We had a great time in Moab, despite much rain. Our first full day there was half sunny, which was good enough for a 3 hour hike to Fischer Towers (scene of the opening scene in MI3, Tom Cruise scaling a cliff...). Butters did really well on his first camping trip. I did well too, thanks to lots of freshening wipes and a new headlamp. We spent more time at the campsite than originally planned due to the weather, but that was just fine by me, listening to the relentless rapids of the Colorado river cut through the canyon (how's that for alliteration?). It was a divine lullaby at night, with raindrops smacking the tent as percussion. I saw many birds that I could not identify. Next time I will need a field guide. It is amazing, the amount of life that a desertscape can support. The flowers alone--roots planted firm in eroded red rock--are a miracle.
I guess the prickly grasses that kept embedding their spurs in my sweatpant legs, poking my ankles are miracles too.
When we returned home Maggie knew. She knew that we went somewhere fun, we were pungent with campfire smoke, sweat and grilled food. She could sense every piece of fresh open-air grilled bacon. She could see Butters' new found sense of confidence and new bond with his masters (got that Maggie? We are the masters, we are the pack leaders. Just in case you forgot, as you often do). She could see the red sand coating his paw pads and clearly envisioned his hours of chasing toys on the riverbanks. To put it simply, she was bitter.
I think she's almost over it now--just in time for us to leave again, this time for Pennsylvania. Butters will be here with her, as will friends of ours who offered to petsit. She even gets extra attention due to Butters' puppy requirements: at least 4 walks a day, lots of treats, and as much supervision as possible. When Maggie stays alone, she gets only half of all that because she requires only half. So she should, in theory, be excited. And Butters, he just has no idea.
So to PA we fly on Wednesday, to visit family and catch up. It's a shorter than desired visit this time around, but hopefully a return trip will be possible in the fall.
And in the meantime, I will keep trying to draw. I didn't get much of that done in Moab due to a lack of appropriate weatherproofing. That and some motion sickness issues with the pup. Poor thing.
I know, excuses excuses. Seriously though...
