Western Vacation

It's still hard for me to write about my vacation after what happened in Blacksburg the day we returned, but I think it's time. I have to say I feel a little guilty having a great vacation while 32 people were gunned down at my alma mater. But part of this blog's purpose is so I can look back and think of both good and bad times, of the great times Debbie and I (and one day our family) share, and this trip was definitely a good one.

We flew into Las Vegas and drove to St. George, UT, getting late that night, but it set us up for a full day in Zion NP. We did several hikes, but the longest and grandest was to Hidden Canyon. We scaled the side of the east rim of Zion canyon (quite a feat for me, who is scared of heights) to a slot canyon about 1000 feet above the canyon floor. There were great views of Angel's Landing and the canyon from the hike, and the slot canyon was beautiful, including a small natural arch.

That night we drove to Bryce, UT. In the morning, we rode horses in Red Canyon and in the afternoon we hiked in Bryce NP. It was quite cold all day and it threatened to storm, but never did. My horse, Buddy had a bit of an attitude.

We woke to snow and driving to Kanab, UT and Best Friends Animal Sanctuary . We spent the morning on a tour and cleaning the home of some cats with leukemia. Best Friends takes animals from all over the world that would otherwise be euthenized. While feline leukemia is highly contagious amoung cats, many cats can live long, comfortable lives with the disease. In the afternoon, we fed and walked dogs, including 3 of the ~170 dogs they airlifted for Beirut following the Israeli attacks their last year. The attacks destroyed the only animal shelter inLebanon, and Best Friends airlifted over 300 animals to Utah. All but these 3 dogs have been adopted (and they were quite good, adoptable dogs). Debbie fell in love with a Greyhound mix named Bill.

After our day of volunteering, we drove in the dark, fog, and snow to Tuscayan, AZ. We passed the Kaibab NF, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and Vermillion Cliffs on our way. In the Kaibab, we met a hippie who was hiking from Flagstaff to Boulder, UT, and earlier in the day had been kicked out of coffe shop in a small border town, he suspects for being too close to the Mormon girls. The police gave him a ride to a shelter along the side of the highway and dropped him off.

The next 2 days we spend at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. On Friday we hiked and drove much of the rim, and on Saturday we hiked into the Canyon to Indian Gardens. On Sunday we drove to Vegas and stayed at the Luxor hotel, which is the world's largest pyramid. On Monday we flew back to RDU.

Other news: We're still tring to sell our Durham house.