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Here are my journal entries from the past few days.
Friday
March 24th, 2017
Today
is a set your alarm kind of day.
6:30
a.m.
BEEP...
BEEP... BEEP
Snooze
button
BEEP...
BEEP... BEEP
It's
now 6:35 a.m.
Ok...
We'd better get up because today is the day!
Tour
of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary at 8:30.
Everything
outside has a thin layer of frost. As I look out the window, Alex
lays next to me, the moon is a thin sliver. Its backdrop- the red
sandstone cliffs across from our site. The sun is about to rise...
soon, freezing temps will give way to warm temps. It's predicted to
be in the 60's.
We
hustled our buns to drive a mile down the road to the Welcome Center,
and were greeted by wild deer grazing on grass. I took the role of
annoying wife as I tried to tell Steve where to park Gumby (that's
what we've named the rig). I seriously need to practice the art of
letting Steve do his thing. (Sorry honey. I do have good intentions.)
I
thought if I blockaded the space between the driving and living areas
in the RV while we took a tour, that the dogs would not bark what was
around us. I was wrong. Willow ended up crawling into the front seat
and then couldn't get back out. Another oops. Before our tour Steve
went to grab our sunglasses and remedied the situation.
After
the dogs were resettled, we all checked in for the tour and were
directed to a film room where we learned more about the mission of
Best Friends... to Save Them All (meaning all the pets killed in
shelters). I can't remember the exact amount of animals euthanized
each day in the U.S. Just know that is is beyond enormous. Within
just a few seconds of watching their positive film about saving the
animals I began to cry. A combination of tears of gratitude, joy, and
being moved to the core. Friends, there IS good in this world and we
have to keep the faith. In this crazy world, look to the sunshine!
And take action. (Our family decided that within the next year, we
will return to volunteer here.)
Around
9:30, thirteen of us loaded into a tour van and we headed to Upper
Angel Canyon. We took two stops along the way, to meet a sweet
pit-bull and to meet some cats. Cassie, our tour guide, did an
amazing job of showing us the land (I think there are 3,700 acres?).
Next time we return, we will bring a car so we can access the hiking
trails at Best Friends. Our rig is four feet too long to drive around
on their grounds.
If
you are in Southern Utah/Northern Arizona, or if you are looking for
a volunteer-cation, seriously... go to Best Friends in Kanab. Your
heart will grow and you will be inspired and fall in love with the
organization & animals. Who knows, you may even go home with a
new pet!
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I
guess it was around 11 o'clock that we finished at the gift shop &
then hit the road for Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. Sierra thinks
the sand looks 'orange'. It is incredible. A couple weeks ago, I
reserved a campsite online- knowing that after driving hard down
here we'd want a couple days to stay put. Tonight and tomorrow, we
will plan our next steps. We were going to drive up to Goblin Valley,
but instead may head south. Warmer weather calls.
Saturday
March 25th, 2017
Both
kids are sick. Last night, Sierra went to bed at 6 o'clock and woke
up at 9 a.m. That is a lot of sleep compared to her usual 8-6
routine. Her body was scorching hot to the touch. (I need to buy a
new thermometer). Both kiddos have snotty noses which means we are
going through rolls of paper towels each day. Alex had picked out
Kleenex at the store but accidentally got the kind with Vick's smell
in it & they refuse to use it. Their eyes look all sad and they
have dark circles under their eyes... so today we took a walk to the
sand dunes and now they are curled up watching 'Sing' via the
inverter Steve hooked up to the batteries.
It's
been a cold and off/on rainy day. Surprisingly, the campground is
pretty empty. Perhaps due to the fact that the campground's water
pump went out so the Ranger locked all the bathrooms after fixing the
problem. The park needs to build up water pressure again. Thankfully,
we have our own bathroom. What about the tent campers and day
visitors? Time for them to dig a hole I guess.
When
the kids started their DVD, I sat down with all the Monopoly game
pieces we've accumulated over the past few months. Yes, I have time-
so figured why not play. After an hour of opening and sorting the
pieces, I am an official winner! A $5 gift card at Safeway. I figured
that I didn't play, I would have had the winning game piece for the
vacation home or million dollars.
It's
almost 5 o'clock and the rest of our day will be showering, making
dinner, and playing a new board game. Since Alex is so sick, we had a
short day of school. I figure that when he wants to take a nap, he is
really feeling crappy.
Tonight
will be an early bed time and up early to head to the local BLM
office in Kanab to learn about which route they recommend. Our goal
is to stick to the Southwest over the next month &
then to return to the road and hit Colorado in July/August.
We
all have must do lists for this trip...
Kids:
Grand
Canyon
Steve:
Moab
Visit
his cousin Dave in California
Me:
See
my friend Alison in Gilbert, AZ
Visit
Prescott, AZ
See
friend Katja near Sonoma, CA
There
is so much to see here! As Steve was tucking Alex in last night, I
had all the Road & Recreation Atlases laid out on the dinette. I
think we both can agree that heading south will be a good thing this
week. In the next couple of weeks we aim to hit the Grand Canyon,
central & southern Arizona, & then aim to head back up to
Utah, go West to Nevada, and then into California. Of course this
could change in the next few hours. That is what is so fun... we have
no set agenda and seem to have the best days when we are wandering
and discover surprises along the way.
JOURNAL
ENTRY
Sunday
March 26th, 2017
AMAZING
AMAZING AMAZING DAY!!!!!
Kids
woke up feeling much better and we all showered which made us all
feel like a million bucks. After a quick and random breakfast, we
filled up our water tank (which we completely drained in just 2 days)
& then dumped the black/gray water tanks, and hit the road.
Steve
wanted to go back to Best Friends to get a baseball hat (the kids and
I all got them on our tour day, & I guess Steve decided that he
too 'needed' one.) After picking up his hat, and a gift for our dear
friend Micki (she introduced us to this amazing organization), we
headed down to Kanab.
The
first mission was to stop at the BLM Visitor Center to get help with
deciding which road to take today.. highway 89 or 89A. Both have
great stopping points. After take out lunch from a Mexican restaurant
(I wanted a break from cooking), we make calls to the Grand Canyon to
check on lodging options and followed the signs through town that led
us to Highway 89A. Soon, we found ourselves crossing into Arizona
and heading up into the mountains near Jacob Lake. Steve was tickled
because before we were married, he and his Dad took a motorcycle trip
through this area. Steve trailered his dual-sport down to Utah and
his Dad flew in from New York and rented a bike & they ended up
at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. So when we pulled in to the gas
station at the road leading to the North part of the park, Steve
called his Dad and then went in to the little gift shop and bought
each of the kids little pottery bowls (just as he had done for me
when they rode here many years ago.)
After
staking claim to a campsite, we headed down to the Colorado River and
the kids played on the beach while I literally cried tears of joy. So
happy to be in the magical place. On the Colorado River, where I
spent many nights with friends/family from Prescott College &
others. The Canyon and River are sacred to me.
I
will let the pictures do the rest of the talking tonight...
I have a ton of pictures but need a new SD card for my new phone to transfer quickly.
I promise to post more later
♡
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