Bridget wakes up with a yelp this morning.
A quick exam reveals she’s developed a muscle cramp or something. She’s sensitive to being handled and is obviously lame. “Well, sorry Spike, no long walk for us this morning. Bridget needs to take it easy.”
I set up my lounge chair on the sunny side of the BLT.
Bridget always stays close by me. My thinking is I’ll sit in the sun and read, and Bridget will lie down near me. Her muscles will be warmed by the sun. Maybe the heat will help her feel better. I bury a baby aspirin in cheese and she takes it. Of course, Spike has to have some cheese, too!
Spike soaks in his pond and walks in the mud, unfortunately in that order.
I gather up papers, cardboard, dog food bags and such and burn them in the fire ring. It’s handy having the pond for water to douse the fire. I always use my shovel to bury the fire as well.
My Amazon order is messed up again.
Spike’s Pond is shrinking.
I wasted an hour on the phone re-explaining to the Amazon person that a general delivery address means the U.S. post office, and United Parcel will not deliver to the post office.
So if an address is General Delivery, it doesn’t make sense to assign the shipment to United Parcel.
At one point I’m so frustrated I say, “It’s like a shipping address is the United States and Amazon sends the order to Mexico. It doesn’t make any sense!”
This elicits a chuckle out of the customer representative.
She’s very understanding and calls UPS to get it “from the horse’s mouth.”
“UPS says they will deliver to the post office, but some of their drivers don’t know what General Delivery is or where the post office is located.” I’m not going to get into the complete discussion here because I’m sick of a situation that is so simple, and yet seemingly impossible, to fix. I tell her to cancel my order.
Gail comes over in the afternoon.
“Spike! You’re a mess!”
She wants me to phone her when I get to my next camp to let her know how the roads are. We exchange phone numbers and email addresses.
I set our chairs on the sunny side of the BLT. Gail says she has the same problem with Amazon.
I tell Gail I’m a bit concerned about the prediction of rain at a time when I’m planning to find a new camp at a higher elevation.
“Oh that road across from Sunset Crater is a good road. You won’t have any problem,” she reassures me. However, one thought lingers. If she’s confident the road is good, why does she want me to phone her to let her know if it’s good?
I like Gail.
She’s intelligent, well-educated, perceptive, and projects no pretenses. We cover a wide range of topics. “Remember the guy who camped over there with all the stuff, the one with the outstanding fine?” I tell her I do. He left a few days ago. His campsite was a construction of tarps and drapes making an outside room around his pick-up camper.
“Well, he really was an interesting guy. I never did get to talk to him much. One day he came over to my campsite with his arms full of books!” Gail leans forward for emphasis. “Who would’ve thought!”
I look over at the empty spot where this man camped and regret not meeting him.
“I glance at the books and they’re all different topics, really good books,” Gail continues. “Then I find a textbook on beginning Latin! So I ask him, ‘What are you doing with a Latin book?’ and he tells me, ‘I thought it would be fun to learn some Latin. I read it three times.’ “
Clouds move across the sun and the breeze turns cold, so Gail leaves.
We promise to keep in touch. I take the crew inside and give them their kibble with a few pieces of chicken. I turn on the television and scan for channels. Five channels are found, two are fuzzy, two are Spanish, and one is Brian Williams and his twitching eyebrows talking about explosives in underwear or something.
By bedtime Bridget seems in better shape.
Well, let me rephrase that. She’s not lame as before. Several times in the night she sits up and shakes her head. Her ear is bothering her. This is a recurring problem for Bridget. I don’t want to point fingers, but if she didn’t have a certain SOMEONE licking her ears all the time . . . .
rvsue
Good Morning, Sue. I’m going to respond to your UPS and Post Office (General Delivery) fiasco with Amazon person. I was in shipping for 20 years at a sheet metal shop. I know that UPS WILL deliver to a post office, but only under 1 condition. That is if they have the street address of the actual post office. They don’t go in there and try to put in a PO Box or General Delivery spot, just take it inside and leave with a postal worker, who then puts the package where it belongs. That should help you whenever you get into this situation. Just write down the Post Office street address, closest to where you are, then you can tell the shipper that address. Alot of places have their own methods of how they will ship and you don’t get a choice. Maybe that’s what the Amazon lady is meaning, versus you’re thinking she’s not making a choice you need her to use. So if you want the item, just find the street address of your choice of Post Office and give her that. Those UPS drivers probably have GPS devices and will be able to find any Post Office at the street address, so I wouldn’t be too worried about that part.
Hope Bridget heals up. Have a great day!
Writing down the post office’s street address is the advice the Amazon lady gave me. I’ll try that next time. Thanks for writing. Bridget is fine now.
Ahh come on Sue give Spike a brake. My Patches licks my ears every chance she gets and that doesn’t have me shaking my head.
Spike really, really gets in her ears and licks for a long time. It can’t be good.
It’s at least possible that you have the cart before the horse. Spike may be licking BECAUSE Bridget has a sick ear. He can smell something is wrong. I know lots of dogs will lick a wound excessively. It’s about all they can do for it.
You could be right,, but I don’t think it would account for all the licking. He licks her ears several times a day depending upon HIS mood, and it’s been every day for years.
Sue, order some Zymox from Amazon for Bridget. Put a drop or two per week in as a preventative. Jack and Lizzie were both prone to ear infections and it’s the prescription the vet gave me to fix them. Not cheap, but cheaper than at the vet – and since I’ve been using the preventative (along with cleaning), never had another ear infection.
I’ll look into it. Thanks. I wonder if it’s a chicken-or-the-egg situation. Spike licks because there’s an infection or Spike licks and makes an infection. I appreciate your help with this.
Dogs usually lick each others’ ears when there is a problem in that dog’s ears. They can smell that there is a problem. An ear infection in a dog can become life threatening and it’s possible that an ear problem causes balance problems. Older dogs jumping off things can cause injury. Especially if the dog is overweight. Dogs should have a definite waist line just in front of the hips and loose fitting skin. tat you can get a hold on.
Most all of us make judgement calls based on how people look, talk, walk, gesture, or what they drive etc.. IMO, women do this far more often than men do :). The farther people look etc. from our preferred ‘basis’, the more judgmental we are.
As a full timer attempting a UPS and/or FedEx delivery to General Delivery at a post office other than my ‘residence’ post office (that wouldn’t be to General Delivery BTW), has never worked.
The reason is because post offices will not accept delivery by UPS or FedEX unless you usually get your mail delivered to a post office box in that post office. That would not be to General Delivery either. I think they say no because they simply do not have the space for untold numbers of boxes laying around until they are picked up by General Delivery customers. They hold General Delivery mail for 20-30 days before returning it to the sender if it is not picked up within that time period. Plus, they have no way of returning any package delivered by UPS or FedEx..
And …. not all post offices have/allow/offer General Delivery service. A call to the post office before using their correct street address is a necessity.
Gary
Hi Gary,
I always call the local post office before ordering something General Delivery. The Amazon lady suggested I put the post office’s address under the words Gen. Delivery so that UPS will deliver it.
Bridget is overweight and I haven’t been able to do anything about it. Both Bridget and Spike get the same exercise every day, at a minimum, one long walk and two short walks. They get the same food and the same portions. Bridget usually gets less because Spike steals some of her food. Yet Bridget is overweight and Spike isn’t. If Bridget were my only dog I would simply put out less food. In this small space feeding two dogs it’s not easy to regulate. I do worry about her being heavy, especially with her spindly legs.
Sue, one way used to cut down on calories is to replace some of the kibble with green beans. We would also use green beans for treats.
This is interesting. Do you mean canned green beans or fresh?
Canned, but fresh cooked would be quite a treat. Probably no salt if you can find them. Our dogs love them.
I second the vote on green beans for Bridget. Canned, no salt is fine. My daughter’s dog needed surgery on her leg & the vet insisted that the dog lose weight before having surgery. So about 1/3 to half of her normal kibble serving was replaced with canned green beans until she lost the weight she needed to.
I like this! I’m going to try it.
If you warm up her serving of green beans with some juice from the can, then pour it over the kibble & stir, it will almost make a little gravy. I’ll bet she loves it!
Green beans is a natural filler used to help control the weight of dogs, used on many show dogs to help satisfy their bellies. Canned or Fresh work, make sure no salt natural or organic. Mix it in with her dog food, and you can give it to them for a treat to. If Spike really likes food and is hungery all the time like most, then it can’t hurt him either.
I’m anxious to try it. I’m going to wait until Spike is off pain meds though. I don’t want to do anything that might upset his appetite or digestion, playing it safe. The only can I have is salted anyway.
Hi Sue,
From our own experiences with receiving packages when we full-timed, as well as having been in marketing for the past 13+ years, maybe I can offer a few suggestions. Some sellers only list one way to ship, while others offer choices. If you contact the seller directly, usually they will try to accommodate you. However, if the item is something stocked and shipped by Amazon the rules might be different. On many checkout procedures, there may be alternate methods of shipping offered, and it’s up to the buyer to choose the method he prefers before submitting and finalizing the order. If there is no such alternate offered, then you have the choice of selecting another vendor who carries the same product and ships it according to your needs.
And although I agree that UPS drivers with any common sense at all should be able to find any post office in the country, and be trained to deliver packages there when requested, I think you will find it’s a matter of business “politics”. The USPS and UPS are in competition with each other, and neither understands that their methods only may not work for all people. Think about it… UPS was the one that collected for the shipping fee, so what’s in it for the post office to accept that package and have to deal with your customer service? They are already hurting for money, so that’s just an extra burden for them! I’m sure that it would be no different than the post office dropping off a package at UPS for you to pick up at one of their hubs! They both want their share of the shipping costs in order to provide that service, and they aren’t getting it!
My suggestion is to first make absolutely sure what shipping services are offered before you finalize ANY purchase. If it has to go UPS, then have it delivered either to a campground where you are actually paying to stay there (IF they will allow package receiving), or find the nearest UPS Store, and see if you can have it delivered there without having a mail box established there. If they do want a fee, most of them will rent mailboxes for about $10 a month, so you have to decide if it’s worthwhile.
But don’t blame Amazon. They deal with not only their own products, but much of what is bought there comes from third party sellers who choose their own methods of shipping. It’s up to the buyer to examine their order to make sure everything meets their needs before finalizing it. The same goes for eBay, Overstock, or any other department store that allows third-party vendors to sell there. Someone who sells DVD’s can’t be expected to ship by UPS, nor can someone who sells cast iron fireplaces be expected to ship by USPS. The vendors have to have choices, and if given a choice at all, the buyer has to decide what works for them.
Hi, John,
I wasn’t really blaming Amazon in my call. I told the lady that my problem was probably shared by many of their customers, and I think Amazon would want to fix it. For one thing,, the online ordering system does not let you specify how you want an item shipped. I would like to be able to tell Amazon in advance, if you can’t ship this via USPS, please cancel the order and let me know. I’ve never seen any place on the form where you can choose the shipping method. In fact, on the page showing the product it could say “This item ships by UPS only.” That would be helpful. Then I would know not to order it or put UPS’s address as my shipping address. As it is now, it’s a crap shoot.
I had two pending orders. One came to me beautifully through post office Gen.Del., the other was riding around in UPS trucks until I figured that out and cancelled the order.
It is an Amazon policy to not let customers choose their shipping method. They send many things by US mail, but it’s a crapshoot. From the horse’s mouth:
“While Amazon.com often sends packages via U.S. Mail, we also use UPS and FedEx. There is no way for customers to request a specific shipper. ”
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_rel_topic?ie=UTF8&nodeId=468634
Bob
Right, and there’s the rub.
You might be able to shop on Amazon, but get the same items through the “Amazon partner” who is actually sending it to you, by contacting them directly. There is usually a button to click to go directly there. Of course this way you don’t get all the Amazon guaranties or free Prime shipping.
Howdy rvsue&crew,
A damp towel warmed in the micro-wave for 10-20 seconds and placed on the ‘hurting’ place will help ease the pain!!! On Bridgit or rvsue, even!!
Good idea, Butterbean. Except I’d need to warm up the towel some other way without a microwave.
The above postings have all been most informative – I have used the “warmed” towel myself and it feels good. Thanks for bringing up the subject Sue.
You’re welcome, Emily. These postings help me, too.
Sue –
The road across from Sunset Crater was in great shape in January.
Thanks you,John! Good to know. Gail is out and about today and is going to stop by the ranger station to get clarification on rules and to ask about that camping area.
Sue…the Ranger stations have new full sized forestry map for free, they are free because they will be printing new every year.
I called on Friday and Kerry sent me 2 in the mail, picked up today. The map sure does clear up alot of questions about where and how far off the road. I tried to look at the online map but couldn’t make heads or tails of it!
Gail went to a Ranger station yesterday to pick up maps for herself,, Ken, and me. The first Ranger station was closed (on Lake Mary Rd) on a Tues. morning. The second station was “manned” by a young man who didn’t know the answer to any questions.
It is very inconvenient to have to physically appear at a ranger station, especially if you come into an area late in the day (they’re out to lunch, whatever) and you need to set up your camp. Also one ranger office doesn’t have maps for a neighboring forest district a few miles away (according to our one experience).
The maps online are hard to read. You have to know the forest road number or be familiar with the area. Different forest districts use different symbols. And one doesn’t always have internet signal. Ergghhh!
Rangers are assigned to a specific NF and only know the regs etc. in that forest. Each forest has their own version of the new regs.and may or may not have them in effect yet.
I just looked at the return address for the maps that were sent…maybe a better chance of getting them there. Forest Service, 1824 S. Thompson St. Flagstaff. Hope that helps.
Thank you!
Surely hope you figure out what to do for little Bridget….poor things and not able to tell us much about where they hurt.
She seems fine today. It must have been a temporary “charlie horse.” I didn’t think it was serious. I think lying in the sun on the warm, clay type ground helped her muscles loosen up.
Before our trip last fall that included quite a bit of dry camping I purchased an old fashioned hot water bottle to keep in the Casita “just in case”. Fortunately I didn’t need it but it’s stuck up in the corner of the overhead cabinet if I do. That might be something you want to consider adding to the BLT. With hot water in it and wrapped in a towel it could provide someplace nice and warm to lie on.
Good idea, Reine. I was going to get a small, 12volt “car blanket” but it may pull too much from my batteries. Hot water bottle would work.
I was checking out some 12V stuff and saw the “car blanket” on Amazon. The reviews were terrible. You might want to pass on that one. I think the hot water bottle was about $15 at Walmart or Walgreens. Note that it specifically says NOT to use boiling water. I think as hot as your hand can stand it is the limit.
I never really thought about the hassle of getting packages delivered to you when you have no address. We lived outside of a small town and many people had UPS delivered to the town library.
Everyone knew the librarian. Maybe you could make friends with someone like that when you are needing to order something.
Even though I’m not a fast mover, I don’t stay in one place long enough to make those kinds of relationships. Maybe someday in Ajo, because I do plan to return there each year. I find that wherever I camp, the people in the area are having to deal with a lot of campers, so individual favors are less likely to be had.
Trying to get a package delivered is one of the more frustrating things about fulltiming. Just a couple weeks ago we ordered something and verified with the seller it would be sent UPS, since the state park we were at accepted packages from UPS or Fed Ex. As it turned out, they used UPS Mail Innovations, which means UPS picks up the package from the seller and then turns it over to USPS. The park did not have mail delivery, except to a PO Box, which of course was not the address we gave. After several calls to the post office speaking with a very helpful employee, (not always the case) we managed to get the item. Luckily we were in a very small town, or I’m sure our package would have been sent back. So if a seller tells you they ship UPS, be sure to verify that it is not UPS Mail Innovations. It’s always something!
It’s a crummy situation no matter how you look at it.
I hope she is okay.
Bridget’s fine today. I haven’t noticed any more head-shaking and she’s walking okay. There are going to be days when one of us isn’t up to par!
Can you get antibiotics for animals without a prescription? Seems like I used to see that in pet stores.
I don’ t know.
Yes. I do it all the time. You can actually get Amoxicillin–same quality as the drugs human take–I carried it on my trip with me in case Jack or I got sick–of course I would get him to a vet if I felt he was sick enough to give him an antibiotic. The Zymox that I suggested was first prescribed by my vet, and I paid a fortune and a half. Amazon has it for a fraction of the cost. Same with Rutin, which Jack has to take–it and surgery saved his life a year ago. I was told I could only get it in a health food store. I think I paid $36 for the first bottle before thinking to look on Amazon. I got it for 22.39 free shipping. Exact same supplement.
This is great news! Long ago I had a dog who was attacked. Her cuts were severe. It was late on a Sunday. I happened to have one antibiotic tablet left from a previous prescription (forgot to give it, I guess). I gave it to her. On Monday the vet continued the prescription. I think he was glad she got it into her system right away. She healed up very well.
Yeah, we can all wind up far away from a weekend emergency vet. I always keep it on hand. Fortunately, the veterinarian grade is the same as the human grade so it covered both of us.
One other thing I forgot to mention (most people think I’m crazy). While I had been in the west many times, I had a bad case of altitude sickness the last time. I have since heard there is something a doctor can give you, but I didn’t know it at the time, and no one else knew about it. I was worried about Jack since I felt so miserable and thought he might not feel good either–didn’t want him to get dehydrated since he came from sea level (and we went up a lot faster than you did–you’re doing a gradual elevation). Watch S&B for dehydration – see if their gums are sticky. I took Jack to a vet twice and had them put subcutaneous fluid under his skin and check him over even though he drinks a tremendous amount of water. I figured if I was feeling so lousy, maybe he was, too-it is a bad feeling. The vet laughed, but said there really hasn’t been an awful lot of research about dogs and altitude sickness–it made me feel better about him. Next time I’ll ascend
at a slower pace and acclimate to each altitude. If you see B&S laying around without energy, as you climb, it could be the altitude.
Thanks for planting this in my subconscious. I can’t see me ascending to high altitude at a fast pace, but who knows. You are an excellent pet owner. Occasionally I’ll get a headache (very rarely) due to barometric pressure o rsomething. It’s usually when rain is threatening for a long time. At those times I wonder about S&B (I like your abbrev.) if they have headaches, too.
At first I wrote B&S, but switched it around LOL
Everyone has their little aches and pains but less weight would help for sure Your commenters have such great suggestions about both Bridget and getting packages. I wish I could be a helpful commenter but I either don’t know as much as they do or someone got there before me with my idea. But you have lots of advice so you won’t miss mine.
Packages for full timers is a problem if you don’t stay in a campground for at least 2 weeks. Often they will let you send things there if you do. But sometimes not. I’ve had things delivered to me at The Grand Canyon. But I just ordered my first package, not just envelopes of mail, to be delivered general delivery. It’s a pair of running shoes, not a cheap item, so I really hope I don’t have a lot of trouble getting them. Looks like it’s time to cross my fingers.
Oh, I have a hot water bottle on a shelf and an ice pack always in the refrig. Just in case…..came in really handy when I broke my ankle in Glacier last fall.
Sherry
http://www.directionofourdreams.blogspot.com
Sherry, I’m sorry I didn’t see this comment until today, the 10th. It went to spam for some crazy reason I can’t figure out. What do you mean you aren’t a helpful commenter? And who says you have to be helpful anyway! Ha! I enjoy your comments. I hope you get your package. It’s very frustrating to be disappointed that way.
Gawd, I love reading your blog. You express your feelings, the doggies, the atmosphere, everything so well in writing. I’m right there when I read rvsueandthecaninecrew.
Yes, poor Brian W. never thought he would have to report underwear as news, but a guy who is used to the veddy comfortable – materialistic – life has to do what a guy has to do.
Gail in Houston
Very nice compliment. Thank you, Gail! Yeah, I don’t feel sorry for Brian. Ha!
I agree with all the prior comments on the ear licking. I had 2 Yellow Lab sisters. One had allergies, which caused ear infections. Her sister was always licking her ears. The infections caused her to shake her head and scratch her ears so much that both ears developed hematomas (ear flaps filled with blood like a balloon). They had to drain the blood and sew the ear flaps back together ($400 for each ear, but luckily not at the same time!). This may not be Bridget’s problem, but something is probably going on in there. I would have it checked out if you can…..
My dog use to always lick the same spot on my leg…….turned out to be a sarcoma caught very early cause of my silly dog. I loved that dog.
Sorry… This reply is to Tara . . . I’ve had Bridget’s ears checked during annual exams. You may be right about this. Could be that the vet happens to see her ears when they’re fine and then they flare up at other times. You can’t go by Spike’s licking because it has become a compulsion with him.
Angie . . . Thank God for that silly dog!
Sue,
You have received a lot of advice about fixing your shipping problems but I did not read this solution.
I believe you have a Mail Forwarding Service, if so use it. OR, You have a sister that would probably help out if packages were sent to her and she then re-mailed. In either case you would have control over how the package would be sent to you. In either case you are going to spend more money on shipping but like a lot of things they will cost more if you are Fulltiming.
I have it better than you, from a shipping stand point, because I stay in RV Parks and can have ‘stuff’ shipped to the Park. However, even then I have had a problem when USPS left a Deliver Notice in the Park mail box rather than taking the package inside to the office. It is all part of living the Good Life!
The mail-forwarding service is not ideal, as you mentioned, because it would make shipping costs too high. I don’t want to put this on my sister, although I’m sure she would be happy to do this. This is a way of life. I’d order several times a year, so I need a solution I can implement independently.
I’ve had UPS deliver to the PO before. Not sure why as I had a physical address. What’s their problem? Can’t find a post office. We deal with delivery issues here at the canyon because our address is: General Delivery NPS, NR, AZ……. Many companies just can’t handle the gen del thing. Hope your order wasn’t anything terribly important.
Saw a little snow fall today.
Extra pets for Bridget.
Yes, Gail told me she’s received pkgs. at the PO that came UPS. You never know.
The order wasn’t terribly important. One item, the monocular, has been hard to obtain, and it would have been nice to have one for watching baby herons learn to fly and for sighting elk. . . Someday I’ll find a store that has them in stock! Or I’ll do the ship-to-store thing with Wal-mart.
Sue, I have a monocular…….binoculars are much better. It’s so much more comfortable to use the binoculars.
And I am one who also prefers the Monocular…. it suits my vision problems better! I simply cannot see worth a darn using binoculars!
Same here!
I like the monocular because it will fit in my pocket. I don’t like anything hanging around my neck. I had binoculars once and I gave them away. I never could get them to focus. It may be my bifocals don’t help the situation.
If you’re not past Flagstaff you might try Peace Surplus.
Okay. I’ll look up where it’s located. thanks.
“This is the very reason God made Vodka.” OMG! Love that, Harriet! You are my kind of lady!
Hi Sue,
I live in a rural area where I must get my US mail at the Post Office, though UPS will come to my street address. Some vendors have an arrangement to send things via UPS to the Post Office, so it’s true that UPS will deliver to the Post Office. Amazon, in my experience, are great at shipping. If you purchase Amazon Prime (it’s about $80 a year) you don’t have to pay postage and it’s a good, fast service.
I really enjoy reading your blog. Thank you for writing about your adventures.
Two reasons I’m so intent upon finding a way to get things from Amazon… the huge selection of products and I want to redeem my points from my Chase Amazon credit card.
I’m happy to hear you enjoy reading my blog. It makes the writing fun when there’s someone who appreciates the effort!
Harriet, too funny! Bridget is the next American Idol! Haha!
I notiiced someone mentioned altitiude sickness above. Rolaids work great (not Tums or other antacids). A lot of climbers use them to help mitigate headaches and such. Have no idea why they work.
Oh, bless you, Chinle! Wish I had known–someone told me life savers so I bought them, but they did not work!
Great tip, Chinle!
She may have an infection, but I do know I had a little dachshund once and he licked everything and everybody. It had nothing to do with the object being licked, but more with his own nervous tendencies. He would’ve been a heavy smoker if he were human. 🙂
PS I also had his full brother who was the complete opposite, as mellow as they come. He would’ve been someone who sits around on the front porch of the general store shooting the breeze while carving a stick.
http://www.phunnyfarm.blogspot.com/ OFF TOPIC, but Sue, I devoted my new blog to YOU and finding you the perfect campsite…. did we find it ?????
Geri . . . . Wow! A blog post devoted to finding a campsite for the crew and me. Now that’s a great idea! Thank you so much. I left a reply at your blog.
Everybody . . . If you are interested in reading about and seeing photos of southern Utah camping, take a look at Geri’s blogspot.
The trees that are left are 2nd growth, not old growth, when a fire starts in that stff, it’s hard to stop