Rescued By Nova

Chapter 9

We pulled out of the driveway just before dawn without saying a word to anyone. I really didn’t like goodbyes. I found it easier to just leave and everyone would figure it out and I wouldn’t have to deal with anyone trying to talk me out of it or into anything different.

The drive across Kansas is long and boring. Lots of flat land and not much to look at. If I have my girl Nova to talk to, I can drive for days. We have our own concerts. We have heart to heart conversations. We listen to audiobooks. The options to pass the time are endless. I have always enjoyed driving, the destination never really mattered.

We arrived in Cherry Springs Just After 8pm. We found us a quaint little campground and got our trailer all set up for the next few weeks. The scenery here was amazing. If nothing else came from this trip we were going to enjoy exploring the mountains and soaking in the beautiful landscape that this area provided.

We built a fire and visited with some of the other campers. Meeting people has become one of the best parts my travels. You never know what kind of people you will find at a campground. But more often than not we can share interesting stories from our travels and add items to my bucket list from listening to others adventures.

After a full travel day, I fell into a fitful sleep. I dreamt of Joey like every other night since I laid eyes on the man. This was getting ridiculous. I stepped out the door at dawn and Nova and I took off on the trails for a brisk run. I had to figure out how to get him out of my head.

When we arrived back at the trailer, I took a quick shower and Nova and I loaded up to go check out Cherry Springs SAR Team. When I pulled into the driveway, I thought for sure I had the wrong place. It was a long-paved drive lined on both sided with trees. At the end of the driveway was a gorgeous 3 story ranch style home. I set in front of it for a few minutes and notice a sign that said “Office” and pointed to the left, so we drove around the side of the house. There was a small log style cabin with a sign that said office hanging above the door. We parked, I rolled the windows down a little bit for Nova, told her to stay and got out of the car. When I opened the door I was greeted by the nicest man named Greg. I guessed him to be in his early 50s and he was exactly what you would think of when you think “mountain man”. He introduced me to his dog, Jake. He was a beautiful Chocolate lab that greeted me with excitement when Greg gave him permission.

I visited with Greg for a few hours. I told him about Nova and how I thought she had hidden potential. He agreed it was worth testing the theory and seeing what she was capable of. Greg was one of only 4 handlers for SAR dogs for live find in the area that they called if a dog was needed. In a mountain area liked this it happened more often than he liked it to. But Jake was great at his job, and he could always count on him to find his person. He didn’t have any other dogs he was training at this time and told me to bring Nova back the next morning and we would start some exercises with her and see what she could do.

I left there with a renewed sense of energy. Greg was the kind of guy I could see being my instructor for the next two years. Someone I could spend lots of time with and stay focused on the task at hand. He was easy to talk to and eager to teach. Willing to answer any question I could think of. Colorado was a place that I could see me spending the next few years. If I could just figure out how to get Joey out of my head, I could see everything falling into place here.

After another sleepless night, Nova and I were up before dawn ready to see what Greg had in store for us.

We arrived at the training grounds right at 8 am ready for whatever Greg had planned. I’m sure I looked like a kid on their first day of camp, full of excitement and nervous energy. He laughed at the emotions that were evident on my face. He said it's been a long time since someone has been this eager to learn and it makes him that much happier to teach. His smile grew as well. We spent the first few hours running some exercises with Nova and she excelled at everything we asked of her. He then brought out Jake and showed me some different things. Unbeknownst to me he had his nephew hide earlier that day out in woods, so he sent Jake to find him. He found him in minutes, it was amazing. After a day of work, he introduced me to his wife, Diana, I loved her instantly. She invited me to stay for dinner, there was no way I was passing up a homemade meal. She made the most amazing homemade chicken pot pie I had ever tasted. I never wanted to leave. This place and these people are amazing.

That night I crawled into bed and fell into the deepest sleep I had ever had. I didn’t even think about Joey.