Last Day on the Road
It's Tuesday and we made it home last night at about 7.10 pm. We awoke to a crisp, sunny, snowy day on Monday, and were glad to see the weather had improved. After breakfast I took the dogs out to the yard to see if Tarka could be encouraged to play with Harley. Almost as soon as we were outside, they started to run.
I also managed to get some video, which is posted on YouTube here. What a pity they didn't figure it out sooner - they had such fun tearing around together.
Ali was also flirting with Willie, trying to get him to play soccer. Eventually they sang a lovely duet together and we thought we were at the opera listening to Samuel Ramey and Kiri Te Kanawa.
I also like the photo below (even though I cut Willie's head off), with Ali and Harley talking away, trying their best to control Willie and Tarka.
Ali and Harley are such lovely dogs and I always enjoy spending time with them. You couldn't find a more affectionate dog than Harley, and he managed to oust Tarka from the sofa so that we could have a good cuddle on Sunday. I think Jeannee got some photos of that. He's a big talker and at mealtimes he really does sound as if he's saying "I want some".
Ali has looks and mannerisms that remind me more and more of Muddy, though I didn't get any really good photos of her.
After Jeannee helped me chip the ice off my car, and held onto me while I climbed onto the roof of my car to bang the cargo box closed (I'm sure that was quite an amusing sight for the neighbors to observe), we set off just after 10 am. I-435 and then I-35 out of Kansas City were clear, though I was alarmed to see two new incidents (it looked like the police had just arrived on the scene in both cases) of cars sliding off the road. The edges of both lanes were slushy/icy and I'm guessing they just meandered onto a slippery patch and slid off, but seeing them made me drive slowly and very carefully. All the way to Des Moines and beyond, we saw many cars, and one overturned truck, lying in the ditch or on the median, probably from the day before. Most of these had yellow police tape wrapped around them. The other alarming thing was the speed at which the trucks were passing me - I'd guess about 80 mph - as I chugged cautiously along, and the amount of filthy slush they sprayed on my windshield as they passed, temporarily blinding me even with wipers on the fast setting. The worst road conditions were in Missouri, where they hadn't done a very good job of getting both lanes cleared, so each lane was half covered in slush or ice. Once in Iowa we soon got onto dry pavement and made up some time.
We stopped at a couple of rest stops in Iowa and both were knee-deep in rather heavy, but pristine, untracked snow. Tarka was delighted to roll and leap about in it, while Willie and I trudged along behind trying to keep up. Once Willie realized he was in a fairly open space he ran through it too, and then I was the one trying to keep up with the two of them, and almost fell flat on my face a couple of times. I remembered there isn't a single rest stop on I-88 so we stopped at the last I-80 rest stop before Illinois for our last walk before getting home. I did get the boys a McDonalds cheeseburger for their lunchtime snack. That is a great treat for them, greeted with much tail-wagging and trying to snatch food out of my hands.
We were all happy to arrive home, and of course Marc was pleased to see us too. He had bought Starbucks Pumpkin Loaf for the boys, another favorite treat, and ordered Thai food for dinner for us two humans. I didn't feel tired driving but once I stopped I realized I was rather wiped out. We did have our traditional 10 pm walk and both Willie and Tarka relished being back in their neighborhood, sniffing all the familiar smells and trying to scavenge food in the alley. Apparently eating McDonalds and Starbucks goodies makes you more hungry, not less.
This morning they were both delighted to go to Portage Park for our usual morning romp with their friends, most of whom were there. It was a bright sunny morning, and both Willie and Tarka had lots of energy; Tarka especially needed to run around and was jumping and bouncing happily in the snow. Most of their usual friends were there: Oreo, Avia, Sandia, Scooter, Spike and Frankie.
We're going to get the car unloaded gradually over the course of the day, and probably take a nap at some point. Well, Willie and Tarka are already napping. These two photos remind me of the first entry on this blog, three weeks ago. I don't suppose I can count on them for much help with the unpacking and laundry. Sigh.
I also managed to get some video, which is posted on YouTube here. What a pity they didn't figure it out sooner - they had such fun tearing around together.
Ali was also flirting with Willie, trying to get him to play soccer. Eventually they sang a lovely duet together and we thought we were at the opera listening to Samuel Ramey and Kiri Te Kanawa.
I also like the photo below (even though I cut Willie's head off), with Ali and Harley talking away, trying their best to control Willie and Tarka.
Ali and Harley are such lovely dogs and I always enjoy spending time with them. You couldn't find a more affectionate dog than Harley, and he managed to oust Tarka from the sofa so that we could have a good cuddle on Sunday. I think Jeannee got some photos of that. He's a big talker and at mealtimes he really does sound as if he's saying "I want some".
Ali has looks and mannerisms that remind me more and more of Muddy, though I didn't get any really good photos of her.
After Jeannee helped me chip the ice off my car, and held onto me while I climbed onto the roof of my car to bang the cargo box closed (I'm sure that was quite an amusing sight for the neighbors to observe), we set off just after 10 am. I-435 and then I-35 out of Kansas City were clear, though I was alarmed to see two new incidents (it looked like the police had just arrived on the scene in both cases) of cars sliding off the road. The edges of both lanes were slushy/icy and I'm guessing they just meandered onto a slippery patch and slid off, but seeing them made me drive slowly and very carefully. All the way to Des Moines and beyond, we saw many cars, and one overturned truck, lying in the ditch or on the median, probably from the day before. Most of these had yellow police tape wrapped around them. The other alarming thing was the speed at which the trucks were passing me - I'd guess about 80 mph - as I chugged cautiously along, and the amount of filthy slush they sprayed on my windshield as they passed, temporarily blinding me even with wipers on the fast setting. The worst road conditions were in Missouri, where they hadn't done a very good job of getting both lanes cleared, so each lane was half covered in slush or ice. Once in Iowa we soon got onto dry pavement and made up some time.
We stopped at a couple of rest stops in Iowa and both were knee-deep in rather heavy, but pristine, untracked snow. Tarka was delighted to roll and leap about in it, while Willie and I trudged along behind trying to keep up. Once Willie realized he was in a fairly open space he ran through it too, and then I was the one trying to keep up with the two of them, and almost fell flat on my face a couple of times. I remembered there isn't a single rest stop on I-88 so we stopped at the last I-80 rest stop before Illinois for our last walk before getting home. I did get the boys a McDonalds cheeseburger for their lunchtime snack. That is a great treat for them, greeted with much tail-wagging and trying to snatch food out of my hands.
This morning they were both delighted to go to Portage Park for our usual morning romp with their friends, most of whom were there. It was a bright sunny morning, and both Willie and Tarka had lots of energy; Tarka especially needed to run around and was jumping and bouncing happily in the snow. Most of their usual friends were there: Oreo, Avia, Sandia, Scooter, Spike and Frankie.
We're going to get the car unloaded gradually over the course of the day, and probably take a nap at some point. Well, Willie and Tarka are already napping. These two photos remind me of the first entry on this blog, three weeks ago. I don't suppose I can count on them for much help with the unpacking and laundry. Sigh.
Oh no, not all dogs love snow! I know someone who owns I.G's and they absolutely despise the cold, wet, white stuff. They stand like statues, alternating standing on two paws.
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