Take Paws The official pet travel blog of GoPetFriendly.com

And The Stars Align

Sometimes the Universe amazes me.

We were in Aspen on Wednesday. It was a wonderful day in paradise that ended on a sour note. We (Amy) walked away from an outdoor café and left our camera behind on the table. It held several days of pictures yet to be downloaded. By the time we got back to the RV, discovered our loss, and returned to the café, it had closed.

This led us to stay an extra night in a nearby national park. There was no Internet or cell phone coverage, so emails, Facebook messages, tweets, and voice mails all went unanswered.

This led us back to the café early Thursday morning. We got our camera back! Our waitress had found it and used the GoPetFriendly business card we’d given her to identify it as ours.

This led us to stay in downtown Aspen a few more hours and catch up on the aforementioned emails, Facebook messages, tweets, and voice mails.

During this hiatus, a friend we will be visiting in Denver called to check on our eastward driving progress. At the time, Amy and I were debating I-70 versus Independence Pass. My friend said Independence Pass was the way to go.

And so we did. Here we are at the top of the Continental Divide, 12,095 feet above sea level.

All of that … leading to this.

On our descent, rounding a switchback, we were surprised to see three people frantically jumping up and down and waving us to the side of the road. Here were our thoughts, in order of occurrence:

1. They are having car trouble.
2. They want to sell us something (on a mountainside?).
3. One of our cargo compartments had opened and, unbeknownst to us, we were spewing belongings onto the road.
4. These people are rabid GoPetFriendly fans.

Oh. My. Freaking Dog.

It was the Hike For Heroes team we had lunch with in Louisville, KY back in March! Five and one-half months later … we had driven about 10,000 miles … they had WALKED 2,250 miles. And we met up on the east side of the Continental Divide. All because we (Amy) forgot to pick up the camera.

Oh. My. Freaking Dog.

Back on April 17, Iraq War veteran Troy Yocum, his new and lovely bride Mareike, the Superdog Shiba Inu Emmie, and their support “team,” Terry Carmickle, left Louisville for a 16 month, 7,000 mile, 30-state hike across the US and back again to raise financial support for our nation’s military families.

Here we all are together (Terry was taking the photo).

About Emmie

Emmie Emerson Elaine Eskridge the Superdog was born in Louisville on June 19th, 2007. Emmie is certified as an Honorary Penny’s From Heaven Soldiers’ Angel Support Dog! The Penny’s from Heaven Foundation is an elite group of well-trained, exceptional working therapy dogs. These therapy dogs provide services to many in need, including our returning wounded servicemen and women. Emmie has a special role as she walks across America: to help spread joy to many soldiers and their families.

How You Can Help

Troy estimates he will take 50 million steps during his hike and that each one is worth at least $0.10. You can help raise money by donating to this cause. You’ll find all the necessary information here.

Follow Troy and His Team

Troy will walk an average of 20 miles a day, in all kinds of weather, to finish his hike across America. You can walk with him as he comes through your town and follow his progress on Twitter and Facebook.