NEW YEARS ROLLERCOASTER – BISBEE, AZ

New Year’s Day got off to a great start.  After the day warmed up, we hiked once again to the mountaintop shrine and basked in the sunshine on the viewpoint bench.  We could see remnants of the New Year’s Eve festivities in the park far below, watch tiny cars navigate tiny streets, hear far-off dogs barking and hammer blows now and then.  We spent about an hour watching the scene and enjoying the sun’s warmth.

Back down the mountainside, we were hungry.  Odel’s eyes bugged out of his head when I suggested we zip over to Jimmy’s Hot Dogs for a dog.  Wow, did that make him happy.  Off we went to Jimmy’s, where he tried a Vienna Beef sandwich (a Chicago specialty).  Halfway through our meals, I traded him the remaining half of my hot dog for his sandwich, which I thought was yummy – he preferred the dog.

Home again, we commented that Luna was way more demanding of attention than usual – and “usual” is pretty demanding.  Nothing we did appeased her, including food, brushing or playtime.  Curled up on a lap was the only time her meows stopped.  Cranky, cranky, cranky!

Next, I managed to torque my back somehow, really putting a crimp in my activities.  I hit the sack extra-early, bored with my inability to move freely, pick up anything I dropped, take off my sox…  :(

During the night, Luna went from annoyingly cranky to sick.  She threw up a few times and, most worrisome, broke her habit of sleeping on our bed.  When we got up in the morning, she hardly lifted her head to look at us, and her breathing seemed very fast and shallow.  When she DID move, it was to creep around the room, settling down here or there and emitting pitiful, soft meows.  She was suffering, and we were freaked out!

We immediately found a vet who could see her, 40 minutes away in Sierra Vista.  Frank offered to accompany me and Luna to the vet, so Odel could keep his golf tee time – but easing into a car seat and driving/riding that far was not an option for my back.  Poor Odel gave up on his dream of golfing in the sunshine, and he and Frank took off with Luna. 

Three hours later and a couple hundred dollars poorer, Odel and Luna had returned.  Blood tests reassured us that is was nothing fatal; the vet made a few recommendations and we put Luna under minute surveillance.  The adrenaline released during the harrowing trip (she loves riding in the motorhome; hates riding in the jeep) must have been good medicine because she began to perk up slowly.  By nightfall she wanted a bite to eat, and she slept in the crook of my knees last night.  Today: almost completely normal – she was able to throw herself into the deep dust upon our arrival at our new site, indulging in a good long wallow. 

So, who knows what happened?  The event totally trashed Odel’s golf plans, and a hoped for get-together with our friends Jim and Bobbie went by the wayside.  Now I am the only remaining invalid – and I am so grateful it is me, not Luna!

About half the rigs at Queen Mine RV Park for New Year’s left on Saturday, and another mass exodus got underway this morning.  Our neighbors on the right (Jeff and Margaret) barely beat our neighbors on the left, so the center of the RV park circle was quite active for awhile.  We thought we’d be the last to leave – we were in no hurray with only a short drive planned for today – but three of us started our engines about the same time, causing another traffic jam.

By 12:30 pm, we were at Rusty’s RV Ranch in Rodeo, New Mexico: 81.1 miles total distance; 54.1 mph moving average speed; 66.6 mph maximum speed; 1:29 hours total driving time.  It’s a pleasant drive through open range with ancient mountains in all directions.  The landscape was drenched in sunshine, the drive was uneventful, and we are happy with our site here.  No phone service, but the WiFi seems reliable.  We’re kicking back for four days, easing into 2010.