Last night I drove from San Tan Valley up to Payson, about 90 miles one way.

Went from hot weather to winter like weather, in the days here it's been nasty hot, 110 in day, it was late when I went up there, 60 degrees, felt amazing.

I have been feeling burned out, commute to work, go to grocery store, go to GF's place, never anywhere else for almost a year.

Went through losing my dog to heart failure a few months ago.

Kept smelling wood, like when you walk into home Depot, or sawdust smell, realized it was the trees (pine trees maybe), in the Phoenix area those trees don't really exist.

Very twisty mountain roads, probably burned a lot of gas, but better than car sitting in garage for 3 weeks and watching TV.

Anyways, I feel a lot better, was very stressed out, some people might go talk about their feelings to a shrink and possibly be put on antidepressants.

Riding in the Corvette with top down, no music, just wanted silence, much cooler weather and a big climb in elevation.

Saw Elk eating grass while I was pumping gas, something you don't see in Phoenix area.

I decided it's time to take more road trips to refresh and destress, vs just going to work and watch TV on time off, in 110 plus heat, doing anything outside just isn't fun.

Have any of you ever just decided to do something like this spur of the moment?

 

Some of my best therapy sessions are had during late evening cruises. I haven't taken my current vette terribly far, but it's the perfect thing for exorcising demons, so to speak.

 

Elk next to gas station

Gassing up in Payson, cooler weather, you can't see, but the elk were out eating grass in the distance.

 

Driving the Corvettes does help relieve some stress but in other ways adds stress (worried about blue and red lights)
Sorry to hear about your dog.

 

Thank you

Haha back to driving the PT Cruiser and awful heat today, driving on freeway it was 115.

The heat isn't so awful, it's just nice to escape it once in a while, without being inside.

 

Sorry about your pup, I know that feeling all too well. Road trips can be therapeutic.

 

Thanks for the tip. I’m in need of getting out of this heat myself. I work nights so it does cool down to about 95 or so but no sun beating down on me. Sorry to hear about your dog and the heart issue.

 

Last week my wife and I did a spur of the moment road trip to get out of the heat also. We went to Winslow Arizona to “stand on the corner” and ended up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We came home the long way, south on I-25 to Hwy 60. Drove through the Very Large Array looking for aliens and stopped at Pie Town, New Mexico for pie. Took 3 days, covered 1,100 miles but it was a great break from the scorching valley heat.

Road trips in Corvettes are therapeutic.

 

Very sorry about your dog. Been through that many times. I have a wonderful dog now .....I dread the day.

Glad you got out of the heat a little and was able to relax and enjoy your C5.

I had somewhat an opposite situation recently. We went from Flagstaff to the Mogollon Rim for a camping trip and stopped in Payson. Way to hot for me there. Folks back East can't understand how much elevation changes temps and scenery so fast as it does in the West. Most don't even know Northern Arizona has the largest Ponderosa Pine Forest in the world and the mountains at Flagstaff actually have Tundra at the Peaks. We have Elk herds of 200+ go through our property.

Hey 99, you'll like it even better in Flagstaff.

This is my back yard.....

 

I'll check out Flagstaff, in fact lived in Arizona 14 years and still have not been to the Grand Canyon.

I have driven through Flagstaff going back and forth from Amarillo TX to Vacaville CA, moving from Texas to California, and trips back to visit family.

What time of year is best to see the Grand Canyon?

 

As for dogs, it's easy to forget how short their lives are, I took my buddy to the dog park almost every night a hour before closing, except for summer.

He just loved it, also I took him in the Corvette, easier for him to hop into in his older years, put a blanket on the seat and covered the arm rest too.

To get out he would walk over my legs and exit the driver's side, was super excited as he knew and smelled he was at the dog park.

Also the Corvette became my only vehicle for a while.

He had a pretty good life, was spoiled rotten, my mom used to cook him hamburgers when we went to her house, always something, hot dog Frank's, made him sandwiches, whatever.

It was the same for him, summers sucked and he stayed in A/C all the time until winter, he was very furry and I named him Wooley, like a Wooly Mammoth.

Got him shaved for summer.

I have thought of getting another dog, but not anytime soon.

One word of advice, get your dog a check up if they are older, and if you hear the vet say heart murmur, start a treatment plan.

About a year before he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, he got sick from my mom giving him too many yum yums, vet said he had a slight murmur.

I got worried and she said it's fine, only a 1 or 2 out of 6, next year he was 6 out of 6.

If she would have prescribed Vetmedin, a drug for dogs with heart failure, he might still be here, it helps dogs with heart failure, helps the heart pumping blood, can buy it at Costco.

Apparently CHF congestive heart failure is very common in dogs.

The Vetmedin won't cure your dog, but will buy time.

My girlfriend's dog Buddy was coughing, we thought it was kennel cough, nope heart murmur and ultimately CHF, vet gave him Vetmedin, his coughing went away in a week or so and his energy went way up.

Seems some vets just tell you of a problem and then offer no solution other than "it's not a big problem".

Maybe Vetmedin is new and wasn't available when Wooley was diagnosed with a heart murmur October 2017.

Heart murmur = bad.

 

So sorry for the loss of your pup, it never gets easier no matter how many you have had. Nature should have set it up so that a dog lives long enough to spend time with you from the time you are responsible enough to properly care for one until near the end of your life. I have done dog rescue for most of my life (I have six now) and so many, many more over the last fifty years or so. I've never lost a pup that didn't end up with me feeling physically sick and seriously depressed. Again, it never gets easier. Regarding road trips to get your head together I took one of those follow your nose trips on my Harley, left NJ/NY area and ended up in Montana. Great trip and helped me get over losing my seventeen year old Golden Retriever who was my best friend. Did the same thing later in my 911, made a 3000 mile loop for a positive attitude adjustment and it worked well. Came home refreshed and at peace. Those trips weren't in a vette but the principle is still the same. Best wishes to you and very sorry that you lost your furry friend. They are simply the best!

 

99- Spring (April-May) or Fall (September-October) is good....school is in. But there is no bad time or bad view of the Grand Canyon.

My dog hates the heat too. He loves the snow in Flagstaff.....

 

Nice Vette. Looks just like mine. Same color. It is great to get out with the top down and let the permagrin take over.

 

99, you absolutely need to get out in the vette more often for a good therapeutic drive! It’s amazing how much it helps to destress. I’m sorry to hear about your dog. Losing our fur kids when they’ve been with you for so many years is never easy but I promise it does get better with time. We are just now thinking of adopting new pets after 6 months of losing our cats to cancer.

 

Sorry for your loss. A nice spirited drive does wonder to your soul. It's well known that permagrins are a side effect of driving a C5.
We lost Kiwi at 16. We had him at 5 weeks. The end was so traumatic for the whole family that my wife does not want to go through this again.

 

Kiwi and Wooley had a good life. I wish all dogs were so lucky.

 

Wooley's last visit to a dog park in Tempe AZ, after leaving a vet on a Saturday in January, the vet recommended putting him to sleep due to his heart issues, he was still eating, but was weak, he got tired, and took a break.

Jan 26th 2019. Lived until March 15th 2019, I should have put him to sleep sooner, but had big hope he could be helped, but in reality I caused him to suffer, a horrible vet basically killed him by somehow stabbing his lung, he was bad going in to the vet being tired and not eating, my last time seeing him he had massive amounts of blood coming out of his mouth, I had him put to sleep as he was screwed, it was just horrible. Looking back I should have put him to sleep right when he stopped eating.

 

I was right there with him as they put him to sleep, I looked right into his face and told him it was going to be ok calmly, he was just gasping for air and choking on blood, so he was stressed and didn't seem to notice my presence, my GF was there too.

Didn't want him dying alone.

Stayed next to him maybe a half hour after he passed, leaving him there laying on the metal table was very hard to do.

I asked my GF to take the last picture of me and him together, which she thought was weird, but she took it, I had him since 6 weeks old, got him new year's day 2006.

 

Their fur colors are similar.

Wooley was part Keeshond, and something else, Keeshond/Mix is what vets always said on papers when he went in.

What breed was Kiwi?