Tay tay is not scary at all like Larry

Well the Internet somehow deleted the post I wrote on tatum, so that sucks. She was so perfect. When I grew up we had a shitzu named naomie that I loved more than anything, and had never met a dog as personable and communicative as her... Until tatum. When I laid down, That baby would run at me full speed with her hot pointy little nose until it smashed into my face. If I put her down, or took her out of my shirt (where I carried her on the bike looking for a crate) she would whine. When it was time to put the tent away in the morning she would jump inside and lay down belly up with her mouth open like a little Venus fly trap waiting to close on whatever finger might attempt to move her. The only time I left her alone (in the bathroom one morning, because she wouldn't get up to follow me) when I got back she was crying so loud and when I opened the door and lay down to apologize, she jumped on my chest and licked and bit my face in a frenzy. I knew it wasn't practical to take her on this trip, and as we continue through Kansas I'm glad I gave her away since its now above 100 every day. But I have wanted my own dog for awhile now, and none will be more perfect than she was. I think the woman who took her knew how perfect she was though. She was very excited. And Tay tay will have a yard and someone to love her all day, every day.

Something weird happened a week or so ago that we forgot to write about. We stopped in a tiny town (Boone, CO) to camp at a park. An old man named larry taylor came over and talked to us for a long time about a bike trail he founded and all the local businesses he owns, and invited us over to use the Internet and/or his electric guitar and/or stay the night. When he finally left us alone a family came to tell us he has been a huge problem in the town and has a long criminal record, including years in a mental institution. A few years back apparently he kept an 11 year old girl in his house for three days before she managed to escape. He was put in jail for it but the city mayor (who was also weird, brought us a Tupperware full of steak the same night... Steak was good) bailed him out. He has been warned by police to leave bicyclists alone, and the adventure cycling association that has organized this trans-America route we are on may soon have to re-route the Colorado section so it no longer goes through Boone because of him. This is sad for the town since 2000 cyclists do this route per year and the one tiny store there relies heavily on us for business.
Fortunately scary Larry (that is what they call him) did nothing to us. He did come back to show us maps of the bicycle route he founded (a lie) and again to point out all the buildings he owned (another lie) and again to tell us that night's sunset was the best he's ever seen (a lie, hopefully).
-Mary