From Snain to Desert Sun

Before our desert trip, we were in the midst of one last storm that put me over the edge. I was just looking at my photos from that day when it was "snaining", a combination of rain and snow. Based on this photo, I think that Shyla had gone over the edge too!

I know that it will storm again. Indeed, it will even snow again (it snows here every month except July and August) but our desert break put me in a frame of mind to cope with it and maybe even enjoy it.

What I love about the west is the vast open spaces and the hugely variable terrain and climate. By driving for a few hours, we left the snow behind us and were in a warm, if alien, world. The next photo was about 24 hours after Shyla's "unhappy" photo above. It was quite a transformation, in every way.

Flowers were blooming. A dwarf lupine...

Desert paintbrush...

And technicolor lizards were skittering around, like this Collared Lizard.

We could be outside in shorts and tee-shirts all day long, enjoying the sun's warmth.

Although we were super careful about protecting the dogs' paws with boots, R still got sore paws during our trip, so it turns out that I don't have many photos of him. We didn't want him clambering around in the red rocks any more than necessary. This is one of the few.

I love desert sunsets. Unlike our mountain home, the sun is visible all the way until it falls below the flat horizon creating gorgeous light. I can't resist photographing Shyla in that light.

We could see, on our eastern horizon, some snow-capped mountains that lit up with alpenglow at sunset. Later in the trip, when the weather got too hot, we escaped to the mountains to cool off.

Shyla really came into her own on the trip, handling the huge variety of new things that we ran into, like other people/bikers on trails, lizards, small towns where we stopped for groceries... She'll never be the most confident dog in the world but she's moving toward being comfortable in a variety of situations.

She adores the tricks that I've taught her, and she often does them without me asking. One evening, as we watched the sun dip below the horizon, she waved goodbye to the day. It made me laugh!

Have a great weekend!