We've been hiking!!!

Mom is really starting to slack again. But I have decided that I can’t really fire her without having a replacement lined up, and frankly, it’s pretty hard to find someone who will work for dog cookies and kisses who isn’t already working for someone else. So… I’m stuck with Mom’s slacking. It’s just so hard to get good help these days.

*ahem*

We’ve been on two more hikes since the last post. See, Abby suffers from CPS (Crazy Puppy Syndrome), and as such if she is inside the House With Wheels for too long, she starts to bounce off the walls and chew on my tail. I’m not too worried about the walls, but I prefer the plumage of my tail to stay where it is. So, I have implored Mom and Dad to take us hiking Every Day so that the symptoms of CPS don’t become overwhelming and I have to go in hiding behind the chairs.

And in all fairness, Mom and Dad have been really good about upholding their end of the bargain. That said, I have to warn you, because of Mom’s slacking this post is pretty picture intensive, as I’ve got pictures from both hikes…

Yesterday we hiked the ‘Guacamole Trail’ up Dalton Wash. Don’t ask me why it is called ‘Guacamole – I saw no signs of chips or salsa anywhere, and I was looking everywhere! I hiked part of this last fall with Mom and Dad; it is ‘slickrock’ (i.e. sandstone) for a good part of the trail, so it is kind of rough on my feet, and so Mom and Dad didn’t want to go the full 7 miles of the trail. The felt the same way yesterday when we hiked it. For all of her boisterous obnoxiousness energy and enthusiasm, Abby is still a young pup – not quite 18 weeks old, and while she can go 5+ miles with no problems, Mom and Dad wanted to make sure that her tender puppy feet didn’t get too roughed up on the trail.

But first we had to get up there; the trail is on top of a mesa, and the road up gets pretty steep at points (unfortunately the camera doesn’t really give you a sense of how steep it is, and Mom was too busy holding on to the door handle with white knuckles while Dad was driving over some washed out sections that had been ‘shored up’ to get pictures…). Here’s a view from the top of the mesa down, and if you look carefully, you can see the road winding its way down; it goes all the way down to the valley floor, BTW.

Anyhoo, Dad’s driving skills and the fact that we have a Jeep ensured that we got up there with no problems. And then it was time to go.

Which way, Dad?
Oh. You think the arrow is pointing the way? How clever! Heehee!

The air was cool for, oh, like, the first 15 minutes so Mom started off in a long-sleeve shirt. And you have to admit, the scenery is pretty stunning! (Even if Abby looks like a doofus!) Typically, Dad walks me, and Mom walks Abby, but for some ‘photo ops’ Mom or Dad will take both of us so we can pose. Or not….


See, we can pose!
Enough with the photo ops, let’s GO!

Oooh. Cool. You can look all the way over the edge!
The part of the trail that goes along the edge of the mesa
More photo ops!
Back to the slickrock!

Heehee! Hi Dad!

Enough scenery, Mom, let’s GO!!!

Abby was learning how to follow the trail…

Hey, um, Dad. I think the trail markers point for us to go this way…
Heehee. Double scratchy break!

And 5 miles later we were back at the car! Mom thinks this picture should be part of a Jeep ad…

So that was yesterday. Today we were back up and at ‘em. Mom and Dad were considering taking a day off, but by 10:30am Abby was starting to show signs of CPS, so Mom got us all ready to go out the door. We went back to the JEM trail, but we parked at trailhead a little further in than we usually do, so that we could make it to the Virgin River Dam; Mom and Dad had seen the signs for it, but had never made it all the way there before, so the plan was to go find the dam.

The trail is kind of dry and dusty, because we are quite a ways above the river (on yet another mesa…) but Abby took time to stop and smell the flowers!
And Dad is very generous with the water! (Mom carries extra so none of us go thirsty…)

After a couple of miles we saw the river, again!

And then we saw the dam.

Dad had to climb out on a ledge to get these pictures. Kidding! Although he did go off the trail so he could get the pictures – we couldn’t actually see the dam from the trail.

Today was a pretty hot day, so after looking around a bit,
we headed back.

(I don’t know why Mom says we are doofuses…)

And then it was back to the car, and another one of Mom’s “Jeep Ad” shots.
And then nap time!!!

Alas, these hikes only temporarily wear Abby out. By 7pm or so, she’s wreaking havoc again. I think Mom should take her on two 5 mile hikes a day. I’m just sayin’….

*kissey face*
-Fiona

PeeEss: I know that this really should have been two separate posts, but I've got to get Mom when she is in a posting mood; if I waited too long, I'd have, like, pictures from 5 hikes backed up...