a beauty. He's a professional Dog.

back to walmart tomorrow with no power, and so many stories untold.

thanks to you, Buddy, Bear, Payton, Gita, Zeke, Nigel, Nikki, Olivia, Patchy, Pariah, Tucker, and my other peep friends. your support gets me through the challenge of leading my people all over this continent. dragging them across America is a full time job.