DAY ONE.
THE WEIMEPIC ROAD TRIP OF 2018 HAS BEGUN!!!
In the cockpit of the WeimBus are your two commentators for the next few weeks: Kim of Barrett Weimaraners and www.CalWEAR.org, and Anne of Touchstone Weimaraners and www.JustWeimaraners.com. We will be road-tripping it from California to Michigan, back to California, into Arizona, up to Utah, and back to California again. We’ll also be meeting up with Weim friends along the way so holler if you’d like to get together. 
👍 Instagram hashtag for this trip is #weimepic2018
DAY ONE.
12:11 PDT. Mile 0. Downtown Los Angeles, CA. Depart from Westin Bonaventure Hotel. PHOTO 1: Otto is “ready” for his road trip. 
😆
13:30 PDT. Mile 39. Azusa, CA. Lunch stop at Taco Nazo. PHOTO 2: Fish tacos and potato tacos are amazing!!! 
😋
15:10 PDT. Mile 97. Hesperia, CA. Starbucks for caffeine boost. 
☕️
15:15 PDT. Mile 98. Hesperia, CA. Pit stop. Gas is $3.69/gallon. 
⛽️
18:11 PDT. Mile 300. North Las Vegas. Pit stop. Gas is $3.21/gallon. Temperature is 110F. PHOTO 3: Otto and the Sinclair Dinosaur. 
🦕
21:37 MDT Mile 460. Cedar City, UT. HOME in the Cedar house for the night. Temperature is 81F. PHOTO 4: Reunited with Friday. 
❤
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DAY TWO.
14:15 MDT. Mile 510. Cedar City, UT. A little pit stop at Color Country Animal Hospital. PHOTO 1: The LunaBot (2015 Bo x Mika Purple Girl JH NAVHDA NA 112) would like to announce that she will be taking this summer “off” from bird dog camp to take a crack at motherhood. 
😊
We expect to have a few field trial fanatics out of this litter. 
😍
Also, this is the first home-bred Barrett litter expected in TWO YEARS.!!!!!!!!! To say we’re stoked would be an understatement.
Cheers!!! 
🤗🤗🤗
P.S. The technology may be outdated, but it still works, and the vet bill for today’s office visit and ultrasound was a whopping $51.73. #weloveutah
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DAY 3.
GOOD EVENING from Rifle, Colorado!!! Today was unbelievably scenic. We drove the entire length of Scenic Byway 12 and are at a little hole in the wall Thai restaurant for dinner. Trip meter currently reads 1,078 miles.
PHOTO 1. Evidence of our rustic pack job. 😆
PHOTO 2. Coffee stop at Kiva Coffee House outside Escalante, Utah. ☕️
PHOTO 3. Lunch at Hell’s Backbone Grill in Boulder, Utah. 😋
PHOTO 4. LunaBot and Otto running on Kim and Barry’s Boulder property. Nobody pooped. Kids are so polite! 👍
PHOTO 5. Traffic jam going up Boulder Mountain to let a moo-moo family cross the road. 🚗🚙
PHOTO 6. View towards Henry Mountains and Reservoir from top of Boulder Mountain. 🌲
PHOTO 7. Pit stop in Goblin Valley. This place is a trip! 🍄
Toodles! – Kim and Anne
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DAY 4.
Long day!
PHOTO 1. We met with two Mile High Weimaraner Club members, Shelly and Chuck Jernigan for breakfast!!! We first knew Chuck as “DakotasDad” on the now defunct WeimaranerAddict forum. Over the years, we’ve all become friends. Shelly came out to CA to support the 2018 WCA Western Classic this year with her puppy dog, Schatzie. 🐶
PHOTO 2. We also stopped in to see our friend Christine of Cheyenne Weimaraners (also Mile High Weim Club member) and her current litter of BEAUTIFUL puppies. Christine is a longtime breeder and is now on her 7th generation of lovely, lovely dogs. We actually just saw Christine and a few of her youngsters at the 2018 WCA National Specialty in Albany, Oregon. So nice to see breeder friends and colleagues when we’re able to! ❤️
PHOTO 3. Puppies. 😍
It was a slow go this afternoon. We hit snow in Burlington, CO (in June, WTF?!) and it rained on us (the torrential, slap-you-in-the-ass kind) all the way to Kansas. Tonight, we’re settled into a little town called Salina. Trip meter reads 1,807. We’re a bit behind schedule, so APOLOGIES in advance to all of our friends for changing our meet-up dates and times on you! 😬
We hit the road again at 6:15 AM to meet with more Weimie friends for breakfast. G’nite!
– Kim and Anne
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DAY 5.
PHOTO 1. We couldn’t get out of Kansas fast enough this morning. 
⛈
PHOTO 2. We met with Shelley Banzhaf of SilverPoint Weimaraners for coffee and crepes. Shelley and her husband Scott are avid hunters, participate in NAVHDA at both the NA and Utility levels, AKC hunt tests and field trials, and occasionally breed hunting Weimaraners. We initially met last year at the 2017 WCA National Field Trial in Ardmore, Oklahoma and have since become friends. Three things we have in common: 1) we love dogs that snuggle, 2) we appreciate the ones with the black nails, and 3) we like it when our dogs stack and crap. !!! (Inside joke. 😆)🌿
PHOTO 3. LunaBot (Kim’s dog) took a stroll through Springfield, Illinois and happened across Abraham Lincoln’s childhood home. 🏠
PHOTO 4. Otto (Anne’s dog) enjoyed getting out of the Expedition WeimBus to stretch out his legs too. 💙
We went from Kansas to Missouri to Illinois to Indiana today. We’re over 2,500 miles on the trip meter, and CAN’T WAIT to finally make it to Michigan tomorrow. 🚌
We’re also exhausted. So we’re sleeping in a bit. Cam, see ya for lunch!!! 😍
– Kim and Anne
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DAY 6. Good afternoon from Saugatuck, Michigan!!! We are momentarily pausing under the eaves of the Christian Science Society to sit out the rain burst. (See also: Girls from California don’t own umbrellas.) Next stop, the TimberdoodleTallgrass Ranch!!! ❤
DAY 7. Take 1.
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2,813 miles, but we made it to Michigan!!!! 😊 There are a total of 15 Weimaraners on the Timberdoodle Tallgrass Ranch. 🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶 EVERYONE GETS ALONG. 🤗 Dogs are currently snoozing while the humans fix breakfast. 😍
DAY 7. Take 2.
Who would have known that when Camille bred (Velvet, born 2006) to Anne’s Riley, or when Anne sold a dog (Luce, born 2009) to Drew and Mindy, that years later… everyone would spend a day together on the lake in Michigan working and swimming dogs. 🐶
Later in the evening, we drove to Midland and met with Marc Dean of Magics Weimaraners for dinner. Then we went back to his house to play with the dogs. 😊
That’s the thing about Weimaraners. Through them, we’ve met the most amazing people and built the most beautiful tribe. I’m incredibly thankful for such a strong network, and can’t WAIT to see what the next generation of Barrett Weimaraners brings. ❤
Everyone swam today. 🤗 Dog photos are: Goose, Moxie, Otto, and Luce. Last photo is Kim, Marc, Judd the Stud, and Anne.
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Day 8.
We started the day at the Timberdoodle Tallgrass Ranch in Michigan, drove north, bought roadside strawberries, and then had the most flavorful steak for dinner. Spending the night in Roscommon County before heading towards Iowa. 😴
Unfortunately, we’re behind schedule on our road trip and won’t be able to make it up to the UP to see Chuck and Diane, Judy and Krista in Michigan, Sara in Indiana, Marc in Illinois, or Wayne in Colorado. We are SO SORRY and will have to hit you up on our next trip out this way. 😐
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Day 9.
We started the morning in Michigan with Mike of Heartbeat Weimaraners… all because he had a Jack Haggis saddle I wanted to buy and I HAD to have it. 😆 So now that I have three saddles… maybe I should have three horses?! 😉
Long road day, but we made it to Iowa by dusk and are now ready to hit the hay. G’night! ❤
Trip meter: 3,517 miles.
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DAY 10.
Ten days on the road. 😱 THANK YOU Mike and Annette of SilverThorn Ranch for the fantastic dinner and company last night, and also for putting us up. It was also really nice to see Snapper Jim in his natural habitat. 🤗Fun fact: Mike and Annette could give Chip and Joanna Gaines a run for their money; their self-completed renovated farmhouse was incredibly charming and cozy. 😍 We can’t WAIT to come back in the fall for some more adventures. ❤
We made it to North Platte, Nebraska by evening and met with Sally Jo and Jeff of Weimshadow Weimaraners. Thank you for dinner and conversation!!!! 😃
Now stopped in Colorado for the night. Trip meter is over 4,000 miles. 😬
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DAY 11. Take 1.
Hello from Rifle, Colorado!!! We are currently sitting at 4,511 miles. 
😱
Today’s itinerary includes a pit stop at the Thai Bistro where we had dinner last week… because Kim left her credit card there while we were passing through the first time. The guys behind the counter said they’d leave it on the counter for us to pickup. (Their English wasn’t good enough for us to ask them to mail it back.)
It was literally sitting on the counter (albeit under a stack of newspapers) when we arrived. They made us show ID to get it back. Good lookin’ out; thanks, guys!!!!
Next up, a 36 hour layover in Cedar City before we start “Part 2.” (Nope, we’re not even close to done on this epic road trip!)
Toodles!
DAY 11. Take 2.
It’s not a real road trip until you find yourself in an “oh $&@!” moment, amirite?! 🤦🏻♀️
So here we were, two besties gabbing away at our latest breeding “ideas” (😱), and we find ourselves in one of the most beautiful places on earth… the San Rafael Swell off I-70 in Eastern Utah. The low gas alert dings and we realize we’re nowhere close to ANYTHING. ANYONE. ANYWHERE.
“Check for the nearest gas station.”
“I can’t, there’s no reception.”
😳
So we turn off the AC, go downhill in neutral, and pray to the gasoline gods that we’re not going to have to car-camp off the road until someone saves our sorry butts.
We coasted into Randy’s Gas Station in Emery with FOUR miles left on the meter. It appears to be a popular place; everyone’s waiting in line. Unleaded is over $4/gallon but nobody cares. Even through the windshield we can tell that we’re all in the same predicament and we’re two seconds away from screaming at the guy ahead of us for being sooo daaaaaang sloooow.
Man. That was an adrenaline rush. 🤗
Trip meter said 4,954 miles by the time we rolled into Cedar City, Utah at 21:15 MDT.
This concludes the first part of our EPIC road trip. 😄 Tomorrow we do laundry and re-pack the car. Maybe sleep. Or train dogs. Kim also has to work a bit. #monday 😬 Back on the road Tuesday. Woo!!!! 👍
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DAY 12.
MEET “Barrett Tearin’ offtha Two Trax.” 🤗 She was sitting on the sofa when we arrived home last night… so I guess she lives here and we have another dog (for) now? 🤷🏻♀️
She’ll stick around for a bit until we figure out where she ultimately belongs. Yay for puppies!!!
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DAY 13.
At 5,500 miles exactly, the four dogs and their two humans hit up a swanky dog park in Camarillo, California. 🌴
Two hours later, the humans each enjoyed a legitimate bowl of ramen. !!! 🍜(No offense guys and gals, but we were craving some good ol’ Asian food.) Then we strolled into a local Petco to purchase one more wire crate… for the low low price of $129.99 + tax (geez, CA 😩) and now, we’re all in bed for the night.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring… Room service and a bubble bath?!
Small brag: BARRETT TEARIN’ OFFTHA TWO TRAX, “Tearin,” made the whole trip (over 500 miles today) with only two potty stops, and she was quiet the whole way. Good girl!!! 👍
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DAY 14.
Mile 5,515: Breakfast and coffee at Noah’s NY Bagels in Camarillo, CA so the dogs can get some good ol’ socialization in. Errbuddy luuuuurrrrves puppies!!! ❤
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DAY 15.
Greetings from Camarillo, CA!!! We were here for the Southland Weimaraner Club’s Specialty Show and subsequent general club membership meeting. “Mattie” earned a Third Place ribbon in her Sweepstakes class, a Third Place ribbon in the 12-18 AM class, and a Second Place ribbon in the 12-18 PM class. Congratulations to Mattie and the Feore family!!! And also to all the winners!!! There were many, many beautiful dogs entered today. The future of our breed looks bright!!! ❤
In other news, “Tearin” the puppy discovered 17 things that she liked today:
1. Sleeping through the night
2. Wet grass
3. Sitting in a wire crate all by herself
4. Being quiet in said crate, even when I walked away
5. Walking on a leash
6. Throwing herself a one-man party while holding the leash in her mouth
7. Sparring with other puppies
8. Dalmatians
9. Dobermans
10. Mini bull terriers
11. Big strangers
12. Little strangers
13. Liver treats
14. Stairs
15. Elevators
16. Socks
17. Jumping between hotel beds 🤓
She also discovered ONE thing she DIDN’T like: Huskies. 😕
Tomorrow, we’re headed to AZ to see a litter of puppies… who also happen to be her half siblings. !!! G’nite!!! 😴
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DAY 16.
5,594 miles in Thousand Oaks, CA. We slept in… and still needed two coffees EACH to get through the morning. (It’s like we’ve been busy or something. 🤷🏻♀️) Anne drove while Kim worked, and Kim drove while Anne worked. #teamwork 👍
At 6,036 miles, we arrived in Phoenix, AZ to meet with Anabel and Dave, and their litter of 7.5 week old puppies who were sired by Mr. Blaise Pascal!!! Puppies ACED their temperament tests and rocked the structural evaluation. This was an incredibly well-adjusted and beautiful litter. Thank you Anabel for choosing BP and hats off to you for your diligence in raising these kids right!!!
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DAY 17.
We started the day at Anabel and Dave’s house and observed the puppies for a bit on their home turf before bidding farewell. Then we scooted over to C2 Tactical in Scottsdale (AZ’s best indoor gun range, BTW!!!) to visit with Gena and Brian Wagoner; they own “Bree” out of Anne’s 2017 Touchstone Mojo x Olivia litter.
In the afternoon, we ran dogs near the Kaibab National Forest before pulling into the driveway at the Cedar City, Utah house at 21:32 MDT.
TOTAL MILEAGE: 6,497. 😱
Also, LunaBot has about three weeks to go on her pregnancy and is looking very, VERY… “stuffed.” 😆
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FINAL RECAP FROM ANNE!!!
Finally back in SoCal after 19 days on the road with best travel bud, Kim Burnelll!! We covered 12 states (Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa Nebraska and California) and logged almost 7,000 miles! It was fun to try to get a photo of Otto in each state but the best part was getting a chance to visit with everyone! The Weim community is awesome and we so enjoyed spending time with everyone that we were able to see. So bummed to have missed some other friends, but I guess that means that we need to do this annually! 😉
Camille Rice, Mindy Brown and Drew Brown, I finally made it out there to the Timberdoodle and Tallgrass Weimy compound! We miss you guys already and can’t wait until you guys come out west! Thanks for putting us up — as well as putting up with us! Thanks also to Mike Wiacek of Heartbeat Weims (Michigan), the Greens of Silverthorn Ranch (Iowa) and Dave and Anabel Schafnit(Arizona). You guys were all amazing hosts. We appreciated the showers, beds, yummy food and great conversation! We also grabbed a drink and/or bite to eat with Chuck and Shelly Jernigan (Colorado), Christine Trujillo of Cheyenne Weims (Colorado), ShelleyScott Banzhaf of Silverpoint Weims (Kansas), Marc Dean of Magic Weims (Michigan), Jeff and Sally Jo Hoaglund(Nebraska), and Brian and Gena Chipley Wagoner (Arizona). Thanks for taking the time to hang out with us; it was so nice to be able to spend time with you guys outside of a dog event!
Last but not least, in #weimepic2018 style, we also randomly bumped into Jeanne Shelby in a feed store parking lot. 😲😁Jeanne owned the grandmother and father to my first Weim, Riley. She had moved out of California some time ago but I didn’t know exactly where. It couldn’t have been more perfect to run into her on this trip!!!
And now, a long nap to rest up for some dog training, puppy whelping, and the next trip to Flagstaff Arizona!
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