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?...

Dog in the Desert, Part 2...

Hey, what's up, dogs?  Last time I posted, I was telling you about my trip to Arizona.  

If you've been following my pal Ajdin's blog, you might have seen that he took a very similar trip.  In fact, we bumped into each other at the Grand Canyon.  Small world, isn't it?...

Here we are at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  It's grand, all right!  I can't help wondering what the first explorers of this area must have thought when they found this landscape.  

After spending several hours here, we headed for Williams, AZ.  This involved driving on the famous Route 66.  Ever heard the song that goes, "Get your kicks on Route 66"?  Yup, that's the one.

It's impossible to forget where you are in this town, because road signs abound....

There were a lot of cute stores and souvenir shops in town.  One of the stores was selling dog-themed stuff.  The proprietor of this store told us that she routinely fosters 6 or 7 rescue dogs AT A TIME, and a portion of her shop's proceeds goes to the local dog shelters.  Now that's a cause I can get behind!

Another store...

Unfortunately they didn't have my name.  Bummer.

...Hey, look at this sign:

Wow.  Er....That's a really strong declaration of love.  I'm not sure whether I'll ever be ready to make that kind of statement!

Later that evening, we stopped at this place to pick up dinner.  It's called The Little Chicken Spot.  Everything they serve contains--you guessed it--chicken.  Something tells me Little Fox would have enjoyed it.

In keeping with the nostalgic feel of this town, there were a bunch of classic cars parked along the main street.  

Look at this one--I think it's a Ford Fairlane.  I love this color; it really sets off my fur!  Take a picture for me, will you?

Nice.  Okay, take one more, just in case the first one was blurry.

--Wait, what?  Hey!  I've been photobombed by a bear!  Ajdin, we've got to stop meeting like this.  People will start to talk...  

Hope you enjoyed Part 2 of Dog in the Desert.  Onward to our next destination...