Celebrity Dachshund Mila, Ezri, and Jeep Miesner’s Adventures. *Dog Star of the Movie “Wiener Dog Nationals”; “Wiener Dog Internationals” – Shelly Jack - Loves Doxie Racing for Charity, Earthdog Extraordinary- Actress, Actor, Small Dog for Film, Television, Events, and Advertising- Movie Star for Print & Screen. Looking for work in San Diego and So. Cal
First stop Texas State Capitol - Heading back home
A Drive that should have taken us no more than 48 minutes from the Hotel to the Texas State Capitol, turned into a long drive. We had GPS Problems. It all began with mom missing the stop for Starbucks in town. We figured there are lots of them we will just find a Starbucks along the way. Well we had a hard time finding one, Go figure. Dads iPhone was no help. Mom pulled over and used Google maps and finally found one. After getting dad coffee we mapped or route again to the State Capitol. Well the GPS got the crazy Idea of sending us on the Toll Roads. We tried to reset the directions with no toll roads. But with no luck. So we took to the side streets. In the process of playing with the maps Mom somehow mapped us to a warehouse somewhere. So she tried again, and finally remapped us in the right direction, and we made it to the Texas State Capitol.
Some Photos from along the way....
Every thing is
bigger in Texas
Ezri Trying to get
into the front
seat.
She even tried
giving hugs.
From there we Headed off to Roswell New Mexico 499 Miles 7 hours and 38 min.
DAY 3 - 5 - Fri, 22 Apr. to Sun, 24 Apr. 2016 Packed up ate breakfast at the hotel and headed out. First Stop
To The Alamo, TX - 471.6 mi
So we Tried to drive by the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas..
We knew that pets were not allowed on the Alamo Grounds, we just wanted a peak of the outside and maybe a picture.
Big mistake they were having an Earth-day festival. The place was swamped. We could not even get close.
So we counted our losses and Headed to Buda City Park. Friday Afternoon-
When we arrived, we did not know where we were setting up,
so we asked around.
While we were waiting, we talked to some of the people there
and showed them some of our tricks.
One of my tricks that I did, that we call
the "through back through", is where I jump through Dads Legs. At the
end of the trick, I started limping. Mom said, "let me see your paw",
and I did. At first she could not see anything wrong. So she handed me to dad,
to get a better look.
Well I had landed on a thorn. It lodged between the pads in
my paw. It was in deep and about an inch long. Mom just grabbed it and pulled.
It came out quickly but it hurt! I was very brave.
We met Justin and he showed us were we could set up and Park
for tomorrow. He gave us VIP Passes. So cool!
Off to the hotel.
We
stayed at Red Roof Inn in Austin, Texas
We would not recommend this location.
Hotel Hi-jinx…. We get a knock at our door, about 11:00 PM, saying they were having computer trouble and wanted our name to confirm we checked in. What??? Dad said his name, then got worried it may not have been the hotel… They now have our names and room number. What would they use that for….. In the morning he confirmed it was actually the hotel that went to our room last night. Ugh!!!
(best representation of the Wiener Dog theme of the current
year)
We even did a sword fight with Jedi.
..... now on to racing.
Buda Wiener dog Race Setup ... So let me tell you about how Buda runs their races. They were different than the races we were use to.
First rule - no food! Please use a toy instead.
Everyone’s name and race is sent to them by Email. It is also printed on sheets of paper in the tent, so you know what race you will be in, and your color. Only one handler is used per dog. They call your race and you go to a table. The Vets that are there, check you to make sure you can run. You are given a colored collar, as you see in the picture, Ezri was green. Then you are sent into a holding area either to the left or the right. Which is right Outside the main race area. So that they have two groups of racers prepped and ready to race. Then when it is your turn to race, you go through a gate and go to your color. The racing boxes are large boxes with top sides and a back. On the back is a port hole, you are put in through the port hole that is then closed.
Then your mom walks around to the left and gets in front of the Box which is covered in mesh. The mesh is on PVC pipe and is lifted from the front by a large Lever, that is located in the back of the boxes, where you were put in. The Judges walk everyone back with a flag at the same time. The judges who are the local police stand behind a fence at the finish line. Mom is sent back another 10 yards behind another line. The stands and hill are packed with fans. The first and Second dog across the finish line move on to the race that is on Sunday at 3. On Sunday the wieners of the preliminary races above are again posted on paper in the race tent. The races are run in groups of 6 until you have a winner. Simple enough.
Here are a few Videos so you can see what I mean.
Pay special attention to the announcer he is funny!
Ezri was in the first race and she came in second In the Preliminary Races
I was in the 5th race and I came in first.
That meant we could enjoy the rest of the things at the Fair because we were secured a place in the 3:00 pm Races on Sunday.
So here is what we did ....
First we decided to cool our feet in the pool.
Then we took photos with Oscar Myers hot dogs.
After
exploring the venders and getting barbecue at the food tent we decided to
return to our tent.
We meet Maria Pronski. - A big racing fan. Her dog was in "Lord of the wiens" that is the documentary Movie they made here
about the races in Buda Texas.
After all the meeting and greeting, along with checking out the food and vendors, we decided at around 4 o'Clock to head back to the Hotel.
Mom and Dad gave us food and headed out to Saturday evening Mass, with a plan for a nice dinner after.
On their way to dinner they got a phone call from the Hotel that we were making too much noise and could they make us quite. ... Mom and Dad were perplexed by this, because we usually just watch TV and sleep. They know this because they have videos of us being couch potatoes.
When they got to the hotel room we were as quite as mice, just sitting in our beds watching TV.
It was great for us, that they came back, because we got to go to dinner with them in a nice little restaurant in Austin.
Flash forward to around 11 pm that night. We are all asleep in bed, when we hear children running up the hall to our door. They begin to yell ding, dong, ding, dong, at our door. Well, this sets Ezri off on a barking fit. Dad gets her to calm down, and a few seconds later they do it again. When it happened a third time, Dad got mad! He stormed out the hotel room and in his best fatherly voice, yelled at the kids to get there butts back in their room. Their mom just said, "Oh, It's OK, lets just do something else". Well! Dad was fit to be tied. How could a parent be so irresponsible? The kids must have been doing this before, and that is why the hotel called us earlier.
Well, we finally all got back to sleep. We had to wake up early to get our tent set up and prepared for the finals.
In the morning we did a little Meeting and greeting with our fans and new acquaintances
We even did a trick demonstration and had quite a crowd watching!
Then we got sent into are crate to take a power nap before the big event.
Arial View of the Race track for the final races on Sunday
It's the club's
biggest fundraising event with more than 120 Dachshunds competing.
Wiener dogs came from near and far, bringing along their
enthusiastic owners.
Here
is a picture of the winners Trophy.
The others were just smaller versions of this one with -
this is Justin He and Nancy organize the races.
Top dog takes home a trophy and $500.
Now on to The Three o'clock races .... Ezri was in Race 1 Green & I was in Race 12 white.
Between Races at the
qualifiers for that day, it decided to Rain hard. Every one left the stands,
and headed to our tent and the racers tent trying to stay dry. The rain left as
suddenly as it had come and the races were resumed.
Ezri made it to the
quarterfinals race. She was in the lead out of the boxes. But she got squeezed
out between two dogs and did not get first or second in her race.
My race was uneventful
and I was able to make it to the semi-finals.
In the Semifinals, there was a trash talking piebald dachshund
next to me in the boxes. Mom could not get me to focus on her. So out of the
box I barked at the other dog and so I lost my spot and was eliminated from the
finals.
Here are the trophy Winners.
They Tell me next years event will be bigger as it is the 20th Anniversary of the Event
We decided to do theDunes Drive, it is an eight-mile (13 km) scenic drive, it leads from the visitor center into the heart of the gypsum dunefield. The 16-mile (26 km) round-trip drive takes approximately 45 minutes. However, you may want to allow additional time for taking walks in the white sand, photography, or learning about the natural and cultural history. The first four miles of Dunes Drive are paved and the last four miles are a hard-packed, gypsum road. The road is suitable for cars, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, and buses. Along the road, you will find wayside exhibits, hiking trails, picnic areas, vault toilets, and parking areas.
First we stopped at the Dune Life Nature trail
This is the Nature trail
where we learned about the pocket mice.
Now where did they go?
I need to find
one.
Checking out the dunes with dad....
We Even got in a Practice Race!
*
Found a hole of a pocket rat...
Just had to try and dig
the pesky thing out.
Ezri wanted in on the dig. She can be a pushy little sister. So I took a breather and Let Her have a Crack at it.
Enough! ....... let the pro take over.
I could have kept digging all day. But Dad said, "enough digging", we need to get going so we have time at our next Destination.
@ 12:30 pm we made it to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
I was hoping I would get to see the cave with Mom and Dad. I was up for another adventure, especially down a tunnel. But the place said, "no dogs allowed" :(.
They do run a kennel. It is located off the Gift shop, so that the Pets stay comfortable while they wait.
Mom put our bed in the cage with water and treats. At least we got to wait together in the same cage.
I was not really happy, the other dogs were making so much noise. I said to them, "Really!!! Like you have never been told to wait before???" I said sarcastically. At least we were in the other room, where there was much less noise. Hurry back mom and dad!
So Mom and Dad went off to to explore for about 3 and a half hours.
So in the afternoon, all we got to see was the parking lot and the kennels at Carlsbad Caverns. Maybe that is why it has bad in the name. Thanks Mom :(
Here is what Mom and Dad told me
about what they got to see.
The Big Room hike is a 1.25 mile hike down the Natural Entrance
trail it is extremely steep, descending about 750 feet. You have the opportunity
to follow the footsteps of early explorers as you see formations like Devil's
Spring, the Whale's Mouth, and Iceberg Rock.
The Natural Entrance is not an accessible trail.
Please assess your fitness before attempting this strenuous walk. But
they were running out of time because they need to be back to the kennel by
4:30 to pick us up.
Once you reach the big Room there is a circular route taking
approximately 1.5 hours, it passes many large and famous features
including Bottomless Pit, Giant Dome, Rock of Ages, and Painted Grotto. Highly
decorated and immense, the Big Room should be seen by all park
visitors. the Big Room? At about 8.2 acres in size, roughly 6.2 football
fields would fit into the Big Room! It is definitely well-named as this is the
largest single cave chamber by volume in North America. Other caves might be
longer or deeper, but few can live up to the grandeur of the Big Room of
Carlsbad Caverns. They got only as far as the Big Room and it was time to start back so they could pick us up on time. The Kennel only stays open till 4:30 and they did not know how long it would take them to walk back up the trail.