New Mexico hates dogs!

What's a Punkin' Head to do????

Sign reads "To Pet Exercise Area" which points to "Poisonous Snakes and Insects Inhabit This Area."  And, yes, that is the lovely, inviting blank pet area with only gravel rocks.

We got the message and kept movin' on ... but not before I used the facilities...a nice gentleman at the reststop who worked cleaning it up for Apex Cleaning Services (I think that was what his bright yellow shirt said) watched Max for me...before we left, the cleaning guy said that this rest stop would close Oct 19...we were there on my b'day - Oct 13...I'm still accepting gifts, if you missed it.

Larry the Cat

The Max and I are now in Austin on a gig.   We are staying with our hosts, The Callans, which includes Larry the Cat and their poodle Po-Po (aka Napoleon). 

Larry likes Max's dog food.  Max likes Po-Po's food and Po-Po likes Max's food...of course, everyone else's food makes them sick!  So, I spend mealtime standing between the animals to make sure they eat their own food.

After spending the days on food patrol, I went to go take out my contacts and brush my teeth...apparently, Larry also likes to drink from running water and was curious about my toothbrush...ummm, delightful...

Exploring before we get going!

After hiking the Wildwood Park on numerous occasions and passing a sign and steep stairs to the "Indian Cave," Max and I -- and our trusty friend, Maridel -- finally braved the tall steep climb into the creepy, dark cave...

...please note that the exit is a mere 20 feet away and is just one long, dark hallway...

...poo...

We had passed it up many times, because from down below it looked like it went way back...it was sooo steep, that we were afraid we'd get stuck or hurt and no one would find us...so we waited until we had our trusty companion, Maridel, who could call 911 if we met a rattler or a coyote (both spotted in the park before)...but we were slightly red faced (and not from the heat) to have our friend there to debunk the myth of the Indian Cave in Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks, CA.

But, hey, Max has run up there a couple of times before without me...he never mentioned the size and lack of scariness...he only chased out lizards and barked at something in the shadows, which added to the mystique...I guess he has picked up some of my PR skills over the past few years.

Well, we had to check it out before we left TO on our trek to Texas...the hike was a week ago Sunday, and we feared it may be our last trip there...today we started our 3-day, post-Columbus Day drive...we hope to make it at least to Phoenix...wish us luck! 

Oh, and try to keep track of the time changes :)

Bad Max!

I leave him alone ONE MINUTE with the doggie mermaid and this is what happens????

...ugh...teenagers...

Funny Caption Contest - Gracie #1

Ok, since the last contest was soooo much fun, we've decided to do it again with Max's friend, Gracie, as the subject...lets keep it clean, folks!

Funny Caption Contest - Max #1

Ok...you win nothing but an exclusive gig on the Adventures with The Max blog and my Facebook page that will tout your witty writing...sorta like The New Yorker Mag, but with a slightly smaller readership.

Monkey Mutt!

It all started at our Port Royal pad when Max saw a squirrel dart up a tree with a low-hanging branch...he found that he could jump on the branch and hang on...eventually, he got his back foot up!

Then we moved to CA and the backyard has a similar branch, but it's just a bit too high...and the squirrels, lizards and black hissing birds have figured it out and taunted Max by sunning themselves just out of his reach.

Well NOW Max has found a tree that grows slanted in our nearby Wildwood Park and finally got to climb up it!

Yeah, Max!!!!