1700 miles down

Twenty-six hours and 1700 miles later, we successfully made it to Arizona. The trip was almost too easy and breezed by with zero car mishaps. Just to be cautious, we stopped every two hours so the Newfies could drink some water and stretch their legs. We chalk it up entirely to luck, but both Thatcher and Boden are ideal passengers in the car. They braved the miles cheerfully, running their energy out at rest stops and napping soundly during the drive. The car we rented for the journey was spacious, but still a small backseat for two Newfies. Surprisingly, they didn't get mad at each other once. Instead, they snuggled for much of the time, one lying with his head on the other's back. Good brothers. I did regret not bringing my camera with me, but managed to snap a few photos with my phone.

The only tiny problem we encountered was not on the road, but when we stopped at a motel to sleep on the Fourth of July. We arrived right at dusk, checked into our room and took the dogs out for a brief walk before bed. As we were meandering back towards the motel parking lot, we heard fireworks going off. Thatcher immediately became tense and grabbed the leash in his mouth to pull us back to our room. As we got closer, we saw that the noise was coming from our motel parking lot. A group of people had clustered around to light some noisy, sparkling fireworks right in front of the walkway to our room. Thatcher beelined for our door as fast as he could, J struggling to manage him. We got back into the room and immediately closed the blinds and turned the TV on to drown out the commotion. Despite our attempts to comfort Thatcher, he hid in the bathtub most of the night, barking loudly any time he heard a boom. 

Otherwise, we couldn't have asked for a smoother roadtrip. Now comes the hardest part - adjusting the boys to these extreme temperatures. Walking them is only possibly in the early morning or late evening. During the day the sidewalks are burning hot and will hurt their paws. Usually they jump at any chance to go outside, but have learned really quickly here that it's not very fun. Boden will go out to go potty when called, but Thatcher usually chooses to stay inside and lie on the cool tile. The pool has eased the discomfort a little bit, and I think swimming is going to turn into one of their main forms of exercise for the summer. So the transition is in the works as we learn the tricks of living in a hot climate with big, shaggy dogs. I'm sad I have to leave them to go to back to work tomorrow, but I tend to be overly anxious. Let's face it, they usually sleep all day regardless of whether I'm there or not. 

Rest stop break, only 20 more hours to go!

Ready to get back in the car after a short