Playing the National Anthem on my flute at a dog competition seemed easy enough. I had never been to a dog agility competition, so I was looking forward to seeing my friend's daughter compete as well as seeing what all the excitement was about. I'd planned to get there early enough to get comfortable with the environment and relax before the beginning of the event. What I did NOT plan on was all the rain we'd had the week before the event. We have to cross a low water crossing on Mineral Wells Road to get to US 277. When we left our house at 7:10, we had plenty of time to get there - however, when we saw the barricades and two other vehicles sitting on the road, we knew we were in trouble. This had happened before, and the rancher who owns the property between our subdivision and Knickerbocker Road usually knows to have his gates open. Early on a Saturday morning, however, the gates were locked.
My husband, in his infinite wisdom, suggested we return back to the house to get his BIG truck and try the back road. Sure enough, as we drove along the muddy roads, the first gate was locked and one of our neighbors was sitting in his truck, waiting for help. My husband got out of the truck, grabbed his bolt cutters and said, "I'll see to it you make it there on time!" and cut the chain to open the gate. Not only was I grateful, but so was our neighbor. We drove along to the final gate, which he cut as well. We were simply praying that we'd make it on time and our rancher neighbor would understand that folks had to get to town!
We made it in time (although Darlene was a bit nervous) and had a wonderful time participating in a great event. Who knew getting there would be such an adventure!

Sincerely,

Diana Clendenin