Hank’s Summer Adventure!

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Trip start
May 25, 2024
Hank’s Summer Adventure!
Day 1: OKC to Colorado Springs
May 25, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
Hank was such a good traveler today! He wore himself out being vigilant but didn’t cry much. We made good time and are relieved to hear that the projected severe storms at home haven’t turned out to be so bad.Read more
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Hank’s Summer Adventure!
Day 2: Colorado Springs
May 26, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F
Hank got to spend more quality time with his people. Coffee at Good Neighbor Meeting Place, then lunch at Stir. He spent the rest of the day napping in his crate. Vacationing is hard work!
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Hank’s Summer Adventure!
Day 3 - Colo Springs to Moab
May 27, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F
It was a long day but surely one of the most beautiful drives in the country. We stopped at a favorite coffee shop in Buena Vista and at a couple of rest stops but otherwise drove straight through. Hank is very glad to be stopped for the day!Read more
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Hank’s Summer Adventure!
Day 4: Moab to Boise
May 28, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 59 °F
Today was the last long drive (9 hours) of the first half of the trip. Hank has become an expert car rider! He lays down for most of the time, occasionally popping up to navigate and provide us with safe driving tips.

We arrived at our guest house in Boise and walked downtown for dinner. If you ever visit with your dog, Eureka! is a great choice with a dog friendly patio! About halfway through dinner, a storm rolled in and brought heavy rain. With no place to go, our waitress asked, “he’s a service dog, right (wink, wink)?” She let us ride the storm out in the bar and while he isn’t a service dog, he did them all proud!

Tomorrow is a relatively short (5 1/2 hours) to Bend!Read more
this is fun sharing hank’s trip!! [barbee]
5/29/24Reply
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Hank’s Summer Adventure!
Day 5 - Boise to Bend
May 29, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 48 °F
Boise was good to us! We enjoyed the guesthouse, which was close to a trailhead, so Hank and I (Kate) had a beautiful early morning hike in the hills above Boise. Meanwhile, Neal found good coffee and breakfast nearby. An easy six hour drive took us to Bend. It’s a nice time of year to be in this part of the country - everything is so green! Hank exchanged a cautious “hello” with one of Neal’s mom’s cats. We had dinner with Susie and are resting tonight for tomorrow’s adventures.Read more
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Hank’s Summer Adventure!
Day 6 - Bend
May 30, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F
I (Kate) took Hank for a COLD early morning walk (don’t @me - it was in the 30s!) in the neighborhood where we’re staying. He’s so smart - I had remembered the address incorrectly and was deep in thought when we got to our house. I would’ve walked on by but Hank politely pointed out that we were home!

All three of us drove to our favorite bakery for their ocean rolls, for which I literally just drove across the country! So delicious. Then the three of us went for two different walks around Bend. Hank enjoys window shopping, too!

I donated blood and discovered that by donating a pint, I can get a pint at Deschutes Brewery. Totally worth it! Since I was supposed to wait to drink alcohol, we went for lunch at McMenamins, where Neal had a ruby ale.

We went back to our house so I could practice a bit, and then we had dinner with family. A most excellent vacation day!Read more
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Hank’s Summer Adventure!
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Day 7: Bend
May 31, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F
Today was action-filled for Hank. We took him on a 3.75 mile hike at Benham Falls. I figure I have been hiking and biking this area for about 33 years! It was a beautiful morning with very few other trail users. Hank enjoyed exploring and after some trepidation, dove into the river!

All of this excitement wore the little guy out, so he got some nap time before spending the evening meeting more family.Read more
what a beautiful place! way to go hank! [barbee]
6/2/24Reply
Traveler My fav
6/2/24Reply
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Hank’s Summer Adventure!
Bend: Day 8
June 1, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F
Hank’s last full day in Bend another active one! After stopping to fuel up at Sparrow Bakery (Ocean Rolls for the win!), we headed up the Cascade Lakes Highway. He led us on a 3+ mile hike around Little Lava and Lava Lakes. Once the clouds (and mosquitoes) cleared out, it turned into a glorious day! We also visited Devil’s Lake and Sparks Lake to round out the tour.

Lunch was the obligatory visit to my old haunt, the Deschutes Brewery, and a visit with an old friend, Black Butte Porter!

The day ended at my brother’s house where we celebrated my (Neal) mother’s 85th birthday! This was also the day I handed off my father’s 1911 Colt .45 to my niece, who works for a police department in the San Francisco Bay Area! He used it through the years he was a police officer in Gardena and Lynwood, California. The last picture is me telling the story of why he wasn’t allowed to use it later in his career at Tracy, CA… ask me sometime!Read more
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Hank’s Summer Adventure!
Day 9: Bend to Boise
June 2, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F
Breakfast with the family then hitting the road. So great to see everyone, but especially the great grandbaby! Hank loved all the attention and enjoyed his stay.

An uneventful drive to Boise led to a tired doggie just taking in a cool Boise evening.Read more
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Hank’s Summer Adventure!
Days 9 and 10 - SLC
June 3, 2024 in the United States
Day 9 was a quiet one - we drove, mostly in the rain, from Boise to SLC. We checked in to our hotel in downtown SLC in time for Neal to attend the first events of his conference here. After that we met some friends for dinner. (Sadly, no pictures of this!) Hank enjoyed the novelty of the view from our 16th floor room but is NOT a fan of the elevator!

Day 10 - Neal attended his conference, so Hank and I went for some adventures. We had an excellent breakfast (vegan hash!) and then went for a beautiful hike in Mill Creek Canyon. Perfect weather for this! Hank is a great hiking companion and seemed to enjoy all 5 miles. He and I went to Wasatch brewpub for lunch, and then all three of us returned for dinner after Neal’s day at the conference. A most productive day!Read more
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Hank’s Summer Adventure!
Day 11 - SLC
June 5, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F
Neal had another full day of his conference, so Hank and I amused ourselves again. First we went to a coffee shop across the street for breakfast. I am happy to tell you that there seems to be quite a vibrant LGBTQ community in SLC - this coffee shop was one of many places we saw celebration of Pride month.

I wanted another hike, so we drove to north SLC and walked along the foothills to a viewpoint over the city. It was a MUCH more difficult hike than the previous day, being unshaded and steep. Hank was a champ! We only hiked 3.5 miles but it was definitely a workout.

Hank and I went back to the hotel to rest. When Neal finished his conference we drove to Sandy to visit with my stepbrother and his family. It was lovely! Hank behaved nicely around Mat’s 3-year old, although this might be because he was so tired!

As always, we really enjoyed Utah. Next year’s conference will be in Indianapolis, so we’ll have to plan a trip there to visit all of our loved ones in that part of the country.Read more
TravelerITG is there next year, so I'm going to need all the food/coffee deets. :)
6/7/24Reply
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Hank’s Summer Adventure!
Day 12 - SLC to Silverton
June 6, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F
Time to hit the road again! We drove to Grand Junction, where we had lunch with Neal’s cousin Megan on the patio of a downtown brewery. Next was the stunning drive to Silverton, CO. We’ve been through this part of the state several times, including on our honeymoon twenty (!) years ago, and it never disappoints. Another brewery patio for dinner there, and then we stayed at a quaint old hotel on the main drag. A long but beautiful day!Read more
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Hank’s Summer Adventure!
Day 13: Silverton to Taos
June 7, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F
Today was a relatively short drive (4 1/2 hours), so we took our time hitting the road. Breakfast was on the rooftop of Coffee Bear in Silverton. We then made our way to Molas Pass to take Hank for a hike on some of the Colorado Trail. We all enjoyed the scenery, though Hank was more interested in playing in what snow was left.

After a snack, we hopped in our car for the journey to Taos. A bakery stop in Pagosa Springs then on through random showers in Northern New Mexico.

We arrived at our quaint lodging, had dinner, and are all tuckered out!Read more
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Hank’s Summer Adventure!
Day 15 - Taos to Santa Fe
June 8, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 90 °F
Every road trip has to have a little difficulty, right? We are lucky that ours was minor indeed.

First - the “quaint” place in Taos doesn’t have AC, so when neither of us could sleep at midnight last night, Neal was researching a different place to stay for tonight. We finally both slept but then woke up to an almost flat front tire. It turns out that Taos doesn’t have a tire place with weekend hours, so Neal partially filled the tire with a battery-charged compressor and then took it to a gas station to get it full enough to drive down the road. Fortunately it was a slow leak!

We had originally hoped to hike with my (Kate’s) aunt and uncle from Santa Fe while in Taos, but all of the above led us to drive to Santa Fe. The good people at Big O Tires in Santa Fe found a small puncture and fixed it for free! Hank was such a good sport, waiting patiently with us in their waiting room.

After that we met my aunt, uncle, cousin, and cousin-in-law for lunch. I did a little shopping with my relatives while Neal took Hank for a walk and checked us in to our new, air-conditioned hotel. We had some delicious New Mexican takeaway in the room before meeting the family and their dogs at an enormous dog park. We caught the end of a baseball game - my cousin is the organist and announcer for the Santa Fe Fuego. Hank enjoyed watching the action but couldn’t understand all of the cheering!

All of this is to say that our last day of vacation fun wasn’t what we had planned but turned out to be really excellent anyway.Read more
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Hank’s Summer Adventure!
Day 16: Santa Fe to HOME!
June 9, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F
After enjoying an AC-cooled sleep, we got up and had Whoo’s Donuts with Kate’s aunt and uncle, her cousin, and their respective K9’s. Hank relished his last moments in the Santa Fe sun!

The drive home was uneventful, though we did take a detour onto Route 66 for about 10 miles to avoid an accident. After 8 hours, we are home safely and prepping to return to work in the morning.Read more
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Trip end
June 9, 2024