The Road To Waco ... and back again

It's already been 2 weeks since our return home from The Big Trip, and time to update y'all. I left here on Saturday October 16, and went as far as Regina to spend the night with Kelly of Risk N'Hope Australian Shepherds. Kelly and I convoyed south from her place, getting an early start on Sunday morning. It was cold and dreary and a little rainy, and without any Tim Horton's in sight after the first 2 hours, I was worried it would be a looooong trip. The border crossing was relatively uneventful though they did have us both pull over to go through our coolers, ensuring we weren't smuggling any of that nasty Canadian beef. Just as we were departing, the inspector said to me, "you've really got a long trip ahead of you". Thanks, cuz I hadn't already thought of that.

We spent the first night in Fargo, North Dakota at a Motel 6, the shangri-la of dog-friendly accommodations ... some not so shangri-la as others. With the first 513 miles down, we headed out the next morning and went as far as Kansas City, MO, another nearly 600 miles, and more Motel 6. More grey, drizzly, chilly weather too. Sheesh, we're heading south, where's the sunshine? After a further 513 miles that day, we finally arrived around suppertime in the pretty little town of Denton, TX ... sunshine, heat, and our first stop at Target! We had a really nice supper at a pizza/pasta buffet restaurant, then chatted with multiple other dog-owning guests at our now favorite Motel 6. Due to meet Shelley's flight into Dallas Fort Worth airport at 1 PM, and only 45 minutes away from there, we were able to enjoy a slow morning packing up the vehicles and then hitting the local Walmart, Target, Payless, and one of my favorites, Chick-Fil-A, for lunch. Shelley arrived on time, we met up with her easily, and off we headed to complete the final leg of our journey a further few hours south to Waco.

Upon arriving in Waco, we realized we didn't have the actual street address for the fairgrounds. There were a couple of locals working under the hood of a pick-up truck so I pulled over and made Shelley get out to ask directions. You go, no you go, okay I'll go. She got directions no problem, but the feller had to inform her through missing teeth, "the faaaair aaaaiiiin't ooohhhnnn". We had a few good laughs over that one. Pulling into the fair grounds, we were right away greeted by my sweet little friend Katherine, whose mother owns Capri's dad, Austin. We found our reserved stalls and got busy setting up and decorating a' la Canuck.

Pre-shows started right away the next morning with both Capri and Finn in their respective puppy classes, both at the EXACT same time. Grooming like crazy, trying to get them both ready, rushing over to the conformation building, just to hurry up and wait. I had my friend Brent Kindred take Finn in the ring as I didn't want to miss Katherine in with Capri. Finn placed Fourth out of 7 puppies and did so well with Brent, filling these 2 grannies with pride.

Not only did Team Capri make me proud, they made me cry as Capri won FIRST out of a very competitive class of fifteen 9-12 month bitches. Into the ring later in the day for Belle, but no love for our pretty blue girl. A repeat in the 2nd pre-show with another FIRST for Capri and Fourth for Finn, and with Katherine at the helm, also a Fourth for Belle. Tally at the end of the week, Capri FIRST x2 and Fourth x2 (including Puppy Sweeps), for Finn Fourth x4 (including puppy sweeps), and a Fourth for Belle in the pre-show.

With Belle somehow re-injuring her chronic iliopsoas (lower back/groin) muscle strain, coming into season, and feeling just plain crappy due to her intolerance of the heat, Nancy and I made the decision to pull her from the next 2 shows. My poor little girl just wasn't herself. Capri also ended up falling victim to the dreaded "dog show crud", didn't eat for 3 days, and puked and pooped her way through the remainder of the trip.


All in all, we had a very enjoyable trip with wonderful results from our 2nd ASCA Nationals. Shelley and I pledged that we were going to "eat our way across Texas", and I think we made a pretty darn good effort. Mexican cuisine most nights, a margarita or two, and even chicken fried steak for breakfast, we certainly enjoyed ourselves.

Looking at this collection of beautiful rosettes, I'd say the Casselcreek/Buff Cap kids held their own in the breed ring, too.

Packing up and getting ready to leave wasn't as nearly as big a job as I'd anticipated, though saying our good-byes to special people is never easy. Once again, my dear friend and mentor, Nancy Gagnon of Buff Cap, made the week just that much more special, and I hope we made you proud. It was our pleasure to meet the lovely Francine (Katherine's mom, Austin's owner), to reconnect with Brent Kindred, and make new friends in so many others.

Of course, attending an ASCA Nationals isn't only about the serious dog show stuff (note, tongue in cheek) and the week was topped off with a fun-filled banquet, including a little chicken dance. That's all I'm gonna say ... what happens in Waco, stays in Waco (right, Shelley?)

Happy Trails ... Theresa