Toby Book

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Chapter 9

     I went with Toby on many trips, but I just want to focus on one more that was probably the best trip that we took together.  It was also a trip that almost ended in tragedy.
     On our annual trip out to my Grandma's house in Cheyenne, we decided to go down through Southern Kansas and then visit Colorado Springs.  One of the first places that we visited was Greensburg, Kansas.  This was before the terrible tornado hit the town.  I can't fathom the fact that everything I saw in that town has absolutely wiped out.  Thankfully, the town has rebuilt.
     No offense, but I can't say anything really positive about our trip through Kansas.  Through most of the journey, we passed cattle feed lot after cattle feed lot.  The smell was horrendous.  Even with the windows up and the air conditioner on you could smell that awful stink. 
     The trip just about ended at breakfast the next morning.  The folks stopped for breakfast, and I waited outside with Toby.  They brought me something to eat and told me what a wonderful meal they had.  I took a piece of toast and gave some to Toby.  He wouldn't eat.  He smelled the toast and turned his head away.  He wanted no part of it.  That should have tipped me off right there. 
     I thought maybe Toby was having trouble with his stomach.  No, he knew that there was something wrong with the food.  I ate the toast.  About two hours later, I was so sick I thought I would die.  My folks didn't have any toast, and they were fine.  This is just one of many occasions when I should have listened to the dog. 
     I recovered overnight, and was well enough to enjoy Colorado Springs.  This is one of the most beautiful cities I've seen.  The city is right next to the mountains that seem to be a reddish color.
     We found a motel that faced the mountains.  We had a great view of the Air Force Academy.  I went out on the balcony with Toby, and the two of us watched the gliders at the Air Force Academy for hours.  These training gliders were taken up by an airplane and then released.  They released the gliders, and then the gliders would circle in broad swoops with the mountains as their background.  Toby fixed on the gliders and watched them go around and around until they landed.
     Later that day, the two of us went for a long walk in the area behind the hotel.  We didn't know it, but we were actually on Air Force property.  There wasn't a fence so we just walked on.  I didn't notice until we got back that there was a sign that warned people that if they went on the land that they were subject to criminal prosecution.  I'm glad no one noticed a fat man and a corgi.
     The next morning, in spite of my Dad's protests, we went up into the mountains.  It was a great day of hiking and enjoying the Sun and the mountains.  I was worried about Toby in the evening, however.  I think that we over did things because he wouldn't eat.  Finally, before we went to bed.  I fed him some of his food by hand, and he ate it and then ate the rest of his bowl of food.  We went out and watched the city for a long time.
     The next morning we had to be off.  We drove a short while and decided to travel up to Estes Park by the Big Thompson River.  Along the way, Toby and I got out and took a walk down the river.  When we were there it wasn't a raging torrent, but it was flowing along pretty well.  For quite a while, we watched the trout jumping up out of the river.  Every time one of the fish would jump out of the water and splash down, Toby would growl.  I though that this was funny until he got it into his head to go out after the fish.  Toby leaped into the river trying to get a trout.  I had his leash on, but the current was pulling him away from me fast.  He wasn't swimming too well either.  I went down into the water, and the current was more powerful than I thought.  I had a difficult time keeping my footing.  I grabbed hold of Toby, and I got us back to shore.  We were soaked and the water was ice cold.  I thought I'd lost him down the river for sure.  But, we would have gone together because I was going after him no matter what.
     Dad finally couldn't stand the mountains any longer, so we went Cheyenne.  Everyone went out to my uncle's ranch again except for Toby and me.  We didn't want to have anything to do with any more rattlesnakes.  The two of us walked down to the park and had a nice day and a nice meal.  We watched the ducks in the pond for a long time.  I'm gland Toby didn't decide to go after them.  He just watched them floating along.  We then went over and looked at the old steam locomotive.  On our way home, we looked at the abandoned church behind my uncle's house.  I would have loved to have bought that little church and have started a ministry there.  However, the dentist office had already purchased the church and were going to rip down the building and use the lot for parking.
     I always wished that the two of us could have taken more trips together.  By the time I graduated from college and really had the chance to do as I pleased, Toby was not in good enough health to travel much.  The last trip we took out to see my Grandma, Toby developed some trouble breathing.  The veterinarian said that it was altitude related, and that Toby shouldn't go out to the mountains anymore.  So, the two of us just took brief excursions not to far from home.  We went to Omaha, and on another trip we went out to see the Winston Churchill Museum in Westminster, Missouri.  Whatever we did, it was fun because we were together.