Dogs, dogs, snake, dogs

[furtech]

Rondo and I made the trek up to Kingman to visit desertcoyote's home and mom. On the way, JC let me sidetrack us to the famous Meteor Crater in AZ. I'd always wanted to visit the site-- maybe rockhound for meteorite bits. As we got closer I was pretty excited: you can actually see the ridge of the crater in the distance.

The actual site was as spectacular as I'd hoped...but you can't hike down into the crater (bummer). And after the initial awe of the site, it still boils down to being a big hole. Still, I'm glad I finally saw it!

There was a cute cat outside the crater ripoff souviner shop: one of the employees referred to her as one of the "crater cats". Obligingly, the feline took a few moments out of her grooming to give her performance of, " cat impersonating a meteor ".

At Kingman it was dogs, dogs, dogs! JC has four great dogs: Jazz, Jake, Taiko and Chatta.

Jake is JC'S shepherd-Buick cross. He's a "sheriff" personality: he doesn't like trouble in his town and will break up fights and play that gets too rough.

Jazz is small and confused (no pics! Oops! Here-- have another pic of Jake! ).

Chatta has agression-toward-dog issues, but managed to accept Rondo. He's an adorable puff of a dog: probably a Retriever-Chow cross. Sweet dog if you're a people, but kind of scarey if you're a dog.

Taiko is a border collie out of the same mold as Tay and Rondo-- a lanky, semi-rough coated BC, but with a gorgeous brindle coat!


Jake and Taiko were partners in play (and crime), but Rondo and Taiko hit it off in the way only border collies can. They played non-stop for nearly the rest of the trip. To JC's amazement, Rondo not only tired out Jake , but managed to outlast Taiko. Taiko would finally find a place to lie down and crash , while Rondo energetically looked for more trouble to get into.

On our way to a hike/picnic , JC spotted a large gopher snake laying in the road. Amazingly, it was uninjured. This was easily the largest gopher snake I'd ever seen and also the most docile (even allowing for being slightl torpid). Very mellow fellow . JC has far better pics of his eventual release in the rocks up the hill.

Many, many thanks to JC and her mom! I really needed that trip-- there's no better therapy than hiking and dogs!

Comments

[lotus-kitty.livejournal.com]

ah yes meteor crater. It's a big hole in the ground it is. Been there a few times as I'm just a couple hourse from it.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

I felt like there should be more to do at such a stunning site, but I'm glad I finally saw it! I was told that there is a huge meteorite field just north of the 40 near Holbrook, but we didn't get that far. Someday will head out that way and look for meteorites and trilobites

[was1.livejournal.com]

I remember seeing the meteor crater on a family vacation when I was 11 or 12. Mom and my sister weren't that interested in the "big hole in the ground," but Dad and I were pretty excited by it.

Cute dogs and that's an amazingly-docile snake. I like how JC had him tied in a loose not around her leg.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Snake did that all by hisself...Jeff would have loved him!

[crocuta.livejournal.com]

Very cool!
I went to Meteor Crater on one of my trips to and from home. I had Buster with me however and I was very surprised to find the 'no dogs allowed' sign. I thought for sure being the sort of site it is that dogs would be ok.
I snagged some rocks while I was there (on the road back to be exact) and put them in my ash tray of the car. I still have them there.
Neat dogs! Sounds like a great time!

[furtech.livejournal.com]

"No Dogs Allowed" also threw me: possibly it's the presence of the high-ranking Crater Cats...

I still want to go meteorite-hunting. Are nickel-iron meteorites magnetic?

[crocuta.livejournal.com]

I guess, or what I thought was perhaps some previous dog incident or insurance aspect. Needless to say I never saw the inside of the crater because of that :P

Ooh, being a rock hound I must say: GO for it! :D I would love to hunt some as well. There are some other cool things to be found in the desert SW that I would like to go for and while I'm at it I try to keep an eye out for odd looking things that might be meteorites. I have a book about California roadside geology I'm itching to put to use.

Yes they are and I read somewhere a strong magnet on a walking stick helps test suspicious rocks without having to bend down a lot. Neat idea I thought. There are some good websites out there with hunting tricks and tips .. I don't know of any in specific however.

[okojosan.livejournal.com]

Dogs dogs DOGS! I need a dog fix in the worst way!!! Taiko is such a beautiful dog. So you think he's got border collie in him? Do they come in brindle? Hmm, I know Cardigan Welsh Corgis do come in brindle colors...

I've been to the Meteor Crater, and found it amazing. I thought there was a guided tour, hiking down to the bottom of it? Of course, that was back in 1993 when I was there.

Love the snake too. :D

[furtech.livejournal.com]

The last time I knew someone who went to meteor crater was in the eighties and I -thought- you could still explore back then. Maybe it's a liability-thing (stupid lawyers and judges!). Didn't see any guided tour (and they charge for everything, so I'm sure it would have been on the list. The place is a weird hybrid of private and park-services. I'm surprised they don't charge for petting the cats.

Y'know...since you have a pretty sedentary lifestyle (not a lot of travelling), you -could- get a rescue corgi...

[iisaw.livejournal.com]

How cool! I've got to introduce Tay to JC's pack someday. I'm sure he and Taiko would get along famously.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

I think Jake would have a heart attack if Rondo, Tay and Taiko ever got together at the same time. Taiko is a few months younger than Rondo, so Rondo promptly taught him the latest thing he learned from Tay: dominance humping. Oh, yay. (Funny: he only does it to other border collies.)

[desertcoyote.livejournal.com]

Heh heh heh. Poor Jake indeed. :D But I would love to see the three of them together!
Thanks for the dog pictures and the travellog!!! I just put up some of my pics on my lj, but you've taken a lot of good ones of your own! I'm impressed by that little cell phone camera!
I had a great time. Thank you, and from Mom and me: our pleasure! Come back again!

[spacehyena.livejournal.com]

Good gawd... cute doggie overload! <3

neat tales!

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

That's a riot about that other dog personality too... ;D

I also appreciated hearing about the crater. Every time I've been within an hour of it, I've been with people who have said "been there done that don't wanna again" .... so I've never seen it.

Gotta see Yellowstone some time before it blows up, too!

[streakthetiger.livejournal.com]

I`ve only been to Meteor Crater once, cause you know once you see a hole in the ground, that`s all it is next time. But it WAS amazing. Just the sheer size of it. Did you happen to see the small little shed down at the bottom surrounded by a fence? I wonder if it might be an elevator or some type of mine shaft leading down further into the crater.