Season's greetings!

Hey, what's up, dogs?  Got some mail recently from my blog pals.  First up is Little Fox, who is officially my first stuffie friend to ring in the holiday season with this custom-made card:

And on the back, he asks a question:  "Do you know where I'm at in this pic?"

Why, yes...yes I do.  It looks like Joshua Tree National Park, which was quite a hit with the stuffie crowd this season.  Little Fox went there first, and I drove through it later in the year...and while I was there, I happened to run into Ajdin.  Thanks for the card, L.F.!

And speaking of Ajdin, here's our bear buddy's holiday card.  Looks like surf's up for Santa!  Hope he didn't forget the sunscreen...

Thanks, Ajdin!  Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy leading up to the holidays.

Prize!

 Hey, what's up, dogs?  Jerry and Ben sent me a prize  from their Halloween costume contest this year!  How exciting!

It's a Starbucks card!  Nice.  I'll have to avoid the  chocolatey and caffeinated treats, but I'm sure my human can find something tasty for me.  Thanks J & B!  

Happy Belated Halloween!....and some delayed correspondence...

 Hey, what's up, dogs?  Good to see all of you again...it's been a while!  I realized I neglected to post about my Halloween costume a few days ago, so here it is...

And from another angle...

I'm dressed as the main character from one of my human's favorite Disney animated movies.  Hope everyone is having an "oo-de-lally!" kind of day!

I also want to mention a couple of mailings I got since my last post.  Jerry and Ben sent me a postcard in July (yes, I know, JULY, and here we are in NOVEMBER.  Blame my secretary) telling me about their trip to Isle Royale National Park.  Despite the picture on the postcard, they did not see any moose.

Hey, I have a question...if the plural of goose is "geese," shouldn't the plural of moose be "meese"?  Just wondering...Thanks for the postcard, guys.

More recently, I got a card from Sandy, giving me an update on his recent adventures.  Lots of pretty floral stickers here, which he got from his Gramma.  Also note the signature Sandy postage stamp.  Good stuff!

Thanks, Sandy!  Tell your Gramma she has excellent taste in stickers.

Well, that's all for now.  What did you guys dress up as for Halloween?...

Bacon in the mail!

Hey, what's up, dogs?  I got a special package from Ajdin a couple of weeks ago.  It's a bacon sticker!  Nice.  I think I'll frame it and hang it where I can stare at my favorite thing all day.

I also got a postcard from our pal Little Fox.  It's from Lombard Street, California.  My human has been to this street...it's a VERY steep and winding road down one of San Francisco's many hills.  I guess this means L.F. visited San Fran recently?  

In any case, he thanks us for the postcard we sent him from our Arizona/California trip.  You're very welcome, L.F.  Thanks for your postcard too!

Happy Independence Day to our pals in the U.S.!

 

Postcard from Devil's Tower...

 Hey, what's up, dogs?  Catching up with some correspondence...I received this postcard from Jerry and Ben last month, but didn't get around to posting it till now.  

I have never been to the Black Hills or Devil's Tower...time to visit Wikipedia!

Hmmm...looks like our intrepid bear friends must have been in South Dakota and Wyoming.  Gotta love those wide open spaces!

Thanks for the postcard, you guys!

Dog in the Desert, Part 4

Hey, what's up, dogs?  I am back with the last part of my series on my Arizona/California trip.  

After escaping from Death Valley, my human and I made our way to Joshua Tree National Park.  This is a very popular destination for stuffies recently...Little Fox took a trip there earlier this year, and Ajdin just posted about Joshua Tree in his last blog entry.  I wonder if we'll run into anybody we know?...

 This formation is called Skull Rock.  Looks like we're following in Ajdin's footsteps...I think it looks more like a skull from far away.  What do you think?

The Joshua trees in the park remind me of cacti in some ways, especially because of the long spiny leaves.  According to the Internet, local native people used to use the spines to weave sandals and baskets!  I imagine they had to use extreme caution. 

Below is the biggest Joshua tree we could find on our drive through the park.  

Anyway, this has all been very interesting, but the big question I have is this:  Who is/was Joshua, and why did they name the trees after him?...  

All right, on to our last stop.  We're driving on to....drumroll please...the port of SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA!  

Our mission:  to visit the USS Midway Museum.  Near the ship, we saw a memorial to Bob Hope, the legendary entertainer who took his variety show on the road to lift the spirits of American soldiers overseas. 

Thanks for the memories, Bob.

Aha...here we are.  The USS Midway Museum!  It's huge.  Well, of course...it's a converted aircraft carrier.

Welcome aboard!

There are a lot of exhibits here showing how the crewmen lived from day to day.  

The living quarters are pretty tight on a ship!

Here are the giant chains that raise and lower the  Midway's anchor.  Apparently, taking care of them was one of the most dangerous jobs on board, and so the lowest crewmen on the totem pole would be found here.

Here's an interesting display.  Traditionally, sailors throughout history had to know how to tie all different kinds of knots.

There are also a lot of planes and helicopters on board.  Some of them are inside the ship, but some of them are up on deck.  

And some of them were flown by famous people!  

For example, we found this plane, once flown by the late John Glenn, who later became an astronaut.

And here's a plane once flown by the late former U.S. President, George H.W. Bush.  You can see he dedicated it to his wife, Barbara.

Well, I think we've seen the most interesting stuff.  I wonder what this guy is pointing to?...

Oh, he's pointing us in the direction of DINNER.  Yes.  A very important stop.  Can't skip that.

Thanks for coming with me on my whirlwind tour of Arizona and California!  Hope to have more adventures to share with you soon...

Dog in the Desert, Part 3...

Hey, what's up, dogs?  I'm back with more about my Arizona/California trip.  After leaving Williams, AZ, we stopped briefly at the Hoover Dam, which is located on the mighty Colorado River at the border between Nevada and Arizona.  

Here I am.  Wow...this is a really high wall.  Don't drop me, please!

So my human and I already knew that this massive construction project took THOUSANDS of people.  But apparently there was at least one four-footed, furry friend involved, as well.  

This dog used to follow the workers onto the construction site...probably because they had a tendency to "overfeed" him.  (I've put quotes around the word because in my opinion, there's no such thing as overfeeding.  But anyway...)

To keep the dog from developing a weight problem, the humans coordinated to pack him ONE lunch, which he carried to the site every day in his own lunch bag.  

Many workers lost their lives here, and unfortunately, their canine companion did too.  The survivors buried their four-footed friend here.  (Sniff, sniff.)

Our next stop, somewhat appropriately, is...er...Death Valley, California.  

(Pssst...I know we've talked about this already, but...are you sure about this?  It's not called "Death Valley" for nothing, you know!

...Sigh.  My human seems determined to do this.  Sometimes I don't understand human behavior.  But the views are surprisingly great...)

Below is a picture of Badwater Basin.  There's a tiny pool of water here (not pictured) which gave the area its name.  Apparently, one early traveler tried to get his horse to drink from the pool, but the horse refused because the water was too salty.  Hence, Badwater Basin.  

That horse had better sense than his human.  I guess that's what they call "horse sense," eh?...

This area is known for its salt flats.  The formations on the ground are made from crystallized salt left over after water evaporates in the intense desert heat.  

Below is another landmark in the Valley.  The area below is called the Devil's Golf Course.  I can certainly see why!

If you played golf on this course, you'd always be in the rough!  Or...in the RUFF.  Heh heh.  See what I did there?...

Okay!  We've driven through Death Valley and lived to tell about it.  Piece of cake.  Where to next?...