• Dust devils in the desert rise sometimes 40 feet in the air before they spin themselves out into nothingness
• The terrain doesn’t just look like a mountain range when you’re passing it - it appears like it’s been violently thrust up from the earth as if ancient deities battled in the ground below
• Passing through Utah just after crossing over from Nevada, the sands are so white and hot, it looks as though you’re approaching a lake that never gets closer. I can understand the whole mirage in the desert phenomenon better now
• Nevada along Interstate 80 has more prisons than I thought possible - like every miscreant is sent to northern Nevada from every other state

We arrived in Salt Lake City (and for those that don’t know, yes, the Great Salt Lake really is salty), and drove to the Utah Animal Adoption Center.  They hosted today’s Sauerkraut Meet & Greet, and were very excited to have the little stinker in their facility!  There were cupcakes, lemonade, and snacks for everyone that visited.

For those that have never been here, Salt Lake City is mountainous, peaceful, and very relaxing.  I have a special treat in that Humom, Sauerkraut and I are parked at the home of Rachel, my very dearest friend from high school.  A visit from home and a reminder of our childhood always does a heart good.

Tomorrow we are on to Fairplay, Colorado - our last stop before home on the Tour!  See you then, friends!

It’s Day 8 of the Sauerkraut Summer “Kraut and About” Road Tour 2015!

And I’m here to tell you, I thought I knew something about this great land in which we’re raising Sauerkraut.  But I don’t.

First, a correction.  In yesterday’s post, I thought it was azaleas that grow along the sides and in the median along California Highway 99, but they are oleander.  And they are poisonous, so don’t go picking them, eating them, or rolling around in them.

Second, there are mountains in Nevada.  And in New Mexico.  Who knew?!  Heck, now that I’m questioning myself, there just might be mountains in every state in the US.  No, never mind - I used to live in Iowa and I KNOW there are no mountains there. 

Sorry, back to the point.  We left this morning bright and early so we could get to Reno in time for an 8:00 meeting for a radio interview on Alice 96.5 FM.  As we left Sacramento, we kept driving up… and up… and up… 

We passed through some of the most astounding mountain vistas you could imagine.  Tahoe National Forest is up there!  And Donner Lake/Donner Pass!  And… trees!  Lots and lots of trees.  If I ever ask online where I should take a vacation to get some quiet in a beautiful location, remind me of the 120 miles between Sacramento and Reno.

And then remind me to take some geography, history, and botany books with me so I can learn a little bit about where I live.

We made it to the radio station in plenty of time, and met with the three radio hosts, along with Mel from the SPCA of Northern Nevada, who hosted the Meet & Greet this evening.  The radio interview was a lot of fun.  They asked questions about how we came across Sauerkraut, about her condition, our cause, and of course, about her closet full of clothes.  Mel mentioned the Meet & Greet time and location so all our local friends would be there!

And finally - and to be this may be the biggest deal of all - the SPCA really picked up on Sauerkraut’s theme of special needs adoptions.  At the event tonight, they had several of their cats that have special needs there in the room with us, ready for adoption.  It’s sometimes so hard to find a home for a cat who is older, or is FIV-positive, or has a deformity. The best story was one of Elsa, a kitten who has a severely deformed back leg.  One of the dog-walker volunteers came in to the facility when Elsa was first there, and never made it past the little kitten.  She adopted Elsa, and she and her husband were gracious enough to bring her to the event tonight.  Little Elsa was so sweet, with the most adorable ear tufts, and absolutely knew she was just perfect the way she is!

Sauerkraut, who like Elsa would never have passed muster with a breeder, is the most loving, most amazing member of our family, and I could never imagine what life would have been like without her in it.  Special needs pets sometimes make an even more amazing family member because they show you their appreciation with every heartfelt nuzzle.  Pass this message on!

It’s Day 7 of the Sauerkraut Summer “Kraut and About” Road Tour 2015!

As Humom and Sauerkraut and I were heading north from Los Angeles to Sacramento at the kitty poo hole of dawn, driving first through mountains and then through flatlands in the dark, I began thinking about the drought that California has been suffering.  And as the sun started to rise, the true effects of the drought became very evident.  Along the sides of Interstate 5, there are all kinds of crops: pistachios, figs, oranges, lemon, apricot, and marigold. And anywhere that there wasn’t active irrigation, there was… nothing.  It was almost completely barren, the earth so dry it’s cracked.  It made me realize how dependent we are on the wide variety of crops that are grown in California, and how I hope the drought ends very soon.

As we approached Sacramento along California Highway 99, we noticed an amazing thing: the highway is lined along both sides, and sometimes in the median, by the most beautiful flowering bushes - we think it’s azaleas.  In white and red and shades of pink from a dusty rose to a hot-pants pink, it really made the drive amazingly pleasant.  If you’ve never been to Sacramento before, it may be worth it just for that delight.

We arrived at our stop for today, the SPCA of Sacramento, in plenty of time to get set up.  The first group of Sauerkraut visitors was the kids of Camp Kindness, which is a summer program the SPCA of Sacramento was running today.  The kids were absolutely enthralled with little Kraut!  They had painted their faces to look like her, had made a banner and other signs to welcome her, and all had ear scritches and selfies and pictures to go around. Even some of the moms may have taken a snapshot or two!

Throughout the rest of the Meet & Greet, other friends showed up, some having to drive 90 minutes to get there!  We were so fortunate to meet such amazing people, some who brought us food, treats for Sauerkraut, and many, many that made donations to the Sacramento SPCA.  They have a beautiful building, take amazing care of the animals in their facility, and perform a great service to their community.  Humom and I are very thankful to have had such a wonderful Meet & Greet thanks to their hospitality and generosity.

After the SPCA, we checked in to our RV lot, and had a very special visit: Humom’s sister and brother in law live in the Sacramento area, and sister came to the RV site with her three kids.  They LOVE Sauerkraut, and wanted to dote on her, but she was a little worn out from the day and just wanted to nap.  She did wake up long enough to get a photo op in though!

We then had a second very special visit: Sauerkraut’s friend Gary lives just a few miles from where we are staying, and they invited us over for wine and watermelon - the perfect way to end a very (record-breakingly) hot day.  Thanks, Gary, Carlos, Margo and Hank!  …and your Mom and Dad too. :)

Tonight’s post is gonna be a short one - tomorrow we leave Los Angeles for Sacramento at 4am, so it’s early to bed, early to rise for Humom and Pops!

Today Sauerkraut’s humans took two different paths: Humom went to CatCon and a bunch of people were able to come out to the RV and meet Sauerkraut.  She was able to chillax in the relative comfort of the RV and the 75 degree breeze and sunshine of Los Angeles.  Pops, whose brother lives in the LA area, picked him up, and they restocked the RV food stuffs and did a couple loads of laundry.  It’s possible the two of them also laughed a lot.  And had In-n-Out Burger.

After CatCon/shopping/laundry, Sauerkraut and Humom and I went to Blue Plate Taco, the most excellent pick of Sauerkraut’s friend CatsAndFoodie.  It was DELISH!  We were able to visit with many of our cat-people friends, laugh, have a drink or two, and enjoy the beach scene in Santa Monica.

When we left the restaurant and were headed back to the RV to pack things up for the drive up to Santa Monica tomorrow, our friend Lil Adolf pulled their stroller up along side Sauerkraut’s so they could have a private word.  No one understood what they said to each other - they were speaking in German.

I must admit, today was not as much about Sauerkraut raising awareness around issues of animal welfare, or working with a local organization to raise funds.  Today was about celebrating the joy that many, many of us take in having a glorious, unpredictable, beautiful, temperamental, wonderful cat.

CatConLA began this morning, and let me tell you, it was an experience.  We woke up, got ourselves ready, and drove the RV to The Reef in downtown Los Angeles where the event was being held.  The line to get in was around the building!

Once we got in, we were met by hundreds or thousands of people who are of a like mind: that cats are to be celebrated for their humor, intelligence, weirdness, uniqueness, curiosity, and stoic strength.

Not to say there’s anything wrong with dogs - they’re awesome too!  But once in a while it’s good to just become one with your feline side.  And today, we did that!

We got to meet some of the people that have become our friends through social media, or those we have gotten to know, and have gotten to know us through Sauerkraut.  I can’t count the number of times I heard, “There’s Sauerkraut’s Pops!” and Humom got to meet in person a lot of the people who have supported and befriended her over the past year and a half.

Sauerkraut (and most cats) was not allowed into the event, but one very special cat was: the amazing Lil BUB, and her human The Dude!  Personally, this was the highlight of my day.  The work that Lil BUB does, the awareness that she’s raised, and the way she and her people have been so giving and generous to worthy causes has been inspiring to us.

By the end of the evening, Sauerkraut had kind of had enough activity though - we went to a Meow Meet where people were able to bring their cats, but the noise and activity were a bit too much for her, so we brought her back to the RV to hang out and have some dinner.  

All in all, it was a great experience… and there’s more in store for tomorrow!  

It’s Day 4 of the Sauerkraut Summer “Kraut and About” Road Tour 2015!

This morning started out cool and crisp in Flagstaff, and we got on the road at about 6:00 am for our drive into southern California.  Here are my observations for today:

1. If you’ve never had the joy of staying in Flagstaff, seriously consider it. But traveler beware: there is such a thing as pine pollen allergies. Humom can tell you all about it, I’m afraid.
2. If you’ve never had the joy of renting, owning, or driving an RV, you really should consider it.  I’m sure it’s not for everyone, but Humom and I have seen some amazing scenery along the drive - all stuff that would have been “fly-over” if we’d just hopped onto Southwest.
3. If you’ve never had the joy of driving west from Flagstaff on Interstate 40, drivers beware: the roads haven’t been repaired since Eisenhower was in office.

We crossed into California after driving through some of the most wide-open countryside we’ve ever seen… and then it continued even after we were in the sunshine state. I commented that I half expected to see a John Wayne movie being filmed. Humom said it reminded her of Stephen King’s Desperation/The Regulators. The mountains and rolling hills make you realize how amazing - and enormous - our country really is.

We got into Orange County in plenty of time for our Meet & Greet.  Today, we were at the Mission Hills Pet Care Center, who also happened to be celebrating their one year anniversary - what a great way to celebrate! The animal welfare group we’re supporting today is New Beginnings.  We met Dr. McCarthy and her staff, who were all wonderful, friendly, helpful, and had great relationships with their clients.  They had balloons, food, sodas, and desserts for everyone!

Lots of people came to greet Sauerkraut today, and there were a million pictures, selfies, chin scritches, and ear rubs.  We also had the best fund raising of the trip so far… so this is a challenge to all the other cities we’re visiting on our trip next week!  

One of the visitors, Sebastian, after meeting Sauerkraut, wandered off and came back just a moment or two later with a piece of paper and a pencil, and in about one minute drew up this amazing portrait.  Thank you so much, Sebastian!

It’s Day 3 of the Sauerkraut Summer “Kraut and About” Road Tour 2015!

Uh-mazing.  That’s the one word I have for Flagstaff!  Or… is that two words the way I used it?  Anyway…

Since Flagstaff is a short distance from Phoenix, Humom and I got up at a reasonable hour instead of “how will I function through the day”-o’clock.  We got caught up on some paperwork, inventory, social media, and maybe a little time on Words with Friends for me…

The distance from Flagstaff to Phoenix is only about 120 miles, but the ELEVATION difference is astounding.  We pushed this little motor home up some pretty steep grades, and it let me know how it felt about it.  But the Little RV That Could made it up every one of them like a champ.

We drove straight to the Coconino Humane Association about an hour early, which gave us time to get things set up before the festivities began.  And what an amazing facility they have!  It’s high up in the mountains among fir trees, and has an absolutely breath-taking view.  The staff were so inviting and friendly and willing to help get things set up and ready for the Meet and Greet.  The Northern AZ Division of Arizona Animal Foster Coalition was there to hand out some information and share their story.  We got an AMAZING gift basket for Sauerkraut (and her Humom and Pops too!) full of treats, toys and great information.

Before the official Meet and Greet, NAZ Today visited with me and Sauerkraut and filmed a piece which should air probably on Monday, so check out their website early next week!

It’s Day 2 of the Sauerkraut Summer “Kraut and About” Road Tour 2015!  

Let me start with a question: what does a cat do when she normally is locked out of the bedroom at night, and suddenly has access to your feet, hands and head in the wee hours?  That’s right, she plays what Humom calls “The Lava Game” where Sauerkraut pretends the bed is lava and we are bridges to safety.  And she was chatty - the cat who never hardly makes a peep would put her mug right into our sleeping faces and give an inquiring, “mowp?”  Needless to say, Humom and I are dragging just a wee bit today.

But the day started off bright and early.  Up at sunrise to greet the full moon, and on the road before Wednesday knew who brought her catnip.  It was an eight hour and forty five minute drive from Roswell to Phoenix.  Here are my three observations:

1. I had absolutely no idea how mountainous New Mexico is just west of Roswell
2. I was taken off guard by the mandatory Border Patrol vehicle inspection, even though we crossed no international border
3. White Sands Missile Testing Grounds makes no secret about their location - WHITE SANDS MISSILE TESTING GROUNDS IN 30 MILES - HAZMAT TEAMS ONLY!  One mile later: WHITE SANDS MISSILE TESTING GROUNDS IN 29 MILES - NO PARKING ALONG THE ROADWAY! One mile later WHITE SANDS MISSILE TESTING GROUNDS IN 28 MILES - THESE ARE NOT THE DROIDS YOU’RE LOOKING FOR!

Our first stop in Phoenix was with the Right This Minute crew, who for the most part didn’t know we were coming.  The hosts were so gracious, kind, and welcoming.  Sauerkraut was, as usual, willing to accept praise and petting.  Except to poor Christian Vera, who Sauerkraut refused to pose for!  Be sure to watch Friday’s episode of Right This Minute for all the antics!

Then it was on to the Metro Center Mall, where we were hosted by Halo Animal Rescue.  We raised some money, raised awareness around animal care and welfare, and had some great visitors - including Sauerkraut’s very first veterinarian, who traveled over two hours from her new home here in Arizona.  Thank you for the visit, Dr. Bratcher!

If you’re ever in Phoenix and looking for a furry family member, canine or feline, be sure to check out Halo - they have a beautiful facility, with friendly and helpful staff.  It was a wonderful experience!

The Sauerkraut Summer Road Tour 2015 “Kraut and About” has begun!

Humom, Sauerkraut and I got up bright and early this morning, packed up the last of our gear, and hit the road at 7 am.  There are a few things I didn’t anticipate in this trip:

1. I got to drive through Chickasha, Anadarko, and Geronimo - all towns in Oklahoma that I knew of only through the news, as in “The tornado is passing through Anadarko now!” or “The storm chasers are near Geronimo!”
2. Texas is big - and I mean BIG.  We passed through just a small portion of it, and it seemed to go on forever.  For. EVER.
3. New Mexico is a lot greener than I anticipated. As we crossed from Oklahoma into Texas and then New Mexico, we could see that the soil had turned from red to light brown to almost a white sand. Gone were the trees of Oklahoma, replaced at first by the yucca of Texas and then the feather Dalea along the New Mexico highway.  Everything in New Mexico was green and in bloom - it was beautiful!

There is only one thing I am just a little disappointed about.  We didn’t see any UFOs, aliens, Men in Black, Scully or Mulder.

I’ll bet Roswell residents get sick of people saying things like that… 

In less than a week, Sauerkraut leaves for her Summer Road Tour of the western United States, including New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado.

This will be the first time I’ve traveled for more than a week in… well, in forever. As we prepare for this trip, I have gained a new appreciation for people that travel a lot for work, or that regularly take long trips, even if it’s to a family cabin in the woods. There is SO MUCH to think about when you’re going to be gone. 

And we’re lucky, because we have family that will be living in our home while we’re away, so we don’t have to worry about the mail, the other family pets, or the risk of leaving a home unattended. 

So what does it take to prepare for the Sauerkraut Summer Road Tour? Here’s my list of Unexpected Things to Consider. Maybe you’ve experienced these things too.

• The idea of comfort is paramount. We take so much pleasure from being at our Home Base. The spot on the couch that’s “ours” where our dog or cat sidles up beside us. The one coffee cup we choose every time if they’re all clean and put away. The feel of your own sheets at night. As I think that we are purposefully choosing to leave all those things behind, I start to look for the things on the road that will bring me comfort. So, I will secretly be packing three things: my favorite baseball hat, humom’s favorite travel mug, and Sauerkraut’s favorite bed. Well… guess it’s not so secret anymore.

• Do not let the clock rule you. Any trip, whether a vacation or a business trip, whether it’s 100 miles from home or on another continent, usually comes with a full itinerary. It would be easy to think only about where we need to be next, where to go, when to get there, rush-rush-rush. And while I REALLY don’t want to be Justin Bieber who shows up an hour late for his own concert, I’m going to try my best to not let the itinerary rule my every every waking moment.

• Remember, there’s a Target store in almost every city. I start to think that if I don’t remember to bring this doodad, or that widget, then I’ll be without it until I get home. In honesty, I have to remind myself that other than humom, Sauerkraut, and some key electronics, everything else can be bought on the road if I forget it.

• The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep. There are few things as valuable, especially when being out of my comfort zone, as a good night’s rest. I’m guessing that sleeping in an RV will, at least for the first few nights, provide less than perfect sleep. And on any vacation or trip, we want to see everything, to experience everything. But without adequate rest, even the best of us can become ill, irritable, or unenthusiastic. So from now until Travel Day 1, my mantra is Early To Bed!

• There are more people in the world than we could ever meet. As I look forward to the trip, one of the things I’m most excited about is the great people we’ll meet along the way. Whether it’s at a Meet and Greet, or at a rest stop along the road, we have an opportunity to get to know great and caring people from across the country. So if you’re nearby, come and chat with us!

• Finally, Let it all sink in. Maya Angelou said, “You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it’s all there. Everything influences each of us.” So as we’re driving, meeting, talking, seeing, smelling, and telling, I need to remind myself to experience it all - to pay attention to what’s happening around me, to look people in the eye and get to know them, and to remember I may never pass this way again, so let it influence me in a positive way.

The purpose of Sauerkraut’s Summer Road Tour is to bring awareness around animal welfare issues, special-needs adoption, volunteerism, and to support these great organizations across the country. We hope to give a voice to the animals that without us all could so easily be forgotten. If you have any tips for a successful road trip, please let me know!

…and wish us luck on the Wide Open Road!