After only a few hours' sleep I was awoken reluctantly at 3:30 AM once more to get on the road for the longest day of travel. We arrived at the rodeo grounds around 4:15 to find Vegas well but nonetheless happy to see us, mostly because it meant breakfast. She hopped in the trailer (surprising considering she had spent sixteen hours in the trailer the previous day) and we were off on our way once more.
The first 150 or so miles were once more sweet oblivion as I slept until we stopped for breakfast. When I checked on her before we ate, Vegas looked in less than top form and she had not drunken any water thus far. Considering that Vegas is usually a camel I was a little concerned, so I gave her half a dose of banamine and crossed my fingers for better luck. We continued on - and on and on and on, through the remainder of Montana and 200 miles of Wyoming before we stopped at a quiet rest area where we let Vegas out at the pet area to stretch her legs and graze a little. Here she looked like she was in much better form, though still a little dehydrated, so I gave her some electrolytes and she was eager to drink water. Here I discovered that the secret to getting her to drink is offering fresh water at every stop instead of hanging the bucket for her in the trailer. After Vegas had her fill of terrorizing elderly couples' toy poodles we loaded her again and headed for South Dakota.
Just across the WY-SD border is a little town called Sturgis. Anyone who owns a motorcycle knows of Sturgis's world famous bike week, and much to my Dad the Harley-owning-dentist's delight, we passed through on the last day of this festival of the V-Twin. After getting a few souvenirs we went on through much more of the state, which had absolutely nothing to see except rolling hills of dead sagebrush and prairie grass that hid podunk little holes that needed us to drive through before they could be considered one-horse-towns. Finally, after debating which of two possibilities would be best for the night, we decided on Chamberlain, which offered a hunting lodge with a few covered stalls. We rolled in there about 11:30 local time and unloaded Vegas to go to her stall. However, the moment she stepped out of the trailer I realized the value of the West Nile booster she had earlier this spring as she suffered an organized militia-worthy attack of no less than a fifty mosquitoes who, I am convinced, sensed fresh meat from Exotic Oregon. The poor girl was dying in only the time it took me to take off the shipping boots and run to the trailer to get her fly sheet and fly spray. I put her fleece cooler on over the fly sheet hoping it would abate their little needle-noses from puncturing her flesh, along with the three or so gallons of fly spray in which I bathed her. With that we left her with her dinner and headed inside to get some sleep for ourselves.
The first day of travel began far too early when Dad awoke me at 3:30 AM. I rather un-hastily dressed and made my way to Vegas' stall (an easy feat considering I had slept in the barn that night with Dana). I pulled Vegas out and she quickly informed me of her displeasure for being woken before dawn, but we proceeded on anyway. Dana helped me put on the million-velcro-strap shipping boots and then she was loaded into the trailer; it was time to leave my home behind for a new chapter in my life. So I said goodbye to Dana, who has been my other half since senior year; and to my two little cats Mittens and Curzon, both of whom have been my good little friends for many years.
So after our farewells my parents and I loaded into the truck and headed out on the freeway. After we made it past Keizer I don't remember much: I slept until we stopped in The Dalles to feed the Vegas and ourselves. After a little break we continued on to Cheney, WA (just outside Spokane) for lunch, where my mother's parents live, along with various other members of her family. We let Vegas out of the trailer for a break at a quiet city park where we ate and said goodbye to more family. She was happy to be able to move around, but my rather large extended family includes many children who immediately flocked to Vegas, the horse with people problems. But we kept her busy with lots of walking and carrots, and before we knew it it was time to get back on the road. After that, it was onward to Butte.
We had various rest stops and fuelings, traveling through the mountainous region of northwest Montana, making acceptable time considering my truck is not known for its hill-climbing power. The hours were whittled away by listening to Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows; being the huge Harry Potter fan that I am, listening to it even though I have already read it was still a grossly entertaining way to spend the drive. Finally, around 9:30 local time we rolled into Butte. We took Vegas to the local rodeo grounds where she had a large stall with an even bigger run on the back. It was a very nice facility, but also very much a rodeo grounds - the people there had never seen a horse trailer with lights in the stalls and tackroom, nonetheless heard of someone taking their horse to college across country; but we appreciated their hospitality nonetheless and Vegas settled well and drank a copious amount of water after refusing much on the road, and immediately tucked into her dinner. We then checked into our hotel room, where I had a welcome shower and probably the best hotel bed I have ever slept on, although it came with the burden of knowing I would be woken in just five hours' time.
This is Dead Week. Why is it Deak Week? It's Monday and I move to Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Number of boxes packed: 4
Number of boxes to pack: 39
Oh sure, I'm just a college student moving out of home for the first time, living in a dorm the whole year, there's not that much stuff to take is there? You don't need to really worry about packing for a few more days, right? WRONG!!
As odd as it might seem considering my personality, I think that I have more clothing than any other person living on this planet, except perhaps Paris Hilton, but I could still give her a run for her money. Now, many people have told me that I should just take seasonal clothing and then get the other clothes when I am home. Well, the problem with that is I'll be in Pennsylvania from mid-August to mid-December. During that period, the weather will run the gauntlet from boiling hot humidity to freaking freezing cold. So with me they must all come. The entire closet stuffed full. The entire dresser bursting out of the drawers. The average two-to-three loads I have in the laundry at any given time. And all my show clothes. That's Packing Problem Number One.
Packing Problem Number Two: My Horse. I've already started her packing. Vegas's vast wardrobe is all packed away in spacebags and stuffed in an extra-large trunk. A small cardboard box is filled with miscellaneous grooming products I rarely use but can't bear to part with. However, I Still have left all her tack and regularly used grooming products to go in the large Rubbermaid comtainer. Her first aid kit is packed too. So for her the problem is not so much putting everything in boxes so much as it is putting it all in the trailer tack room along with two bags of hay cubes, a bag of beet pulp, four bags of shavings, and three bales of hay, along with that extra-large trunk containing all her blankets. Unfortunately, logistical problem solving was never one of my strong points.
Packing Problem Number Three: Going back to me, I have more than just clothes to take wit me. Various stacks of sheets and bedding, a small store of cleaning supplies and laundry soap, an iron which is almost certain to see absolutely no use, a box or three of computer hardware and cables, my printer, a small vacuum, selected posters and pictures off my walls, a huge collection of books, and (heaven forbid I use it) a broom...All of this has to fit in the back of my truck. It's a good thing I bought a long bed.
So this is how I'll spend my week. Compressing things as much as I can, dumpster diving behind grocery stores for old boxes, and cramming it into my vehicle while breaking as few picture frames as possible.
Welcome to my blog. This will mostly be about my horse and me, and our adventures across the country and at college. So and introduction is in order. You know about me (if you don't, read the sidebar), so now I will tell you about the most important person in my life.
Her name is Vegas. CK Vegas Blue Star if we are at a show, Vegas Gold Starlit if we are dealing with the vet or insurance company, and PGF Vegas Flight if we are referring to barn records. But whatever I call her, Vegas is my baby. She is my whole life. She is the reason I live.
When I first bought Vegas, we both knew nothing, and combined we knew even less. A lot of people didn't believe in us and they gave up on us. But a few people held on to that last ray of hope and thought that just maybe there was a chance for us to improve.
Three years later, Vegas and I are farther than anyone thought possible. The crazy horse who tried to run people over is now the perfect mount anyone could ask for. She still has a long way to go before we reach our lifetime goals, but that is what goals are all about.
So now Vegas and I are off to college. You may ask why I am going to college 3,000 miles away from home: that answer is very complicated. You may ask why I am taking my horse with me: that answer is very simple. I refuse to go to college without her.
And so we begin packing and planning. We have less than one month left before we go and we still have a lot to do.
August 11th is the day we set out on the path to another eleven years of school.
