Post-Roadtrip Catchup

WOW! What a great trip we just had! Took us about 13 hours to get to the Ridgeback Rodeo at Scattergun Reserve just south of "dreary Erie" PA, what with the various "pet"stops we had to make to accomodate the girls and Abram and to feed the gas guzzler (I'm guessing we got 8 mpg...maybe...).

There were about 70 people attending and nearly 100 ridgies of all sorts, plus a guest staghound or two courtesy of the photographer. Karen and Eric Watson were our hosts and what a wonderful job they did! Scattergun Reserve is a hunting facility on over 100 acres, complete with a lodge with kitchen and two full baths. It sleeps 16 or so, but we and Bob and Bonita Snodgrass had RVs which worked out really well. Most everyone else either came for the day or pitched tents, They had 30 amp power which was handy, with hookups courtesy of Bob, the Electrician who goes nowhere without his assortment of plugs, breaker boxes and about 10 miles of cable.

One of the nicest things was the LACK of cell phone coverage haha...Bonita uploaded the day's summary at the lodge once a day using her aircard...


We met lots of great folks and got an opportunity to try lots of different activities with all of the kids, from lure coursing (Pearl got her JC, Sissy got one leg) to CGC with Joyce Lazell (both Pearl and Wenzi passed), obedience seminars with Pat Brunstetter (she fell in love with Abram), multiple agility sessions with Sue Wagener and Don White and conformation handling tips from Eileen Bailey. We even got to try Sissy at weight pulling! Gerry and I worked the Temperament Testing session but none of the kids got tested.

In the Parts contests, Pearl won for "best hocks", Reba for "sweetest kiss" and Abram for "most kisses" and "best angelwings".

We all made some friends and are already looking forward to next year!





From there, we headed over the Blue Ridge Mountains to Salem, Virginia. What an experience shifting into 1st gear to slow down a 29 foot class C (instead of burning up the brakes)! For the second time, when we arrived we discovered that our tow car's battery was dead (we disconnected the battery cables on the way home from Salem and it was fine then) but it was sure nice to have the car for the trips to Walmart and the laundromat during the week!

Salem was a five day show, with RRCUS-supported sweeps on Sat and Sun. While we were in the ribbons every day, Pearl had a tough time against those big-boned girls in Bred By. Kushinda Kennel had some very nice bitches and dogs entered, as well as the other entries. Tammy Lynch finished her boy ADILI'S AMERICAN IDOL on Saturday with a 4 point major and Paula Owlett and ADHAMA'S RED SKIES AT NIGHT (Scout) took a 4 point major (her first), much to many people's surprise since she is such a "moderate" bitch (yay for the smaller girls!)

We were glad to get home on Sunday, especially since that queen-size RV bed was a tight squeeze for me, Gerry, the puppies and Pearl, who joined us in it every morning around 4:30... I'm home just long enough to get some laundry done and replenish my bait, then Pearl, Abram and I are off to Greensboro Wednesday for 4 days of shows...

Wish us luck!