Tag Archives: Utah

Yellow Stones and More Snow!

 

 

  Woof, woof! We are resting in Eugene, Oregon right now and it is nice. It has been a little while since I have updated everyone. After my last blog posting a big storm with wind, rain, and snow made us go stay at a motel in a town called Grand Junction. We were camped close to Arches and Canyonlands parks and when we left it started getting windy, then cold and rainy. After that big storm passed we went to a place called Colorado National monument. We stayed there two nights waiting for it to get warmer because Matt said where we were going was up higher in the mountains and colder too. That was another big canyon called Black Canyon of the Gunnison. I liked it there, deer came right into our campsite and we hiked down into the canyon. It was windy and cold there like Matt said and it rained that night, when we woke up the next morning everything was frozen, woof! I stayed under the warm sleeping bag with Matt for a long time before we got up that morning. Matt waited until the sun had been up a while before we got out.

Me and Matt at the black canyon.
Me and Matt at the black canyon.

  Just when I thought I had seen everything, then we see something else strange and new. We went on a long drive after the black canyon and went to a place with water shooting out of the ground. The whole place smelled funny. At first I thought my human was being impolite until he explained the stuff called sulfur which was in the air. We went to a place where the ground bubbles, shoots up water way in the sky and makes all kind of strange noises. Some places had steam all over the place and those strange smells. The place is called Yellowstone and some places do have yellow stones, and white, and red, and a whole lot of colors. We had to walk on boardwalks to stay safe. The water looks clear and fresh but Matt said some of it was very hot and some was dangerous because of stuff call acid and he explained what toxic meant. I really enjoyed watching the water spurt up way in the air. Some went all the time and some only now and then. We stayed at Yellowstone for three days.

Strange things happen at Yellowstone.
Strange things happen at Yellowstone.

  After Yellowstone we went to another strange looking place, it was called Craters of the Moon, the name is longer than that, but that is all I can remember now. A lot of the land has no plants and it is very rocky. The strange thing is the rocks have holes in them and they are not as heavy as you would think. We went on several hikes there. That place was in a state called Idaho. Woof, talking about states I have been to four new ones for me. Oklahoma was my first new state a long while ago on the trip. Now I can add Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Oregon!

  When we got to Oregon there was more rain and snow, we sure have seen a lot of that. The weather has been strange; when we first got in Oregon it was hot, 80 degrees, woof! Then the next day it was 50 and the next day is when it rained and snowed.

  Well I have things almost completely updated in this report and I am holding up my paw in a promise to start my next blog tonight.

Two Months and Still Going

 

  Woof, well really more than two months. I have been having a great time working as a service dog. We have been going on a lot of hikes everywhere we have been going. Sometimes it is hard to remember I am working so many people are kind and well meaning and they want to pet me. Sometimes Matt lets them if we are resting. This year has been more fun than last year. I hardly ever have to wait in the truck anymore. We were recently in Zion and Bryce national parks, at first I thought Matt said it was Rice Canyon. Can you imagine a canyon full of rice? Matt had a good laugh with that one.

 

  We had a nice weekend not too long ago with Matt’s cousin and his family camping out. Woof, of course when are we not camping out right now? I spent the whole time off leash and not working, I got to roam and play all I wanted to until I just had to lie down to take a nap. We were not near a road and the best thing is there was a creek there, I got to play in it all I wanted and it was fun. I had kids to play with and they wore me out. We stayed there for two days and I got to eat real meat, Tim gave me so much and it was good, ruff! We spent almost the whole time in camp enjoying each other’s company. When we got ready to leave Theresa gave me a new toy and I love it.

 

  After that we went back to the big lake called Powell and this time Matt let me go swimming. Then we went to see a big river called the Colorado. The river was big and the water was flowing too fast Matt said. The net place we went was Zion where we did a lot of hiking. Woof we have been to so many places it is hard to remember them all right now. Then we went to Bryce the rice canyon. I still like to think of it by that name.

Me swimming at Lake Powell!
Me swimming at Lake Powell!

 

  We camped in Bryce Canyon park for several days. I think Matt was tired when we arrived. He just about pulled into the first place he saw. After trying to find camping places at pother crowded parks he said we were going to stay for a while to have fun plus get some rest. So far we have hiked down into Rice Canyon (woof, just making a funny) and then hiked at another canyon close by called Red Canyon. The next day we hiked at Kodak Park, at least I thought it was called that, Matt told me it really was Kodachrome Basin State Park.

It ws windy at Kodachrome park!
It was windy at Kodachrome park!.

 

  The next places we went were Arches and Canyonlands  parks then we went to Capitol Reef, I got excited because I thought we would see the ocean. Matt told me it was not that kind of reef. It was a beautiful place, we hiked on several trails and it even started snowing when we were on a trail so we had to go back to camp.

 

We are stayed more than one night in a motel in Grand Junction when the weather got bad, I learned about motels last year. There were a lot of dogs and humans there, woof and they are nice and warm. We are heading out this morning to start camping again and more adventures.

Desert Dreaming

For those that have just joined us on Jackson’s blog you may notice my name on here a bit. When his Facebook fans donated money for a GoPro camera I bought his domain name and promised him a website. Well he got a little impatient and just took over mine so his domain just points to this site.
– Matt

Woof! I thought I was in the truck traveling with my human where the land looks totally different. It was wonderful, all the strange and different smells were back and the wind from the window was blowing my ears back. The next think I knew my human was telling me I was dreaming. I thought I was back walking and running in that place where there were not many trees. My human and I were hiking on trails all over the place. I had my boots on because of those sticky plants, I am so glad Matt got those for me. I was visiting with other dogs and humans, it was fun. There were big rivers, but this time they were gentle and I went swimming, woof! In my dream I did not have to wait in the truck when my human went on some hikes, I got to go on every hike everywhere.

Dreaming about desert hiking!
Dreaming about desert hiking!

That was a wonderful dream about a strange and different place we just visited. Most of the places we went to did not have any trees, though there were a few around some places. I did get to go on a lot of hikes but Matt told me I was not allowed to go on some he wanted to go on. He did make sure I got to go on plenty; I just wish I could have gone on all of them. Ruff I wonder who I can complain to about that? We lived in the truck a lot so we were outdoors more than usual though we did stay in places Matt called hotels. We even stayed at a big one and I got in a room that moved and took you places!

Hiking at Bryce Canyon.
Hiking at Bryce Canyon.

Recently we have been on a few hikes in some of my favorite places, a mountain called Morrow and a forest with small mountains called Uwharrie. YouWharriee, Ruff, you try to say that! It is tough for a dog to say, how do you humans get that sound out? My human says we have a big trip planned sometime in a few months. I forget how long a month is, it seems a long ways off. I know he will keep reminding me, he did last time!

Ruff, I am getting sleepy again. Maybe I will dream about the desert place again. I hope so, I really liked it there! Well that is all I have to say for this evening. I had my supper and my bed is calling me to hike on another trail, woof!

 

Arches and Canyonlands

For those that have just joined us on Jackson’s blog I am adding this note. We are on a month-long road trip visiting the desert canyons in the American west. I enjoy traveling, but I always regret my best buddy can’t go on a lot of my adventures. This is one of two we have planned this year centered around Jackson joining in on the grand adventure. Jackson is going to be doing all of the blog posts. We will be posting our photographs on our Facebook pages (and a few here also!)
– Matt

Woof, woof,I’m tired, but I am behind on my blog so I am starting it tonight (Saturday) and will finish in the morning, ruff! We have been so busy since the last time I wrote. We drove from Bryce Canyon to a town called Moab. What a busy and interesting place! We had a hard tiime finding a place to stay, but we did. There are a lot of humans here, racing, riding, and driving big cars and trucks out in the wilderness and city, ruff. We have been visiting two parks here, Matt said they were called Arches and Canyonlands. My human also found out about some places I could go for a hike so we went to a place called Portal Arch. Matt put on my boots so I wouldn’t hurt my feet on those nasty sticky plants. We had a big surprise on the hike and I had to climb up some rocks while my human climbed up a ladder, but I made it okay. then we had to go back, but Matt figured out how to help me. He is pretty smart for a human. We explored the two parks for two days and it was so different than what I am used to at home. Hardly any trees and you can see a long, long way off, ruff!

Me hiking on the Portal Trail..
Me hiking on the Portal Trail..
Portal Arch.
Portal Arch.

We got up early today on Sunday, my human said something about time changing. I don’t understand what he meant about that, how does time change? Humans are so strange sometimes, he said it was an hour later, but it looked the same to me. Matt told me I will be going to a new state today, one I haven’t been to before. I think I am beginning to understand what a state is. Each one looks and smells so different than the other. He says we will be going to some more canyons, those are deep holes in the ground and when you are in them you can’t see as far, but you do see some amazing thing like big rocks, sometimes there is a river and sometimes there isn’t, woof!
Well I had better stop writing for now and get ready to go, I am all packed up and ready before my human, humans are so slow sometimes! Of course he is up earlier and is almost ready, he is faster than usual today. Oh, before I forget here is a link to my YouTube video of my hike the other day to Portal Arch:

Bryce Canyon National Park

For those that have just joined us on Jackson’s blog I am adding this note. We are on a month-long road trip visiting the desert canyons in the American west. I enjoy traveling, but I always regret my best buddy can’t go on a lot of my adventures. This is one of two we have planned this year centered around Jackson joining in on the grand adventure. Jackson is going to be doing all of the blog posts. We will be posting our photographs on our Facebook pages (and a few here also!)
– Matt

Woof, woof, we drove from Zion National Park to Bryce Canyon National Park on Tuesday. What a difference between the two places. Both scenery and weather. While in Zion, my human got stuck in a thunderstorm while I was waiting on him in the truck. I was worried about him because it took a while for him to get down off the trail. I was glad he did not get hurt or struck by that bright stuff called lightning! When he got back he was wet all over and cold! He said a lot of foolish humans were still hiking up the mountain and trying to hide under trees and rocky cliffs. Wow, even dogs know better than that!

My first close view of Bryce Canyon!.
My first close view of Bryce Canyon!.
Some of the humans I met at Bryce Canyon.
Some of the humans I met at Bryce Canyon.

When we got to Bryce Canyon we drove and took pictures after we checked into a motel. Matt said it was so cold at night at the canyon it would freeze inside the truck. When we were at the Gila cliff dwellings it got down to 19. I had to get under the sleeping bag and quilt to stay warm. Ruff, I like the room it was much warmer. The next day I went to a hike on the rim of Bryce Canyon and got to see the hoodoos in the canyon and meet a bunch of nice humans. It was a lot of fun. Then my human went for a hike in the canyon, ruff! I am not allowed in the canyon just because I am a dog, so I had to wait in the truck for him.

Wow, it sure is big, but not as big as the Grand Canyon!
Wow, it sure is big, but not as big as the Grand Canyon!

Today we are going to a place called Arches National Park, I hope it is fun there too! I hope I can write another blog report then. Woof, woof, see you from there!

PS Woof, if you want to see my hike, here is a link to my YouTube channel and my hike at Bryce Canyon (and other videos too!)