Road Trip - A Photo Journal Post

May of 2010 I took a trip to see my then ex-husband in the Texas Panhandle. It had been 17 years since our separation.

I arranged for a neighbor to watch all of my animals. I would eventually have to rehome most of them. The saddest for me was rehoming my cats.

I had 4 cats. Their names were: Benjamin Buttons (the gray kitty - male), Bozeman (a black kitty - male), Independence (black shorter hair - female), and Sister Grabby Long Claws (black long hair - female.

While I was on my trip, Independence got mauled by a dog and I had her put down. I was so sad. I was also pretty upset with the neighbor, who obviously wasn't doing a good job.

Sister Grabby Long Claws got herself pregnant and had a kitten. I named the kitten Phantom. She was a tortoiseshell calico and half of her face was black the other half orange. She reminded me of the Phantom of the Opera.

Bozeman and Benjamin went to friends of mine.

After I decided to move to Texas permanently, I was able to bring Sister Grabby Long Claws and Phantom to my mom's house. And when I sold my house in California and packed up my stuff, I brought Sister Grabby Long Claws with me. She meowed the entire trip. We drove straight through, my mom and I, so we didn't have to get a room with a loud meowing cat.

Sister Grabby Long Claws lived with us for several years, until she got an upper respiratory infection and I put her down. I still miss her.

Back to my first road trip. I stopped a few times to stretch my legs but mostly drove the entire way without stopping but to get gas and go pee. I really liked New Mexico. I had never heard of Albuquerque other than in the Warner Brothers cartoon. Bugs Bunny was always getting last and always said, "I should have taken a left at Albuquerque!"

On this trip, I was able to get out and stretch my legs in Bugs Bunny's famous town. I discovered something pretty exciting.

Volcanic rock.

Though I didn't visit it, I learned of the Albuquerque Volcanic field. Along with lava flows the field also has 6 named volcanos.

I snapped this photo because I was tickled that weeds could still find a way to grow even out of volcanic rock. It spoke to me of the tenacity of nature. Tenacity and stubbornness.

I grabbed a rock, about the size of my head and put it in the trunk of my car.

My car is a little bit funny. I bought it because it was the only used stick shift I could find. It was a Dodge Neon. But it was black. I don't think there is such a thing as neon black. Not like neon pink or neon green. I mean, I know and you know neon is a gas and really doesn't have anything to do with colors, but apparently, people naming colors don't know that. I just always thought it was funny to be driving a black neon.

When I got to the ranch, Keith was trying to figure out if an old water tank of his grandfather's could still be used. It had some holes in it, but he wanted to try to repair it.

I loved Keith's dog, Hank. He was sweet and kind and friendly. But he was hard to photgraph. He was always moving and wiggling around.

On the second to last day of my visit, we just relaxed and drank beer and barbequed some sausages. Keith was so sad to see me go. I knew if I didn't go home when I said I would, I would never go home.

I'm glad I went home when I did. It gave Keith a chance to miss me. Remember, I had wanted him back for a long, long time.

Keith did, in fact, miss me. And I'm so happy he did.

There are more photos of the start of my Adventures with Keith. I'll show them to you next time! See you then.