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Category: Hiking (page 6 of 12)

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah – Part Two: Sleepover Dogs

June 16, 2019 / / 36 Comments

To read my first blog about this incredible no-kill animal sanctuary and our two weeks of volunteering there, click here. 

The Concept

While being familiar with Best Friends and its animal sanctuary in Utah, Mark and I had no knowledge of their “sleepover” animals. The first time I heard about a sleepover dog was at Donna’s blog Retirement Reflections, as she reported on taking one to their pet-friendly accommodation in Kanab for the night, after volunteering at the sanctuary. 

Swift portrait

Certain cats, rabbits, and dogs at Best Friends are available for a sleepover. They have been assessed as such by a professional team and usually tried out by staff members. The only requirement to “borrow” a pet is that you’ve completed at least one volunteer shift in that particular department. In regards to dogs, they also request you don’t go out to dinner that night (but cook at your accommodation or do take-out/delivery), so the animal isn’t left alone. Other rules are to not let your sleepover dog interact with other dogs, don’t take him/her to restaurants, and don’t feed him/her human food.

Ehu is a happy boy!

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Canyons, Dead-ends, and Lessons Learned

May 28, 2019 / / 47 Comments

The Plan

Things don’t always go as planned. Not that we plan often. But after our exhausting house sit in Albuquerque, the idea was to spend a couple of days at a quiet, free campground in El Malpais National Monument, drive to Canyon de Chelly to spend a day hiking and sightseeing, move to the Hopi Reservation in Navajo Nation for an affordable tour and a free night at the Cultural Center, and visit the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. That park opens on May 15th every year and—reputedly—has smaller crowds than the well-trotted South Rim. Our temporary end destination would be Kanab, Utah to volunteer at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary for two weeks. (Click on or hover over the photos to read the captions.)

Panorama from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Albuquerque, NM

But… two important packages—to fix an engine problem in Zesty—refused to arrive as scheduled, before our departure from Albuquerque. Mark did all he could to reroute them to Kanab. Everything seemed in order; we left for some rest in El Malpais, an hour and a half west of the city. Luckily, we picked up a cell signal with AT&T there (we never did with our previous carrier T-Mobile). After a cold yet peaceful night, both packages were to be delivered at our pet sitting address, that Saturday. In awful weather, we returned to the house. The USPS parcel had arrived by 11am, but we waited for the UPS package until 4:30pm; it was the last stop on his route! We drove until 7:30pm to make a little bit of headway in the right direction and “urban camped” in Gallup, NM. Detour: three hours.

Campsite El Malpais NM
Stormy weather
Free night in the parking lot of Cracker Barrel in Gallup, NM – not the quietest place

Lessons learned: Don’t believe everything is in order, until it actually is! And, don’t venture too far away if packages are “in transit”.

Canyon de Chelly (pronounced Canyon de Shay), AZ

One of the most rewarding experiences of having no expectations is arriving at a new destination and being awed. We rekindled with that feeling we discovered in Bryce Canyon and Arches National Parks last year, in Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Navajo Nation, Arizona. This park is free! Staring into the canyon the first time, we found vertical walls, branched off side canyons, a meandering river, and a lush valley.

Canyon de Chelly NM

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Completed House Sits – Albuquerque, NM (April 6th – May 10th, 2019)

May 14, 2019 / / 59 Comments

After Mark and I finished our six-week house sit with Gunner and Beckwourth in Albuquerque last spring (you can read that post here), we never thought we’d be back. While spring isn’t great in New Mexico, circumstances did lure us in for another five weeks. As a repeat sit, the introduction to the tasks was brief and straightforward; the biggest difference a third adult Labrador, named Fitzpatrick. 

Sometimes, it would be nice to have three hands!
Fitz loves his toys!

The Dogs

Three big dogs are a handful. We easily spent three hours a day taking care of their basic needs – peeing, pooping, feeding, walking. This doesn’t include brushing, bathing, clipping nails, cleaning ears, or cuddling.

Dog walk in the neighborhood
Walk on the mesa with Fitz and Beck
Walking the yellow labs after a storm.
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Where Utah and Arizona Meet

May 8, 2019 / / 52 Comments

As Mark and I wrap up our five-week house sit in Albuquerque, New Mexico, it is more than time for me to wrap up my blog posts about our explorations in Zesty before that.

Driving through inspiring landscapes

What follows is a series of snapshots of fascinating areas, which didn’t make it in previous posts. Northern Arizona and Southern Utah—it was often not clear in which state we were hiking, camping, or sightseeing—have so much to offer in terms of natural beauty (and an animal sanctuary) that we are returning soon.

Horseshoe Bend
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Catching “The Wave” Means Winning the Lottery

April 24, 2019 / / 53 Comments

“Will you try to go to The Wave when you’re there,” fellow travelers kept asking us as they learned about our plans to visit the Lake Powel area in Northern Arizona. Mark and I had never heard about it, so said, “Maybe.” We rarely plan and certainly not weeks ahead of time. We knew the surroundings of the lake were pretty from Ingrid’s blog and that was it.

When a “Good luck!” followed, we wondered why luck is involved to hike to a sandstone formation. Apparently, there is a lottery involved. “Over 100 people a day apply,” a new friend told us. Hard to believe and it was still too cold to head north, so we kept The Wave in the back of our mind. As more and more people either raved about this destination or wished they could have hiked there, it was time for a quick Google search.

The Wave
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Sedona Surprises

April 17, 2019 / / 56 Comments

Sedona, Arizona is one of those places we had heard a lot of praise for but knew nothing about. Our Lonely Planet USA – a big book about a big country – mentions that Sedona is “nestled amid striking red sandstone formations,” is “the center of ‘vortexes’,” and “offers outstanding hiking.” Partial to hiking in beautiful scenery, we decided to make the detour. This also allowed us to check off a few things on our to-do list in Prescott, make a pit stop in the old mining town of Jerome, and climb up to Flagstaff in order to pick up our initial route. I’ve reported on these destinations here.

View from the Templeton Trail

(As always, click on the photos for enlarged versions or click/hover to read the captions.)

Camping

We’d read on iOverlander about a plethora of boondocking sites in Cococino National Forest, about eight miles NW of Sedona. We started on the bumpy dirt road from the west. Much to our surprise, it was extremely busy with campers. Five miles in, we finally scored the most incredible site and we discovered that there was a quicker way out. We spent three free nights here to explore this side of the city.

Our campsite in Cococino NF
View from our site in Cococino NF
Like Albuquerque, Sedona is popular with hot air balloons
This balloon landed on the dirt road next to our camping area.
So much to see and do in Sedona!

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Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona

April 13, 2019 / / 44 Comments

No matter how you look at it, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is out of the way. Bordering Mexico, it’s a detour from the most southern highway (I-8 hitting I-10), which is why we never paid a visit before. Plus, there is no cell service in the park. Being so close to Mexico on the other hand, encouraged us to jump across for Mark’s birthday weekend early March.

But before that, we found a quiet, beautiful, and free campsite north of the park boundary – with cell service – and spent a few days exploring this desert park. Our annual National Park pass covered the $25 entrance fee.

Roomy and level campsite
Imagine this river bed – a wash – actually filled with roaring water…
Someone had left a decent amount of firewood. Easy enough to make a campfire and warm up!

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Arizona Adventure at a Glance

April 10, 2019 / / 44 Comments

Disclaimer: This post contains a lot of photographs!

Mark and I left San Diego – and our last (short) house sit – on February 1st. It’s been quite the 9-week adventure! The first month, we focused on work and staying warm in Southern California. Both with mixed results. Early March, we dipped into Mexico for a few days, after biking and hiking in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (Southern Arizona), which I hope to post a photo gallery of this Saturday.

Organ pipe and saguaro cacti

By then, our list of chores had grown out of proportion. We chose Phoenix as the city to take care of laundry, a van problem, shopping, collecting packages, and catching up on internet chores. Our attractive boondocking spot on BLM land north of Phoenix offered views and hiking trails. (To enlarge photos and read captions, click on the images – or hover over them.)

Not a bad place to camp
Spring in the desert
Hiking on BLM land near Phoenix
Three different cacti in one photo: a barrel cactus, a teddy bear cholla cactus, and a saguaro.
We couldn’t read the trail marker…

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California Desert Escape

January 13, 2019 / / 55 Comments

What do you do when you feel like you’re overstaying your welcome at a friend’s house in San Diego (and you have a husband antsy to return to nature and could use a little break from memoir work yourself)? You pack up, jump in your camper van, and head into the California desert for a couple of days. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is huge. You opt for the Borrego Springs area as an initiation to this region since you don’t have much time.

Zesty on desert roads

You boondock in solitude and under a million stars.

Hawk Canyon
First use of my selfie stick! 🙂
Spotting another Westy! Her name is Thistle and we chatted with the owners until nightfall.
Quiet spot in the desert
Sunrise in the desert

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The Yeasty Beasty Experience

December 19, 2018 / / 57 Comments

Today, I would like to introduce you to an incredible couple, who we are happy to call close friends. Some of our best friends are the ones we met when living on the road or on the water; there’s nothing like hanging out with kindred spirits, or visiting them again during our travels.

Our first “international” party on Irie happened in Green Turtle Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
It’s here that we met Tom
Irie anchored in Green Turtle Cay in 2008
Cute settlement of Green Turtle

Mark and I met Tom in Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas, in 2008. He was sailing his sturdy little Ellida and would meet up with his girlfriend further down the Caribbean island chain. In St. Martin, we caught up with him and Karmen, who is a chiropractor and aspiring photographer. Her traits came in handy, as Mark was suffering from a bad back one year and he and I had a romantic plan the next year.  Continue reading

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