Desert Dawg

We had such a nice time in the desert that I'm having trouble with "re-entry" to normal life. On the day that we left for Utah, it was snowing. Shyla played in the snow before we departed.

Then, we drove west, over the Continental Divide, stopping briefly for a break near the Divide. We saw the moon rise over naked aspen groves during our break.

Then we drove some more toward the west, losing elevation very fast. The world became less snowy and more rocky. We saw the rock glow as the sun was setting, and we ate the most awful Mexican food ever.

At that point, we debated which of our favorite campsites was most likely to be available. We made a choice in eastern Utah, and we were very lucky to find the spot completely deserted!

We slept late the next morning. Eventually, Shyla and I went for a mountain bike ride up a big canyon. On one rock wall, there is an ancient pictograph of a human and a dog. I love this one because the human looks so uptight and needs the joyfulness of the desert dawg to make life more fun and less serious (that's my interpretation!).

You could tell that we had changed climates. It was the first time I'd seen Shyla pant since last fall!

And R was on lizard-watch. Tiny Sceloporus lizards skittered around near our campsite, and R felt the need to defend us all from them. He obsesses over lizards every time we visit the desert! He was on watch in this photo.

After a full day of playing and snoozing, we went for a sunset hike up an expansive section of slickrock above the canyon where I'd ridden with Shyla. Here's the view down into the canyon whose walls display incredible rock art.

Then, as a contrast to our moonrise view in the mountains on the previous day, we saw the moonrise over a rocky cliff.

I love the desert!