The Beauty of Old Dogs and Canyons

Baby Snooks when she was 5

We are still parked at our oldest daughter's vacant house in Enoch near Cedar City, Utah. We are hoping she can make it over here from her duty station in Monterey, CA, but we don't know when. Either way, we are already mulling over where to winter, and praying about our next move. We have done most of what we came here to do, except taking in more local attractions and doing a major reorganization of our basement. But that's a whole other blog post.

Baby Snooks loves getting groomed, but finding a good groomer on the road is not easy. We visited one who did not even get her clean. I should have known when they said, "You can pick her up in 30 minutes." When we lived in California, we went to a do-it-yourself place and it was grand. In Florida, she loved her regular groomer. This morning we took Baby Snooks to a local doggie bakery and self grooming place. It is in the process of being sold, however.

Baby Snooks at 17, getting better

Only a few days back, Snooks became so ill we thought she was dying. Her chest was full of fluids and her color was grey. She became limp and unresponsive and we were saying our goodbyes. I posted this picture on Facebook with the following note:
Our sweet, 17 year old Baby Snooks is close to death. The Lasix cannot keep up with her congestive heart failure and her lungs are filling with fluid. She is in no apparent pain (an answer to prayer). Thank you dear little friend who has changed our lives forever. We love you so deeply...

So many folks prayed and sent heartfelt notes to us. The outpouring of love was amazing. Snookie made it through the night but showed only a small improvement the next day, yet each day since, she has gotten a little stronger and today, she was strong enough for a bath and even tried to mooch some of Richard's lunch. What a merciful God we serve!

Other excitement includes a trip to the Kolob Canyons (or Fingers) section of Zion Nat'l Park about 20 miles south of Cedar City. Once you enter the park, five miles of red paved road takes you to trails, a picnic area, and views to catch your breath away.

We brought sandwiches and hiked the short trail to the picnic area. There was a sign warning us about mountain lions and telling us if we encountered one we should not run but "try to make yourself look big," and we could also throw rocks at the predator.

The wounds on Richard's arm are not from a big cat, though. He fell in the dark the other night on a refrigerator run between the house to the coach. There are large and tall stepping stones here along with gravel... and the light was off. We're using the frig in the house because ours doesn't run that well when not on shore power, just one of several little issues we need to deal with while sitting around this winter.

After our meal, Richard hiked one of the trails and got some good photos. He was gone a little longer than I expected so I began to wonder if the mountain lions were all having their afternoon naps as they should be. I decided to question the next exiting hikers. The first group I approached interrupted me as I asked, "Have you seen a tall man..." They turned and pointed... He was right behind them.

Yes, we lead an blessed and adventuresome life... It's so much more fun than sitting in a rocker on the proverbial front porch of retirement.

The "Five Fingers" of Kolob Canyons