Friends I've Met!

Murphy's New Friends!  and these are just the ones so far!!!

Emma - Pine Crest MO in the Ozark’s.  Her mom greeted us at 7 am with her breakfast of a PBR and a lit Salem. A “seasonal” RVer rigged out behind the Pickin’ Parlor where mountain music wailed the night before. “Let’s make us some brown puppies!”  mom said. I didn’t know what she was talking about and my dad was uncharacteristically speechless. 

<-Allie - Cashiers, NC. My Cousin!  a sweet middle aged lady who told me the rules despite me being unable to understand any of them.  We quickly sorted things out and became best of pals!  I hear she misses me!  I miss her. 

Pebbles - Charlotte, NC.  Pebbles wasn’t interested in my ball but she sure was certain she didn’t want me having it!  a “herder” the Uprights kept saying.  If that means telling me where to not go, then I got it.

Chino - short for Cappuchino - Charlotte, NC.->  Chino came to visit us in Pebbles’ fantastic back yard! (look elsewhere for “The Shoffice”). same age as me but a ginger to my chocolate.  What Fun!  Rompin & Rollin while the Uprights yickity yacked fondly about far away places and people.

A teaser of a tree swallow - Hunt Valley, MD.   You saw this earlier! oooooh. so close!  this tree swallow buzzed around me as i chased a ball in the cool green grass.  I chased him, then and just when i thought i’d have him; whoosh up into the sky.  I wish i had wings.  No. hands.  I with I had HANDS.  with opposing thumbs! 

Pepper - Cockeysville, MD - a girl sweet to humans but wanted to do a DIY neutering on me.  Happy it didn’t happen!

Rayne - Medford, NJ -> a delicate flower of a girl.  Perhaps the Queen Mum in a prior life.  She didn't know what to make of me at first, but we became great playmates on the beach.  I'll see her again soon at her favorite dog park. 

<- Leo and Caia - Beach Haven, NJ - two rescue kids about my age at the dog beach!  The dog beach was great!  Access to the bay and really shallow out a few hundred yards!  Leo and Caia's mom, Joe Montana (because of her great arm with my football!)  told me I'm a natural water dog!  All was fun and games until Leo started humping me. 

Bailey - Harvey Cedars, NJ  we had a nice romp in Sunset Park!  She chased me, I chased her!  Bailey was a chocolate lab just like me and we were born just three days apart!  But Bailey was bigger than me.  As it's said, 'If your lab is fat, YOU are not getting enough exercise!"

<- Crusty - a rather sleepy horseshoe crab on Long Beach Island.  or maybe permanently asleep.  This thing gave me the creeps. 

Moe (and many other “pocket puppies”).  Barnaget TWP, NJ Lots of these little pups around.  One each on either side of us at this campground.  No match for my Big Boy Bark although they sure try.  I have a theory:  the smaller the dog, the bigger the RV (or the people!

Clam and Chowder.  Barnaget TWP, NJ These kids seemed a little flat, but they let me join their family photo.

Pond scum

So, I experienced a fascinating morning this morning, on the search of fresh water creatures.  Our friend, Doug, with whom we are staying here outside Baltimore, is a biologist, former professor at Hopkins.  Now that it is warm here, all the happy microscopic critters in ponds are out frolicking and observable with a syringe and a microscope.  We scooped up two samples from the creek bordering their property and one from their pond - and took a look.  We saw spirogyra, peritrichia, protonema, diatoms, closteriums, ostracod, a rotofer and a flea larva.  We also saw green algae making zoospores!  It was really cool.

Murphy and the tree swallow

We made it to Baltimore during a 3-day rainy and foggy period.  But that meant it was pleasantly cool, so no worries.  On the way, we passed the swollen confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers at Harpers Ferry, which was really impressive.  We parked the trailer in the Patapsco Valley State Park and headed to Cockeysville in the country outside the city.

We've been staying in the cottage on friends' lovely property there while I catch up on family connections.  Spring once again is evident in our friends' beautiful gardens - it must be so easy to grow things out here!!!!  And as I write this, I hear a lawn mower - takes me back to the time I lived in Delaware!

We found a beautiful verdant wide-open field about 10 minutes from our friends' home, to exercise Murphy with a ball and a Chuck-It.  Nobody there, all to ourselves.  Except for a playful tree swallow.  We learned it was a tree swallow because one of our friends here is a biologist and avid naturalist - white belly, gray wings with a bit of blue - the swallow, not our friend.  We described it, he showed us a picture and that was it!  We started throwing the ball for Murphy and this bird showed up, circling and swooping at about Murphy's nose level.  So Murphy ran after it and it kept circling around - as soon as Murphy got close, it soared up high, then sailed back down nearby.  Both were running and flying in big circles and figure eights - it was an incredibly joyous thing to behold!

Tomorrow, we leave for New Jersey!

The Blue Ridge Parkway

Hopefully, I’ll get the Blogger editor to work with pictures, as the Blue Ridge Parkway speaks for itself, and I really don’t need to write anything – but I’ll make a few comments.  Spring is definitely here on the BRP – not everything has bloomed, certainly, but it is mostly green, except for the highest elevations around 6,000 feet.  A month from now, it will look outrageous, as the rhododendron will be blooming, but the beautiful 8-foot high leafy part of the plants are out and voluptuous in their greenery.  We boondoggled last night in a practically-deserted BRP Park and tonight we are staying at a commercial RV Park with full hookup and wifi.  I’m sitting under our trailer awning with a light rain falling and Murphy staring at me, as it is almost supper time.

Yesterday, with a layover at the BRP campground, we took advantage of good weather and went on two hikes, one up a ridge with a view and another around a small lake.  As we hiked up to the ridge, the clouds were ascending like billowing smoke – I guess that’s why the Smokey Mountains are so named.  The ridge was socked in when we got there, but as we descended, it started clearing and we went back up.  Gorgeous valley views in three directions.

Clouds creeping up the hillside

In the North Carolina mountains

This was written on Sunday.  The posting was delayed,
as we haven't had access to a wifi until now.

We've been enjoying Spring and a bit of Summer in the Western part of North Carolina around Cullowhee, Cashiers and the Highlands.  Beautiful part of the state, and country, for that matter - the trees have budded out substantially since we've been here and today feels more like July than May.  But that's fine, as we hear of an impending snowfall at home!   We hiked once more, yesterday, to the beautiful High Falls and took Murphy for a dunk in a nearby lake - he is really taking to water! Duh... lab.

Today, instead of a proper hike, we walked down and back Jeanne and John's country road to where our trailer is parked, to start loading up for our departure tomorrow.  Murphy enjoyed some expansive green lawns and terrorized some geese on the way.  Good, hot workout for the humans.  Upon our return, I reveled in

High Falls

an outdoor shower, hand-built by Jeanne and John, located under the stairs leading down from their deck.  The experience was enhanced by the use of a luxurious robe that had once been worn by George Clooney..... really.  Jeanne used to work for a very high end resort near the Highlands and the robe was a sort of a memento...  It added another dimension to the mountain cleanse....  

The last evening of our visit, there was a lovely party at the house for the hosts' birthdays.  We and a small group of their closest friends were wined, dined, and serenaded by an awesome acoustic guitarist, and friend, of theirs on their deck overlooking the North Carolina woods.  Beautiful evening, good friends.

Moby's parking spot in Cullowhee

First week on the road!

Hello there!  We are a week into our trip and I'm finally starting a blog in Cullowhee, North Carolina, as it is the first time we have access to a decent wi-fi.

The start to our trip was focused on staying behind the "dry line" of a powerful storm that was moving across the midwest.  So although we left a week ago, we stayed two nights in John Martin Reservoir State Park near Lamar, Colorado - snagged a beautiful site on the pond below the dam.  The outstanding thing about this first day is that during the trip from Blue River to the park, we saw 5 moose,  a coyote, buffalo, llamas, deer, and finally a muskrat swimming in the reservoir.

The next layover day we went on a very long, hot hike in the park and Murphy had three major firsts:  a swim in the reservoir, his maiden voyage with a furminator and a "lap cruise".  The swimming experience was very cool to watch - going after a stick, he got in over his head, and turned back towards us with a true look of panic on his face.  Then he gave it another shot - looked at the stick floating in the water, gingerly placed a paw on the surface, and then took the plunge!  The lap cruise was later during cocktails.   As we were seated next to each other in our camp chairs, he crawled up on Chris' lap, hung out a bit, then crawled over the chair arms to my lap, never touching the ground.  It was hysterical.

Starting Thursday, May 3, we headed East on blue highways, staying in Lake Cheney State Park, Kansas; Mountain View, Missouri; then Savannah, Tennessee; near the Shiloh Military National Park.

Sunday, we arrived in Cullowhee, North Carolina, home to our cousin, Jeanne and her husband, John.  We parked Moby next to a neighbor's beautiful barn down the road and are staying in Jeanne and John's gorgeous and homey apartment above the garage.  Like a luxury B&B!

As of today, May 9, we've been on two lovely hikes, one to a beautiful waterfall, and today to the Eastern Continental Divide.  Today's hike was enhanced by a group of hikers we encountered with 9 dogs from the local humane society.  It's been good to get some exercise after sitting on our butts for 4 days!  And needless to say, Murphy is so relieved to be out of the Jeep!