Another long drive with a super-relaxing (not) overnight in a Wal-mart parking lot took us to beautiful Royackers Kennels for the UKI East Fall Cup, which was a qualifier for the UKI Canadian Nationals (and a points earning trial for those looking to apply for WAO Team Canada, which is not me ;) )
Our route took us close to Ellicottville, NY - where my family had a ski condo from the 1970's to the 90's. It was weird seeing all the new buildings and how much the town and ski resort had changed, including the old condo, which looked a bit sad and in need of renovations when compared to the newer, more modern and much larger places. But the dogs and I enjoyed a nice hike up the ski hill, right from the base of the chair lift I rode up when I was 6 years old.
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| Our condo was the one with the red door. Looks so shabby now, compared to how they used to look...I was kind of sad. |
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| I had a spectacular fall on this part of the hill when I was a kid. Garage sale of skis, mits, hat, goggles.....All in front of the audience on the chairlift, of course! |
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| You can see my camper parked in the lot, of course empty at this time of year, except for the numerous workers that seems to be tuning up the chairlift or something. |
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| It felt surreal to have my dogs here... |
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| Mirk in the mist. |
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| Gem and Fen...ready to go up? |
This was my first visit to Royackers. I had heard what a lovely site it was, but wow! (Click here for photos) We were first to arrive and got a great spot to camp. The dogs were able to be free hanging about for much of the time and enjoyed the space after being cooped up for the past 12 hours!
Unfortunately for us, Fen pulled up really lame on Saturday afternoon, so I had to pull her from the trial :( This is a nagging, recurring injury that I am finally going to go get checked out properly. I hope to get an appointment with a good sports vet in the next week or so.
Anyway, I digress. meG had lots more firsts: First agility trial with lots of different breeds of dogs, loud music, lots of action and lots of cuddles! Also, we spent the first really, REALLY cold night in the camper - thank goodness my propane tanks were full! meG took it all in stride, was her usual confident and easy self throughout it all.
We found a place to walk, just down the road, on an old farm track - probably trespassing, but nobody had used the track for anything but walking in a long, long time. It was too chilly for swimming, but there was a super "lake", right on the property! Perhaps, I will make it to Canada Cup in 2015?
Here are a few photos of meG and the gang enjoying the beautiful fall days:
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