Paws For Beer 2015 Travel Wrap Up

Happy Holidays from Boomer & Santa

2015 is coming to an end and it is time for our Paws For Beer 2015 Travel Wrap Up.

2015 was a year of changes for us at Paws For Beer. Due to a job change in 2014 I took a substantial pay cut but more importantly I took a 93% reduction in vacation hours. I won’t waste your time with bitching about the impact of the change and just leave it as depressing. To help offset this change I have slowed my blog postings to weekly, instead of twice a week, as I am not traveling as much and do not have as much to share. Luckily I have not seen a drop in traffic to the site as a result of this change. My posts about brewing and baking with beer have become erratic, which is a loss for me personally because I loved trying out new recipes. Lack of time and money have held me back with continuing both of those hobbies. Perhaps 2016 I will make more of an effort to bring that back.

Clearly I did not notice I needed a manicure before taking this photo

On the positive side Boomer and I were able to take a trip this year together. We traveled for a week to Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming and Montana. As usual we crammed a bunch of stuff in as we raced around all the states. Colorado was a new state for both Boomer and I. Boomer also ticked off Arizona on his new state list.

Some part of my car is in New Mexico!

Technically we visited New Mexico as well, stopping at Four Corners. If you have been following along on the blog you know that I am in the middle of sharing this spring trip.

I am a little bummed out as most of the traveling I did this year I had to leave Boomer at home. I have started traveling to dog shows to sell the spent grain dog treats I make and ironically Boomer is not allowed to join me. The dog shows are often in buildings that are not dog friendly. I visited the western side of Washington State and Montana this year for dog shows. I was also in a friend’s wedding this fall and took off without Boomer again to Southern Idaho. My last trip of 2015 I returned to Washington State for a holiday craft fair to sell the dog treats and Boomer stayed at home again.

Buddy

Another bummer for 2015 was that Buddy, the 12 year old dog I adopted last year, passed in June. He had liver failure and I still tear up whenever I think about him longer than a few seconds. I had planned on taking Buddy and Boomer on a short weekend trip this spring but Buddy’s time ran out before we could do a trip with all of us. I really wanted him to have one last fun outing. I felt a lot of guilt after he passed away because the weekend before he passed I was lazy around the house. The weekend had great weather and it would have been a nice send off for him.

Buddy enjoying a nice walk by the lake

I know that I gave him a great last few months of his life and maybe his last trip would have been more meaningful for me than him. I did think about taking Buddy on our week long spring trip but felt it would be too long for an old dog in the car, traveling for extended hours at a time.

I have been thinking about getting another dog. Still adopting, but one that is younger and a female. They say when pairing dogs that finding one of opposite gender often makes for a better pair. Boomer was raised with a female dog and got along well with her. So I have been looking for a girl dog for the past few months. I have been searching mostly for a blue heeler but there is one I have my eye on now that looks similar to Boomer, so more Shepard than heeler. Obliviously I find her adorable. So we will see what happens there. People often assume I have multiple dogs when they ask about the dog treats I make saying “oh your dogs are so lucky to have someone to make them treats”. I usually laugh as I am sure Boomer does not know how lucky he is.

Below is our official round up for 2015. Because I like lists I have listed all the places Boomer and I traveled to this year (bolded cities/states are locations Boomer and/or I had never been before):

Arizona
Page (Boomer)
Horseshoe Bend (Boomer)

Colorado
Cortez (Boomer)
Mesa Verde
Hovenweep National Monument (Boomer)
Dolores (Boomer)

Idaho
Wallace (Boomer)
Pocatello Idaho (Boomer)
Victor (Boomer)
Driggs (Boomer)
McCall
Boise
Arco
Idaho Falls

Montana
Missoula (Boomer)
Butte

Utah
Park City (Boomer)
Moab (Boomer)
Arches National Park
Canyonlands National Park (Boomer)
Deadhorse State Park (Boomer)
Monument Valley (Boomer)
Grand Staircase Escalante (Boomer)
Bryce Canyon National Park (Boomer)
Capitol Reef National Park (Boomer)
Goblin Valley State Park (Boomer)
Green River (Boomer)
Salt Lake City (Boomer)

Washington State
Arlington
Marysville
Everett
Forks
Hoh Rainforest Olympic National Park
Port Gamble
Olympia
Moses Lake
George

Wyoming
Jackson (Boomer)
Grand Teton (Boomer)
Wilson (Boomer)
Yellowstone

And because I like photos here are some from our travels this year: