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7/22/2021 Grand Canyon to Tropic Utah
The Drive from Kingman to the Grand Canyon was fairly uneventful. I did my time in the back seat without complaining. We made our way back to Rt. 66 and drove though a couple of small towns, most notably Peach Springs and Seligman, AZ. These are famous basically because they are on Rt. 66. The did inspire some of the setting of the movie Cars, or so said Snack Guy. Seligman was pretty interesting. We stopped there for some shopping and some road trip food. Guess who got the hamburger and who got the Greek salad? I got a little of each, so I was fine with it. And the same shop let me walk around inside. I was very well behaved and didn't bark at too many people. There weren't that many people there in all honesty, and so it was a good spot to stop and shop and eat. From there we worked our way up to the Grand Canyon! It was something. We went through a few different zones but we were clearly leaving the desert for a less deserty desert. There were some trees. We made our way into the National Park, took our usual picture in front of the sign, then found our lodge. I was not happy right off the start. It was a nice enough place I guess, but it had all linoleum flooring, and I don't like a floor I can't get my grip on. So, I tried to back out slowly, sure there was some mistake, but Snack Guy dragged me on in anyhow. I refused to eat my food unless it was put on the small bit of carpet between to two beds. I think I got my point across anyhow. We took a nice evening walk from the lodge up a trail to some type of visitor's center or something…I don't know what it was really, but there was a lot of people and keeping an eye on them all was over stimulating. I was barking at anyone who came too close, and lot of people were coming too close. My Humans finally were able to get a little distance between us and everyone else, and then….the ground just kind of fell away. Suddenly, we were at the edge of a cliff then just went on until the end of the world. My Humans just kept saying "wow," then a little later they look in another direction and say "wow" again. This went on for some time and Food Lady was taking all kind of pictures. It was a big hole of rocks that went way down. Now I can dig a pretty good hole, but this was a really big hole, really big. Bigger than what you are imagining now. And way, way down at the bottom was the brown Colorado River, which Snack Guy said was responsible for the great big hole. If I ever made a whole that big my Humans would never stop yelling at me. It was pretty impressive, and I'm not even into that kind of thing. The "wowing" went on for a while and I got kind of bored with looking at the hole and instead kept trying to catch the many lizards that scurried to and from among the rocks. They're faster here. I never did get one. Finally, I was exhausted and just lay down on the edge of the canyon. My Humans got the clue, and we walked the long trek back to our lodge. We ate a bit and slept until I decided we all needed to be up, which was whenever I woke up, and my Humans seemed to think it was too early, but you have to get started early if want to make a day of it. I likely woke up some of the other people in the building as well, but I woke up feeling wild. Snack Guy tried to shut me up, but it was no use, Athena was in me! He took me outside and there were people who had the audacity to be near my door. So, I lay into them with some fierce barking. They all jumped. One was a little girl who started crying. I felt a bit bad about that. I was just "feeling my oats" as Snack Guy said. With so much stimulation and so little privacy, it was hard for me to find a place to "do my business." It took me a while to calm down and get comfy. But we finally had some breakfast and spent the day hiking and driving around the huge hole. My Humans continued to look into it and say "wow." I continued to chase lizards. It was kind of neat how the colors changed in the hole as the sun moved around. And when I got up close to the edge, I got this trembling feeling in stomach, like after I eat a plastic bottle cap. I first I thought that's what it was but turns out just looking at something that big and drops down so far can make you feel like you're flying, and not in a good way.
Next morning, we packed up the not-the-Jeep again and headed northeast across the vast and sparce Navajo reservation. We didn't rush, and this evening finds us in the quaint little town of Tropic, Utah. It's much cooler here, and there's much more green. I have grass in the yard! Snack Guy let me run around without my leash; I guess because we are so far out in the country. I ran, jumped, and rolled in the grass until I was covered in it. I was really making the most of this off-leash time. Usually, Snack Guy and I play this game where he throws the ball and I bring it back to him, then he gives me a treat to drop it, and he throws it again. He really loves this game. I think he could do it all day. But I got a wild streak in me again. Instead of bringing it back I took off running and found some trash to pick up, a discarded Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket. It was all wet and muddy, but still kind of smelled like chicken. And I know I'm not supposed to, but I just couldn't help myself. I was feeling so good. Snack Guy was saying "Leave it, Leave it, Leave it," and I know I'm supposed to drop whatever I'm holding in my mouth when he says that, but I didn't. This was a fun new game. He grabbed the ball and pretended to throw it to distract me, and it worked. I dropped the trash for a second, just long enough for him to grab it up, but he forgot one thing…the snack back was still in his other hand….I snatched it and the ball and took off like a lizard in the Grand Canyon. Nothing was stopping me. I dipped and dodged, turned, and scurried, always just out of his reach. We were having so much fun he yelled at Food Lady to come and join us. Soon all of us were running all round this back yard. But I had the ball and the snack bag full of treats in my mouth. I ripped into those suckers and ate every last one before they could catch me…while lying in a mud puddle. Ahh….Utah…I think I like this place. I sure hope we play this game again tomorrow.
HORSES! I thought they were big goats, but Snack Guy said a new word: Caballos. This means horses (in case you haven't noticed, I'm a bi-lingual puppy, and we mostly talk in the Spanish words. So, "caballos" I noticed was different than "cabras," which means goats. Now, goats I know thanks to my friends back in Arkansas. But these caballos are HUGE…..I was excited to meet and smell them. We sniffed each other, but when I did my play bow, they just kind of snorted and moved on. Well, I figure I'll get them to play with me soon enough.
Anyhow, it was a busy few days. I think we'll do some more hiking tomorrow. Something about a Grand Escalante and Bryce Canyon. I don't know what either of those things are, but Utah just keeps getting more and more exciting, so I expect great things.
I'll keep you posted,
Risa
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