The Chopper Chronicles

I know it’s been almost forever since I posted last. What can I really say, except ” You just can’t get good help these days ” Drums handsome Chihuahua toe toes and looks around. In all fairness, things got kinda crazy around here for awhile. SO much has happened lately I almost don’t know where to begin…..so I suppose it’s easier to start where I left off ! Not that I, Chopper The Brave, Grand PooBah of All I Survey and King Of both North and Mid Wales ( yeppers folks…I have extended My Territory since the last time I posted ! ), thought it was such a great day !!! It began as most *Adventure Days* did….Early wake up time, early cooked to order Chopper sized fresh Welsh sausage for breakfast ( and the 3 measly pieces of wheat toast Mum tossed My direction ). The Tetched Twosome were all excited about where they were going today. Dinas Bran….sounds like some breakfast cereal that comes in one of those boxes that do not have free surprises in them, to Me ! In any case…spirits were high. That Bearded Guy did a great job directing Mum to a narrow lane near Worlds End called Panorama Walk. Instead of turning towards Worlds End like before, we turned right this time and followed along the base of an AMAZING limestone cliffs formation. ( this entire valley is a Site of Special Scientific Interest & Landscape of Special Historic Interest ) Without warning, Mum suddenly turned off the road into a small pullout.  She is famous for these sudden unannounced stops which always leave That Bearded Guy sitting in the navy gators seat saying “..poop…poop…poop.. !! ” These usually knock me off of My Throne perch in the back window as well…..raises one handsome Chihuahua eyebrow, taps toe toes and glares at Mum ! I was alright with it this time though….this was as yet, unclaimed territory for me and I was anxious to leave a few markers and do a fair bit of scratching. Turns out that it was a marked section of The Offa’s Dyke Path ! That Bearded Guy stayed behind to take some pictures of the high limestone cliffs beside us ( except the sun had not peeked over their tops yet ). Mum and I walked along the road/trail/path for a little ways. That’s when My day started to go ever so  wrong !!! I was just trying to leave a nice Claim Marker to make it well known the area was now Mine when those darn Klingon’s attacked Me again !!! About this time I am seriously wondering why the heck this was called Offa’s Dyke Trail…because it certainly was NOT coming Offa !!! Making matters worse, That Bearded Guy caught up with Mum and I, and they continued walking up the trail !!! No matter how far i duck-walked, looked miserable, etc etc…onward they went !! Needless to say, I was lagging behind by an entire lead length. I could hear them plotting some dire measures, but could not hear anything beyond..” …not getting in the car with Klingons..” This would pose a major problem. It was cold, we were out in the middle of nowhere, and neither one of them is brave enough to take on the removal without body armour. Ok Ok…so this is entirely MY fault. I tend to go into devil dog mode when anyone tries to get that close to my Handsome Chihuahua butt !! Back at My chariot, things went from bad to worse !! That Bearded Guy pulled out an ultra thick pair of winter gloves ( henceforth known as gauntlets ! ), Mum produced a ziploc baggie of emergency toilet paper, and a bottle of water that i swear she had been keeping under a Glacier ! Let’s just say they BOTH got “Black Marks” for that ordeal ! I was ready to go home now. Cancel the day….the spell of excitement was thoroughly broken ! They even had the NERVE to take a picture of me curled up on My Throne in the back window a few minutes later !! I thought about pee’ing in their shoes for that indignity ! The Panorama Walk track is very skinny narrow, so the going was slow.  Although I was in full sulks and wanted to go home, I really did enjoy the spectacular views ! Not far down this track was our destination for the day. A castle ruins atop a really steep sided mountain, called Castell Dinas Bran. This area even got ME into high spirits as soon as I got out of the chariot !! It was built on the site of a really really old old Iron Age Hill Fort so the place really hummed ! There was only a small footpath type sign indicating the way up, and room for only 2 or three cars to park there.  Only one car was already there, so we anticipated having the place almost to ourselves ! Mum clipped on My Royal Leash ( nice, handy, retractable deal ) then she and That Bearded Guy started digging in the chariot boot. ( that’s the trunk to us Yankee Doodle Chihuahuas…not the smelly old kind people put on their feet ) It was really really windy and pretty cold so The Bearded Guy was putting on his down jacket, and Mum was tying hers around her waist. Well folks, I am not one to wait around for the Dawdling Duo for too long…so i carefully started making My way across the flat railed cattle grid between us and the path. Honestly folks, I really think I could have made it all the way across if That Bearded Guy had not alerted Mum, who instantly freaked out and not only called My name, but also clicked stop on the lead handle !!! Ever try turning around on a 3 inch wide rail ???? It sucked me right down and almost swallowed Me whole !!!! Literally hanging on by My toes, I could feel nettles tickling My tail !!!! It was terrible horrible and very very bad ! No sooner did I gain the top of the next rail…it sucked Me down AGAIN !!!!! Oh Waily Waily Waily, I kept falling through the raily !!! Not once…not twice…but THREE times it tried to eat Me. There i was, hanging on by mere claws, body dangling over an ancient oubliette, full of nettles growing on top of layers of prehistoric hedgehog remains, dinosaurs and certainly more than one Roman sandal, and all my Mum could do was call My name ! ( drums toes…like I wasn’t already TRYING to get away from it’s greedy jaws ! ) She was finally able to assist Me by pulling straight up on my leash. This was fine and dandy enough, although I could have done without that momentary dangle over the gaping maw of that hideous creature called a cattle grid. Whats worse, is there was not a single cow in sight !!! Mum put Me in the car boot for safe keeping, and i instantly tried to burrow in That Bearded Guys newly discarded fleece jacket. I was traumatized, claws and toe toes ached from the strain, my backside and tail, not to mention my hind legs had nearly been nettled again…and all I wanted was to burrow all the way HOME home home !!!!! Sighs heavily here for dramatic effect….Do you know what I got folks ??? If you guessed tenderly carried back to My throne in the chariot’s back window for careful transport back home…you would be wrong. Nope….The Terrible Twosome were still determined to climb the vertical hill to the castle above !!! Mum simply gave me the once over…..and shoved Me into her bozo, and off they marched….around the side of the Chihuahua eating prehistoric oubliette hiding cattle grid !  Slaps paw to handsome Chihuahua forehead…no one told ME there was another way to get past that thing !!! Without Me to pull them both up the steep hillside, it was their turn to climb up stuff with their nails !!!….. But that’s for the next post… Thanks for your patience, folks. I promise a return of regular posts. Everything has kind of settled down a bit around here.

Mum and I headed down a portion of Panorama Walk that is also a section of Offa’s Dyke Path

On Offa’s Dyke Path….not ONE word about My Duck Walk stance !!!

View from The Offull’s Dyke Path

My ‘Post Gauntlet Indignant’ pose. I was NOT amused

Refusing to acknowledge The Terrible Twosome and their levity !

Yours Truly after the prehistoric oubliette hiding Chihuahua eating cattle grid incident

To view the entire set of 18 pictures taken of the Eglwseg Rocks and The Offa’s Dyke Trail and Panorama Walk click -> HERE <-

This is Chopper The Cattle Grid Survivor, ( Gone where NO Chihuahua wants to go ! ) Grand PooBah of all I survey and King of North Wales & Mid Wales signing off for now……

Happy Turkey Day to My American Friends and Family !

I raise my Paw and Wag my tail in a *bark out* to my wonderful friend, Debbie with a new last name as of Oct 11, 2008, in Marana/Tucson, AZ !!!!! HellOoOooo and Thank You Debbie Of All Pet Travel ! HelloOoOo and Thank You’s to Rich and Erika, miss and love You’s ! You too,  Carmen,  All of Vail AZ, …. Lots of kisses and Wags.…Hiya’s to Maxx and Duke ! Also to one of My NEW friends from Washington State, who recently visited…HellOooo Rob ! Thanks for the awesome tin of South American beef with gravy !

Chopper The Brave ” Going Where No Chihuahua Has Gone Before “

Today started with another very early first breakfast. My Traveling Twosome have really been taking advantage of  having the chariot back on the road lately ! Today’s weather had a lot of rain forecast, so their plans were not set in stone. I heard plans A, B, C, D and even E, discussed over breakfast while I was waiting for the three measly bits of wheat toast Mum tosses me. Of course I had already had my Chopper sized perfectly cooked fresh Welsh sausage prepared especially for me by That Bearded Guy. I just hang around for the wheat toast to humor My Mum ! All kinds of things were loaded into the chariot this morning ! Except for suitcases, one would think it was a week long safari or something. ( Rolls Handsome green Chihuahua eyes ) That Bearded Guy directed Mum onto an *A* road ( highway to us Yankee Doodle Chihuahua’s ) Before too long the sky opened up and rained like an Arizona Monsoon ! Mum is a good driver and the windshield wipers worked perfectly so it wasn’t all that bad really. Except I have to admit, that rear window wiper needs to take a serious holiday….somewhere else !! Every time I would get good and comfy on My Royal cushion it would pop up and try to chase My Royal bum !!! Made Me jump every time !!! After exercising My ever increasing Mind Control and a few good hard glares into the rear view mirror, Mum finally got the message and turned it off…Taps toes toes… Luckily, we out drove the rains before too many miles had passed. First destination was Conwy, 38 miles from My village of Gwernymynydd. It almost took My breath away when suddenly there it was ! A HUGE castle, just…right there ! ( I would drop my mouth open for dramatic effect, but Mum says I have Vulture breath today, so it’s been banned ! ) Mum has been there before, so she didn’t need any direction to find the place to park the car. I was really excited and could not wait to get out and explore. It was a bit cold and slightly windy, but I didn’t care….it just feels good there ! The first place we headed was down to the Conwy Quay ( pronounced ‘key’ ) Mum and That Bearded Guy love strolling along the quay. ( They spent 4 days in Conwy right next to the castle in a holiday rental 2 yrs ago….while I stayed in Arizona with Carmen, or Erika, and Rich…taps unamused toe toes, although I love those three with all my warm Chihuahua heart ! ) I got to mark a new Mussel sculpture on the quay. Very beautiful sculpture by  Graeme Mitcheson, made from Kilkenny Limestone. Of course I marked it as Mine as soon as I saw it. Such wonderful art just had to be Mine. After strolling the quay for a bit, and posing with Mum in front of the smallest house in Britain, it was time for me to ride inside Mum’s warm bozo for awhile. ( hooded sweatshirt, so named a bozo for the pointed hood that looks like a clown hat ) Next stop in Conwy was Mums and That Bearded Guys favorite  (away from Yr Wyddgrug) butcher shop, Edwards Of Conwy. That Bearded Guy went in and really stocked up on some good stuff !!! I even got to get a good sniff around when Mum slipped in to take a quick look at the sandwich side of the place to see what might look good for My…er…their lunch. That done, we took a shortcut through a very old cemetery that my Mum likes a lot, but didn’t really dawdle much…there were more places to explore down the road ! Once back to where the chariot awaited, That Bearded Guy loaded the Edwards loot into an ice chest in the car trunk ( ok, so here in the UK it’s called a boot, but this Yankee Doodle Chihuahua can’t get past the mental image of ol Cowboy Bob limping around looking for his missing cowboy boot ! ) This time he was kind enough to also put the roast beef sandwich into the cooler too !! No more sandwich torture for hours before lunchtime !  Next destination…..Llanberis. That’s going to be tomorrows blog entry though…….

Mussel Sculpture along the Conwy Quay. Yes, that’s My signature on the lower right shell

Excuse me, but you are blocking My signature Mum!

View from the Conwy Quay at low tide

YIKES, Seagull alert Mum !! Quick, get inside before it bombs us !

A look back at Conwy Castle

Yours Truly riding in Mum’s bozo saying farewell to Conwy Castle. I shall return soon !

To see all of the Conwy pictures That Bearded Guy took, click >> HERE <<

For more pictures of Conwy, Castle Conwy & Conwy Quay, taken by That Bearded Guy & My Mum in 2006…click->> HERE <<- & ->> HERE <<- & ->> HERE <<- They took well over 350 pictures that year, so these are just smaller sets.

This is Chopper The Explorer, Grand PooBah of all I survey and King of North Wales, signing off for now……

I raise my Paw and Wag my tail in a *bark out* to my wonderful friend, Debbie with a new last name as of Oct 11, 2008, in Marana/Tucson, AZ !!!!! HellOoOooo and Thank You Debbie Of All Pet Travel ! HelloOoOo and Thank You’s to Rich and Erika, miss and love You’s ! You too,  Carmen,  All of Vail AZ, …. Lots of kisses and Wags.…Hiya’s to Maxx and Duke !

Chopper The Brave ” Going Where No Chihuahua Has Gone Before “

One would think that by now, I would be accustomed to all the eccentric and unusual habits of My servants. Most of the time I think I have them all figured out. Is there something in The Servants Handbook about keeping Chihuahua’s on their toes or something ? This morning I was awakened by the smell of fresh Welsh sausage and bacon wafting up my handsome macho pink Chihuahua nose in gentle tendrils. ( real bacon folks, not the streaky American kind that the Welsh only use for flavoring their soups and stews ) OK, so nothing too unusual about that if I have had a lion…er….lie in. This morning, when I got out of bed to claim My Chopper sized perfectly cooked to order fresh welsh sausage from The Bearded Guy, I noticed something a bit out of the ordinary. It was the middle of the blooming night ! I am telling you folks, the foxes were still barking, owls still tu who’ing, badger still digging up the neighbors perfectly manicured back yard. The butt crack of dawn had not even dropped trouser yet ! Next thing I know, The Tetched Twosome had finished breakfast and loaded Me into My chariot ! Luckily for them, The Bearded Guy turned on the back window defroster to warm up My increasingly buffed Chihuahua bum ! Otherwise there would have been a full blown protest from the Aft. Seems this middle of the night destination was Moel Famau. In the DARK ! Remind me to look up a good shrink in Yr Wyddgrug, please ! Don’t get Me wrong, folks. This Chihuahua is all for a pleasant stroll up the highest point in the Clwydian Range, taking in the delightful countryside and some magnificent views, but in the middle of the night.. !! WHAT VIEWS !??  Within a scant 10 mins, Mum had parked the car near one of the car parks up there. I don’t know why they don’t call it a sheep park. There were no cars anywhere.  Doubtless they were all still asleep somewhere !!!  There were about a million sheep though….everywhere a sheep could possibly be. They must have eaten all the park play equipment along with everything else they eat.  Not one car swing, teeter totter, nor car slide was anywhere around. ( some car park ! ) It was barely light enough to see the trail, but off we all went. The sheep paid The Tetched Twosome no mind at all, but they sure were trying to figure out what The Grand PooBah and King of North Wales was doing in the dark of pre-dawn, leaving peemails and claim markers all over the place ! Poor Mum entirely gave up trying not to step in sheep poo. She realized doing her usual anti sheep poo dance was fruitless in the dark….besides I don’t think anyone can walk to the top of Moel Famau without stepping in it. Unless, of course, one has perfectly sized superior Chihuahua feet ! Moel Famau sheep have particularly glowing eyes. Maybe its to see if there is anywhere left un poo’d yet. Thanks to That Bearded Guy taking a lot of pictures of totally perplexed sheep, and the “view” below, the trail wasn’t too hard to negotiate. About 1/3 of the way to the top, That Bearded Guy decided we should turn back. Where Mum had parked the car might not have been such a good place to NOT get a ticket. Yikes !!!  It was starting to get light by this time, so Mum started doing her usual little dance trying not to step in stuff. That Bearded Guy promised that we would all return soon and walk all the way up to the top where the Jubilee Tower is. Yay !!

All clear Mum. I scared them away without even using my barker ! All that’s left is their glowing eyes.

Um, this one is smelly like fox, Mum. Might want to walk around it.

Hey !! Back off or dim your headlights will ya !!

Begone foul devil sheep, vanish with the sunrise!! That should fix it.

Yep, you trod in sheep poo again Mum

I told you lot to scarper ! Anymore nonsense & I’ll tell my friend, Paul Williams the butcher, about you !!!

Finally light enough for a view

This is Chopper The Explorer, Grand PooBah of all I survey and King of North Wales, signing off for now……

I raise my Paw and Wag my tail in a *bark out* to my wonderful friend, Debbie with a new last name as of Oct 11, 2008, in Marana/Tucson, AZ !!!!! HellOoOooo and Thank You Debbie Of All Pet Travel ! HelloOoOo and Thank You’s to Rich and Erika, miss and love You’s ! You too,  Carmen,  All of Vail AZ, …. Lots of kisses and Wags.…Hiya’s to Maxx and Duke ! Chopper The Brave ” Going Where No Chihuahua Has Gone Before “

Still on about our day out that was so exciting and long that it requires several chapters to tell everyone about. We loaded back into My chariot after a very nice amble around Valle Crucis Abbey ( now Mine ! ) Taking my usual position in the back window on my Throne cushion ( steering the rudder ) Mum driving and That Bearded Guy Navel Gatoring, we were back on the road. Llangollen was next on the list, and a mere 2 miles down the road into the Dee Valley. One would think there would be no more turning the car around and having a second go…for awhile at least. Rolls handsome green Chihuahua eyes !!!! I am giving serious thought to renovating this back window of Mine to accommodate That Bearded Guy ! Ok, so the first Llangollen turn around wasn’t his fault. The car park he directed Mum to was no longer in existence. Still we had to turn around on a crazy skinny curvy welsh lane. Add to that a great huge mowing vehicle was making the crazy skinny single car width lane wider so one car could jump into the hedgerow to let another car past.  Mum said a few things a Chihuahua should not repeat…( covers handsome Chihuahua ears with paws and giggles a dignified royal giggle ). Once again back on track we made our way into Llangollen. Very interesting looking town…but very busy with other tourists as well ! Following the signs to the short stay car parking lot wasn’t as easy as it looked…they disappeared at a crossroads. Did I mention we turned around…again…some more ? After finding the right lot to park in we were on our way to explore the ancient welsh town of Llangollen. One of the first things Mum noticed was the Dinas Bran Castle on a mountain top high above the town. Very friendly place. No wonder there are many legends of King Arthur surrounding this area !  So much history everywhere it seeped out all over the place ( and they say watch your step around doggie walks !! ) Lots of people with dogs walking around ! The Llangollen Railroad was closed for the season already ( except for the Santa train on Dec. weekends ) After walking over a REALLY really old stone bridge that took us across the River Dee, up a steep walkway we went. At the top is the Llangollen Warf and canal. Both horse drawn canal boats and motorized ones use this canal. There were no boats when we arrived at the top, so it was a very nice peaceful quiet stroll along the canal for quite a ways ! I even met a new friend, StickFace. ( his name has been changed to protect his true identity and privacy ) After about an hour of strolling, we turned around and headed back towards Llangollen. On the way back we saw one of the canal boat horses. He seemed to be a very nice Chap ! I kept my “barker” quiet when we passed him. I did however, have quite a good bark at all the grey haired elders riding in the canal boat the horse was pulling !!! For some reason they all found this quite amusing and the entire boat laughed at the same time….this of course made me bark even more ! Even the back half of that boat was laughing by the time it passed us by. Drums toe toes…… Back down the hill we went and across the old old stone bridge, this time on the other side so That Bearded Guy could take more pictures. The recent rains really had the River Dee flowing quite high and wild. But I kept Mum safe and sound by snuggling in her arms as we crossed and took pictures ! Once across we headed to the sandwich shop, only pausing once to take a picture of some shop with a VERY long name ! Once Mum came out of the sandwich shop with a deliciously loooong something wrapped in paper, it was back to the car again. This terrible Traveling Twosome tortured me with its tantalizing smell for miles and miles and miles and miles and more miles ( 5 in all folks…it was for * ev * er ! ) After about a year of driving, That Bearded Guy directed us off the main road and up a pretty steep little hill…..thank goodness that yummy smelling sandwich survived !!! Lunch time in….wait for it folks…..ENGLAND !!!  ( Mum wasn’t making noises yet because That Bearded Guy forgot to tell her we were no longer in Wales…. tee hee hee !!! )

To Be Continued…..

The River Dee from the Llangollen Bridge

The Llangollen Canal

My new friend StickFace graciously stopped for The Bearded Guy to take his picture

Cool bridge over the Llangollen Canal

Yours Truly almost out of picture (center bottom) walking along the canal

Come on Mum, I missed second breakfast and My tummy is rumbling !

My horse friend pulling a canal boat and hiding behind the guy leading him. That Bearded Guy did not check with Horsies agent first !

The River Dee from the other side of the really old stone bridge

Keeping My Mum safe on the bridge is hard work…Look !!! Isn’t that a sandwich shop over there ?

A shop with a really really long welsh name that most likely sounds like That Bearded Guy sneezed when pronounced !

For the entire set of 25 pictures taken in Llangollen by That Bearded Guy click  >> HERE <<

This is Chopper The Explorer, Grand PooBah of all I survey and King of North Wales, signing off for now…… I raise my Paw and Wag my tail in a *bark out* to my wonderful friend, Debbie with a new last name as of Oct 11, 2008, in Marana/Tucson, AZ !!!!! HellOoOooo and Thank You Debbie Of All Pet Travel ! HelloOoOo and Thank You’s to Rich and Erika, miss and love You’s ! You too,  Carmen,  All of Vail AZ, …. Lots of kisses and Wags.…Hiya’s to Maxx and Duke ! Chopper The Brave ” Going Where No Chihuahua Has Gone Before “