Boulder or Bust

On the final day of driving, we drove from Grand Junction to Fort Collins so my sister could tour Colorado State University and then finally rolled into Boulder late in rush hour.  So. Over. This. Driving. Thing.

358 miles, 1gas stop, many many scenic overlook stops.

Leaving Grand Junction

Glenwood Canyon

Near Eagle

Vail Pass

Continental Divide

Colorado State University campus - spent 4 hours here hanging out with the dogs while the tour was ongoing!

FINALLY!!!!!

Ely, NV to Grand Junction, CO

Nevada to Colorado…435 miles, one gas stop, and many scenic overlook/dog walk stops!

Nevada in the early morning

Utah!

Finally in Colorado!!  A wave of excitement and possibly a tear or two...

San Jose, CA to Ely, NV

Bay Area to the far end of Nevada…575 miles, about 9 hours of driving, one gas stop and several dog walk/sightseeting stops!

Donner Pass

Nevada Desert

Nevada Mountains!

Rain/Thunder/Lightning

Happy to be in the hotel for the night!

Happy Trails

Saturday we celebrated my the end of my days in San Jose with friends and family.

Stanley was just helping her clean that food off her face

With my dad 

With the crew from my old job

Dog residents and visitors

BFF!

And with that…there was little left to do but recover from the party, do my last big workout for Nationals, and load the car.  On Monday, the move to Boulder began!

Down To The Wire

Our time living in California is rapidly coming to a close!  While last week was frantic and crazy…this week has moved at a slightly more relaxed pace.  A few tasks to complete each day but otherwise time to just enjoy.

These showed up out front of my house last Friday.  Jeff and I had 70% of the boxes and furniture loaded by Friday evening and 95% done before noon on Saturday.  We are nothing if not efficient; I hope the same can be said on the other end with unloading!


The ReloCubes now fully loaded and locked up and waiting for UPack to pick them up and drive them off to Colorado.  (SUCH a better choice than PODS, in so many ways!)  In the meantime I'm living out of a suitcase with just a few dog supplies, important paperwork and of course swim-bike-run gear traveling with me.  See you in a week, all my material possessions!

Stanley wants to know where his afternoon nap bed went. And why no one will come in the room and nap with him.  That's about the extent of the concern the dogs are showing about this whole thing.


Last night was our last agility class at Fortis - we've trained with Tania for 10.5 years! With the news that USDAA Nationals will be in Morgan Hill in fall 2014…we will definitely be back to visit :)


Of course there was cake!  And it was spectacular.

At this point all that remains are fun events like visiting my former co-workers at their summer picnic and throwing one hell of a goodbye party.  Monday morning, the drive to Boulder begins!

Dog Days of Summer

Lest anyone think the dogs aren't experiencing fun and excitement while I am unemployed, they've been as busy as I have!

A few weeks ago we met up with our best beardie friends for one last trip to the beach.  No beaches in Colorado but I'm hoping the endless hiking in the mountains makes up for it :)

Six beardies and a wannabe

Look out, Jeff!

Beatrix, Maude, Stanley, Max, Beckham, and Loki, with Puck behind

I took Max in to the vet last week to get a little wart on his lip checked out and they did a full exam while he was in anyway…he says "prostate exams suck but the cookies here are good!"

This past week was like the California farewell tour…I had lunch with a different friend every day and drove all over to see people!  On Wednesday, we visited Beth, who has Stanley's sister and mother (who is also Max's half sister) and her new puppy Hazel (who was the little brown girl puppy from our visit in April).  The dogs had a great time running around with their buddies and Hazel and I played chase!

Hazel thought Uncle Max was pretty awesome

From oldest to youngest - Max (11yo), Maude (10yo), Stanley (6yo), Beatrix (6yo) and Hazel (3mo)

Thanks to Beth for insisting on a photo of us all together.  We are going to miss her!!!