Where is Jack, Day 8

It started to drizzle on our long early morning walk, but it's supposed to clear in a little while.  When we came back, I stretched out for another nap and slept soundly for a few hours.


Today we have to go to Walmart to pick up a "black hose" that's green.  Nancy knows what that means, I guess. ::shrug::


We got some good news this morning.  Bailey will be in NM.  What fun!  I've been on such good behavior, but it will be really hard to look good with Bailey around.  I've been walking so nicely that people think I'm heeling--a man asked last night if I was an assistance dog!!!  I thought Nancy was going to roll on the ground, laughing.  Wow!


On our morning and evening walks, we walk fast for a long time. I don't have a chance to stop and smell or pull.  On our fun walks I'm allowed to pretty much relax and smell the "roses" (so to speak).


Nancy has us so well protected that I should feel very safe, but after yesterday's incident, I never know what the day's surprises hold for me.


We still have no close neighbors, but we kinda like that

The river gets lower every day, and there don't seem to be as many barges, today.  During the night I heard some.  Nancy leaves the shades that face the river, up, and the lights are pretty when they go by.

Sis Susie mailed the package off to us this morning.  She's so good to us, and we miss her a lot.  It'll be here on Wednesday, so we'll be on our way on Thursday, the 22nd.


Hopefully, then my blog will be a little more interesting.  This is just not a place to explore once out of the RV unless we go some distance and I can only bore you with so many pictures of barges.


We have so many gadgets to keep us safe.  Nancy tried out the weather radio, today.  It works on solar power and also has a wind up crank that works really well.  It receives Weather Band, has a USB cell phone charger, a flashlight, and a headphone jack.  It's tiny enough for her to carry in her bag so can go everywhere with us.  Boy, are we prepared!!!  That is as long as Nancy doesn't try to shoot an assailant with the radio, taze me when she's listening to the weather, or drop the locator under the truck wheels!!!


What a difference a day makes:

All of a sudden, big MHs and 5th wheelers were coming in one after the other.  Our next door neighbor really likes me.  They asked Nancy and me to join them for a glass of wine.  She was waxing the trailer so I think she figured it was a good excuse to stop.  She got a diet coke and took me over to sit with them.  Then we went for a walk and we came back in the trailer.  I got in trouble because I didn't want to miss all the fun--I wanted to go out, again.  The screen on the door is covered because I wouldn't mean it, but I could go right through the screen if I wanted to.  Well, that's all for tonight.  I'm tired of watching Nancy work.

Where is Jack, Day 7?

Nothing really exciting happened, today.  Very few barges—guess the pilots deserve a day off.

Nancy dumped, without "incident"!  We have no neighbors around us.  It’s a beautiful, cool, breezy day, and I’m loving lying out in the sun.  It’s been so quiet, the camera hasn’t even made an appearance, today.

One small inconvenience did occur.  We needed to mail a card so Nancy thought we’d go to the post office.  To be efficient she thought she’d pack her shower bag and clean clothes and stop at the shower on the way back.  It’s so cool that I don’t mind waiting in the car. Well, everything was going fine until we pulled up to the shower.  No shower bag.  Nancy could see our site from the shower, and there it was sitting where the truck had been parked. No problem.  We drove over, picked it up and then noticed a sweet smell, but couldn’t figure out what it was.  Then, as Nancy got out of the truck, she said, “What the heck am I sitting in?”  I heard a few words I won’t repeat when she discovered that when we backed out, we had run over the bag.  Big shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc.  What a mess!  So, back to the camper to get new clean clothes.

The worst part of the whole ordeal was to see that Nancy was sad—the ugly striped bag she has used for years was ruined and had to be thrown out.  “Funny,” she said to me, “Why would I be so down about an ugly bag?"


I think because it’s traveled back and forth across country with Rich and when she camped with her friends, too.

Off to Wal-Mart we went.  Couldn’t find anything half as tacky as her striped bag, but she got something that will fill in.  Then we had to go to Walgreen’s to get shampoo, conditioner, and soap.  Then, finally, we went to Wendy’s.  I’m not allowed to have any, but I get some little treats while she’s eating.  That’s a fair deal.  Well, as my friend, Forrest, would say, “That’s all I have to say about that.”


Oh, I almost forgot.  On the way back we got to the train crossing and there was a train stopped, blocking the road.  We couldn't see the beginning of it at either end.  We sat for 27 minutes once it started going.  We've never, ever seen a train that long.  I wonder where all the graffiti comes from.  Some is quite artistic, actually.

Where is Jack, Day 6

It’s a cool and breezy day out, today.  Nancy took me for a really long walk this morning.  Sis called while we were walking and they talked for a few minutes, and then she talked to Lisa.

When we came back, Don and Pat were getting ready to leave.  He was playing with me and said he wished he could take me with him.  Uh, I really like you, Don, but I’m staying with Nancy.  He was just being nice, I think.  Had me scared for a minute, though.

I was thinking when I was walking about how when you’re traveling you meet people all by chance—only because you happen to land in the same spot at the same time.  Humans laugh together, sit and talk, take walks and spend a few short hours together doing what no one else in the world is doing, together.  Then, as quickly as they met, they part, almost always saying the same thing, “Maybe we’ll see you down the road.”  The answer is always, “Yes, I hope so.”  I’ve heard it enough times to know that they know they’ll never meet, again, but they are aware that they’ve added something to each other’s lives. Humans are funny animals (no pun intended).

Today, Nancy has to go to the store to get a few things.  She puts a blanket out for me to lie on, and I’m so comfortable that I hope we’re not going too soon.

Charlie stopped by to see me a few minutes, ago.  He said he came by to see his buddy.  Charlie works at the park.  He told us that he’s got a busy day, ahead, he’s going to build a ramp for the husband of one of the ladies who works here—he lost his leg and is coming home, today.  I like Charlie, but if he built the stairs up to the laundry, I hope he makes the ramp a little steadier or the guy will lose his other leg.  The laundry is brand new, but I think some screws need to be tightened. 

There are birds about the size of pigeons all around here, and they make the funniest noise.  They’re not a bit afraid of me—they walk right up almost to my nose.  Guess they know I won’t hurt them.  Nancy’s got a book that John gave her—she can look up what kind of birds they are.  There are also a pair of geese who seem to stay in one of the ponds (not the one I was swimming in). I have to ask Nancy to take a picture of the birds and Charlie.

Several barges have already passed this morning.  Nancy got out the binoculars—and she thinks many of them are pushing oil up the river.  The containers look to be about the size of the oil trucks that we see—whatever it is, it’s covered.  She doesn’t have a strong enough lens on her camera to get in really close to show you what I mean.  She had her binoculars out, too, and the pilot blasted his horn and came out on deck and was waving and acting silly.  Funny.

This morning a big branch was floating down the river.  It looked like something grey was attached to it, keeping it afloat.  I looked at Nancy and I knew what she was thinking--she was white as a ghost.  She’s been reading a murder mystery and I KNOW she thought it was a body.  Upon closer inspection we realized it was actually a whole tree submerged and floating just below the surface.  Nancy’s heart slowed down a bit.  The power of water is amazing, and so is the power of the imagination.

Then, Judy called and after that John, Michael, and Susan.  So, everyone is keeping in touch.  Nancy called her friend Gail to see how Paul is doing with his broken wrist.  He got a PURPLE cast and wants everyone to sign it in gold!!!  There’s a long story attached to the color purple that I won’t get into, now.

Nancy renewed her Netflix account and downloaded a movie called “Boy in the Striped Pajamas”.  It was a good movie.  It’s a trial for three weeks so she’ll keep it while she’s got the wifi, here.

Well, we finally found a nice part of Memphis—it’s called Germantown.  We decided to take a ride after going to the drugstore and post office, but where?  A little voice went off in Nancy’s head (it was me)—put Barnes & Noble in the GPS—there sure aren’t any bookstores around here.  Well, the first one took us to an abandoned mall and we found a misplaced Statue of Liberty, but the second led us to Germantown.

Germantown was a very nice area.  We went to B&N and Nancy picked up a couple of books she wanted.  Then, we wanted to find a hardware store.  So, she put “hardware” in the GPS.  I’m so happy she has this gadget—lord only knows where we’d be if she didn’t.

Nancy thought she left her brand new flashlight at home.  As she was paying, she vaguely remembered putting it in a compartment in the truck.  Oh, no, could this be true?  She got in the truck saying, “It better not be here.”  It was.  I said, “So, okay, keep one in the truck and one in the trailer and give one to Susie when we get home.”  She took my advice.

We headed home and we went straight through the city of Memphis.  Of course we were on the highway, but she managed to get one picture in while we were stopped, we think.  One is a building that looks like a pyramid.  I think Rich told her it is a sports arena.

When we got back to the park, we went for a long walk.  We came back and new neighbors pulled in.  I got into trouble because they had a dog and the man came over and I barked.  Nancy was MAD.  I have been so good, I don’t know why I did it.  She told the man to watch out for the water pressure—it’s very, very strong, here.  Without a water pressure valve, I’m sure we would have blown some pipes.  The guy said, “Thank you”, but was still shocked when he turned it on and thanked us, again.  He saw Nancy with the computer and asked if she’d be willing to give him some fundamental lessons on his Apple.  They’ll sit down, later.  Right now, they have company who pulled in right after they did.

So, maybe another temporary friend.  Maybe not if I don't keep my mouth shut.

Where is Jack, Day 5?

We got up early this morning and went for our usual walk.  It's nice and cool in the morning.  Some of the barges come very close to the shore. We could almost reach out and touch one this morning.  This tug was probably pushing a dozen barges.

We were going to go into the city, but Nancy decided to do laundry (free) at the brand new laundromat with the big fancy, new front load washers and dryers.  It's only a few hundred feet away.  She thought she was going to go without me, but no deal.  I was going or everyone in the park was going to hear about it.  I've made a lot of friends, here.  The men, mostly, seem to like having me around.  It's strange, but there are no other dogs so I get all the attention.  The man next door offered to babysit for me while Nancy did the laundry, but I wanted to go.  He's in a chair with wheels and I don't suppose he would have enjoyed the ride as I pulled him chasing after Nancy.  While the laundry was doing its thing, Nancy cleaned the camper.  I know my hair is a pain in the neck for her, but I can't help it, and she doesn't complain.  So, once all the chores were done, she said I could go for a swim.  Not in the Mississippi (it's too swift right, now), but there are a couple of small lakes--ponds, really, that I've been eyeing each time we walk.  They're right across the road from our camper. Nancy went to the truck, and out it came--the green thing, but she also had a ball for me.  Oh, how I love my balls!!!  She got it on--I tried not to give her a hard time so it was pretty easy.  When she threw the ball I went jumping off the bank and into the pond.  What fun!

All my new friends were watching me.  Word traveled fast.  I kept bringing the ball back and they'd throw it, again.

Finally, when I was tired, I decided to dry myself off by going between everyone's legs, leaving their pants wet.  Well, if I was going to smell like a swamp, they might as well, too.  Then, they won't notice me.  I had lots of fun, and I hope Nancy lets me do it, again.


While we were at the laundry, we looked out and there was a big ship going by.  We didn't get any pictures--where is the camera when you need it--in the camper, of course.


Well, that was our day, today.  Tomorrow some of our friends are going home to Canada.  Their names are Don and Pat.  We were sitting out with them, earlier.  They live in their 5th Wheeler.  They spend a couple of months in Myrtle Beach, the summer in Texas, and then they go home to Ontario for the summer to get away from the heat.  They are very nice people--we will see them, again, later.  The other couple (the man in the chair with wheels) just got their new motorhome two weeks ago, and they only live about 50 miles from here.  They are going to go to Oklahoma in a month to see her sister who she hasn't seen since her Dad passed away in 1988.  Imagine that.  The man used to be a farmer and he drove trucks when farming was slow.  They just sold their farm and bought the motorhome.  We know all this about them and Nancy can't remember their names!  What else is new?

Where is Jack, Day 4?

Well, today was kind of an odd day.  It's been on the warm side but is cooling off.  We were out walking very early this morning.  We went back to take a picture of "flood wood".

This is all along the banks along with big chunks of cement (probably from the roads).  The trees remind us a little of the Oregon Coast where the Tsunamis and "sneaker waves" toss huge trees around like toothpicks. We're going back on another trail a little later when it cools off even more.  When the flood line gets to 31, the park closes.  According to their website, it's a constant battle with mother nature.  They are always busy--the park is immaculate.


We sat outside for a while.  Nancy was reading and watching the tugs and barges and I took a snooze.

The strength of these tugs is simply amazing.  There's one going by right now that's pushing 6 count 'em 6 full barges against the current.  They have to make a turn in the river in both directions--amazing how they maneuver them.


Then Nancy decided that we couldn't be in Memphis and not go see Graceland.  So, off we went.  This has got to be, without a doubt, the ugliest city there is.  We turned on Democrat Street and we practically hit our heads on the roof because of all the potholes and generally bad condition of the road.  Nancy said it's enough to turn anyone Republican.  We've never seen so many abandoned buildings. This was a beautiful building--Army Reserve.  Just left sitting there, rotting.  We went to see Congressional of Honor Park, thinking it might be the only place that was well taken care of.  Not.  There wasn't even anything to indicate why and how it got its name.

And, the highways--they are crazy. You get on an entrance to the right and within a 10th of a mile have to exit to the left.  Nuts!!


Well, we got to Graceland.  It's surrounded by ugliness.

Nancy pulled up to the little house by the parking gate and the lady told her no dogs allowed and she said, "But, he's always wanted to see Graceland." The lady started to laugh, and asked her if she was going to take me in the house.  Of course old smart alec had to say, "Well, I'm sure he'd be very disappointed if he couldn't go in after traveling all this way just to see it."  The lady said hold on a minute.  A man came from the other chair on the other side, and he was laughing. He said, "Tell you what. Park right next door here, and go ahead and take him on the grounds.  I can't say whether they'll let you in the house or not."  Well, we did, but then Nancy said, it's not even worth the walk to the house--too hot.  So, we took a picture of Heartbreak Hotel, and left.

On the way home, she thought she'd get herself a cone from McDonald's.  Usually she asks for a large cone and they say they only have one size and she says, "That's okay, then make it a large. Thanks." I say 50% of the time she gets a cone that's overflowing.  Well, I was pretty annoyed that I wasn't getting any so when she was making a left turn out of the parking lot and holding the cone with her right hand, what else could I do; I grabbed it.  Got the whole thing, too!  So there.  It did make her laugh.  Good thing it was vanilla and not chocolate.


To put things in perspective, three much bigger RVs that were beside us left this morning.  These replaced them.  We're the one on the right.

The park is nice, but the surrounding area is not--Deb was right.  Tomorrow, we're going to go downtown and see if we can find anything or anywhere that is nice in Memphis! That's a little harsh. What we meant was if we can follow a map to get to them.

Where is Jack, Day 3?

Well, surprise, surprise, I'm 50 feet from the Mississippi watching the barges go by.  Everything changed--never know what Nancy's going to do.


Last night was a restless night for me.  I usually sleep with Nancy, but I guess I started to think of Lizzie and I wanted to sleep where we used to sleep, together.  I whined just a little in the middle of the night and showed Nancy what I wanted to do.  She said, "Okay, c'mon old boy, I'll move the stuff out of your way.  I understand."  I don't know how much longer it was before I decided I'd go back to sleep with Nancy so I got down and whined a little more.  She moved her feet and said, "Okay, old boy, make up your mind.  I understand"

We were both wide awake early this morning and on the trail about 6:15 CST.  It was beautiful--the birds were singing their hearts out, and I know we heard some deer, but just didn't see them.  We walked all around and finally got to those steps, again, and went up.  Nancy was just about finished hooking up, so we took off for "David" Crocket State Park.  We took the ride that the nice lady in the office told us to take, and it was beautiful.  I don't think I've ever seen so many barns. We couldn't pull over to take pictures because it wouldn't have been safe.  Before we knew it, we were in David's territory.  It was at that point that Nancy said, "Jack, you wanna go to the Mississippi, instead?"  Well, we were on a beautiful road, then it turned into some other kind of road--easy driving, but not quite as pretty.  We were in and out of Tennesse, Alabama, and Mississippi so many times that we had a hard time believing that we would wind up in Arkansas!  We even saw where Helen Keller was born.  It's just drop dead gorgeous, here.  Nancy took a few pictures of barges, but there are some of me lounging around that aren't out of the camera, yet.  So, I'll just post the ones that are ready.  Since we're so tired, I may add to this, tomorrow.  Good night, everyone.

Before I forget, we are at Tom Sawyer Campground, a place where Rich always wanted to go.  We decided we'd go for him.  He really would have liked it here.  We miss him so much.  My brothers and sister call every day.  They would like it here, too.  We need to get one more walk in, and it's getting dark and chilly out.  More, tomorrow.  We'll be here for a few days.

Where is Jack, Day 2?

We took a nice long walk before bedtime, then came in and watched a movie.  It was very quiet and dark.  We slept very well last night.  It got cool, but not cool enough for a heater.

Today, we’re going to decide where we are going next.  Nancy has to get the maps and books out and figure it out.  We are thinking about Savannah, TN, but we just don’t know, yet. 

We’re posting from a McDonald’s Parking Lot.  Tomorrow we’re going west to “David” Crocket State Park.  Looks like a nice area.  We’re probably going to take a ride to see Pickwick Dam, too.  I may add to this, later, but we want to get out of here and go do some fun stuff.

We took a great walk at 6:15 a.m. this morning.  The trails are great around here.  Then we took another one late morning.  Here's some of what we saw.  We'll have other pictures of where we've been, later.

After spending some time in the McDonald’s parking lot, Nancy decided to try to find the dam that she had read about.  That evolved into finding me a really neat place to swim.  There was a neat little stream running along the road we were on—looked ideal, only it was private property and there was a fence and no place to park.  Soon, though, we found the dam and what looked like THE place.  Nancy hesitated and looked around—there was a lot of evidence that it was a favorite fishing spot—that meant hooks!  Then, we rounded a bend, and there it was!  A great big sign over the most beautiful water that said, “Dangerous Waters Violent Surges Occur Suddenly Keep Out”.  Drat.  No swimming for me, today.  To make up for it, Nancy drove back to the campground and we went for a long walk in the woods and I was able to run off leash smelling all the glorious smells that I never find in my own back yard.  I’m a happy boy.

Where is Jack, Day 1?

We're all set.  Just waiting for traffic to die down and then we're taking off.  Only a few panic moments this morning.  Nancy couldn't find her keys.  Thought maybe she had left them in my Sis's car, but a quick call to the hospital dashed that.  Running around the house like crazy--where on earth could they be. Light over her head goes on--could it be?  Could it be that she left them in the trailer door?  Yep.  There they were. Good thing we live in a safe neighborhood.


We just got back from a walk. I inspected all around the truck and the camper, and it seems like she's covered everything.  Just has to put the computer in and ME!  Oh, don't forget me!!!

She's happy, but there are tears--what's with women, anyway.  Good call.  Sis may be able to fly out to Flagstaff for 5 days or so in June and we can all go see the north end of the Grand Canyon.  Nancy said it's one of the prettiest drives over there.  Flagstaff is like the heart of Route 66, too.  She and my Rich took Lizzie and me to a concert in the city park and I had a blast. There's also a museum that they said was lots of fun, but Lizzie and I weren't allowed in there.  It was cool enough for us to sleep in the car so that was okay.


Well, I'll sign off for now.  The campground that we're headed for, Tims Ford in Tennessee, doesn't have wifi so I'm not sure if I'll be able to report in tonight.  See ya!

Well, we did okay.  It wasn’t a really long drive because we stopped so many times, and I got to smell so many places.  I could tell that Nancy was a little teary about leaving home, but seemed at ease driving-- even up Mont Eagle, our first big hill.  She ate lunch at a rest stop and I had a snack.  We went in and out of Georgia once or twice.  I64 is a very nice drive—pretty scenery.  We found the campground (Tims Ford State Park) without getting lost, and the only sites were back-ins.  Nancy kept her cool, though, and did fine.  We were set up in no time.  We sat outside while she read a book and I watched all the kids playing.

The lady at the campground was very nice.  She said when we leave that we should turn left out of the park and take another road (50, I think) to I64 west because it’s such a pretty road.

Then, we took a ride to Winchester, a nearby town and had a look around to see what we want to do, tomorrow.  When we got back we walked all over the campground.  A little girl wanted to hold my leash and was insistent that she hold it by herself and was not happy when Nancy said no!

I’ve been napping for a while, but we’re going for another walk—the last of the night.  We bought a brand new good quality flashlight, and we just discovered that we left it home so we’ll have to pick one up on the way.

It was good to talk to everyone on the phone.  We’re getting a lot of moral support.  That’s good because we need it.  I told Nancy that everything will be okay—we’ll get into the swing of the trip and do just fine and see some really great things.  We’re excited to hear that Sis may be able to squeeze 5 days when we are out near Phoenix, so we can go see the north rim of Grand Canyon.  Nancy was telling me that while the canyon is fascinating, the ride to the canyon was what she remembered the most—she and Rich had spent a wonderful day together and had a picnic on the Kaibob plateau.   

Where is Jack, Today?

Still here!  (tapping paw) First we were supposed to leave on Saturday, but couldn't-campgrounds were scarce because of spring breakers so the day was moved to today, and NOW it's tomorrow.


"Mom" (later changed to Nancy) had lunch with her good friends: Gail, Paul, Patricia, and Erma, yesterday, and was not feeling well.  Fun as always, but she said she was feeling worse and worse as the minutes ticked.  She enjoyed their company, anyway--who wouldn't-they're so entertaining.  In talking, she realized that she had thrown out her National Park Pass, thinking she had to renew it each year so Gail told her where she could get it and she got it on the way home (after getting lost and a few calls to Gail) (that doesn't give me a warm and fuzzy feeling--the place is only a few miles from home).  Then she gassed up the truck still hoping for this morning, but to be on the safe side, she's decided to wait until the morning to leave.


She's feeling better after a good night's sleep, but there's no sense going while not feeling well--that wouldn't be fun!!!


I'm not complaining, it gave me another chance to stay with my sis...lounging in her bed!

Where is Jack, Today?

Still home getting ready. My human is trying to make up for lost time by running around like a chicken without her head, today.

I think her main ambition in life is to mortify me. It all started in Charleston. Some young guy threw a ball (that wasn't any good any more) WAY out in the lake. I thought it was for me, so I did what comes naturally!

I swam a long way to get the ball, and when I turned around, she was starting to take her shoes off--she was going to save me. Oh, no, I thought, I'm a Lab--humans don't save Labs from the water!!! All the other dogs are watching!!! Well, I told her off when I got back to shore!

I thought she had forgotten, but no such luck. The end result came, today. She decided that she needed a handle on me and I needed a life preserver. GAWD, what Lab wears a life preserver--bright green, no less. At first I objected, but she let me know there was no way out--just like cleaning my ears.

This may be the last time we talk before we leave on April 11. My human is excited, but she's nervous, too. Having lunch with some of her best buds on Saturday and dinner with her daughter on the weekend should help to calm her nerves. Then, off we'll go! She'll probably take some pictures the morning we leave. She doesn't want my sister to be there because she knows they'll cry. Geez...girls. My human told me some good news last night. We can go the scenic route the way we planned. Tennessee, here we come!