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.