On The Road

Greetings!

I’ve been absent because we are road-tripping from Washington State to Iowa for a work trip. Max and Jasper are with us for their first RV trip. Kola Dog is at home, being watched by a combination of my daughter, her partner, and a pet sitter. There’s no way all three could join us. Too little room and too much tension between Max and Kola.

So far, we really prefer our home state but found Fort Collins, Colorado intriguing. It’s got a great, liberal vibe, a fun town square with lots of shops and live music, plus trees and mountain views. It’s a college town, home of Colorado State University. We would love to come back and stay for a while to really experience all there was to see and do. We did go on a haunted pub tour that was not scary but really historically educational and loads of fun!

We’ve seen some beautiful scenery, stunning rock formations, and lots of flatlands with sagebrush, gradually turning into flatlands with corn fields. I can safely say it is highly unlikely we would ever move east of Colorado. Too hot, windy, dusty, humid, and flat. We’re really spoiled living in the Pacific Northwest, although, I suppose it is all a matter of what you get used to, as well as personal preference.

We’ve seen a bit of wildlife, which is always fun! Lots of birds, including two flying flocks of white pelicans, woodpeckers, a peacock or wild turkey (details are hard to see at 60+ mph). Really impressive! Also saw some pronghorns, various squirrels, a few weasels, tons of cows and horses, and a small herd of buffalo.

I was able to capture a few photos. I got a great one of what I believe is a cuckoo bee, which is a parasitic type of bee that hijacks another type of bee’s nest, lays eggs, then leaves the rest of the responsibilities to the original owner. They don’t need pollen for their young, so are quite smooth and only gather small amounts of pollen on their legs compared to most bees, which are quite hairy, enabling a great deal of pollen collection. Scientists are uncertain as to whether they are effective pollinators or not.

Also, as long as we’re talking about animals, I’m including some shots of Max and Jasper settling into the RV. It took about 3-4 days before they really got used to the routine. They have a hidey-hole near the bed where they spend driving time, then come out in the evenings. Even on longer stays, Max doesn’t seem to want to come out of hiding, but we considered it, and he’s mostly the same at home. Days are for napping and nights are for cat things. We are on Day 10 we and all seem to have our routines down pat!

This is a three-week trip, so there will likely be more from the road in the coming days and weeks. :)

Wherever you are, I hope you are safe and well.

Peace,

Dakota