Gone Fishin'

A few months ago, Oscar and I joined some friends for fly fishing on the Lanno River. Oscar supervised as I packed the trailer and hoisted the kayak onto the truck. Here he is giving his final inspection. The small rod in my hand is a Tenkara fly fishing rod I am trying out. When extended, it reaches a full 12 ft in length.

Fishin' and friends is where it's at. We set up camp next to Johnny's vintage Shasta trailer. Oscar was amused with the raccoons in the window.

A hearty breakfast with strong coffee, biscuits and spicy chilaquillas prepares us for a day on the river.

We took our time heading through several widened out ponds on the river. Clear waters in some deep, still holes enabled us to see the fish as they made their approach.

Later that day, Oscar tested out laps and listened patiently to our "true tales" of catching the big one.

In the evening, we enjoyed a nice steak dinner under the stars. Topping the grilled steak with a generous helping of fried jalapeños added just the right touch.

A delicious chocolate cake rounded out the evening meal.

While Oscar couldn't have any of the spicy meal or the chocolate cake, that didn't stop him from licking his chops when I told him about it.

So Oscar tolerated another day of patiently listening to our fish tales, he occasionally snickered and muttered something like "Yea, right Pete . . . sure . . . Uh huh . . . What, no pics of the big one? Hmmmmm"

Such a sceptic

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Rally in the Mountains!!!

The Wonder Egg crept slowly down the path less taken, following the secret instructions directing us to the Labor Day Appalachian Mountain Oliver Trailer Egg Rally.

When the Eggs were gathered within a stones throw of the Eastern Continental Divide, they set up camp and we all started to do our favorite thing . . . RELAX.

 

Oscar's middle name is Relax. Here he is chilling out on the front porch with Paul and Warren.

I told Oscar we'd be cooking on the open fire and he started shaking. He wouldn't calm down until I explained that we were NOT having hot dogs. Sherry and Paul made a killer, restaurant quality meal of marinated brisket, with roasted vegetables and sweet onions wrapped in foil and grilled to perfection.

We always enjoy our time on the mountain with Sherry and Paul. It was great having Tom and Karen and Warren along as well. Looking forward to the next time . . .

 

 

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Oscar's Airshow

Crossing the state line into Florida, we pulled into the welcome center rest stop so Oscar could "admire" the lush green grass, something he doesn't see much of in the heat wave of central Texas. When he turned around and saw the Blue Angel on static display, he became so excited and said "Look Pete! They're putting on an airshow just for ME!!!!!!"

Obviously the whisker faced little furball thinks the whole world revolves around him . . .

 

 

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Passport America's Birthplace

We're Baaaaack!  I couldn't stand Oscar's continual whining about not being out on the open road anymore so I thought I'd placate the little whipper-snapper.  We're off on a trip to visit family in Florida and get "Mr Whiney Dog" off my back.  It'll also be a test run to see how well the leg handles  the long drive after the crash-n-burn episode of the previous post.  I must admit it is nice to be out and about again . . .

I recently renewed my Passport America 50% Discount Travel Club membership and on this trip we're saving big bucks by using some of the more than 1800 camping sites offering these fantastic discounts.   Near Long Beach, MS we pulled into the Magic River Resort campground, a nice quiet setting close to I-10 yet far from any highway noise.  It is a small family friendly place with fishing ponds and a community dining area complete with a huge cooking pot to swing over the campfire for making  a hearty, warming stew to feed a large crowd or for a wicked witch to cook unruly children.

A sign says to find a campsite, settle in, relax and someone will be by in time to settle up the funds.  For Passport America members that'll be a hefty $12 please . . . what a deal!  The next morning Mr. Ray Fernandez stopped over to check us in / out and I learned this campsite is the actual birthplace of Passport America.  Ray's father had the idea for the original world's largest 50% discount camping club.  He came up with the idea right here, at his campground, the Magic River Resort.  Ray and his sister are the current owners and plan to keep the good work going as they expand the listing of discount campgrounds to be found all over the United States, Canada, and Mexico.  It was a bit of serendipity that lead us to this peaceful place where a fantastic camping club was born!  Stop on in if you get a chance and meet Ray!!!

Camping Hiatus

Well, there I was . . . screaming around a steeply descending sharp right hand curve on my cool Bacchetta Giro-20 recumbent bicycle, hugging the vertical retaining wall on inside of the curve, thinking of my next outing with Oscar the Smiley Dog.  

And that's when it happened . . . I scraped the inner wall, crashed and burned, and heard both bones break in my lower right leg.  DRAT!

Fortunately, the nice ER doc and his able assistant stabilized the injury with a cool splint!  Woohoo!!!

That was November 23rd, 2012.  The final diagnosis was spiral and compression breaks of the right tibia and fibula accompanied by a fractured ankle.  YIKES!  

After a month in the hospital and critical rehab followed by another 10 days at some dear friends' house I was able to go home.  The hardest part of that time was missing Oscar, who lived the life of "Pampered King Foo Foo Dog of the World" at some other friends' home.  I had to allow the bones to mend for four months before trying to walk initially with minimal weight bearing.  That was about five weeks ago.  Things are coming along right on schedule according to the doctor.

That's been the cause of minimal activity on our blog.  Oscar doesn't think there's much of a story line about me sitting around in the Lazy Boy with my foot elevated while I play the dulcimer, ukulele, irish whislte, bansuri, autoharp, harmonica, etc.   "Travels with Oscar the Smiley Dog" won't be having entries during the remaining recovery / therapy time.  Since I'm a solo human traveler with a pampered, worthless dog when it comes to campground duties, I need a solid recovery before hitting the road again.

Don't worry though, Oscar and I are safe at home as he is capable of protecting us both from the dreaded hedgehog!

He is also vigilant about everything that goes on around the house.  He claims nothing would ever escape his keen sense of awareness . . .

Sure, Oscar, whatever you say. LOL!

See you all down the road,

Pete & Oscar

2012 Kansas Egg-stravaganza

Bummed about not finding any aliens, there I was, tuning through the dials of my ham radio set and suddenly came across an interesting discussion about a gathering of egg-pods way down in at a watering hole they refered to as Milford Lake, Kansas.  So I ripped off my headset and yelled "Hurry, Pete!  Head southeast, quick!  I figured out where the aliens are landing!!!"     And off we went . . .

By the time we arrived, the aliens had set up a secret community of pods.  Some of them were displaying flags from their worlds.

This one looked like a communications center, with a special antenna on the back, shaped like an alien's head.  OMG!

   

A smiling delegation was sitting outside this pod from The Land of Casita, displaying multiple flags of loyalties and speaking with strange accents . . .

This pod, from The Land of Scamp had an odd shape to it . . . I think it was a sleeping berth for long interstellar travel, so they could go into hibernation.

They even had a weather station pod.  Boy, these aliens are organized . . .

One shy alien tried hiding behind a tree, but I spotted him with my keen canine eyesight.

The smallest pod, from The Land of Scamp, had a flying saucer mounted on a pole getting ready to take off on a recon flight.  

Later that day, I spotted a large group of aliens gathered around a small burning pyre.  Did one of their members not survive the long trip, or were they burning an offering of thanks to their creator for a safe journey? I just had to find out . . .

I decided to spy on them and asked Pete to help me get close.  He sortta looks like an alien, so I didn't think they'd notice us . . .  

One evening, they all gathered together to share nourishment, brought from their various worlds.

They seemed to be a very happy-go-lucky group of aliens, if you ask me.

I came to sit on alien laps, so I asked Pete if I could try and get in some lap time with these strange beings.  He smiled and said "Go for it, silly dog"

It worked!!!!!!!!!!

I learned how gentle these aliens were and decided to see if they were trainable too, so I picked one out for a head scatchin' lesson, and to my delight, discovered they are trainable!!!

 

What a great time.  I told Pete we should be on the lookout for more of these alien pod gatherings.  He rolled his eyes and said "Anything to keep you happy, Oscar."  (He's trainable too!)

OK, what's up with us anyway???????????

Did Oscar ever find aliens? 

Are Pete and Oscar still stuck in the frigid north?

Just what the HECK is going on?!?#?!

Watch this space for coming news .  .  .