Walks

I've been trying to walk every day to loose weight as well as get stronger so I can ride horses when I come back. There is a bike path that runs parallel to the main road into town and it starts at the end of the street to our development. So one day about two weeks ago I decided to walk to town. I had a few things I needed and would just carry my back pack. So I set out with GPS in hand to know how far and get an idea of my walking speed. The scenery is amazing so the walk was enjoyable. I got to the end of the path and just beyond that is the entrance to Route 80.

Just as I am ready to walk up the little hill toward it my heights anxiety kicked in full gear. My heart started to pound harder and my legs started shaking. I managed to cross the exit but when I got to the path that runs along the bridge I stopped dead in my tracks. It took all the courage I had to even turn around and go back. I walked back to the BLM office to get the truck to go into town.

So now I walk to the end of the path and come back. It is a 4 mile walk and takes me about 1 hour and 10 minutes. I have had my heart jump several times other than the first time. I've mentioned the fact that a lot of people drive around with 2,3 and even 4 dogs in the back of their trucks. Several times I have had them bark at me but none jump out thank God. One truck had 2 dogs in the back but it was a flat bed and they were standing on the edge looking forward. One bump and off they would have gone. CRAZY! The other day a vehicle was turning onto the main road and their black lab was running along and in front of it all the way down the driveway and part of the way on the road. It was funny to watch and scary.

I was taking Gracie to the mailbox and back which is about 1.7 miles round trip but I had to stop. First she pulls so hard that my legs hurt when we get back. Also, she is so aggressive and sometimes there are loose dogs walking around. She tries to charge to them and one little dog about the size of a hotdog kept coming toward us. I kept backing up because I did not know what Gracie would do. The guys was outside working on something and I had to ask him to get the dog. I must have backed up 12 feet or so before he came and got it. The funny thing is the damn dog has a shock collar on which apparently has dead batteries or something. The only time I walk with Gracie is when we go out in the desert and then she just runs around.

I do try to walk Buddy every day as well. He is not doing well so we don't go far, usually on the streets around us. One afternoon we went into the desert behind development. I took this picture there because I thought the ground looked so cool. It was like this in a lot of places except where people ride the ATV's and motorcycles.

Not sure if I mentioned our new cat Midnight. She lived here with the previous owner and has adopted us. She is skittish with us but loves the dogs as you can see. We had an orange one for a day. He ran into the garage when we came home for the last Walmart trip. Joe made a bed for him because it gets so cold at night. We fed him and he came right in the house. But, we decide we did not want another cat hanging around. The funny thing is two days prior the neighbor came over and asked if we had an orange cat. He wasn't very friendly either. Anyway I finally put it outside of the garage and blocked the doggy door and felt bad because Midnight uses it. That night I was sitting in the dining room and the two cats were outside fighting. Midnight won and the orange one left. I saw it in the same neighbors yard the next day.