Chapter 18: Sante Fe

“On the road againGoin’ places that I’ve never been
Seein’ things that I may never see again
And I can’t wait to get on the road again
“

-Willie Nelson

All creatures rely on routine for day-to-day existence, humans are creatures of routine just like any other creature. A major change will happen disrupting our previous routines and before you know it we’ll create a new routine.

Breaking camp was starting to become routine for us, everyone had a pretty good idea what needed to be done and there was very little discussion needed. After a quick breakfast we fell into our new routine and were on the road in just over an hour. Even that stupid cat had seemed to relax and was curled up on the seat between Matilda and Mila as I pulled out to hit the freeway.

Sonya was going to return the rental truck and take an internet taxi from there to the truck stop outside of town where we would meet up. I needed to empty the septic tanks and top off the fuels so it was a convenient stop. We were on the road to Santa Fe before 9 a.m.

Santa Fe ended up being about seven hours away. We didn’t push straight through as we weren’t in a hurry; we’d stop at the rest areas every few hours and stretch our legs. Mila appreciated those stops a lot, however I did get some funny looks from travelling families as I walked Abigail around the “Pet Area”. It surprised me that Abigail caught on pretty quickly that this was the place to do her business; this was a smart horse who apparently preferred a clean stall.

Santa Fe was a full homestead internet rental to camp at. I don’t know how Sonya found these places, but they were perfect. There was even a barn with paddock and small attached pasture for Abigail. We had full use of the house but it seemed more of a hassle so we simply followed our new routine, set-up camp, dined and then each of us slipped off into our private worlds for the evening.

The next morning started early and after chores and breakfast were completed we all headed out for the day’s business. I was going to meet my stud dog today; Sonya would pick up our deliveries and take care of any personal business she needed to deal with. I was taking Mila with me and Matilda climbed in with us. When I dropped Sonya at the rental shop surprisingly Matilda stayed with me in the truck.

So Sonya was off on her own and I had Matilda and Mila riding along to meet the new dog; I had reached the point where I didn’t ask anymore and simply accepted whatever the women folk decided was going to happen. So much for my “manly man” persona.

I called up the breeder and told him where I was, he allowed that I should be there in about thirty minutes or so and gave me some basic directions. I punched his info into the GPS and off we went.

I arrived about when he said I would and he greeted us out in the drive, his name was Frank and he had a nice small spread – probably about ten acres and it was pretty. Matilda, Mila and I were invited inside where we met his wife Anne and were offered coffee, naturally I showed proper manners and accepted. We sat down at their kitchen table and had a pleasant pre-business conversation; he strategically took that time to meet and evaluate Mila. I said the right things and even Matilda smiled at the correct moments but still she kept to herself to herself.