Wrap up

It was a great vacation. Besides meeting Zeke and starting the arrangements for him to come to Rochester, I also hiked in four beautiful places. 

• North Rim of the Grand Canyon
• Bill Bray Canyon
• Buckskin Gulch
• Red Hollow Canyon

I included some pictures from my first hike back in Rochester. The pictures below are from Irondequoit Bay West Park. You can see from all the greenery why I come back home, despite finding the canyons and deserts of southern Utah so beautiful.

I need my green - not manicured lawn green, but deciduous forest green.

It's good to be home.

Day 5: Red Hollow Canyon (with Zeke) and Leaving Best Friends

Well, it was a good day.

I knew from the start that this was the final day of hiking in Utah and service at Best Friends for this trip.

I had been going back and forth about adopting Zeke, but after talking with my mom and seeing the comments of my many FB friends, and after Zeke jumped on the bed with me last night, I decided that Zeke would be an appropriate match for me.

I had been hanging on to the memory of Harold, and even thru the morning hikes, that sweet and shy guy remained heavy on my memories. I had  so many good times with him. But after returning Zeke to the run, I stopped by Angels Landing which is Best Friends Animal Sanctuary resting place for those sweet forevers who have crossed the rainbow bridge. Only when I walked among the many resting places, and read the endearing inscriptions was I able to realize that I had not let go of Harold.

Harold remained in me as a symbol of lost caring and lost remembrances and lost opportunities for new bonds. I broke down there in that memorial place and worked thru what I was holding on to ... refusing to let go. Harold had crossed the bridge, but not in my mind. I was still clinging to his indomitable spirit as he made those 15 mile hikes with me, to his courage as we worked patiently thru his trust issues and to his unrelenting love for me in my darker hours. After Lola crossed the bridge last January, Harold was always there for me for walks, to listen to me when I needed to talk and to be his sweet non-judgmental self.

By the time I left Angels Landing, I had calmed myself and said my goodbyes to Harold. Altho' I finally let go of him, I will never forget him. I looked  over the vermillion cliffs to the blue skies that has whispers of white clouds. I breathed one more sigh and exhaled my sorrows into those white wisps and imagined Harold somewhere up there, looking down on me and thanking for taking him into my life four years ago, when I was in Angels Landing then and finding myself ready to let go of Cleo.

Angels Landing Video

So after lunch, I stopped by the adoption center and completed the paperwork for Zeke. Best Friends will send Zeke to me on the 15th.   That sounds perfect so that I can prepare myself for a new responsibility and a new joy.

Todays Pictures


Today's hike in Red Hollow Canyon was memorable because it had more interesting slot canyons. Again, boulders and sharp drops prevented a complete exploration, but that was okay as I was a bit pressed to get back and check out of the Cowboy Bunkroom hostel.

I spent the afternoon cleaning and then socializing with two dogs with shyness and trust issues. Lilah ended up at Best Friends from another shelter. She is terrified of people. That I got her to take one treat from my hand after 1/2 hour was considered a success.

Dunbar
Lilah

Then it was time to wrap up. I stopped by DogTown HQ and checked out, headed to the car and started my 3 1/2 hour drive to Las Vegas to catch the red-eye back to Rochester.

Day 4 - Buckskin Gulch (with Zeke again)

Boy, did everything catch up with me today.

Between the heat (another 90+ day), the elevation (over 6000 ft), the hiking (3 sets of trails in 4 days) and running on all cylinders back in Rochester before the trip, I finally crashed hard. I made it back from Best Friends around 4 pm, and couldn't stay awake. I was out for about 2 hours, interrupted by doing my laundry for tomorrow's departure.

Tomorrow will be a long day. One more hike outing with Zeke, followed by my final session at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, and then the drive (3.5 hours) back to Las Vegas to catch the red-eye to Rochester.

I have Zeke with me again. The afternoon's are too hot to do anything outside. So we are hanging out in the hostel (The Cowboy Bunkhouse). Later it will cool down to the high 80's. My primary concern is Zeke's paws being hurt by the hot sidewalk. Last night we went down the street for a coffee (OK, I went down the street for a coffee and brought Zeke with me.) The best time to do things with him is the early morning.

Photos from Buckskin Gulch and the slot canyon

Buckskin Gulch was interesting as the slot canyon was longer and deeper. So it was a good trip, even if it is a bit outside of Kanab. I was just a bit disappointed as after several hundred feet into the canyon, there was a 30 ft drop that I was not inclined to attempt. As always the scenery was gorgeous - in that western Rocky Mountain way.

The afternoon was full of chores at Best Friends. I did everything from cleaning the runs, to filling water pails, to cleaning dipping pools to preparing and serving the afternoon feeding. And all of this  requires me to interact with zero technology.

Day 3 - Bill Bay Canyon with Zeke and Maggie's

Started the day early with a 6 am wakeup. Zeke and I did some quick prep and out we went to the car for our drive to Bill Bay Canyon, just north of Kanab.

You can see the terrain in this picture. Zeke and I hiked along the wash bed, so there wasn't too much climbing, but our feet got wet many times on fording the river (really a creek). Our path started at the "89" marker and went along the river bed to the blue dot, and back. Zeke was very trusting today. He let me carry him over the cattle guards which are widely-spaced metal slots over a deep trench. The point is to stop the cattle from escaping. They also prevent dogs from hiking in there. And they are a balance challenge to me to cross.

Pictures and Videos from the Bill Bay Canyon

After the hike and lunch, I reported back to DogTown Hq for the afternoon assignment. Since it is too hot to walk the dogs, and to be perfectly honest - I was exhausted from this morning's hike, I was interested in socializing and light activties.

Today they sent me over Maggie's where I passed the afternoon in some general cleanup duties, helped feed the dogs and then spent some time socializing. My first two socialites were pitbulls who were just the most loving and cuddly dogs. Both of them were so strong in their affection that I had to balance myself to keep from getting "knocked over with love".  Then I came across a shy fellow, Caffrey, with whom I spent some time just verbalizing and very gently touching, when he allowed it.

Today's Dogs
Tahiti Info She's a beautiful girl but was returned to her former shelter because of 'guarding' issues.
Caffrey Info Suffers from over-shyness and trust issues. I spent about 1/4 hour with him, just talking nonsense so that he would be a bit more used to people's voices.

By the way, Zeke is with me again. We are having another sleep over and have plans to hike the Buckskin Gulch slot canyon in the morning.

Day 2 - Puppy School and Zeke's Overnight

Today was a nice day. Again, I went in with an expectation of working in one place, but ended up in two more interesting dog runs that have resulted in me having a guest tonight.

I thought that I would work again at Deja's Run. As I was checking in for the morning shift, the volunteer coordinators mentioned that Puppy School was going on today. When asked if I would like to go there for an hour, I could not wait to say yes.

When I first came to Best Friends, puppy school was one of my fondest memories. In all the intervening times, it did not happen. That today, when I was feeling a little less enthusiastic, would find myself able to help the puppies learn proper behavior, was just over the top.

So off I went. For an hour, we sat with 5 really cute puppies - are there any other kind - and showed them how to interact with humans. The program has one main goal - to make sure that puppies are not returned for unwanted behaviors.

Because I went to puppy school, they did not need any volunteers where I was yesterday. That was the next fortunate break. So I went over to The Fairview where I met Zeke.

Guess what Zeke's characteristics are.
- Ok with cats
- Ok with other dogs
- Walked the long trail

So we are doing a sleepover and then a hiking outing in the morning before it gets too hot.

Zeke

I need to be careful because I am starting to feel the feeling with this guy.

For the afternoon I spent time washing bowls (about 20 of them), then I prepared tomorrow's breakfasts for the dogs and for the last event of the afternoon, I spent time in shy-dog socialization class.

The way it works is that some dogs are extremely shy around people to the point of running away or pacing nervously back and forth, while panting and drooling excessively. This behavior makes them unlikely to be adopted. So during the class, volunteers successively hold one treat in their palm and wait for the dog to approach and take the treat from the hand. No kind of interaction is allowed because it would scare the dog away. The goal is to teach the dog that people are kind and friendly, not a threat.

And to wrap up the day, I just had a nice conversation with Mike, a guy who works here at the hostel. He and his wife have sold everything and just live place-to-place, enjoying the good life where ever they are. They are spending some time here before moving on to Central America. What a great concept. Someday I will pull the plug on the job and become an international migrant.

The altitude change and the heat have completely worn me out. Time for a strategy change. Tomorrow when I return from Best Friends, I'm going down for a 2 hour nap. When I awaken, it will be cooler and I will be able to wander about and enjoy Kanab's night life. ;<)

Day's Pictures

Day 1 - Best Friends and Grand Canyon

Well, as always flexibility is important to enjoying yourself.

Here is a quick list of things where I needed to be able to adjust.

1. It's too damned hot for the dogs to go hiking, esp in the afternoon, even if I can do it.

2. Best Friends folks know what they are doing, even when I would like something different.

3. A change in my prepared plans opens up other opportunities.

4. A kiss from a dog (Lottie) makes  everything all right.

Milo Info
Mariska Info Loves to chase lizards. I needed two leashes, one in each hand to keep her safe.
Lotti Info Our little outing changed from a short hike to a car ride. But she gave me a kiss at the end of the ride.
Diogi Info

One big difference this time is how much responsibility the care givers delegate. The other times, I was at octogons which up to 3 or 4 dogs per living area with multiple living areas. These dogs are socialized and can be with other dogs. At the runs,The care givers keep a tight rein on access to the building which means the volunteers are often outside ... waiting.

Yesterday I was at lodge. It's only one dog per living area. These dogs have issues with not having a lot of personal space. Here the caregive basically handed me a list of dogs, and said to just take them out for walks. Translation: I was trusted to not cause problems. That is sort of rewarding.

So far it is a tough call which I prefer.

Grand Canyon Pictures

So this was one of those things that just fell into place because other things fell out of place. I had given thought to going to the North Rim, but learned that dogs are only allowed on one trail.

Well, since it is July 4th and Best Friends was not allowing sleep-overs because the dogs get too excited during the fireworks, I had a free evening. So off I went, 90 miles to the south, but I must say that it was worth it.

There are a lot of trails, but I only got to do three in the time allotted, but 2 of the three were spectacular. See the pictures above.

Some observations:
- There are people who climbed out on the rocks to get closer to the edge. One couple invited me out to join them, but I graciously declined and stayed on terra firma instead.
- As an introvert, it's hard to connect to strangers. But tonight I tried hard to smile and say hello to strangers. It worked kinda well, but it's easier when you're hiking because that becomes the common thread.
- Joked with one lady who had three toy dogs. I told her "Three because two is not enough." She laughed.

At the hostel tonight I met a nice young man over late night snacks. Edu is from Spain, has hiked the northern El Camino and is working on his doctorate in image analysis.

I have to go to bed. Will update some more tomorrow.

Checked into The Cowboy Bunkhouse Hostel

Made it to the hostel. Pretty much what I expected from hostel-style bunking.
I have a room to myself. It is small, and only has a bed and a small desk, but that was as advertised.

Checking into the Cowboy Bunkhouse

Start Out

Sunday,  July 3rd.

Thru security.  Best as I prepared,  I still was the person who caused the backup. Fortunately I arrived early and there was no line behind me.  So tsa was able to give me their full attention to get me passed thru the checkpoint. I apologized and the tsa person was kind enough to excuse my inexperience.

I did lose two yogurts in the process.

So I'm excited to be on the way to Utah. My goal  for the week is to get out and hike 4 longer treks. I've done enough research to have identified more than a sufficient number of places to go hiking. One of the first things that I learned (based on my experience at Zion National Park) is that in the national parks, they severely limit the number of places to which you can take a dog. That is important to me because I want to take dogs from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary out on day trips, that is to go on the hike with me. Since the national parks, and in particular the Grand Canyon North Rim, only allow dogs on one 4 mile trail, that sort of rules out the Grand Canyon. I might still go, but I had much preferred to hike the longer trails there.

However, that opened up other possibilities. Here in Utah, during the later years of Bill Clinton's presidency, he established the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. It is run by the Bureau of Land Management, not the National Park Service. The BLM is much more lenient. So with the help of the internet, I have found a great number of trails, in particular slot canyons which I can hike. For those who don't know, a slot canyon is many tens of feet tall, but only a few feet wide. It makes for a claustrophobic experience if you are not ready for it. I am looking quite forward to it.

I am totally not planning on coming back with a new best friend, forever dog. I still have my upcoming trip to Spain in October to continue on the Camino De Santiago, and would like to get that accomplished before I take on a new companion. ... But I am not ruling out the possibility of a new dog in my life. LOL. We shall have to wait and see.

Soon the plane boards for Charlotte and then on to Las Vegas where I get my rental car and make the 3 - 4 hour drive to Kanab, Utah.

I have reservations at what is apparently a very western theme hostel. I get a bed and nightstand and a door. Other than that it is community sharing. And there is no TV. The owners want folks to come out of their rooms and mingle.  Works for me.

The weather is about 105F, but should be sunny most of the week. I've got sunscreen and my water supply. Power bars are packed, and I will visit the supermarket for lots of fresh fruit when I get to Kanab.

Let the adventure begin.