Willy's Harrowing Adventure

Let's face it, it ain't easy being Willy. He's so very sensitive. He's had nearly 3 years of being totally dominated by Shasta and rarely ventures out on his own. We had our "three hour tour" of our new building on wheels in 103* temperatures when we went to pick up the RV in Tucson. I tried to follow as close as I could with the video camera in between trying to get back on my feet after contorting sideways to get a shot of some bolt, hole, dip stick or another, and wiping the sweat dripping down my face while the doggies stayed in Little Debbie (trailer that we traded in) parked next to the new RV with the A/C on. The trouble began when we brought the dogs up the 5 steps to get into the giant. Shasta flew in no problem. Wilson's legs were everywhere. Okay, fine, he got in and was very pleased to find the (his) bed to lay on while we finished the tour inside. Then we were going to take it for a spin so Ron could get the feel of driving it. I saw the confusion cross Willy's face, then the fear when all of a sudden the walls started moving (slides coming in). He ran to Ron then to me and back again. If he could have crawled in my pocket he would have. Things like that just don't happen in Wilson's world! He was even more terrified when the whole thing started moving down the road and he jammed himself in between the back of the driver's seat and the wall that had moved in. I see nothing, I hear nothing. I swear he was having a nervous breakdown! When we got back to the lot, I took him outside before we put the slides back out and I still had to put him in Little Debbie when he saw the walls move from the outside! No Freaking Way!!! We were so glad that we stayed for a couple of days because there were many issues (no A/C in the middle of the night, the black tank had not been emptied, awning not working, refrigerator stopped working, no brake lights) and because it was the slow season for them, we had swarms of techs and managers at our beck and call to fix it all. Willy slept through all of that...he was exhausted! We ended up having to leave it there for a few more days to make sure the refrigerator stayed cold and Willy was very happy to come home in the truck. He was not, however, so happy to see it show up in the backyard a few days later!!! He was slinking around, suspicious, when Ron opened the door AND THE STEPS CAME OUT!!! Willy flew to the outer yard and when I caught up to him he was standing at the fence whining, begging to go next door. He had HAD IT with us! Will life ever be normal for him again? Will we ever be able to travel with him? I don't know if dogs have numerous lives like cats, but if they do, surely Wilson lost a few during the last couple of weeks of being scared to death!

Soooo, a couple of weeks ago we took a little trip to Tucson to "just look" at motorhomes. Fun, and we'd like to get one eventually, down the road, in a couple years... Really, I was more excited to just go up there to go to Joann's and Trader Joes, go out to a nice dinner, and have some fun with my hubby. Got to Beaudry RV at about 10 a.m. and didn't get out of there until 5:30, paperwork finished, and the sick (I could throw up now just thinking about it) feeling of knowing that we had temporarily lost our minds and signed the legally binding documents that made this RV our very own. WTF were we thinking?!?! Ooohhh, we weren't. We were swept along by the most efficient tag team in recent history. For the next week and a half, there was virtually no sleep and when I did manage to drift off to mindlessness, I would startle myself awake in a cold sweat. As more days of sleep deprivation piled on top of the previous days' lack of sleep, I ended up in tears wondering if our entire future was ruined forever! (drama queen) I felt incredibly guilty for having done it and could not even fathom telling anyone. Ron is very excited about it but has had a few moments of worry as well but he sees a much bigger picture than I do. He is much more courageous than me. He has always had this wonderful vision of us making a commercial while we are parked in front of Mount Rushmore. Now it might happen. So there it is. It's a previously owned, 2005 Country Coach that we got a screamin' deal on and is just beautiful inside. We plan to take it to Santa Cruz in October and since the studio business is portable we can perhaps pick up some new business while we're there. We went back up to Tucson last Thursday to stay in it at Beaudry for a couple of days to get to know her before bringing her home. You won't believe what happened. Willy is still not over it... I'll share that little experience next time!

Carr Canyon

When we went to bed night before last, there were grumblings of thunder and shocks of lightening all around! No kidding, north, east, west, and south. Everywhere! Gotta love those monsoons. Could be big doin's tonight weatherwise. You just never know if you'll get it or not. We did manage to go to sleep and when we woke up the next morning...WATER!!! It takes a torrential rain to produce this waterfall up on our mountain. Of course, we had to throw the hairballs in the back of the truck and jump in, cameras in tow, to drive up there first thing! Driving up into the canyon you have to drive through a couple of places where the "river", created by this waterfall, crosses the road. A little nerve wracking because the water is moving so fast. AND, here in AZ there is something called a "stupid driver ticket". It's almost always associated with some stupid person trying to drive through a wash or "just a little river" created by monsoon rains and ending up in a mess of trouble that requires a rescue team to get out of. A guaranteed way to get on the 6 o'clock news as well I might add. Anyway, towards the top of the canyon there is a little parking area with a great view of the falls. It's early so the temps are cool and moist. We can hear the water rushing down the mountain as we set up the equipment. After getting our shots there we drove farther up the mountain. The road is unpaved and is pretty torn up after the storm. Love our Tundra! As we got as close as we were comfortable coming to the waterfall we took more pictures and remembered a few stories that our sheriff friend told us of people wanting to get an up close and personal look at the falls from the top. And that's exactly what they did. Fall. There is a point of no return, nothing to grab on to. There is no surviving that. With that playing on our minds, we head back down towards home. As with the ocean, no matter how beautiful and how much we love it, you gotta respect nature and all that comes with it.