Canine CPR and the Fighting Antlers

So, do we have the first recorded image of canine-to-human CPR here??? Well, not exactly... Ty and Suzanne just finished a 4 mile run in 88 degree heat and high humidity, and Gretchen wanted to get her salt fix (we think). This is an everyday procedure when Ty flops down after a sweaty workout. Lucky Ty!

Any visit to San Antonio has to include a visit to The Alamo. The heroic stand by 200-400 brave Americans, Texans and Tejanos here bought time for the fledgling Republic of Texas to organize a very small army, and the heavy losses incurred by Mexican dictator General Santa Anna contributed directly to his later defeat at San Jacinto, and independence for the Republic of Texas. William Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett are the most famous heroes who died here, but every man here was a volunteer who knew he would not make it out alive. This Texas shrine, run by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, does not use any taxpayer money; it is entirely funded by contributions from visitors and patriotic Texans and Americans.

Speaking of heroes, our campground was on the Fort Sam Houston Army post. It is located adjacent to Brooke Army Medical Center and the Center for the Intrepid, where many of the seriously wounded and almost all amputees from Iraq and Afghanistan are sent for rehabilitation. There are 42 Fisher House handicap-accessible suites here for amputees and their families to be together during their rehab. We saw several double amputees wheeling their wheelchairs around the grounds, and were again impressed by the dedication and sacrifice of the thousands of men and women who serve our nation and protect us against terrorism. The Alamo, Normandy, Iwo Jima, the Chosin Reservoir, Khe Sanh, Tikrit, Kandahar... let us again thank every veteran who has served and sacrificed to keep America safe.

We are now underway (yes, a Navy term) through west central Texas enroute Santa Fe, NM. We are no longer on I-10 with traffic, but headed through seemingly empty country with very large cattle ranches. The image above shows the "urban sprawl and traffic jams" typical of west Texas...  But what they have a lot of here is high school FOOTBALL!!!! We stopped in Kerrville, in Texas' Hill Country, and were impressed by the Tivy High School "Fighting Antlers" stadium... then on to Menard (the Yellow Jackets) and San Angelo (the Bobcats).  Too bad football's not in season... and darn, but the Venison World in Concho was closed (hunting season is in November).

We stopped for lunch in Kerrville, along the Guadalupe River, and our puppies are on the alert for their new quarry, Texas ground squirrels....

 then on past the tiny town of Veribest, population 40, named by a young woman named Sue Rister, who was asked by the town's mayor to pick a new name for the town (previously called Mullins), who saw a jar of Veribest pickles by the Armour Company, and thought it would be a good name... you can't make these things up, folks...