At the end of the family weekend at Peaks of Otter Kate, Dazey, and I ran down to Roanoke for a day trip.
Blue Ridge Parkway
To get from Peaks of Otter to Roanoke the quickest route is on the Blue Ridge Parkway which you can learn all about here at the wikipedia’s. There are lots of great views on the road and they built a crap ton of pull off spots for you to get out take photos and have lunch. Please don’t stop in the middle of the road to look that views. Canon 60d 50mm f1.8
Canon 60d 50mm f1.8
Rolling in Roanoke
We stopped in Roanoke for a beer and walked around downtown. Its a pretty cool town and a place I would be interested in exploring more. Canon 60d 50mm f1.8
I have always heard that fall in the Blue Ridge Mountains is a sight to behold, but being from Colorado I always took the attitude that altitude was better. It turns out I was wrong and the Blue Ridge Mountains really are a sight to behold in the fall. Kate’s family has been coming to this area for decades to hike up Peaks of Otter and remember family and friends. This year Kate and I were able to join them and got a few photos.
What a strange name right? Apparently there have never actually been Otters in this area. The names likely come from Scottish settlers in the 1700’s who named the places after their homeland. Here is the wikipedia page talking about the Peaks of Otter. We hiked up the second highest one called Sharp top cause guess why? The rocks on top are sharp and stuff.
Canon 60d 50mm – ISO 200, f/8.0, 1/60th secCanon 60d 50mm f1.8 – ISO 200, f/8.0, 1/60th secCanon 60d Tokina 11-16 – ISO 160, 16mm, f/14, 1/60th sec
Abbott Lake at Peaks of Otter Lodge
At the foot of Sharp Top is the visitor center and next to that is Abbott Lake and the Lodge. At the Lodge on Thursday through Sunday night you might catch some live local bluegrass musicians, highly recommended.
There is a huge field of grass next to the lake and visitor’s center so we had Photos with Grass on the grass! Its an agronomists delight! Canon 60d 50mm f1.8 – ISO 500, f/8.0, 1/125th sec
Canon 60d 50mm f1.8 – ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/800th secCanon 60d 50mm f1.8 – ISO 320, f/8.0, 1/125th secCanon 60d 50mm f1.8 – ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/400th secCanon 60d 50mm f1.8 – ISO 160, f/5.0, 1/100th sec
Campground Info and Map
There are 52 RV spots in this campground. They are not the most level and there is no hookups. They do have dump stations and potable water available but not at any of the individual sites. It was pretty chilly when we were there so make sure your propane is filled up too. The drive into the camp is narrow and winding. If you take the 43 from west of Bedford it gets pretty hairy in places with less than no shoulder on some turns. I would advise not taking that route if possible. Contact Information: PEAKS OF OTTER CAMPGROUND 10454 Peaks Road Bedford, VA 24523 Phone Number: (540)586-7321 Website for Peaks of Otter Campground
When we lost Zeke on October 1st Kate and I separately started looking at different dog rescue websites in Ohio and the surrounding areas including North Carolina. We knew that the best way to remember Zeke would be to rescue another dog that was in the same situation as him. What better way to honor his life than by giving someone else the same love and attention?
One problem we immediately encountered was that most rescue organizations will not even consider an out of state adoption let alone one from a fulltime RV couple with a constantly changing address. Kate was undaunted though and after a week or so of searching found Claire at The Fort Rescue in North Carolina. The Fort has been around since 2012 focused on rescuing Pit Bull breeds and were open to adopting to people in our situation. Kate emailed them about our situation and Zeke’s recent passing and they replied immediately and enthusiastically that it would not be a problem for us to adopt one of their rescue dogs.
The main reason Kate reached out to The Fort was because of Claire. Besides being really cute Claire was also good with other dogs, children, and pretty much super relaxed. Since we are travelling the country in a trailer we need someone who can handle all types of situations with ease and it looked like she would fit that bill without a problem.
Jake Kate Dazey Karen and Abby First Meeting at The Fort Rescue in North Carolina
So on Monday October 13th 2014 on our way to Raleigh North Carolina we stopped by The Fort and met Claire, her foster family, and Jake (the owner of The Fort). We spend a couple of hours learning about her past. Apparently during one of The Fort’s adoption events a volunteer found her and her puppies in a garbage dumpster. They rescued her and treated her for a number of infections and parasites and fostered her to Karen and Abbey who cared for her while they searched for a forever home. Thats when we showed up.
Dazey and Kate having their first conversation at The Fort Rescue
When we first met Claire she immediately wanted to get into our truck which we took as a good sign. She is about 40 pounds but has the strength of a dog twice her size. She doesn’t bark and only cries lightly when she needs to go potty. She is a cuddler and love bug and loves getting pets and snacks. When we drove away she immediately stood up on the center console and let us know she was keeping an eye on the road with us.
Kate and Dazey first ride in the truck.
We knew from the start that she was going to get a new name to keep Kate’s tradition of naming her dogs with a ‘Z’ in their name. After throwing a few different ideas around we decided on Dazey since she is beautiful like a flower and she accepted it right away. So now Claire is Dazey and we are “Driving Miss Dazey” and we get to say “Upsie Dazey” when she gets into the truck. Its a good time for all.
Dazey and Maizey playing on the floor.
As you can see we haven’t had any problems getting some good photos and are pretty sure this will be a regular tradition moving forward.
If you are thinking of getting a dog or cat please find a rescue like Dazey or Zeke. They need your love.
PS – If you cannot adopt consider donating to a rescue organization or volunteering.
When we started planning to go fulltime RV in May of 2014 the main catalyst was Zeke’s health problems. He started having problems with wetting the bed and subsequent visit to the vet diagnosed him with lymphoma cancer. The news was pretty devastating and made us realize how temporary life is and that we need to be sure to live it fully.
We rescued Zeke in September of 2012 and it was one of the best decisions we ever made. He brought us so much joy and got us to go fulltime rving so we wanted to remember him. We rescued Zeke so hopefully sharing our experience will encourage others to always rescue dogs. Zeke was also considered by many to be a dangerous breed because he looked like a Pit Bull. While he wasn’t one it always frustrated us that people would make judgments before meeting him and learning that he was the nicest dog or living being you could ever meet.
Good things come in small packages
Zeke came to us from the Phoenix Small Dog Rescue in September of 2012. At 80 pounds he was hardly a small dog and as we quickly learned he was one of the most unique beings we have ever met.
Our oldest dog Bonzai had started to let us know that she needed a companion after our Boxer Ozric had passed away in June of 2012, you can read my memory of him here: Ozric. Kate found Zeke on the Small Dog website and stopped by the foster home on her way back from work. When she got home she let us know that the next day Bonzai and I would be joining her to bring Zeke home.
Of course the final decision was based on if Bonzai got along with Zeke. We even asked the foster family if we could bring Zeke back after one night just in case things didnt go well. In retrospect that was one of the funniest requests ever made cause there was no going back once we let this guy into our lives.
Whats in a name?
When we got Zeke he was called Humphrey by his foster family and before that his original owner called him Tamu. Neither of these names were particularly appealing to us nor did they match his personality. Kate has a tradition of naming her dogs with a ‘z’ somewhere in their name. It started with Beezle, then Bonzai, then Scuzzlebutt, then Ozric, so we had to come up with something to keep the tradition alive. I also wanted to have a short name that was easy to call out and Kate mentioned our nephew Tate’s rabbit was named Zeke. Figuring that one syllable was short enough we settled on Zeke and he immediately accepted it as his name.
He was anything but a small dog either in size or heart or appetite or love. Before we left the foster home the mother gave us a warning that Zeke, as we would come to name him, was not the best at riding in cars and to be ready for that. So we loaded him into the back of our Honda Pilot with Bonzai with me in the back seat to ensure he wouldn’t act up. Within 5 blocks our concerns were abated as he curled up next to Bonzai and started napping like he had been with us forever.
Long and turbulent history
This had not been Zeke’s first foster or rescue. His original owner had died at home and when his body was discovered 5 days later Zeke was lying next to his body obediently waiting for his first friend to wake up. Dehydrated and malnourished he had been taken to a vet hospital for treatment and was released to his first rescue.
Unfortunately she ended up being an hoarder. After a few months he was rescued from that rescue where he apparently had spent hours in a kennel surrounded by other terrified animals. From there he was rescued by the good people at the Phoenix Small Dog Rescue and went to his first foster family.
Genetics smenetics(sic)
While his breed is unknown to exacting standards we think he is a bit of American Bulldog and a few groomers have mentioned Argentinian Dogo, which his white coat and spots under the fur seem to confirm in a very unscientific way. Nevertheless he was assumed by many to be a Pit Bull and people shied away from him with the ignorance of people who judge others by sight before knowing the individual. Even if he were a Pit Bull he was still the most gentle dog we had ever met. The most force he would use towards people would be in lifting your arm with his nose to get you to pet him.
While at his first foster home he had met a few potential owners who eventually declined to take him simply because he looked like a dangerous animal. That foster returned him to the rescue and he went to his second foster home where Kate found him.
When we got him home there was some confusion and he ran to the neighbors house. I probably overreacted a bit but the thought of losing this dog before even getting him in the house was tragically comedic. Kate was more composed and recovered him from the neighbors driveway and calmed me down.
The first night I took out my camera and snapped our first photos. He was a joy from the start and we loved him right away. There would be no need to take him back to the foster family and he had found his forever home and we found another reason to never judge a book by its cover. Love heals all
Zeke loved people. He loved getting pets and laying at your feet. He loved going on walks and meeting more people who could give him more petting. For the most part everyone who saw him loved him. One of the best things that happened on walks was when grown men mentioned how ‘handsome’ he was.
Bonzai and Zeke hit it off right away and became inseparable. Occasionally we would need to take one of them to the vet for an appointment and the other would worry and pace the house until their best friend got back home.
Eat your heart out
As with Bonzai and Ozric, Zeke was a vegan. We fed him V-Dog brand dogfood to ensure he got all of the nutrients he needed and he was very healthy. He also loved vegetables and would patiently sit near us whenever food prep was happening. There was very little that he would not chomp on and then come back for as much as he could coax from us.
There is so much to write about Zeke but I want to keep things reasonable here. If you have a Zeke story or photo please share it in the comments below. He was a very special being and we will always have him in our hearts.
