The Chopper Chronicles

Hello again folks. I know it’s been a few days since anything new has been posted. Things got a little crazy around here, and I needed a full day to recover from my adventure down a cattle grid full of stinging nettles !!!

I left off last time when we were headed off to ride the Chew Chew in Llanberis. ( for all you Yank Chihuahua’s, the double Ll in Llanberis, Llangollen, Llanarmon etc…is pronounced as a “CL” combination as in clan, but only at the beginning…double L’s in the middle of a welsh word is totally different ) Anyway…..after an exhilarating visit to My new Welsh Castle, Dolbadarn, we walked down the road a short bit to the Llanberis railway to ride on a Chew Chew train. This sounded like an excellent idea to me ! It was not my very first train ride. I have been on a commuter train that runs between San Francisco, California, and San Jose, California when I was going to the San Jose Airport headed for Las Vegas, Nevada. That wasn’t a Chew Chew type train however, and I really thought a Chew Chew train sounded fantastic !! I mean, how many trains actually allow chewing ?? That Bearded Guy went in the little station house and bought our tickets. I was slightly miffed about the fact that they misunderstood and my ticket said I was, of all things, ….a dog…( rolls handsome green Chihuahua eyes ) AND they misspelled Chihuahua and it said Ci under the dog part ( ok ok so Ci is dog in Welsh….a Chihuahua cannot be expected to remember EVERYTHING when excited about riding a Chew Chew ! ) The Chew Chew train had not arrived yet, but there was a fair amount of people milling about waiting for it. I, of course, received a great deal of adoring attention from quite a few admirers. There were also a steadily increasing amount of people with dogs showing up !!! Make sense that a handful of dogs would be riding this Chew Chew….As The Grand PooBah, King of North Wales, I was expecting a private car anyway. All was right in My world….New Castle, warm and snug inside my Mum’s bozo ( hooded sweatshirt to those of you new to my blog ) I had my two favorite servants attending me…it was all good to go ! Then…rattling and roaring up the track, clackity clacking it’s way towards us, was this hideous, loud…..thing….belching great monstrous Chihuahua choking clouds of absolutely wretched smelling, vile black and white smoke….and it screamed at me !!!!!! CHOOOOO CHOOOOO it screamed. Well I might be known as Chopper The Brave, Grand PooBah of All I Survey, King Of North Wales… but there IS a limit, folks !!!!! This was far and beyond anything I have ever experienced !!! I promptly left the warm snug confines of Mum’s bozo and tried to climb up over her head and into her right ear ! I couldn’t get a clear view of what it was exactly because it was sending great huge plumes of black and white smoke everywhere ! What I DID know was this idea just wasn’t going to work out…Chew Chew or not, I wasn’t going to stick around….I have plenty of perfectly excellent chew toys and rawhides at HOME ! Ohmygoddess me this was terrible !!! It screamed CHOOO CHOOO again and emerged from the smoke. Ok, so it wasn’t very big at all, in fact a LOT smaller then the train I have previously ridden on. It’s the smaller things one really has to look out for though !! A Rottweiler with a chip on it’s shoulder was more inviting than this ! The Torturing Twosome, for some reason, were terribly excited about this fume belching horrendous monster, and ignored all my protests and actually got into the last car this “Choo Choo” screaming monstrosity was pulling along behind it ! Ok, so maybe it would not be too bad if I burrowed deep into My Mum’s bozo…it WAS cold after all, and she was also wearing a nice fluffy down jacket. It gets worse here, folks ! That small but mighty noxious smoke spewing thing came chugging right beside us and made a huge lurching racket attaching itself right in front of our car !!!!! To put it mildly, I was NOT amused. Remind Me to put this Torturing Tetched Twosome on report ! Before long it started going, vile, smelly smoke belching out the side of a stack on it’s snout. That Bearded Guy was all excited…snapping a million pictures along the way. Mum was excited too and did a lot of ” oooh’ing and ahh’ing ” At one point Mum had the camera…so I decided I would be much safer tucked under That Bearded Guys arm….after all…he IS much bigger and stronger than My Mum is ! After what seemed like for-ev -ver, it came to the end of it’s tracks along the lake. Everyone got out and walked around for awhile….I stayed inside my Mums bozo. Others and their dogs milled about reading about the slate mine history of the area and letting their dogs run around. Not ONE TIME did I see any actual “chewing” going on ! Thankfully, during this small break….that horrid little CHOO CHOO screaming, smoke belching monster, jumped onto another little piece of track and went to the back of the cars to pull us all back to where we started from. That Bearded Guy was still snapping pictures like He had never seen a lake before, so I had to crawl into the back of Mum’s down jacket for safety and security reasons. We made another brief stop so the Engine Ear could feed and water the stinky monster. Guess all that smoke belching is thirsty work ! Personally, I was all for walking back to the station at this point…it was not all that far up the track. Sighs…unfortunately The Torturous Tetched Twosome were determined to ride all the way to the station. This time the Corn Duck Tier put a nice big Chocolate Labrador Retriever ( and his entourage ) into My car for added protection. This Chihuahua has never been so glad to get to any station of any sort before !!! While this seemed to be a very enjoyable excursion for My terribly Tetched entourage, not at any point was I amused. Worse yet….I did not at any time, see ANY Chewing going on !!! The walk back to the chariot was fairly uneventful aside from the fact the air was actually breathable once again. That Bearded Guy brought out the large roast beef bap…er….cob, ( nice round sandwich bread to us Yankee Doodle Chihauhua’s ) he had bought at Edwards of Conwy…..FINALLY, something to really chew !!! They fed me My bits minus the lettuce, purple onion,cucumber and tomato. It was a nice gesture on their parts I suppose…..however they are still going on report !

This ticket should have been My first clue…it said I was a DOG !!

The Chihuahua choking, bloody great red monster, belching clouds of absolutely wretched smelling, vile black and white smoke while screaming ” CHOOO CHOOO ” coming clickity clackity up the track.( I was trying to protect My Mum from the inside of her ear )

The Chihuahua choking, bloody great red monster, belching clouds of absolutely wretched smelling, vile black and white smoke while screaming ” CHOOO CHOOO “, as it came around to grab My private train car !

Ohmygoddess this is a TERRIBLE idea. Forget the Chew Chew Mum ! Let’s just get OFF this thing !

I think I see a place where I might be able to Chew Chew My way out of here !

Look over there ! A place to get off at…looks perfect to ME !

A perfect place to escape the Chihuahua choking, bloody great red monster, that belches clouds of absolutely wretched smelling, vile black and white smoke while screaming ” CHOOO CHOOO “

One of about a zillion pictures That Bearded Guy took of Llyn Padarn Lake.

Another lake picture and Welsh landscape.

The National Slate Museum as seen through Chihuahua choking absolutely wretched smelling stuff that the Chew Chew train spews.

Old slate workings

Due to multiple requests, I have added a slightly better picture of the Chew Chew engine. Since I was so busy protecting Mum and That Bearded Guy , they neglected to get a really good picture of the actual train cars being pulled by that The Chihuahua choking, bloody great red monster, belching clouds of absolutely wretched smelling, vile black and white smoke while screaming ” CHOOO CHOOO “

To see the entire set of well over a zillion lake and train pictures that The Bearded Guy took on the Chew Chew ride, ( ok ok…it’s really only 43 ) Click right >>HERE<<

This is Chopper The Choking Chew Chew rider, 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 “

Have any of you folks out there ever been somewhere that just feels overwhelmingly good ? Even better than when you were a small child and awoke on Christmas morning and discovered Santa Claus had been particularly generous. Like walking into a room full of all your favorite things and closest friends. Maybe stepped around a corner and discovered love at first sight. This chapter of my blog has me really excited. Not just because I was discovering a new place and claiming it as My own, either. No, this place is different. Kind of like that first breath of fresh cool air after being cooped up in a hot smokey airless room for hours. Oooops, in My excitement to share it all, I am getting ahead of Myself however.  After we left Conwy, it was decided to go inland to Llanberis instead of Anglesey. There is a steam train in Llanberis that would be closing for the season soon that Mum and That Bearded Guy wanted to ride.   Angelesy would still be there another day. We drove about 24 miles on very nice crazy curvy roads, but thankfully, no more rain. This time I did not have the rear wiper intermittently popping up to grab my bum ! The scenery between Conwy and Llanberis was every bit as beautiful as the rest of North Wales that I have seen so far. We pulled into Llanberis and into a car park that was right beside a grand lake to decide what to do first. Flocks of people were walking towards the Llanberis Town Centre ( ‘center’ to us Yankee Doodle Chihuahuas ) and That Bearded Guy asked Mum if she wanted to park and head that way as well. Too late….Mum had already spotted a silhouette of something up on a hill down the valley a little ways. ” What’s that thing up there with a hole in it…? “, she asked. Suddenly That Bearded Guy remembered there was a castle up there. The crone had always refered to it as “..a pile of rubble..” not worth the time to see, so he had forgotten it was even there. Needless to say I almost had to hold on to My fur as Mum pulled out of that parking lot and headed up the road in that direction ! Personally, I would much rather walk up to a castle ruin than fight my way through tourists in some town centre ! The Traveling Twosome found the right place to park the chariot without too much trouble at all. Mum got me all leashed up while That Bearded Guy went to put money in the parking permit machine. It sure felt good there, despite the wierdo putting off some strange vibes sitting in the backseat of his car with the door open and parked near the chariot. The Bearded Guy returned with the parking permit and a grin as wide as The Grand Canyon. When he had gone to pay the machine, there was a very wet 10 pound note on the ground. This was really getting off to a great start ! We zipped across the road and crossed over a seriously babbling stream. ( it’s actually the river Afron Hwch ) The woods were nice and thick.  It was a steep, short and fairly easy trail upwards under a full tree canopy. Nice nice nice !!! Mine mine MINE !!! It felt so good up there I could already feel My handsome Chihuahua tail starting to curl ! We turned a small corner and there it was, Dolbadarn Castle. Wooo Hooo and Wowzers !!!!!!! I could not get through that kissing gate fast enough !! At the kissing gate, there was a stone hut, built by Cadw perhaps, but not anything old or special. There was also some old crone standing there waiting for some guy to catch up with her. She was quite surprised to see us and obviously uncomfortable by our presence. A round of serious barks and “Be Gone’s” took care of them immediately. Once I had taken care of the interlopers, I turned my attention to the Castle. I am telling you folks, I could feel My tail curl all the way around and not only touch itself where it started, it headed back around again for another revolution ! It was awesome !!! Better than a freshly opened bag of Schmackos ! There is something about this place that really sings ! Mum and That Bearded Guy felt it too. I could hardly contain myself waiting for them to take pictures from the outside of the castle…I wanted inside !! Not because it was kind of windy and a bit cold…because it was calling Me ! Finally Mum got around to taking me up the main stairway, My tail started wagging all by itself. It had a mind of it’s own it was so happy. Tail wagging is usually reserved for extra special people, not places ! Luckily for Mum she always keeps My lead on me or I would have been up those interior stairs in a Labs wag ! That Bearded Guy doesn’t do heights, and the skinny steep circular stairway didn’t have a rope against the wall to hold onto, so he stayed below. Most people would opt to crawl up those stairs for a view from a top window hole. I just had to see the view though ! Mum just had to see the view too, and heights do not bother her in the least. With a solemn promise to NOT lean out any windows to take pictures, up up up Mum and I went. WOW those were crazy skinny curvy stairs ! Mum was carrying me, My lead, her tortoise purse, the camera, and a small bag with something in it that I was going to leave on the trail up to the castle. She must have been excited as well, because had she been thinking, everything except the camera, and Myself could have been left down below. ( rolls handsome green Chihuahua eyes ) Good thing Mum is part mountain goat and has built in 4 wheel traction on her shoes ! We got all the way up to the top, and some one had put a grate across the top most step preventing us entry onto the top of the tower ! Drums toe toes in disgust !! I posed for a picture perched on the upper most window ledge possible. The view was fantastic from up there ! Llyn Peris ( lake ) to the right, and Llyn Padarn to the left.  No wonder The Welsh Princes of Gwynedd chose this place to build a castle ( well that and the strategic location for defending their realm.. ) Staying true to her word, Mum just stuck the camera out the window and snapped a picture of That Bearded Guy drying the 10 pound note he found, by waving it in the wind. Getting down took longer, but we made it without any incidents. I did notice Mum was in a bit of a hurry to find a place to tinkle afterwards though ! It was getting colder, and the Llanberis Lake Railway steam train would be departing the station soon, so off we went back down the trail. We will be returning to Dolbadarn Castle again for a longer stay and more scratch and sniffing next time !!! Goes to show…one old crones “..pile of rubble…” is another Chihuahua’s Magic Place ! Saying farewell to the Spirits of such people as Llwelyn ap Iorwerth ( The Great )   Llwelyn ap Gruffydd ( The Last ) & Owain Goch, to name a few, was hard to do. Knowing that we shall all return to really explore and spend some time there made it easier. I sure hope when we come back next time, it’s deserted except for ourselves again ! No wonder is considered the finest of all the native Welsh built Castles.

Along the trail up to ( My ) Dolbadarn Castle

Welcome to Choppbadarn Castle….er..I mean Dolbadarn Castle

My Dolbadarn Castle. I actually stood on the window ledge for a picture !!!

( second from the top to the right )

Ta Daaa !!! Tis I, King of North Wales in My Dolbadarn castle tower !

Nice view of Llyn Padarn from My tower

Nice view of That Bearded Guy drying his 10 pound note….is that a bald spot i see ??

First part of the stairway down from My tower

The last bit of stairs….finally I see daylight !!

Tis I, Chopper The Brave, surveying all that is Mine

This is awesome Mum. With my super Chihuahua vision I can see the sheep poo you trod in earlier

Looking back as Mum was dragging me away from My tower

For the complete set of 31 pictures taken at Dolbadarn click ->> HERE <<-

This is Chopper The Explorer, Grand PooBah of all I survey and King of Dolbadarn Castle & 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 “

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 “

Some days are just out and out 5 Curly Tail Days. This was no exception ! First was the early morning trek up the Moel Famau track. Then after second breakfast, That Bearded Guy suggested a trip to the beach !! Being a beach baby, born in Fort Bragg, California, and raised just south of town along the coast for my first year…I did not have to be asked twice. In fact, this suggestion had Me so excited that I almost loaded My Royal Chushion and water bowl into the chariot Myself. This destination was Talacre Beach, Talacre Dunes, and The Point of Ayr Lighthouse ! VERY cool !!!! The drive there was the usual crazy skinny curvy roads with spectacular views. Mum was surprised how close we are to the beach. In about 30 mins I was eagerly pulling My way to a boardwalk through the dunes. My Macho Pink Handsome Chihuahua nose was going a mile a minute. Talacre Dunes is considered an SSSI ( A Site of Special Scientific Interest ) This is because of the Natterjack Toad. The dunes at Talacre are the only place this endangered specis of Toad can be found in Wales. The Talacre Dunes and beach are very interesting indeed. Besides the really cool Point of Ayr Lighthouse,  known for its bird population, the Point of Ayr is the Northernmost place in mainland Wales. The village of Talacre is the northernmost settlement in mainland Wales. So here I was claiming a rather historic ( the lighthouse was built in 1776 ) and special area and headed to one of my favorite places….the beach ! This beach and its dunes are well known for a great many things, but no one mentioned anything about what I saw the most of everywhere. BallFaces. Yes, folks….BallFaces. Everywhere I looked. There they were, in all shapes, colors and sizes, heading to the beach too ! Never had i seen such a wide variety of balls either ! While I am not a particular fan of the ball chase trend, I do have a great appreciation for the happiness and joy it brings to Dogs and their servants who throw the balls for them. Luckily it was a HUGE long expanse of beach and once we started strolling along, it seemed to be our own private place. A few dogs and their people passed us by, ( My dawdling duo was really taking their time today ) including a hugely giant once white but now wet long curly haired chap with legs as long as stilts. At first, I thought I would have to get My Growler out because he came bounding up and really gave me a good sniff. I was protecting Mum from up in her arms and this boyo was almost as tall as My Mum ! Turns out he was a very respectful chap, just very excited to be walking along the beach with his entourage. The next few times he bounced My direction it was quite alright, after all, I was getting all the proper respect due to The King Of North Wales. We walked for a really long ways before Mum declared she had to tinkle. Rolls Handsome green Chihuahua eyes. There was only bouncy giant and his entourage way up beach from us, and some unfortunate dogless walkers way down beach from us, but Mum just wouldn’t use a nice clump of seaweed I graciously found for her on the beach. She dragged me way up onto a small dune hillock along the beach instead and precariously perched behind it. Knowing that she was in a rush and concerned about the walkers way down beach, I magnanimously stood beside her and scratched madly while she tinkled. ( I knew she wouldn’t take the time to do this ) I have to say that scratching dry sand was a LOT different than all the scratching I had been doing down in the wet sand of the retreating tide ! One would still think she would be a bit more appreciative than she was. The Dawdling Duo picked up a few rocks, beach worn coal, a few cockle shells ( little clam shells to us Yankee Doodle Chihuahuas ) and some razor clam shells, and decided it was time to turn back. By the time we walked past the Point of Ayr Lighthouse the tide had retreated enough that people were standing around it. I could not believe how many crazy dogs ( mostly Labrador Retrievers ) were swimming and playing in the cold Irish Sea !!!! It was insane and almost embarrassing to see how undignified they were acting splashing about in herds ! Giant respectful white shaggy tall dog from earlier did some splashing about in the shallows chasing a stick and leaping through the water, but nothing like this daft festival of swimmers ! Once back in My chariot I had to admit I was once again, one very tired Grand PooBah and King of North Wales. I enjoyed every minute of this bright sunny day though. That Bearded Guy told us that the area of beach between low and high tide, by law and tradition belongs to the Queen of England. Ha !!! It’s now ALL mine Mine MINE !!!

Point of Ayr Lighthouse and The Talacre Dunes

Point Of Ayr Lighthouse

I’m impressed Mum. Someone built a rocket on the shore. Can we send That Bearded Guy up in it ?

Hmmm…. Its not poo Mum. Feel free to tread on it.

Look, Mum !!! Footprints ! Do you think Robinson Crusoe had a dog Friday ? I had best protect you from in your arms again !

I now charge extra for posing with That Bearded Guy

Looking south on Talacre Beach

Look at those totally mad dogs playing in The Irish Sea ! No way am I dipping My toe toes in there!

This is Chopper The Beach King ( sorry Queenie ) , 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 “