Been there, dune that
Ace had to spend the morning in the motel during my visit to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary -- with 1,500 dogs, cats and other animals already they don't really need any additional four-legged visitors -- so by the time I got back he was raring to go.
At Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, about 20 miles outside Kanab, we found an excellent place to work off the energy he'd accumulated after being cooped up in the car for two days.
The park is a huge expanse of gigantic of coral colored sand, eroded from exposed Navajo sandstone and whipped into mountainous dunes by high desert winds.
Coupled with sheer cliffs that grow a deeper red as the sun goes down, it was as if every direction I turned was a photo out of Arizona Highways -- even though this is Utah.
To Ace, it was a giant playground, and he got an intense workout running up and down the dunes until he wore himself out and laid down, sphinx-like, in the sand.
Was he on his leash -- as park rules require -- all the time he was there? Let's just say he maybe accidentally got off once or twice.
If the setting looks familiar, it may be because it was used as the location for filming "The Greatest Story Ever Told." Producers chose the site because they thought it resembled Egypt.
As for my visit to Best Friends, stay tuned. You can read about it here all next week.
Comments
We're all looking forward to reading about Best Friends and the rest of your trip home.
While you and Ace have been driving through the snow, our buddy Spencer has found himself in a bit of endangered feces of his own. While we were out Friday evening, he managed to locate and open a gift-wrapped 12-oz. box of Russell Stover Dark Chocolates. Not a good idea, and by 11:30 pm when we returned, he was beginning to suffer the consequences. All I can say is, a big Aroo of thanks has to go out to the Pet Poison Control Center operated by the ASPCA. They're open all night, and they were able to evaluate his condition, look up the product, and send us off to the vet. Pet ER in Towson was right there for us, and they function much like a human ER. And they're not only nice, they're efficient. By 9 a.m. Saturday we'd had a follow-up call from Spencer's regular vet.
Spencer's going to be fine. He's already complaining about the wimpy rice and chicken he's being required to eat. What I learned is that chocolate is not only toxic to dogs, but they can't digest it. It sits there in their stomachs for hours releasing more of its toxins into their systems. Spencer would like to remind all of the Mutts humans to stash that candy on top of the refrigerator.
We hope and Ace will have a grand holiday!
Posted by: Anne | December 23, 2007 12:10 PM
My wife and I have very much enjoyed reading your articles over the Internet.
We lived in Kanab for 8 years and owned a popular cafe there. We are very familiar with that area and the entire Best Friends organization. In fact, my wife worked for them for several years in a management capacity.
Last Christmas we moved to the land of the indigenous Mayans in the highlands of Guatemala.
We are now very active with a small but quickly growing non-profit group which provides basic needs for the impoverished. Our group is called Mayan Families and has 14 ongoing Programs, including the school sponsorships of over 500 kids.
One of our Programs is called Healthy Pets. Consistent with our overall holistic approach towards helping families become more independent, Healthy Pets addresses the health care and nutrition of family animals.
The Program includes controlling the over-population of street dogs. We have had success in preventing these animals from being killed every Christmas and Easter season before the tourists arrive. Previously, street animals and family pets alike died in agony in public places from strychnine meat tossed into the streets. The local government has worked with us through a successful year of a "wait and see" agreement.
In February we will be unrolling a new web site. Until then, Mayan Families Healthy Pets information can be found on the Best Friends Network site: http://network.bestfriends.org/guatemala/news/
Have you ever considered doing an article about the magical Lake Atitlan region of Guatemala?
Your photography skills are outstanding. Besides coming back with a backlog of human and animal interest stories, you would very likely significantly add to your gallery of exceptional pictures. I can tell you that neither of us miss a thing about the beautiful terrain which you just experienced in southern Utah. And the people are exceptionally colorful and of a unique character.
I will also mention that we have occasional adoptions of street dogs to new owners in the states who have never been here or seen their new pet. We're always looking for a traveler who might be interested in accompanying an animal on the journey to their new home.
Thanks for taking the time to read this post, and write on!
Harold
Posted by: Harold | December 24, 2007 9:07 AM