Yesterday, I was reminded of the good ol' days when the kids were toddlers and went to Patti's day care.
As with every other working mother's schedule, my morning before arriving at school was crazy at best: chores with the horses, breakfast, dressing kids, gathering everything needed for the classroom and for the day care.
Those were the days, when I was kinda like Bill is these days---making several trips between the house and the car, with toting or leading kids always last on the routine and then hoping I hadn't forgotten something vital.
After making my final, final decision, yesterday, to take our pup, Princess Bridie with me on my escape from the Lovestead, the planning and the routine began.
I had told Bill that I'd be driving to Clark Fork and picking up some sandwiches at the Pantry for our "college-football championship" dinner.
Bill wasted no time giving me his order: sourdough, ham and cheese (swiss) and the works.
So, knowing that I would be going inside The Pantry to order those sandwiches, I wavered about taking Bridie but then decided, "What the heck."
That meant moving her crate from the living room to the car, clearing all temptations from the front passenger seat where she'd be sitting, taking boots with Yak Tracks in case we left the car and wanted to walk around. Add the camera, a cup of coffee, and my trekking pole, if needed.
It took a while, but eventually all essentials were in the car, 'cept Bridie and me.
I took her from the house on leash to the passenger side, said, "Up," and she jumped to the seat.
"Now, stay there," I said, before walking to the other side of the car.
The minute I opened the door Bride had scaled the console and the coffee to greet me from my seat.
"No," I said, "you need to sit on the other side." Knowing the coffee would not survive another Bridie pass, I put it, my camera and cell phone up above on the dash and gently but firmly urged Bridie and her butt to the other side.
Happily, we had only two times, going through this exercise. Border Collies are smart, and Bridie seems to be really smart.
After the second push back to her passenger seat, Bridie remained in her spot, like a good little girl.
I was kinda nervous about doing all this, especially because, once I got out onto the roads, I found them filled with big patches of ice alternating with dry road bed.
It took extra vigilance yesterday to drive the country roads, but once I reached HWY 200 and turned toward Hope, conditions were so much better.
From that time on, Bridie and I enjoyed our drive. I pulled off at a few wide spots on the road and explained to her that she'd get used to Mom making frequent stops to take pictures.
She appeared as if her instincts had already told her that and just remained curled up on her side of the car as I'd open the passenger window to snap pictures.
Later, we made a stop a boat launch underneath what was once known to locals and engineers as the "Bridge to Nowhere." At this stop, Bridie could get out and sniff. Still lots of ice, but open spaces for safe walking.
While we enjoyed the fresh air and the views, an eagle flew in, landed in a tree and later filled the air with its beautiful, melodic sounds.
A train also went by, eventually pulling to a stop.
Bridie seemed to take all this in her stride, and she really enjoyed our trip into the restroom. This brought back fond memories of our Kiwi who entered her first Forest Service restrooms when she was a lot younger than Bridie and always loved going inside with Mom afterward.
It was a nice stop with another reminder of the days when sections of that bridge went into the water from the west and the east and stayed that way for a couple of years until the job was completed.
The story below is pretty fascinating to anyone who moved to our area after the section of highway over the water was completed.
The Bridge To Nowhere – Hope, Idaho, 1965-1975
From an Email from Larry Adams, Winter 2010
Road building sometimes requires extra care and special design considerations to avoidsensitive properties and treacherous terrain. Larry Adams wrote about his experiences on U.S. Highway Alternate 10, now Idaho 200.
While bypassing a steep hillside and dangerous curves, the design also incorporated a bridge over railroad right-of-way that had to arc out over a lake in order to avoid impacts on a school and a cemetery.
Some stretches of road are destined for notoriety, even before they are completed.
Although Idaho 200 now carries thousands of vehicles a day across the northern part of the state’s panhandle, a portion of the project near Hope, Idaho, caught the attention of the media during its construction.
Two bridges were to be constructed over the railroad, Larry Adams recalled, and
“the first contract was let to Max Kuney of Spokane, Washington,” for the bridges and some minor grading work.
It was a two-year project, with “the first bridge near Hope, Idaho, and the second one at Denton, 8 miles toward Montana over the same railroad. Paul Luckeroth was the Project Engineer.”
To read the whole story and to see photos of construction, click the link above.
Back to Bridie's first photo trip . . . .
We drove on to Clark Fork, and again, stuff was removed from the console and put on the dash. Then, I summoned Bridie from her seat and we walked around the car to the door where her crate sat on the back seat.
All it took was "Crate," and Bridie happily leapt upward and entered her crate with a little help from me.
What a good dog!
Then, it was masking up with my double mask and heading off to get those sandwiches.
All in all, we had a very nice trip yesterday, and my mind escaped the thoughts of toil and the "s" word. In this case, that's "shoveling."
Twas a nice getaway, and I'm really pleased with our little gal. I have a feeling she'll be riding shotgun on my photo runs a lot in the future.
And, speaking of a beloved little pup, this morning I read the following review of Sunday night's first episode of the second season of "All Creatures Great and Small" on PBS.
It's a quirky but fun review.
When I set my DVR to record the series earlier in the day on Sunday, I saw that the program was listed for both 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. PST.
"Must be running it twice," I thought.
Later, at 6, the instant the news was over, I eagerly flipped to the DVR and started watching.
My excitement dissipated as the picture wasn't that clear and I didn't recognize any of the characters.
Then, it even became kinda laborious to watch because the episode seemed corny and not that well done.
Disappointed, I retracted a text written earlier to my sisters, reminding them to record the show and told them of my disappointment.
Well, I have no idea what that episode was at 5 p.m., but later, when I checked in at 8, THERE WAS THE SHOW I waited so anxiously to watch.
All the characters and the beautiful photography of the English countryside and the fun but light storyline----back, the way I had remembered and loved the series last year.
So, if you love animals and good stories and nice scenery and haven't watched this series, I strongly encourage you to give it a try.
Well done and every minute, every scene touches my heart. Plus, at the end, there's a scene where a Border Collie is herding sheep through town.
Great show. Check out the review.
Happy Tuesday.
https://www.vulture.com/article/all-creatures-great-and-small-season-2-episode-1-recap.html
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