Snow Globe Drive

Sometimes I get lucky and get to travel with my people.  Mom had to teach a clinic this past weekend and since it was going to be indoors and at a dog-friendly hotel, she decided to take me along!  I knew I was going to get to go this time as soon as she started packing, because she gathered up all my favorite things and put them right by the suitcase! 

Montana is a BIG state and that means it takes awhile to get anywhere when traveling by car.  There's also a lot of NOTHING in between!  More about that later...


One thing I know for certain is that I sure like fancy hotels! 

Of course, Mom remembered to pack my food (and portable dish) and it was a good thing!  I was hungry and wanting to eat first thing upon our arrival. 

Then I got to cuddle right next to mom with my bear blankie and sleep in that great big comfortable bed!

Livin' the life!


The next morning I had to wait patiently (and behave) while she talked and talked and talked about (some really boring) stuff.  I was just under the table at her feet,  switching off between laying in my pet carrier or ON my bed,  growling softly ONLY once when a GREAT big dog walked by the conference room door.   (no worries, we did break for lunch and I got some walking time in, but I never did see that dog again!) 


When the clinic was FINALLY over, we loaded up all the papers, computer, printer, projector, screen and all MY stuff into the car and headed back home way ACROSS the state.  It was already dark and as soon as we got on the road, it happened...

...the snow began to fall.   Slowly at first.... Now try to picture desolate Montana and miles and miles of endless road...


Over the (mountain) pass and into the dark we went.

  ....and then it started  to really come down !  Right at us.!  ...this BECAME what we have now deemed the Snow Globe Drive.

Eery.  Quiet.  Dizzying . Tunnelling at you flakes...as if you were IN a Snow Globe.  Mesmerizing. Almost Magical.... 

When Mom started talking to me about it, I HAD to look.  I climbed up to get a look out the front window and WHOA!  It almost made me nauseous....back down I went....all I could really do from then on was JUST listen.

A dog can learn a lot about PEOPLE on a long winter's Snow Globe Drive.  They tend to open up and share more about WHO they really are when they are vulnerable (and afraid) ...especially if YOU are the only other one dog in the car! 

Guess what?  People talk more when they're nervous.  They question themselves more.  They WORRY.  They sing silly songs.  They tell stories about their childhood..all their regrets...all their dreams...all of a sudden, THEIR world becomes your world...and we come to know them a whole lot better!
It was clear my REAL purpose was to CALM the storm NOW occurring in that globe across the huge state of Montana in the very dark of night. 

                                            We DOGS have such important jobs!

I knew I couldn't rest.  I had to LISTEN.  Calm her fears.  Give her courage to keep going.  Let her SING...allow myself to get lost in the stories she was telling of so very long ago. 

It JUST seemed to help her pass the time....and made me appreciate her human "ness" even more!

We never passed a single other vehicle, but thankfully followed behind several plows sanding the roads, each pulling over to let us by.  (Apparently, other people don't have Scrappy Dogs to guide them through Snow Globe drives so they JUST stay home...)

And then...as quickly as the flakes started to fall, they (just) disappeared....like poof.  Gone.

Mom and I were thrilled when we finally saw the lights of town and arrived safely at home, the snow all settled now in the bottom of earth's globe.