El Nino has arrived, and so have I!

Well, when I decided to take a two week adventure to the Great Plains and Midwest for Christmas, I admit I was a bit apprehensive because of the risk that comes along with winter weather. Boy was I mistaken. Not only has the high in Kansas (my current location) been warmer than recent days in Phoenix, I couldn't have had a more perfect drive here. The only snow I actually saw along the way was settled on the trees from a previous storm in northern Arizona, known as the "high country"

as well as snow that was settled in Liberal, Kansas from a storm that hit a few days back. Given they received roughly 8 inches, most of it had melted. I did, however, find a nice patch for the purpose of introducing Alfredo to snow. The only other time he's ever experienced snow (which was sort of debatable) was a few years back in Scottsdale. While extremely rare, the valley can get snow every now and then, and we did. It only stuck on the ground for probably an hour, but nevertheless, he hated it then, and not much changed this time around.

There is no denying that he is a total desert dog. It would be interesting to see how he would react to actual snowflakes falling from the sky, which he has yet to experience. Who knows, maybe one day!

Anyway, since arriving to Wichita, we've been out and about pretty frequently. Mom and I have gotten some fun shopping in, and I've maintained my workouts by going out for a couple of runs. I even let the little one tag along, which is rare. He seemed to enjoy himself, nevertheless.

It was actually only in the 40s on this run, so I made him wear his coat.

After the run, he still played the game he always plays called, "I'm going to bite mom's feet until she gives me her shoes." 

Unreal.

Tomorrow my journey continues to Chicago, where I will spending the next several days in Indiana with Kevin and his family. Words cannot express how excited I am to see him, and my anticipation makes me wish I was there already. It has been a very rough couple of weeks in the nation. Arizona has had it's fair share of very random freak accidents, and because of El Nino - as much as I love it - there's also been all kinds of tornadoes in the Midwest/South, which led to fatalities tragically. This of course makes me even more anxious just to get there.

 

Well, off to bed for tomorrow's travels and fun Christmas festivities. Alfredo will be spending the next several days at grandma's house here in Kansas, which he certainly seems to be enjoying (although the cats aren't). Merry Christmas!