I had the best years of my life when we were together. Over the last few days, I've been thinking about some of the trips we went on together. Toby had a health problem and had to take medication everyday. I didn't trust anyone else to take care of him, so I took him with me when I traveled and went on vacations. We had a great time together.
Three trips that we took together were really special to me. One trip was to visit the Black Hills in South Dakota. On the way there we stopped at the Badlands. That is a really cool place. When we arrived in Rapid City, we went to Dinosaur Park. After that, we went up to Mount Rushmore, and then we spent quite a bit of time wondering around in the Black Hills. We really enjoyed just being out in nature and enjoying a beautiful place.
As part of that trip, we went down to Cheyenne, Wyoming to visit my Grandma and my uncle. We went out to my uncle's farm were he use to raise oats. While we there in the backyard having lunch, my uncle told me to be on the lookout because there were a lot of rattlesnakes around. That's all I needed to hear. I took Toby, and we headed out of there.
Another great trip was to Colorado Springs and the Rocky Mountains. In Colorado Springs, the two of us hung out on the balcony of the hotel and watched the Air Force training gliders for hours. We went up into the mountains a little way there. Then we went up by Rocky Mountain National Park. There is a river that runs by the road going up there. We walked down by there, and a trout jumped up out of the water. Toby got mad at the trout and jumped into the water after him. The water was really running fast. I had the leash on him, but it was pulling away from me. I had to go down into the river and pull him out. It could have been a really bad situation, but it ended up being funny because we got all wet.
Along this river, there were cabins to rent if you wanted to spend some time fishing. I planned to come back there one day with Toby and spend some time. Sadly, we never got to do that. The day we left after spending a couple of days visiting my Grandma, Toby started having trouble breathing. As soon as I got him back home, I took him to the veterinarian. He had some fluid in his lungs, and the vet thought that it was altitude related. He advised me not to take Toby up in the high altitude anymore, so I never did again.
One other trip that I want to tell you about is trip we took together to visit the place where my Grandpa lived as a boy and the places where my Mom grew up in Iowa. My Grandpa and I were close when I was a young boy. He meant a lot to me.
My Great-great grandfather came to the United States because he was being persecuted for his religious believes. He and some other members of his religious group started a religious community in Iowa. The church that they built is still standing. It is on the National Registry of Historic Places.
We went up and saw the church, the cemetery where generations of my family are buried and the monument that has been erected. We also visited the farm where my Grandpa and his 13 siblings grew up.
We then traveled up to Mason City, Iowa to see the town where my Mom lived until she and her former husband moved away. It was interesting seeing all of these places of family history.
I traveled to a lot of other places with Toby. We always had a good time. The things that we did together might not sound too exciting, but what we liked best was just being together out in the natural world having a good time together.
I remember in Cheyenne that we liked to just walk down to the park and look at the ducks swimming in the lake. To us, it didn't get any better than that.
Back at home, what we liked to do more than anything was to sit together out on the back steps. We would sit out there for hours listening to the birds and watching the squirrels and rabbits. We also enjoyed listening to classical music and jazz on the radio in the late evening as we were out on the patio.
I really miss my friend Toby. If he hadn't have come into my life, I wouldn't be here today. People say that time heals, but I miss Toby more now than I ever have. I've had a dog of my own since Toby passed, and I took care of my Dad's dog after my Dad passed away, but these dogs were nothing like Toby. I never had a dog like him. No dog will ever be that special.
There is one thing of which I am certain. If he was still alive, my life would be better and much different than it is now. I believe that one day we will be together again.
Here is a picture of the two of us together at home. I still live at this house. When this picture was taken, I think that I was a junior in college. As I get older, the timeline of some things gets a little hazy.
1 comment:
That is a nice looking corgi.
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