A Little Joy

Thursday June 12th.   Baker City, OR

Our route home to Colorado took us through Baker City, OR, home of the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. The museum has great exhibits but the coolest thing is that the buildings are right next to actual wagon wheel ruts from the real Oregon Trail.

Jamie and I walked in those tracks today, something that just blew our minds. Incredibly, of the 2170 miles of the Oregon Trail, approximately 300 miles of ruts remain. Swales created by thousands of wagon wheels and the hooves of the draft animals who pulled the wagons are still deep and distinct after nearly 200 years.

It was surreal; I could almost hear the sounds of the wagons and feel the elation of the emigrants who survived the journey to reach its end. It was an extraordinary experience Jamie and I will never forget.

With all the loss and pain of the last few weeks, my heart needed a bit of joy. I haven’t been able to sleep so I started looking for happy things online (that sounds crazy these days, I know) What I found and became obsessed with… were videos of corgi puppies, including a litter near our campground. In a moment of complete insanity, I messaged the breeder and asked if she had a female puppy available. She answered with a photo of the cutest puppy I’d ever seen who was female and available. Could Jamie and I really take on a puppy? We had just lost the best dog we’d ever had. Was I really considering a rebound puppy? We still had 3 more weeks of traveling in a 26 foot camper. That couldn’t work with a puppy, could it? Our Gizmo, a corgi mix, really seemed lost without Enzo. But he is very spicy and hates most other dogs. How would Giz do with a new puppy? Would he love it or kill it? Puppies are tons of work. Was I ready for that? What the hell? Have I lost my fucking mind?

Meet Maisie, the newest member of our traveling circus. She will be 9 weeks old tomorrow. She’s sweet, adorable. We love her madly and Gizmo doesn’t hate her. With a kennel, canine pack & play, X-pen and lots of treats, it’s working out. My heart will always have an Enzo sized hole in it but Maisie is bringing us joy at a time when we really need it.