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Adventures with Aspen
Image by gem66
For many years, we had a big 1976 Chevy van. It was the most useful vehicle we ever owned. We had a business most of that time and we were always having to haul things from one place to another.
Our dog, Aspen, was pretty sure that he owned that van. Every time the side door was opened, he was jumping in.
One of his favorite perches was as you see here. He liked to brace himself against my back so that he would feel more secure (no seat belt, you know). The back seats ran the length of the van instead of across it, so it worked out perfectly for his purposes. Also, he could sit there on the nice soft cushion instead of on the floor, which vibrated considerably.
I used to take him camping with me sometimes. We could both sleep in the van very comfortably. Marsha, my wife, would sometimes go along, and we could all fit in quite well.
One time, I took Aspen with me to the Chiricahua Mountains in southeast Arizona. This is quite a long ways from where we live. It was summer and very hot as we drove across the desert to get to the cool mountains. Aspen got up on his perch, as you see him here, and proceeded to drool down my neck. I kept trying to get him to move his nose off of my neck, but it just stayed there. I finally had to stop the van and find a towel. I wrapped it around my neck and shoulders and just let him drool to his heart’s content. Of course, the towel made me get hotter and hotter. The air conditioner on that old van was not much good. I was SO glad when we got to the mountain range and began the climb up the dirt road that goes to the top. The higher we went, the cooler it got. We finally reached our destination and found a beautiful and very isolated camping spot. Aspen jumped out of the van and ran around like a puppy. It was so invigorating up there! We spent several days camping and hiking and saw only one other person the whole time
On the way back home, of course, it was the same old story. I had the choice of a steady stream of drool down the neck or wearing a heat producing towel. I chose the towel. The drool was pretty awful!
There are more pix of Aspen in my Aspen Set at www.flickr.com/photos/gem66/sets/394655/