Like a Beach without the Water

We survived the wind storm after a rough sleep and woke up with sand partially covering our hoses. Cali had me up early in the morning walking around in the freezing cold. It was actually 7:00 a.m. but being on the far western edge of central time zone, it was still pitch black and 38 degrees. Pros of CST = suns out until 8:30, cons = Sun doesn’t come up until 7:30. We went up the side road to the north and followed it about a half mile. After returning to the RV, I attempted to catch a few more z’s but Joaquin came knocking on the door saying I had shorted them $4 on my self pay envelope. I tried to give him the money but he said he couldn’t handle the cash and I’d have to hoof it out to the office to pay up. Too far for the hip. I called the station and they said I could pay up on the way out tomorrow.

It was a lazy morning, laying around reading, doing sudoku and crosswords. Never quite napped but was fairly comatose much of the time. Outside it was overcast and cold so hanging out drinking hot tea was easy to do. Later in the day, it warmed up quite nicely and being Saturday, there was a ton of day visitors out to play in the dunes. Cali and I hiked up the nearer of the sand hills and sat on a little berm and watched the kids (and adults) slide down the steeper sections on little discs, something like plastic trash can lids. People were having a blast and the laughter carried far in the echoing hollows created by the dunes.

Mom is lacking in sand surfing skills

More lounging inside, even watched a movie starring Ned Stark as a British special ops guy in the Iraq war. It kept me amused for a while. It had really long infomercial breaks about removing the bags under your eyes, so I’d just mute it and play guitar during the interludes. Several new campers set up nearby, a German couple in a rented RV and some good old boys from Minnesota. The two groups formed a bond and were yukking it up and barbecuing steaks into the evening hours. We went for another walk, this time all of the way to the end of the road where the oil pumper sits, about 35 minutes total.

When we got back, I put Cali inside and hiked up the dunes to a high overlook where I could watch the sun go down over the desert. I sat mindfully at the crest of a huge dune and quietly took in every detail of the panorama. Everyone cleared out and it was just me getting chilled by the dropping temperatures waiting for the sun to dip below the horizon. I did a short walking meditation pacing back and forth along a relatively flat area at the top of the hill. The sunset didn’t disappoint equaling yesterday’s brilliant display. I didn’t tarry long after the sun was gone as the temperature had fallen into the forties and I just had on a sweatshirt.

Made a couple of hot dogs and ate them while talking with PJ on the phone. Cali had a ton of food – a whole can of Pedigree, a bunch of leftover honey baked ham and several gobs of the high calorie dog gel from PetCo. I was stoked to see it. She is getting so skinny. I hope with all of the meds, she starts to turn things around. She is such a sweetheart but has so many things going on, dementia being the biggest drag. After dinner, she stood at the door to go out. I took her for a long walk but she couldn’t get comfortable enough to go. We went back and she wanted to go out again. This time for a longer loop out past the bath house. It is freezing outside, now into the thirties and she still can’t get the job done. I finally lost patience and we headed back to warm up and we’ll see what happens. Inside she was panicking and needing pets so we just hung out and had a petting session. I gave her an extra anti anxiety pill and after a while she calmed down and went to her bed. Even though we’ve had her almost 15 years, she is still tortured by whatever her first 6 months were like in Mexico. She’s always had nightmares and still does to this day. When PJ volunteered with Baja Animal Sanctuary, no one would take Cali at the adoption events because she was so skittish and cowering. PJ “fostered” her and the rest is history. Now in her dotage, she has lost interest in food and it’s like pulling teeth getting her to eat. We’ve tried every food imaginable, for dogs and for people. Appetite drugs, supplements. The vets (in four states) say her vitals are okay and that it’s just the nature of some breeds, kind of like some older people who just winnow away. But it’s tough. I take it a day at a time and just walk my bony dog through the campground getting glares from the PETA members in the group. She’s quiet now and settled in for sleep. Me too.

Skinny but Defiant!