New Hike!

Warning: this post is Very Picture Intensive. Those of you with slow internet connections should just use your imaginations. For those of you with high-speed internet, these pictures are well-worth biggifying.

Okay. So, Mom and Dad took me on a new hike yesterday. Mom has this big map of all these different trails, and trail heads and things, and decided that we would 'try' a hike that was started "somewhere" off the Dalton Wash road.

For those of you who don't know Dad, "somewhere" always makes him a little nervous. He likes directions to be a little more specific than that. Especially when the road is a dirt road that seems to go up at about a 60% grade. Mom wasn't worried because she wasn't driving!

Anyhoo, after a couple of wrong turns and a glimpse of a somewhat creepy guy camping up on the mesa, Mom and Dad found a place to park that suited them, and off we went, not having any idea as to what to expect.

At the start, it was just another dirt road. Ho-hum. I won't bother to show you more dirt road pictures, as you get the idea. We went on for a while, until I decided that I needed a drink. FYI, Dad carries my water (and his), while Mom carries the backpack that has extra clothes, food, dog treats, etc., etc.

Now even if you biggify that picture, you might miss my water drinking technique.

Note the tongue curl-age. This is so I can most efficiently drink out of Dad's water bottle. (Yes, we share. I kiss him on the lips, so it's not like sharing a water bottle is that much different. I mean, I've already got Dad's cooties at this point!)

Once we got off the dirt road, we found ourselves on a very up-and-down trail with lots of slick rock. Mom says I'm a "mountain goat". Last time I checked, I was still a doggie.

Photo-op! (Neither of my grandmothers should panic at this photo - we were no where near the edge!)
Pretty cool scenery, huh?


And then back to the slickrock. I was the trail guide!

Another photo-op! This picture is well-worth biggifying; Mom and Dad seemed to be pretty impressed with the scenery. Me? I was looking for elusive jack rabbits.


See, I told you I was the trail guide! I kept my eyes peeled for this rock markers so we didn't get lost.


Wow, there's a lot of rock here, Mom! But don't worry I'll guide you safely.


This is a 'window'. It can be created by wind or water, but we're guessing wind on this one.

HI!!! Heehee!!!

More drinking. I was interested in the pool, but Dad insisted that I drink out of the bottle, instead. Spoilsport! ;-)


Me and Mom at the edge of the world! (Not really, it just looks like it!)


Me and Dad in front of more of this 'scenery' stuff.

I really don't know why Mom says I'm a mountain goat. She might be confused, though, because she's got really long legs all of a sudden. Maybe it's an 'Alice in Wonderland' sort of thing...



Oh wait, her legs are normal again! More scenery stuff. And trail markers.

There are trails that run all over this mesa, and after looking at the mesa on Google Earth, Mom and Dad want to come back and do some more exploring. Which sounds good to me, because I like walking up and down the rocks. And scoping out the occasional rabbit/lizard. So, this was actually a pretty cool hike; I'm glad Mom found it. I can't wait to go back. And I can't wait to see what other new hikes Mom finds.

Now I'm going to go take a nap with my little big sister, because looking at all of these pictures is wearing me out!

*kissey face*
-Fiona The Intrepid