The Chopper Chronicles

Aweful’s Dyke, Gauntlets & Chihuahua Eating Cattle Grids

Chopper — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:23:05 +0000

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 “

Woo Hoo….It’s A Chew Chew !! Don’t Be Fooled Folks !

Chopper — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:54:43 +0000

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……

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

Welsh Treasure,Corkscrew Tail & One Crones “..pile of rubble..”

Chopper — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 05:05:32 +0000

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 T he 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……

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

Chapter One Of A Very Curly Tail Day & No Sheep Poo

Chopper — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:06:51 +0000

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……

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

Ball Faces, A Rocket, Natterjacks & Dune Scratching

Chopper — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 06:20:01 +0000

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 “

Sheep With Headlights & Views In The Dark

Chopper — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 04:19:10 +0000

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 “

Ancient Yew Trees, A Giant Hand & One Tired Chihuahua

Chopper — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:27:59 +0000

This is the final entry about one of My big days out and about. After leaving the Chirk Aqueduct, That Bearded Guy directed Mum up into The Ceiriog Valley. He made only ONE wrong Navel Gator instruction, but since we were still headed in the right general direction, it was alright. Have I even mentioned that the welsh have insanely crazy skinny curvy lanes ? This was no exception ! Before too long we were back on track and winding our way up into another amazing green valley. No wonder much of North Wales is considered areas of outstanding natural beauty ! I had no idea My new Kingdom was so breathtakingly beautiful ! I learned something too. The Welsh like certain village names so much, that they re use them a lot. Only adding slightly different endings to distinguish them fro another village of the same name. For instance, the village of Llanarmon ( Clan Arm On ) Locally its just Llanarmon, but beyond a short distance they are referred to by Llanarmon DC or Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog. Close to My village of Gwernymynydd, there is another Llanarmon. That one is Llanarmon-yn-lal or Llanarmon YL . Give a town or village a long name, then shorten it so people who are not welsh speakers can actually say it i guess. Like the little town in North Wales with the outrageous name of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysyliogogogoch. Its referred to as Llanfair PG ( rolls handsome green Chihuahua eyes…can’t imagine why ) Mum just loves to pronounce these Welsh village names using American phonetics ! I digress however. We stopped in the quaint little village of Llanarmon DC( <- very cool link worth clicking ). Walked around a little bit absorbing the quaintness like typical tourists, even though the true reason was for me to claim just a little bit more of My ever growing domain. I posed with The Bearded Guy in front of a pub / hotel by the main crossroads ( the crossroads even had wooden signs like those you might see in an old Hollywood movie ) The pub was called The Hand. I am resisting mentioning how nice it wasn’t The Finger.Then The Bearded Guy indulged My Mums fascination for old old churchyard cemeteries. ( click here for a pic of the church ) The small old looking sign on the churchyard gate said ” no dogs” ( actually it said “Na Ci” then below it…No Dogs for the odd non Welsh speakers in a VERY Welsh area ) so Mum had to pick me up and become a Royal litter of sorts. Just as well because of the soft soft soft cushy feel to the ground. This one was full of ancient looking great huge Yew trees that had never had their leaf droppings raked away. Most of the headstones in the older section were dated in the early to mid 1700′s. Those yew trees looked a whole lot older than that ! Many of the grave markers had crumbled into small piles of slate rubble, so perhaps those even predated the 1700′s. Mum just now did a bit of research on the church ( thanks for being such a history geek Mum ! ) There is at least one yew tree in that churchyard that is over 1000 years old ! WOW ! No wonder so many of the headstones were half buried in tree droppings ! One of the mounds Mum walked around is said to be a Bronze Age Burial mound !!! The Bearded Guy snapped a few pictures for My Mum. I was feeling magnanimous and even posed for a few ! Back to My chariot once again and down the road we went in the direction we had come. This time The Bearded Guy didn’t lose us in Glyn Ceiriog. All the little villages we passed through had their own claim to extensive history ! One, Pontfadog, has the oldest Oak tree in Britain. King Henry II ( boo ) has the entire Ceiriog Woods cut down in 1165 ! Guess he heard all the werewolf legends too ! That Bearded Guy was going to take us up and over another steep mountain lane, that would take us back to Llangollen the back scenic way. When we had gotten to the top ridge, the road had evidently been washed out and there was a sign saying it was closed. Ok, this was NOT his fault….but I still raised a brow and began renovation ideas for the back window ledge ! Instead of going back down the ridiculously steep lane we had just climbed with the chariots fingernails, off along the ridge-top we went. The Bearded Guy decided against taking the little road that was for the diverted traffic from the closed one ( did not trust those kinds of diversions ) and since he had found the road we had taken on his map…all was good. I must admit, the views from top there were tremendous ! Mum stopped a few times to let The Bearded Guy take some pictures before the road descended towards Llangollen. We came around a corner, and there in the distance, was the Castle Mum and I were beginning to think The Bearded Guy was pulling our legs about ! Chirk Castle sure looked big !! From what The Bearded Guy said, a family actually lived in part of that castle until very very recently ! The National Trust finally convinced them to move i guess . Mum stopped the car and The bearded Guy jumped out and snapped a few pictures. Sighs heavily….evidently they do not allow Grand PooBahs inside. They will only let Me on the grounds ( which I understand is HUGE and criss crossed with lots of paths ) Not in the formal gardens though…drums handsome Chihuahua toe toes ! I suppose ONE of Edward I’s 700 year old Welsh Marcher fortresses can be claimed as Mine by proxy ! Grins a Charismatically Handsome Chihuahua grin…now which one will I let leave My marks…Mum or That Bearded Guy ?? It was a nice drive home, and a truly wonderful day. I visited and experienced so many ancient places, I was almost afraid my sniffer would give out. My marking leg sure was getting tired and stiff !! The kind of awesome day that took three blogs to tell everyone about !!! Thank you Bearded Guy for the great tour of parts of North Wales ( and England…looks at Mum and snickers…tee hee hee )

Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog AKA Llanarmon DC

Cripes Almighty !! smile will you, people might think you don’t like Chihuahua’s

Are we done yet? The pub’s still open. Make mine a Guinness !

Very Ancient Yew tree and old headstones in Saint Garmons Churchyard

Ssshhhh !! I’m hiding because the sign on the gate says “No Dogs” in two languages !

Riding on My Royal Barge ( well Mums back…was not allowed down on the ground except for a quick dash under a tree ! )

View over the Ceiriog Valley

Looking back in the direction we had just come from

Chirk Castle from a distance ( Mum was stopped in the middle of a crazy skinny curvy welsh lane ! )

One VERY tired and content Grand PooBah a mile from home after an excellent day !

For the complete set of 30 Ceiriog Valley Pictures, 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 “

CheekyDucks, AquaDucks, ViaDucks & Tasteful Irish Blessings

Chopper — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 08:22:45 +0000

Still continuing from yesterdays post, brings me to the long anticipated Lunch Time ! After smelling a delicious sandwich for about 100 miles, ( 5 actually, but it seemed like 100 to this Sensitive Handsome Macho Pink Chihuahua nose ! ) we pulled into another little parking area beside the same canal that runs through Llangollen, just further down the road near Chirk. That Bearded Guy kept telling Mum there was a huge castle in Chirk, but we didn’t see even a glimpse of one. We trundled out of my chariot and walked just a short ways to a nice peaceful bench along this canal for lunchtime. WAY over due in My not so humble opinion, as I had already missed second breakfast ! Didn’t even Scratch and Sniff My way over to the bench I was so famished ! There were a few ducks around, but not many so I didn’t really pay them any mind. We all sat down and That Bearded Guy unwrapped the sandwich. I am telling you, folks…ducks came from EVERYWHERE. They even came swinging out from the overhead trees, I swear it ! Big ducks, little ducks, medium sized ducks, Mallards, and even a herd of those big ol white Jemima Puddle Duck kind. Cheeky cheeky ducks…even worse than cheeky sheep !!! Never have I met such a cheeky bunch before !!! They obviously did not know who I was !!! Never before has The Grand PooBah, King of North Wales been mobbed by ducks ! Needless to say they didn’t get any of My…er…the sandwich ! I let Mum have some sandwich for driving the chariot, and I even magnanimously let That Bearded Guy have some for holding the map ( and really, all in all, he did a very decent job Navel Gatoring ) Lunch devoured, off we went to stroll along the canal again. The Chirk Aqueduct and Viaduct were this stops attraction !! Not far down the path I met up with a Westie walking his peoples back from the direction we were going. He began, by nosing respectfully, although I could feel some underlying hostility. Next thing I knew he was trying to have a go at me !!! Never in my life have I met such a cheeky bunch of creatures ! First the ducks, now this insolent Westie !! Luckily for him, his people had him leashed and scurried him away before I really let fur fly ! To make my displeasure well known I did a really deep scratching and left a reminder marker beside the canal. Rolls handsome green Chihuahua eyes…Mum, picked it up in a bag and threw it away as usual. Drums toe toes and looks indignant. She tossed it in a bin belonging to an empty holiday cottage rental beside the canal. The Bearded Guy was afraid someone would greet us on the return stroll grumpily swinging the bag and looking mean. Mum being a cheeky Yank didn’t care…. Before I knew it there we were at the aqueduct. Impressive indeed with the much taller viaduct right beside it !! The view of the Chirk River and valley far below was quite impressive. Bright green dotted with ships….er…sheep. Mum kept asking The Bearded Guy to take pictures of it and could not figure out why he was hesitant and kind of turning a funny shade of grey. THEN she remembered his distinct aversion to heights !!! I think he is contagious, because I have to say, it wasn’t too thrilling for me either ! We walked across anyway and found this really cool long dark tunnel on the other side…right behind this little sign that said ” Welcome To Wales” !!! Mum sputtered a very Irish sputter, stammered a bit, turned a funny color herself, sputtered some more, pointed at it and gave The Bearded Guy a very unusual look ! Stammered some more and finally spit out…”…You mean I ate lunch….in….( more sputters )….ENGLAND ?? ” Then she made a sound that sounded very much like a cross between an angry Donald Duck and a mad hen ! Well, I guess THAT explained those cheeky ducks and insolent Westie !!!! The Bearded Guy just looked innocent and honestly said he had forgotten it was England on the other side of the aqueduct, and went on to say it was an area that has been a border region much in dispute over the years. This made her feel better. Mum and I wanted to walk through the long dark tunnel, but The Bearded Guy was suffering from ‘Tall Aqua Duck Syndrome’ so we walked back across the aqueduct and watched him turn funny colors again !! Mum managed to take a picture of me half way back across, but it was veto’d during the downloading…it was not a very flattering shade of green I had turned, and it clashed with my Handsome Macho Pink Chihuahua nose. The Bearded Guy took a picture of My Mum standing next to the “Welcome To England” sign on the other side. She had something stuck to her mouth as he snapped it though ! I left enough peemails on the way back to the car to effectively reclaim the disputed border region for Wales. The dispute is now forever ended ( until it rains again anyway )! Such is the life of The Grand PooBah and King Of North Wales ! Back to My chariot and My Throne cushion position ready to steer from the aft once again, and we were off down the road to yet another destination !!!

To Be Continued……..

Looking through The Chirk Viaduct towards The Ceiriog Valley

Chirk Viaduct with a bit of the Llangollen Canal

The Chirk River

Ships in a sea of green

The Bearded Guy turning funny colors and feeling…um…woozy

Looking towards the Ceiriog Valley with a nice viaduct frame

Nice shot of both the Aqueduct and Viaduct we had just crossed

Mum with something stuck on her mouth and looking pleased to be back in England. Guess she was wearing the perfect bozo. It says ” Pog Mo Thon “ ( A tasteful Irish Blessing )

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 “

U-Turns, Raging Rivers, StickFace & Sandwich Torture

Chopper — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:30:04 +0000

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 “

Thou Shalt Not Poo In An Abbey & Steering From The Aft

Chopper — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:23:31 +0000

This has really been an exciting week for me !! Let me first begin by saying Hello and Congratulations to my wonderful friend Debbie of All Pet Travel ! Today is her Wedding Day. We truly hope its everything they want it to be, and wish them all a lifetime of Happiness and Love !!

I have officially declared this week to be a full 5 Curly Tail and an Extra Wag Week !!! My oh My have I been busy claiming new Territory and ended a LONG running border dispute between England ( boooo ) and Wales ( yaaay ) Its now Welsh again, this small region of former dispute ! The Adventure Mum and That Bearded Guy took me on will have to be blogged in Chapters, so more about how I ended the border dispute in a later chapter !

The day started not unlike the others, except The traveling Two were up earlier. That Bearded Guy fixed My perfectly cooked Chopper sized fresh Welsh sausage almost immediately after waking up. I usually have morning Walkies before breakfast, so I was suspicious that something had been planned ! The weather was grand, so The Coat wasn’t a worry…. Got my walkies right after I ate, then watched as the car was loaded with all KINDS of things ! Maps, My Throne cushion from the kitchen, My tunnel from the Lounge, My water bowls from the bedroom, Jackets, and a few other things stuffed in the glove box. Before I knew it we were all off up the road. Once again on one of the crazy skinny curvy welsh roads that has become familiar this last week. Driving My chariot from the aft rudder is darn hard work on these crazy skinny curvy Welsh roads !!! Might just have to raise My fees ! Up and over The Horseshoe Pass again. This time We were early enough that there was very little traffic and the cafe on top was almost deserted. Still a whole lot of cheeky sheep though !!!!! The trees have all started to put on their Fall coats, so it was more colorful this time which added to the breathtaking beauty of the area. Before I knew it we were almost at our first destination. Of course That Bearded Guy directed us correctly. THEN decided it was a wrong turn, and had Mum pull back out onto the road again. THEN changed his mind again, and had Mum turn around and go back to where he had directed us in the first place !!! Drums toe toes and considers giving the Aft Rudder job to That Bearded Guy and taking over as the Naval Gator…but alas…That Bearded Guy would never fit in the back window !!! In a blink we were at The Valle Crucis Abbey near Llangollen in North Wales. I am telling you folks, this place really hummed !!! My tail curled instantly. It was hard waiting for that Traveling Twosome to get sorted out and on the way to investigate ! We were the only ones around, which was very nice indeed ! Valle Crucis is really rich in history and lore…even before it was an Abbey founded in 1201 by Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor. The sun was just rising over the mountains, so it was bright and cool. Perfect for My pursuit of leaving peemails and scratch and sniffing. This place used to belong to Cadw , but it’s now mine Mine MINE ! All due respect to all the friendly and serene Ghosties and Spirits still hanging around all over the place ! That Bearded Guy took a lot of pics. So did Mum. The first inside “room” we went in was really dark…only one window. It really hummed in there ! But a good kind of humm . A very moving place. SO moving in fact, that it appealed to My ever generous nature and I decided to follow tradition and leave a gift. Sighs heavily Mum had the nerve to pick it up in one of the bags tied to my lead though !!! I think my homage was duly noted however, because next thing i knew I found myself in a giant stone bowl having my picture taken !!! (( holy sh*t ! )) Next time I promise I won’t be so moved by the experience ! The place really was awesome ! Especially since we pretty much had a private tour of the place…..well except for the two guys doing some surveying work around back by the monks old fish pond ! Since they had not found it fit to check with me first about entering my new domain…..I had a very good bark at them !! We shall return to Valle Crucis Abbey again ! More pics, peemails and I was trundled back into My chariot and headed on down the road to another very historic place, rich in history, Llangollen, Land of Myth and Legend.

Valle Crucis Abbey near Llangollen

You really think the girlie chihuahuas will like My serious reverent look?

I hope no Chihuahuas were given baths in that stone tub on the lower left !

Oops !! You mean a poo wasn’t a good gift to leave in an Abbey !??

Hope this wasn’t a Chihuahua boiling bowl !!!

Umm…Ewww…there is something green growing in My bowl !!!

I behaved in this room !

This place really has a serene but hopping humm to it !

Fearless and Charismatically Handsome Grand PoohBah and King of North Wales Having a good bark at some surveyors.

I will definitely be returning again to this new addition of My Domain !!

That’s it for this Chapter. Check back soon for Chapter two..Llangollen ( pronounced Clan goff lyn ) in The Dee Valley

To see the entire set of 47 fantastic pictures taken by the Traveling Twosome at Valle Crucis Abbey click >> HERE <<

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

Chopper The Brave

” Going Where No Chihuahua Has Gone Before “