We are in North Dakota and it's so much better here in every way. So far I haven't seen any trashy neighborhoods, no trash along the hwy, no loose dogs, very few pitbulls, its quiet at night. Its also safe as far as crime and safe to train or exercise the dogs anywhere in public. Everywhere is green a beautiful, some places looks like iceland, buttes everywhere

Midland Texas was horrible, it was like a 3rd world country with distemper infected dogs running all over the place, extremely loud parties all night, trashy people, trash along every road, so dry my nose bled daily, summer for 6 months if the year with temps up to 123°f, no rain except for floods once or twice a year and ridiculous hail and dust storms. It was so hard for many reasons to do anything with the dogs.

There are many nice dirt roads for dryland mushing and hundreds of miles of hiking/bike/ski trails within a reasonable distance as well. I can finally keep Raven on a training schedule with scootering. It's warm during most days but at night always cool or cold enough for running him. I can't wait until I have him reliably trained enough to try skijoring in the winters here. He is getting better and better with on-bys with deer and rabbits and I even use their presence to get him running faster. So far his top speed is 18.6 mph dragging me on the scooter. That's not bad for a short cattle dog mix. He is strong and can accelerate very fast.

Anya is also responding well in her training sessions, we are slowly getting her comfortable with pulling in harness (she hates it) and her retrieve training is going very well.

We adopted a new pup right before we found out we were moving. Martin is a 9 month old Walker Hound and Collie mix (best guess). He is very sweet most of the time, mischievous and likes to yap. He isn't the most motivated in prey drive but has a great food drive. He is smart and eager to please unless he doesn't feel like he is getting enough attention. He is reactive to strangers and has tried to bite, we are working on this now. We have only had him for a few months.

It's so nice to be somewhere that doesn't suck, we are all so happy with the move.

Sounds like a great place.

Congratulations on your move, Tresa! It sounds like the four-season climate of North Dakota will be far more suited to your lifestyle and preferences. Back in the days when we used to take frequent RV trips out west, we had passed through the Dakotas on numerous occasions and visited various points of interest. I've always liked that part of the country. I remember how beautiful Theodore Roosevelt National Park was.

Congratulations, too, on the new family member. Martin is lucky to have joined your pack. I'm sure all three of them must be keeping you very busy with a great mixture of work and fun.

Keep in touch and let us know how things are going!

Bob it really is, Midland TX was also a financial trap as well. People THINK they can go there and make a lot of money but noooo your landlord will bleed you dry and the jobs never pay as good as they advertise. Unless you grew up there and got a job because your uncle works there or you're somebody's friend, you might as well forget getting raises, promotions or the hrs you want. But it's not like that here.

Cheri, yeah natural beauty all around. Sadly, Teddy Roosevelt is not a very dog friendly park so we haven't made a trip out there yet. If I'd known we were moving so soon we wouldn't have adopted Martin because honestly it's a but much right now but I would never abandon a dog. For a pup, he is very easy to deal with, not anything like a demanding high drive psycho, so it hasn't been a disaster or anything.