A Slickrock World

Desert slickrock can hurt a dog's paw pads very fast. So, we have boots for our dogs to wear when they run on slickrock.

The hard part is Shyla simply doesn't like boots. She moves in a funny way when she wears them. The next photo is of Shyla running in her boots. Obviously, her gait is not at all normal when she wears them!

On this trip, her dislike of the boots seemed to grow more intense by the day. This was still on the first day of boots, and she already looked forlorn in the middle of one of our rides.

My vet has suggested another type of boot that Shyla might like better. On slickrock, a dog's boots need to be very tough. On our first trip there, we used simple nylon boots, and they were shredded by the slickrock within a day.

So, during this section of our trip, I kept Shyla's runs pretty short, and then I headed out to ride on my own, while she relaxed in camp with the boys.

I love visiting buttes that have large slickrock aprons around them. My bike size puts the butte's size in perspective!

I particularly love how quiet these places are in November. I had the entire slickrock playground to myself. Do you see the snowy peaks way off in the distance? I love the contrast with the red rock.

In between slickrock areas, I rode on sandy 4wd roads like this one. As I tried to pedal through the deep sand, I wished for my snowbike because its wide tires would be ideal in sand.

After my ride and some relaxation time, we'd go for a walk as a pack around sunset. At this campsite, there is rock art all around us so we'd visit it each afternoon.

Entire sections of wall are covered in it. It's incredible having relics of human history surrounding us. But, it's sad to see that modern humans feel the need to deface some of these walls. A few more sets of initials appear each year in the midst of the petroglyphs.

As we finished our walks, the moon would look beautiful among the red rocks.

The intricate shapes of the rocky buttes were mystical at dusk, particularly with the moon over them.

After our evening walk, we'd quickly jump in the van to warm up. Then, I'd get out my tripod and start shooting the stars. It was an incredible trip with clear skies every night except for one. I'll save more star photos for a future post but, be forewarned, I have lots of them after such great weather and long nights in the desert!