We Are Thankful For A Safe And Successful Trip

We are thankful for a safe and successful trip to Oklahoma and back. The weather was problematic, and Nelson’s nose work trial was changed up a bit because of weather, but overall, we had a great trip. Mom appointed me and Nelson to be the official weather watchers and we did a good job when we were not sleeping.

Our first travel day was gorgeous! We made it to Kansas City making a couple of stops along the way which we will go over in other posts. Our first night was at a Drury Inn which we love. The night was fairly short but we all slept really well.

Day two we had a long list of stops to make and it was raining. Every time I got into the car I checked the back to see if Madison was in her riding place, but she was not there. She was with us, though, as we kept coming across Madison Streets when looking for spots we wanted to take in. The rain also stopped whenever we got out to take photos which was good but weird. Above is a huge dinosaur we found at a bowling alley.

We got to our hotel in Shawnee, Oklahoma around dinnertime in the rain. After eating, we all went to bed, Nelson in his place under the bench. The guy refuses to sleep in bed like the rest of us.

Our navigator was awakened by sirens just before two am but Mom didn’t wake up. Then the knock on the door came and we were told to get into the middle of the hotel in the hallway because tornadoes were coming. Our navigator said they were headed right for us. The four of us got dressed, meaning collars for Nelson and me, and headed into the hallway. It was a good half hour before we could go back to our room. The storms turned a bit and missed us, but the wind and rain was bad!

In the morning, the power was out. Mom didn’t know if our trial would be cancelled, it was chaotic in our room. We didn’t hear anything about cancelling, so we got ready and headed to my Elite Trial about six miles away. How would it go having not slept half the night? It was held at a company that makes sprinkler systems and I got to search all kinds of “guy” things like machinery, tools, stuff like that.

Our morning was fabulous and I found all the hides in both searches. In the afternoon they modified everything so we could finish early because storms and tornadoes were coming again. It was very hard and in my first afternoon search I found nothing along with half of the other competitors. Mom kind of flipped out at the time but hey, they were tough hides. Above is my ninety second, four fork lift search with one to four hides. I found one in the pallets and was getting my snacks.

The video is from my first search of the day where I found all five hides, which was during the search and unknown number, and earned third place. In the background you can hear the storm whipping up against the metal building, but I was not scared at all. Mom said our team is finally starting to really understand each other and I think she is right.

This is my third Elite Trial and my first placement. Olivia also got her first placement in her third Elite Trial. We had a ton of fun searching on Sunday but then decided to go to the hotel which still was without power and leave the area. Storms again was not sounding fun so we left and drove to Wichita, Kansas for the night. It rained hard the entire two and a half hour drive but we arrived safe and sound. We are thankful for a safe and successful trip despite the many hurdles we were given.

I’m joining Brian’s Home Blog in the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!