‘Finally, flip-flops!’
'How’s it feel?’
‘Fabulous.'

We left Salida a few days after a storm had dumped over a foot of snow in town. Old Man Winter was nipping at our heels. We thought, ‘It will get warmer as we head through the Utah desert, into California and we’ll be downright hot by the time we hit Southern California’.

The days in the desert were warm and pleasant. The nights were more than chilly. Several mornings we woke to find a bit of ice formed on Chet’s water bowl, and one morning her bowl was frozen solid. Yeah, Brrrrrrr.

We did get one day of shorts-weather around Las Vegas but by the time we hit Los Osos it was chilly again. Pleasant, but by no means hot. News of another Colorado snowstorm had the locals commenting on how much we must like their ‘winter’ compared to the cold and snow at home. We thought it was still pretty cold, especially at night.

Southern Cal was clearly warmer but the nights on the ocean were still chilly. As a testament to good marketing, Uggs are quite popular in Southern California. In a place you should never need to wear winter boots, many hipsters were sporting them, often paired with Daisy Dukes. Winter, indeed.

On into Baja….warm, pleasant days but, yes, still chilly nights.

I’ve been known to say, ‘I love a hoody.’ These words seem to have caught up with me, as we have worn our hoodies nearly every day since we left home.

For me, the hoody-lover, it was a tough decision: which hoody to bring. For a time, two were in the pile of clothes making the trip. But one got cut as our departure date neared and the reality of limited space set in.

For Mike, not a hoody-lover, the decision was more about whether to bring one or not. My ‘C’mon, don’t you love to pull on a hoody at the end of the day as the sun sets and the night gets chilly?’ had less to do with him bringing one than the fact that he had one on as we drove away from Salida

My Wild Women friends will know which hoody made the trip; it’s made almost every one of our outings in the last few years. I seriously doubt it will last our entire trip, so well-worn it is. Mike’s is a burly Carhart emblazoned with the DSI logo. It’s the only hoody I’ve ever known him to have, or wear.

Glad as we have been to snuggle into them as the temperatures drop, we were happier yet to put them aside and move into flip-flop weather. We crossed the Baja peninsula a couple of days ago, from Pacific Coast to Sea of Cortez, and upon arriving at Bahia de Los Angelos we instantly noticed the temperature difference. We were giddy. We reveled in the warmth. We shed layers. We put on sunscreen. We dug out our hats.

Only to wake this morning to a killer wind and white caps in the bay. Reluctantly, we reached for our hoodies…this is more weather than we’ve seen so far.

So, where have we been?


We crossed the border in Tecate, a sleepy border town east of Tijuana. It was a non-event as we were not even stopped, but just waived through by the border guard.

After about 5 miles we realized that we needed to get tourist cards and should have done so at the border. We turned around and went back to fill out the necessary paperwork.

Our goal for night-one in Mexico was El Rosario, recommended by some frequent Baja travelers as far enough south to be beyond the fray of Tijuana and Ensenada. We drove and drove and drove and decided to stop in Lazaro Cardenas, a town north of El Rosario by about 40-minutes. It was getting late in the afternoon and one of our cardinal rules is to be in camp before sundown. (It’s the cardinal rule most difficult to obey.)

The next day we headed to El Rosario after spending way too much time chasing errands in Lazaro Cardenas. Those who have traveled know that to-do’s take twice as long as expected.

An example of this is the tourist cards we obtained at the border. We got the cards at the border, but the customs officer there does not collect the $20 that must be paid to make the card valid. That must be done at a bank. The banks were closed as it was Sunday, so Monday that was on our list of to-do’s. Find the bank, wait in one line, be sent to another line, be sent back to the first line; the process took a lot of patience and over an hour of time. Finally, mission accomplished, on to the mercado.

After our to-do’s were done we headed to El Rosario. We spent a night in a remote spot on Bahia Rosario high on a cliff above the sea. It was not what we had expected and was a bit more remote than we anticipated.

The Burly Beast (our new most-favorite-name for the Westy) is in the left background.

Badly needing a few days of chill time, we headed back to Lazaro Cardenas and stayed at a place right on the ocean. Beautiful days spent fishing and walking on the beach and just generally unwinding.

Then we spent a long day crossing the peninsula through the Valle de los Cirios to Bahia de Los Angelos. Set up camp for another few nights at Punta la Gringa that has just the right amount of remote and secure.

Tomorrow we’ll break camp and head south to Guerrero Negro. Again, take some time to handle some to-do’s---internet, phone, provisions and laundry. And then head south again.


Posting on the blog is a challenge as I’ll have to compose on my computer, save it and some pictures on a thumb drive and then hope to be able to post the whole thing at an internet café. This post I am able to do from my own computer, the next will be a new experience. Stick with me as I sort out the process.

Best,

Trish


P/S People pictures. Yes, I know. We’ll work on it. Like Osama Bin Laden videos, I think my family wants to analyze the pictures to see if they’re real, determine when and where they were taken and confirm I’m alive.

Further in up the Road

With Chet's ordeal behind us, we headed back to Los Osos for round two of van work at Go Westy. On Monday they replaced the canvas in the pop-top and replaced the sky light. (Is it a sky light in a vehicle, or would that be a sun roof? It seems like a sky light to me.) The boys at Go Westy let us use one of their loaner vehicles while ours was being worked on: a 7 passenger vanagon named the Average White Van.

Chet really needed a bath after being in the vet cage for 2 days. If we could have found a hose we'd have done it ourselves, but being the vagabonds that we are we opted for a PetsMart. We let them know we just wanted to suds her up and didn't even need to have her dried. She's a water dog, remember, and she dries pretty quickly.

When we picked her up they had dried her after all and she looked like she had a bad perm from the 70's. Remember those? Super-frizzy. Think Chia Pet. She seemed embarassed. This picture doesn't capture the full effect, but maybe you get the idea.

Then we headed back up the coast to the elephant seal beach we had stopped at on our way to the fateful camping spot. These seals were great fun to watch. The males arrive in November and establish dominance. They belly-butt and make loud growling noises. The females arrive shortly after the males and they mostly lounge in the sun using their flippers to occasionally flick sand on their backs to help keep them cool.

Eventually the females give birth, they mate again (the males can have harems of 30-40 females) and then they head out to sea. They travel all the way to Alaska for the summer and return again in November. Way cool and hours of entertainment.

Though we liked the Los Osos area, we were ready to leave when the van was finished. We were starting to feel like locals as we began to recognize people around town. On Wednesday we headed south and stayed just south of Santa Barbara in Carpenteria.

We stayed in a state campground right on the ocean that had been recommended to us by some fellow travellers. We still don't know what they found so special about the place. The beach was nice, but, well, we just didn't feel the love for the town nor the campground.

Thursday we made the mad drive south through LA. Mike did a great job negotiating the traffic and we arrived at our destination by about 3:30. Again, we stayed at a state campground this time in Encinitas called San Elijo. Encinitas was a hip town, though bigger than I like. Great shops, great restaurants.

The campground was right on the ocean and full of surfers setting up for the long holiday week. 

Both Carpenteria and Encinitas were Urban Camping experiences. Backed by the freeway and with commuter trains passing just beyond the campgrounds, it was like nothing we've ever experienced and clearly a different vibe than the desert of Utah or even the woodsy campground in Los Osos. Other than surfing, we don't know why you'd stay there. Oh, except when heading south as we are.

No, I didn't surf as we were still checking things off of our to-do list and I think Mike would have left me there if I said I was going surfing.

Yesterday, we headed south again and stayed in La Mesa, about a half hour north of the Tecate border crossing with plans to cross into Baja today. Finally!

Thanks to all for the kind words about Chet's illness and recovery. She's doing great and is back to her usual playful self. Though we'll never know exactally what happened, we are keeping the ocean swims to short bouts and making sure she drinks lots of water afterwards.

Happy Thanksgiving to all,

Trish

Big Sigh of Relief

Team Westy is whole again! We went to the vet this morning and Missy Chettie was back to her old self. They felt she was well enough to be released and they sent her 'home' with us.

They said we'll probably never know what really happened, and each vet has their own hypothesis. Probably something dead and/or rotten that she ate made worse by ingesting salt water.

We are keeping an eye on her and hoping it never happens again. Several medications for the next few days.

We are so relieved to have this ordeal over with, and we are so happy to her nappy ass back with us. She is as cute as ever. Phew.

We're headed to the Elephant Seal Beach for a day of major relaxation, much needed for all team members.

Trish

More About Chettie

Quick update: We're just back from the vet. Chettie is doing MUCH better.

They walked her into the examining room where we were waiting. She is much more 'with it' and was soooo happy to see us. She is still a little unstable on her feet and has a little confusion but has improved remarkably.

The vet thinks she probably ate something that was contaminated. It could have been several days ago. That makes more sense than the thought of poison being left on Forest Service land. If you know our dog, you know she's quite fond of dead animals.

They are keeping her overnight again tonight and if she continues to improve they think she can come with us tomorrow.

We are so relieved and again, are hoping for the best.

Quite a journey, indeed.

Trish and Mike

This post was going to be about how our dog and our van make friends for us wherever we go. Seems everyone has either owned a Westy, has wanted to own a Westy or has known someone who has owned a Westy.

And, just yesterday before noon, 3 different people told us what a good looking dog Chettie was. They want to know what breed she is and they comment on her curly hair and the conversation goes from there: Where are we from? Where are we going? I joked that no one is telling Mike what a good looking wife he has; what's up with that?

Or maybe this post would be about Chet's first swim in the real ocean waves. What a great day that was!

Instead, this post is about a sad situation that has befallen our Chettie.

After we provisioned up yesterday and Chet had gotten her three-compliments-before-noon, we headed up the coast on Highway 1 toward an area recommended to us for some Forest Service camping.

Beautiful drive up the coast....gorgeous scenery....easy to find camping area that required 4WD to access. We were up high above the ocean with a great view out over the pacific. It was a good 3 miles in on this road, virtually straight up.

We set up camp and started to settle in for the night. Mike took the new solar panel off the van to check it out and set it up for maximum solar collection and Chet and I took a walk further up the road. I took a couple of pictures looking back on our campsite but decided I'd have to retake them in the morning when the light was coming from the east, not the west.

Back into camp, hanging out, listening to tunes and thinking about getting dinner going when we noticed Chettie kind of wobbling on her feet. Looked like she had lost her muscle control. We got her to lie down as we watched and wondered what had happened.

She continued to shake and we wondered if she was having a stroke. It seemed like something was affecting her central nervous system. It was as if she'd been poisoned. There were lots of prarie dogs in the area...had someone put poison in some of the holes?

The sun was setting.

We quickly decided it would be best to break camp and head down. We knew if we waited any longer it would be nearly impossible to drive down that road in the dark.

Once back on the highway we headed south to the first sign of civilization, a small convenience store, and made a call to a vet further south. We were over an hour away, on the very twisty, windy, dark Pacific Coast Highway.

We headed off, with Chettie in the back like a bag of Jello: little control over her movements and very confused. She didn't seem scared, as when dogs have seizures, but rather, confused.

Finally, and I mean finally, we got to Atascadero and found the vet. They assessed her and thought that, indeed, she may have gotten into some poison. It could have been a plant, even mushrooms perhaps. They gave her something to make her throw up but nothing came up that offered a clue as to what could be causing these symptoms.

They gave her charcoal that can absorb toxins and they gave her saline intraveneously. They said they would keep her overnight.

Grimly, we checked into a Motel 6 across the street and tried our best not to let our minds race to the worst.

First thing this morning we called and they told us she had had a couple of seizures in the night and they had to give her anti-seizure medication. They said she had lost her eyesight. This was a bad situation that seemed to be getting worse. They wanted to do some blood work which, of course, we agreed to.

We headed across the street and met with the vet. She was very nice and knowledgeable and showed us the results of the blood tests. They revealed that her sodium and chloride levels were very high, as were her amalyse levels. Could Chettie's big swim in the ocean have caused elevated sodium levels? She certainly drank more salt water than she ever had before. No, the vet didn't think so.

The vet said we would probably never know what it was and at this point it seemed multi-factorial. Amalyse is a pancreatic enzyme that would be working on processing what ever had gotten to her. The elevated sodium levels can be dangerous as they cause swelling in brain and, if not corrected, can cause death.

The vet told us at this point we had to wait and see how things unfolded. They would work toward bringing her Na/Cl levels down and see how she did as her body processed whatever had gotten into her.

We visited with Chettie and she instantly thumped her tail and tried to get up. She knew who we were and seemed to want us to tell her what the heck had happened. If only we knew.

We keeped her quiet and just reassured her that we were there. After a while we left and spent a gut-wrenching day pretending to be busy with things that still have to be done. The van seemed empty without her hanging out with us. We called several times to hear she was 'resting comfortably'.

At 2:30 we called and spoke to the vet. They had done additional blood tests and her sodium and amalyse levels were coming down. She was alert and seemed to be responding to shadows. She had been up and walking slowly. They had taken her for a walk and she had pooped. All good signs.

They had a very hectic day with several emergency surgeries and asked that we wait a few hours before coming in for another visit. So here we are back at the Motel 6.

We are encouraged that the news this afternoon was headed in the right direction and we hope things continue to improve. We know that there could be permanent damage to internal organs and to her eyesight but we are still hoping for a positive resolution.

She had so much fun swimming in the ocean. She took to the waves like a natural swimmer. So many times we have talked about what a great traveling partner she has been.

We'll know more later tonight and more still tomorrow morning. Send Chettie your love. We'll send an update in the morning once we know more.

Through tears,

Trish and Mike

A Pesty in the Westy

So, one night in the darkness of the Utah desert Mike asked 'Are you awake?'. I must have been somewhere just on the other side of consciousness as my reply was 'I'm just coming to'.

He said 'You are gnashing your teeth really badly'. Instant dread. Behaviours are hard enough to change when you are conscious of them, but how would I possibly change a habit I'd developed in my sleep?? He had been lying there in the dark listening to the sound for some time and was thinking, 'Is she really that stressed out?'.

We lay there with our respective thoughts. Then, CRUUUNCH. Chomp, chomp, chomp. So it wasn't me grinding my teeth. We were not alone. There was a mouse in the house and it was feasting on what sounded like dog biscuits!

We moved the box with the biscuits up to a higher shelf and settled back in. Silence. Silence. Silence. CRUUUNCH. Chomp, chomp, chomp. I shined the flashlight toward the box to catch a glimpse of the fat, grey intruder as he waddled away.

Strands of a thread on the Samba about mice infestations gave us reason for concern. We moved the box to the luggage rack on the top of the van, passing it out the front pop top window and hatched a plan.

First thing in the morning we'd buy a mouse trap (or two!) and set them the next night. (So sorry to my furry-creature loving friends...I draw the line at a rodent in my living space.) And that's what we did. Bought two traps and set one out that night after a long day's drive.

But the following morning the trap was not sprung and we can only guess that our passenger got off somewhere along the way as we have not heard from him nor seen any evidence of his presence since.

And, Chettie's reputation as a guard dog is now in question.

Westy Shake Down Cruise

Team Westy is in San Luis Obispo, CA!

SLO is just a stone's throw from Los Osas. Those of you who know Westfalias, will know that Los Osas, CA is the home of Go Westy, a mecca of sorts for Westy owners. 

Getting to the coast is clearly a milestone for us. But let's talk a little about our trip here. We spent several days in the desert and canyons of Southern Utah enjoying great weather and unbeatable scenery.

We spent a night outside of Moab, on Potash Road for those of you who rock climb; then a night near Capital Reef NP, on Notam Road; and two nights in Kodachrome Basin.

Capital Reef NP

        

                                                        


                                                       

All of the sites were on BLM land. Gotta love the BLM for free, dog-friendly camping. Also gotta love the BLM offices for helpful, friendly employees.

     Kodachrome Basin, UT

We left Kodachrome Basin and spent some time in Zion NP. Stunning scenery and relatively few visitors at this time of year. Most national parks are not super dog-friendly and Zion is no exception, so we didn't stay as long as we would have had Chettie not been with us.

                                                    Zion NP

Our not-so-well-conceived plan was to emerge from the desert and spend a night or two in St George, Utah: big city with all the conveniences. Ha. St George is a sprawling city that happened to be hosting several athletic competitions (including a swim meet at their impressive aquatic center) in addition to a marching band competition. Who knew? There was not a room to be found.

We retreated to some BLM land north of the city and found a little nook to park and camp for the night. Got up the next morning and headed on. Other than some provisions and gas, St George did not benefit from our tourist dollars.

        Silver Cliff RA, North of St George, view out the back of the Westy

We crossed a little corner of Arizona, the tip of Nevada and then the California border. There are some who would say that just driving the Westy from Colorado to California is an adventure. For us, the adventure is just beginning.

That part of California is brown and desolate, not at all what you think of when you think of California. We made a stop at an independent convenience mart with lots of Ron Paul signs on the property and asked about a place to camp for the night. The owner gave us two options: one, a dry lake bed; the other in the Afton Canyon. We'd have headed to the canyon, but he told us there was a wedding going on there with 400-500 people. So we headed to the dry lake bed. It was like no other place we've ever been. Kinda cool in a really different sort of way. It was just us and the wind out there. Hard to describe, but very pleasant.

Dry lake bed camp spot in eastern California

      Dry lake bed--Westy is in the lower right hand corner of the 'lake'.

And then on to San Luis Obispo and Los Osas. SLO is home to Cal Poly so it has that college town vibe we love. Tons of great restaurants, a happening bike shop, super walkable. Just an all around nice place.

First thing this morning we headed to the coast and let Chet dip her paws in the ocean. Timid at first, she got pretty frisky once she got the feel for it. The surf was pretty rough, and it was a leash-only beach, so we headed to a quieter cove and let her swim there. She still hasn't had the true wave experience.

                     Chettie at Montana de Oro SP, Los Osos CA

So far we are very happy with the Westy's performance, Chettie has really taken to life on the road and Mike and I are working out our systems and haven't had an argument yet. Right. Okay, maybe there have been a few words and, of course, there is always that tone of voice thing. But really, we're doing well. We're totally psyched for our adventure and feel fortunate to be able to pursue this endeavor. We're having fun and feel the burdens of the work-a-day world slipping away.

Chettie at the Wheel

Team Westy Rides!

Nothing like a foot of snow to slow progress down in the last few days before departure, but after years of planning and months of preparation, we pulled out of Salida November 1 at 3pm.

After a final stop at the storage unit we headed over Monarch Pass at the blistering speed of 30mph. The burly beast is loaded and we can't wait to start jettisoning some of the ridiculous things we felt we just had to bring.

We came as far as Gunnison and decided to stay. We know and love Gunni and have never felt the love for Montrose, which would have been the next probable stopping place. The Gunnison Inn is a great, pet-friendly place, with a big park right out the door (yes, dogs are allowed in the park).

Good friends are really what life is about. We didn't shed any tears at the storage unit as we left our stuff behind, but we did shed a few as we said those last few goodbyes. We are thrilled to be on the road and finally under way on our journey.

Going to take advantage of the wifi and other creature comforts before taking off for Utah. Sadly, some of the 'administrative tasks' didn't get finished.

Okay, so let's talk about Chettie Bews. Yesterday was her birthday; she turned 6-years old. She seemed unfazed by the whole event, though Mike and I did sing Happy Birthday to her all day and she got an extra pig's ear, her favorite treat.

Chettie is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. We bought her as a pup from some folks in Buena Vista, CO. Her dad was owned by one of my friend's mom, so I'd been hearing all about the puppies. Of course when we went to 'look' at the puppies, we knew we'd be coming home with one. At six, we finally feel like she is not a puppy any more. This is an active breed and I now understand people who drive their car on dirt roads and let the dog run along side. She needs a lot of exercise.

Other traits of the breed that are true to form for Missy Chetty are loyalty, stubborness and protection. We think these traits will be useful on our trip. Well, maybe not the stubborness, but the loyalty and protection will come in handy. It's ironic that Mike and I would have a stubborn dog. It's a trait we both have. Me: Taurus the Bull; Mike: Aries the Ram. So all three of us know how to dig our heels in. 

Initial conversations about this trip included talk of leaving Chet behind. More than one friend offered to take care of her while we travel. But the more we planned the less we thought we could leave her. 

She knows something's up and we keep telling her she's coming, but we're not sure she really gets what's going on. She'll find out soon enough.

We are still planning a November 1 departure. (This was written a few days before we left, but in the final frenzy to get out of town it never got posted. So here it is now.)