Moving On

We've spent the last three days in Bakersfield, California, but we'll be moving on to Death Valley tomorrow.  It was good to take a few days off, and I know George appreciated it.  Gracie sleeps on the bed as we go down the road, and so she rides fairly comfortably since the bed absorbs the bumps.  For whatever reason, George gets down on the floor between the bed and the comforter on the bed.  I think he likes being closed in and concealed.  Unfortunately, it's the bumpiest place he could possibly choose, and so he's always exhausted when we arrive at our destination.

I read once that cats will get sick if they don't get enough sleep.  I was able to scare up some articles on the internet about cats' sleeping behavior, but nothing specific about that point.  In any case, it makes me cranky when I don't get enough sleep, and so I can imagine that George would be out of sorts after being sleep-deprived for three days.  He didn't want to sit on anyone's lap, and he was spending most of his time behind the TV (which is the territory he's staked out for himself in the trailer).  After three days here, however, he's been more playful, and (Bonus!) he actually asked to go outside last night.  We don't let him out unleashed, but he stood still while we put on his harness, and he seemed excited about the prospect.  This is new behavior.  Krissy was previously the only cat that would walk with us.  With her gone, he seems to think that's his role now.  It's a good thing because I think he'll really enjoy it if he can get used to it and be less timid.  Gracie, for her part, is just as happy being inside.

So I want to remind you that I can post only if I have internet access, and with us arriving in Death Valley tomorrow, that is anything but certain.  Our internet access is via my husband's 3G cell phone, and so we must be within cell phone range to have internet capability.  I'm hopeful that we'll have some access in the Furnace Creek area, but when we visited two years ago, there was none.  If you don't hear from me, for the next several days, that will be the reason.  I will continue to write posts daily, but they won't appear publicly until I can find an internet hot spot.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that telecommunications progress has been made since our last visit, but I'm not hopeful.