Boggle- USA bound!

[Michen]

He looks phenomenal! So shiny.

sadly that’s him a year ago! Now he looks like a fluffy bog pony ???

 

[DressageCob]

sadly that’s him a year ago! Now he looks like a fluffy bog pony ???

I just realised ? I'm glad he feels fantastic, even if his shine is buried beneath the fluff this year.

 

[Michen]

I just realised ? I'm glad he feels fantastic, even if his shine is buried beneath the fluff this year.

Thanks! I hate the fluff, it upsets me to see him like that haha. Can’t wait until it warms up enough to clip it all off!!! Not least because he’s starting to shed and I am so allergic!

 

[clinkerbuilt]

If anyone has any tips on North/South Carolina let me know. I'm in Charlotte for work in March and going to stay for the weekend, I was intending to head to Charleston but any tips on a place to stop along the way would be great!

going the opposite way into the Smokey mountains is nice too. Asheville for instance.

 

[Michen]

Jeez, I woke up yesterdat to an email yesterday from the pet transport company changing their quote from 1.5k to 4.2k to get Pepper into Denver because a change in the type of planes meant she would have to have a whole pallet. Confirmed this with another company. Cue lots of stress! I was due to fly back with her after easter.

They had no way of predicting if or when the plane would change back, could be months. Then you are heading into temps which make flying dogs tricky.

So, she is now going to fly into Dallas on the 27th feb where I have a trip already planned for the end of this month, for some weird reason I had put off booking my flights. Call it a sixth sense! So now I will make the 12 hour each way drive instead. Road tripping back with my dog!

Poor Pepper will land about 3pm, probably be released about 6pm and then we will need to get on the road that evening with an overnight stop as I need to be back in Denver by weds morning. It's going to be hectic! She's going to be tired. But the roads are smooth and straight so she can sleep on a comfy bed in the passenger footwell and have tons of fuss. I am kinda nervous to have her here, I feel like I did before I got her as a puppy... but I know once she's here I'll make it work and it'll be great. I'm pretty excited now as for the last couple of weeks I hadn't expected to have her here until mid april (delayed my original early march trip back to the UK).

I did nearly change my mind yesterday after watching too many videos about the cargo hold. I don't feel good about putting her through this. But I am trying not to over think it.

Excited to have 50% of my animal family with me!

 

[Trouper]

I'm sure she'll be fine but understand your worries. At least she will have a friendly face to meet her and drive her home!!

 

[tristar]

with al this animal stuff and work, did you remember to get your covid booster?

cos its a different strain going about there.

 

[Caol Ila]

My brother moved his dog to Zimbabwe from the US, and she coped fine with the travel. That's a lot further.

 

[Michen]

with al this animal stuff and work, did you remember to get your covid booster?

cos its a different strain going about there.

No…? I have had the three shots, I didn’t think anyone got four unless medically necessary! I’ll go Google- thanks!!

 

[Michen]

I have to admit to feeling a little nostalgic that we aren’t getting fit to go and do this at the moment. So I ordered this video as remembered loving this XC round despite being so sick I was sleeping in the trailer between phases and had to sit down to stop myself fainting whilst walking the XC.

Our lives look so different now! What an amazing eventing stint we had. He’s given me 5 years of pure eventing joy.

Very happily he now has plenty of fans at the barn who want to ride him so instead of spending money on having him ridden when I travel, I can spend my required “contacts” which is 6 per month on lessons! We are having so much fun with that and the trainer is brilliant. Only jumping tiny, not even a foot maybe, working on rideability to a fence and rhythm.

In a few weeks I’ll have had him nearly 6 years! He got plenty of V day treats earlier today before I headed to the airport, on my way to Salt Lake City for a week (any travel tips for there anyone? I’m staying the wkend to ski!)

Here is Bog, at his best

 

[rabatsa]

Good memories there.

 

[Peglo]

You guys make it look so simple. It’s so fun to watch.
I’ve only tried XC jumps a couple of times and they were tiny and scary
I really enjoyed your eventing updates. Thank you for sharing. Awesome to have videos to watch back.

 

[Michen]

Eeeeek I'm sat in a hotel room two hours outside of Dallas, and Pepper is in the air (she has a waybill tracking number and everything). I am wrecked, this weekend has gone..

Sat- get up at 5am, ski all day, sit in 6 hours of traffic and crawl into bed
Sun- get up at 5am, work for a couple of hours, trailer Boggle out for a hack, leave Colorado at 2pm and drive for 10 hours (2 hours left to go this morning)

Arrived at my hotel at 1am texas time and I've had about 2 hours sleep. The traffic was so noisy and I dare not use the ear plugs incase I needed to be contacted re Pepper! I am picking her up and then I need to drive at least half way back to Denver tonight as I need to be back for lunchtime tomorrow. I have a meeting in Dallas this am so no lie in either.

24 hours of driving in 46 hours with probably 8 hours total sleep is doable with sufficient coffee.. right. Argh! Anyway, super excited for her to arrive and just hoping she's not too distressed.

Driving across America is crazy, I have never seen such huge open space. New Mexico was just hours of absolute nothingness (beautiful, but just wide open plains). At one point it was weirdly overwhelming, there were no other cars on the road and it's so much more remote than anything I've ever experienced. I felt really, really alone! Just knowing how far you are from anything/anyone. Kinda cool though. You have to plan your gas stops as you could go 100 miles without one! I managed to do the 10 hours straight with a few stops.

Pepper is going to be travelling across 3 states in her first day or two on american soil, poor gal. Not how I'd have liked to do it but needs must!

 

[SEL]

Eeeeek I'm sat in a hotel room two hours outside of Dallas, and Pepper is in the air (she has a waybill tracking number and everything). I am wrecked, this weekend has gone..

Sat- get up at 5am, ski all day, sit in 6 hours of traffic and crawl into bed
Sun- get up at 5am, work for a couple of hours, trailer Boggle out for a hack, leave Colorado at 2pm and drive for 10 hours (2 hours left to go this morning)

Arrived at my hotel at 1am texas time and I've had about 2 hours sleep. The traffic was so noisy and I dare not use the ear plugs incase I needed to be contacted re Pepper! I am picking her up and then I need to drive at least half way back to Denver tonight as I need to be back for lunchtime tomorrow. I have a meeting in Dallas this am so no lie in either.

24 hours of driving in 46 hours with probably 8 hours total sleep is doable with sufficient coffee.. right. Argh! Anyway, super excited for her to arrive and just hoping she's not too distressed.

Driving across America is crazy, I have never seen such huge open space. New Mexico was just hours of absolute nothingness (beautiful, but just wide open plains). At one point it was weirdly overwhelming, there were no other cars on the road and it's so much more remote than anything I've ever experienced. You have to plan your gas stops as you could go 100 miles without one! I managed to do the 10 hours straight with a few stops.

Pepper is going to be travelling across 3 states in her first day or two on american soil, poor gal. Not how I'd have liked to do it but needs must!

Coffee is the answer to most of your problems for the next 48 hours!!

I used to get weird vertigo type feelings with the empty space driving. I think it was trying to find something to focus on and there wasn't anything so my head just went into odd dizzy spells needing a break and a walk.

Pepper is going to be over the moon to see you - happy travels xx

 

[Michen]

Coffee is the answer to most of your problems for the next 48 hours!!

I used to get weird vertigo type feelings with the empty space driving. I think it was trying to find something to focus on and there wasn't anything so my head just went into odd dizzy spells needing a break and a walk.

Pepper is going to be over the moon to see you - happy travels xx

Yes!! SEL that's so strange as I had similar, at one point I had this huge hot flush and I literally had the air con on totally maxed out and was still clammy. I didn't feel panicked, just overwhelmed? Guess that's the same thing. It was the weirdest thing.. I've been in some very remote places and drives but this was just next level. I've just never seen anything like it. I'm not a nervous person/traveller but I felt like that was a character building drive!

Thank you! xxxx

 

[Keith_Beef]

Driving across America is crazy, I have never seen such huge open space.

I found it difficult to stay below the speed limit and awake... My brain was just saying "point the bonnet at the horizon and floor the accelerator".

Even though the limit where I was driving had been increased from 55mph to 70mph, when there is nothing within a hundred yards of either side of the highway and nothing but the horizon, it's so easy to let the speed creep up to the ton.

 

[Michen]

I found it difficult to stay below the speed limit and awake... My brain was just saying "point the bonnet at the horizon and floor the accelerator".

Even though the limit where I was driving had been increased from 55mph to 70mph, when there is nothing within a hundred yards of either side of the highway and nothing but the horizon, it's so easy to let the speed creep up to the ton.

Yeeeep I had to stop myself doing 100mph several times. It was massively windy at times, the strongest I’ve ever driven in, so that added a new element.

 

[Annagain]

This has made me very happy for you but very sad for me. We had to say goodbye to Mabel on Thursday after 16 1/2 years with her. She was a rescue so we don't really know how old she was but she was an adult dog when she was found as a stray so we think she was 18. I'd gladly drive 24 hours to be reunited with her.

Give Pepper a huge hug when you see her.

 

[Moobli]

You are some sort of superwoman . I can’t wait to see Pepper having the best time in the USA . I hope she arrives safe and relaxed.

 

[Michen]

This has made me very happy for you but very sad for me. We had to say goodbye to Mabel on Thursday after 16 1/2 years with her. She was a rescue so we don't really know how old she was but she was an adult dog when she was found as a stray so we think she was 18. I'd gladly drive 24 hours to be reunited with her.

Give Pepper a huge hug when you see her.

I’m so sorry to read this. Xxx what an amazing life with you, all that time. I hope I get the same with Pepper.

I will xx

 

[Michen]

You are some sort of superwoman . I can’t wait to see Pepper having the best time in the USA . I hope she arrives safe and relaxed.

Thank you! I can’t wait. And a horsey girl I know and trust does dog sitting so I feel good about that, even though it’ll be a small mortgage a month

 

[Squeak]

Hope it all goes well today Michen. Can't wait to hear what Pepper thinks of Colorado.

 

[Michen]

Hope it all goes well today Michen. Can't wait to hear what Pepper thinks of Colorado.

It’s 24c here and then it’s going to snow in Colorado again this week. She will be so confused

 

[Michen]

Omg she’s absolutely fine! And bought me a stick before she even thought about having a pee

 

[AmyMay]

Wonderful photo!!

 

[wren123]

That's an amazing photo, really pleased for you.
Drive carefully!

 

[Moobli]

Wonderful photo

 

[SEL]

So happy to see this!!

 

[Meredith]

so pleased for you

 

[Michen]

She seems exhausted now but also tbh kinda annoyed with me. I feel weirdly on edge! And guilty. Ooof, wasn’t expecting that.

I think she almost doesn’t feel like my dog anymore at the moment but that’ll come back.