Ouraydog, 1997-2012

To our sweetest Ouraydog,

We miss you more than words can say.  You left our lives on Monday, August 20, 2012, and it felt like the world might as well have died with you.  Ours did.  The light, the color, the breath had gone.

When you first showed up, you stole our hearts with your irresistible cuteness.  We struggled with your puppyness though.  You were a tough case, your mommy had a hard time adapting.  Going from our sweet, sedate 14-yr-old T-dog to your wild, destructive, mouthy, hyper puppy ways was almost too much for your impatient, intolerant, short-sighted mom.  I'm so sorry for that.  Thank goodness your daddy had the vision and foresight to see the wonderful soul beginning to bloom within you, and the patience and faith to wait it out.

In that first year, we put up with a lot from you...

But over our 15 years together, you put up with a lot from us. 

You were and always will be our little OurayBear.  The cutest dog ever - Brad Pup.  The most comforting cuddle.  The glue that often held us together whenever things felt like they were falling apart.

You were with us always, went with us everywhere.  At home in Encinitas, in the yurt, in the RV, and in our most special place - the Rockies, in Ouray.

You remember, I decided against climbing the less inviting-looking Mt. Ouray (behind you here), but I'm sure glad we did that drive that day.  It was worth it just to get you next to one of your signs.

One of our last drives together.  This is one of the hardest things for us now - not seeing your face looking out from the truck.  And from the RV.  

  

If you want to and can come back to us, we will be looking for you.  But if you have other things to do, we hope that wherever you are now, you are well cared for and very, very happy.  If you are still into doggy things, we hope you have lots of good smells, good car rides, good things to pee on, and most importantly, lots of love and yummy snacks!  

We were so lucky to have you.  You were an essential part of our herd.  We are struggling to feel complete now since you moved on.  Senny was pretty sad and quiet after you left.  We didn't really think she'd react so much, weren't even sure she'd notice.  But we were wrong.  Of course she'd be sad!  You were her best friend, you guys were always together.  I think we know just how she must feel after all.  But we've tried to compensate and are giving her extra love and attention, and she seems to be happier again.  We are so grateful to have her.  She's a very sweet girl and was as good a sister and friend to you as we could have ever asked for.

Our final family photo.  It was so nice of our thoughtful neighbors to take it, and we did a pretty good job of smiling, don't you think?  Considering how we'd done nothing but cry the whole day, knowing it was our last day with you...

And for all we cried, and still cry, you were worth every single tear, and then some.  We will carry you with us always...

No matter what, you will always be with us.  In our memories and in our hearts.  You will forever be our Ouraydog.

Memorializing, in a study of flags

 I can't believe I'm writing these entries now, ones of our stay in Checotah during the Memorial Day weekend, when we're now so close to Labor Day!!!  Good grief!  But so be it!  Hopefully this is still better late than not at all!  On one of our drives, we went through Haskell (at least we think we have the right town name).  They had done an incredible job of decorating their cemetery with flags.  It was a beautiful scene, and I tried to capture various looks with the flags waving in the breeze.

 Our national flag is so beautiful.  It stands as a very appropriate commemorative and memorial to those who've dedicated their lives to our country.

And tribute to all the various branches of our military.  From the bottom of our hearts (which must be the best part then!), THANK YOU.

Around Checotah

 While staying at Checotah, we visited several other parks in the general area.  One of these was the closest one - Eufaula State Park.  And they had something really cute at their nature center - a "Frogatorium!"

 One of the many little frogs located in the numerous nooks and crannies inside the Frogatorium.

 A couple more...

 And Bill says Hi to one in a more conspicuous place.  

 Next place we checked out was super popular Tenkiller Lake State Park.  Note the water color...very different from Eufaula Lake, eh?!

 Being a holiday weekend, the place was jam-packed!

 Trucks and boat trailers lined the lake everywhere!  And tents were pitched in every available opening!

A lunch stop in the park.

 Just outside the restaurant...

 Wonder if these went into the fish sandwiches?  Probably not, but they sure would be fresh!

 One of the other state parks we visited was a bit smaller but very pretty - Greenleaf.

A field of flowers near one of the parks.  I wanted to get a better composition, but I was too afraid of getting chiggers!!!

Checotah

On May 24th, we moved to Checotah, OK, home of country singer star Carrie Underwood, and Onapa RV Park.

 First thing was dinner out, at a cute little Mexican restaurant nearby called El Jarocho.  I loved their colorful decor, including these neat tabletops.  Very artistic and each one different - you know me, I would've taken a photo of each table if everyone wouldn't have given me a super strange look as I asked them to move all their food...! 

Bill enjoying the starter fare.

 Scratty and Tractor make themselves at home...in their old home in a new park.

 OK, so this photo might not be for everyone.  "I HATE spiders" people (Marilyn...!) might want to just move on to the next shot...

But for the rest of us, you'll definitely want to click on this photo so you can see a larger version.  All those little yellow dots on this spider's back?  They are all babies!!!!!  Yup, this is Mommy Spider!  I was amazed and astonished when I spotted her in the flashlight beam - and then looked more closely - one night!  We saw her out on consecutive nights too!  She was doing a great job at avoiding all the dangers roaming the area (lawn mowers, cars, feet, paws,...!!!).  It was a special treat for us to see such a rare sight of nature!

 Tractor and Bill begin the entertainment rounds at Onapa.

 Nah, they don't like their "job..."

 A happy duo...

 The Onapa RV Park is owned by a really sweet family.  Mom, Dad, two girls, one boy, and one puppy.  Here, the youngest practices on his bike.

 As an onlooker...  

 Tractor makes it look so easy!

 The quiet road outside the park.  It leads to Eufaula Lake, which I walked down to one evening.

 Eeuw!  A washed-up, stinky fish.  

 Don't know what kind it is, but man, look at those little spiky teeth!

 Serene sunset.

 Boat ramp.  Check out the water color - Eufaula is a brown water lake.  OK is interesting in the range of lake colors!  Brown, blue, green.  Clear, opaque.

Onapa's owners.  Shannon, Chris, and Eli (the girls were already out for the day).  They are relatively new owners to the park and have made tons of improvements and work their tails off every single day.  And you couldn't ask for more responsive, nicer managers!  Good folks and a good park.

Wagoner

The town closest to Sequoyah State Park is Wagoner, so here is a little taste of that town (the cuter part anyways):

Wait, what?  This isn't in Wagoner?  No, I guess it's not.  It's Muskogee stuff, but I didn't have a lot of images I wanted to share from Muskogee, so well, I guess this is it!  For all you Merle Haggard fans...