Jun 13, 2015
The last leg….
The girls hanging out on our final night in Banff. Caeli in her usual recumbent position.
Caeli the morning of departure, she really didn’t want to get up.
The weather was still great when we left at 8:15AM. We could have spent another day but we were ready to leave Friday. The extra day at home before work Monday was going to be a huge bonus.
It wasn’t long before the forcasted clouds and rain headed in.
Soon the rain was coming down in buckets. It was good to get all that Saskatchewan dust cleaned off the RV and car. The day was a mixed bag, some sun, some clouds, heavy rain, a few showers and wind. In a nutshell the best way to describe the trip home was bumpy and curvy roads with lots of wind.
The weather in Kelowna had been perfect the entire time we were away. Thursday was a mix of smoke from the Lytton fire and wind and rain. We had no idea what to expect when we got home yesterday. I forgot to mention that we had found one tick in the bed Thursday morning and four on Friday morning. It was definitely time to leave. The girls have not been on tick medication since the beginning of April and we don’t use it here as we have few ticks here in BC, at least not in this area. However they seemed to repel these, thank goodness.
We traveled the Trans Canada Highway as far as Sicamous before we turned off onto Hwy 97 to home. Some really great creativity in the construction of this highway. One needs to be an alert driver to travel this part of the highway.
Making progress…..Rogers Pass.
Carmeh seemed to be extra needy this day. Our massage lady in Edmonton aka Casa Maria from the Isla taught me a very quick method of Therapeutic Touch which she has used often on Carmeh over the years. It takes the heat away from her spinal area. Carmeh really responds when Mary does it. I have done it off and on since leaving Edmonton and she seems to relax more. As we were traveling yesterday, Friday, she actually was asking me to do it over and over. I can’t explain how she asked but those of you who have fur babies will understand. Sometimes it was with a paw or her nose nudging under my hand or just a special look in her eyes. So I spent most of the day hunched over doing my thing on her back and if she wasn’t satisfied when I stopped she let me know. She also spent most of the drive awake and looking out the window. Usually she sleeps the entire time we were driving.
Here she is, about Armstrong, BC, wanting to sit on the dash and just look at everything. At first I thought she was up there for just a few minutes but she wanted to stay so I covered her shivering body and put a pillow under her chin so she was comfortable. It was very strange. I said to Colin that I thought that she knew this was her last trip in the RV. He just told me that dogs don’t think that way but I really do think that she did think that. If not her last RV trip then her last trip along this particular route. She just kept those big brown eyes wide open taking in the sights.
It is a 300 mile/480Km drive from Banff to our home. Google Maps says it should take 5.5 hours. Well driving the speed limit and slowing down for all the bends in the road took us 7 hours and we only stopped in Golden to take on fuel and pee the girls and once again in Sicamous to let them do their business.
We got home at 3PM but I had not yet set our clock back that one final time zone change between Alberta and B.C so it was only 2PM local time. We had rain showers right until we pulled up to our home when they stopped and the sun peaked out. We worked for four hours non stop. The girls were both in the pen in the living room of our home. The RV was emptied and Colin moved it to a friend’s site to dump and flush the tanks and then put it onto our storage site. Meanwhile I worked hard to get 99% of our things put away.
Next step was to remove any stools that Carmeh has used in the past to jump up on and to block off any areas she used to jump up onto. Ramps were set up to the bed and the sofa and outside down the steps to the lawn. We let her out of the pen and she went loco. She walked/ran here and there and was so thrilled to have some space. We also pulled a few runners out of storage as carpet is easier for her than our flooring. We both had tears in our eyes. It was wonderful to see her reaction to so some freedom after 2.5 weeks of being confined. Finally we all settled down to a relaxing first night at home with dinner and some vino. So happy to be home 🙂
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Glad to hear you made it home safe and sound. Hopefully Carmeh will feel better now that she is at home.
Thank you Jannose. I think she is feeling better but she just wants to go go go which spells eventual disaster.
That was a nice 2 week gettaway, now back home and back to wrk.
It was a very busy 2 weeks away and we will be ready to start work tomorrow.
Glad that you made it home “safe and sound.” I hope Carmeh improves – it must be difficult for you and Colin…
It is difficult for us and I know that you totally understand. Thanks for your support.
It’s tough to see when one of our hounds are in pain. They will do anything not to let you know just how bad it might feel. With breeds like ours, those long backs take a toll on their hips and back legs after years of running and jumping around. I think both of you are doing the best you can under the circumstances for Carmeh.
Nice to here from you Steve. Hope you had a great vacation. Thank you for your support. We can only do what we think is right for her.
Nice trip! I enjoyed following along. Your doggies are so cute. We love our pets for sure.
Yes we do love our pets, unconditionally. Glad you enjoyed our two weeks on the road.