Stephenson Family Ties The Barn Burnt Down
And Now I See The Moon
I believe a strong woman may be stronger
than an man, particularly if she happens
to have love in her heart. I guess a
loving woman is indestructible.
from: East of Eden
by: John Steinbeck


We're standing in front of one of my favorite rocks in Southern Utah!! I LOVE this rock...the colors, the texture, the magnificence of it, the life living on it!!  I LOVE the people standing in front of the rock too!!  We had a perfect Oct day to hike; most of us being completely enthusiastic about it...Zoey the dog being at the top of the list!!....sweet Becca being the least enthusiastic about hiking...Yep, I guess there are people on the planet that really dont "get"  or like hiking...and I can love them anyway!! Easily!!!



And then...when we were just about through...Zoey had a crisis..of sorts.  She ran the velvety soft pads off the bottoms of 3 of her paws.  Ouch and gross!!!


I look upset with her here...but I wasnt in any sense of the word...I felt so bad for her! And I am grimacing at the struggle I was having carrying her out of the Gap.  My guess- she weighs a good 70 lbs!  And she wasnt at all comfortable perched up there on my shoulders.  I think she might have been feeling a sense of humiliation as well...not being able to get out on her own volition!!


We offered her all the water we had, we stopped at many a shady spot and found the cool muddy spots that could cool her heels.
Cathy was a blessing and a helping hand, bracing Zoey in her uncomfortable position up there on my shoulders as we stumbled through the wash.  I could in no way carry her for very long before I had to set her down and rest.  I kept looking to walls of the canyon hoping to see the strapping young men that often are clinging to the rocks...either climbing or repelling.  None to be found this day...but one...who didnt notice our plight...and kept on flirting with his girl.  Oh well...we were close to the car by then.

oh my...she does looks dead in this picture. She's not...but I sure was!!  Dead on my feet.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh! Poor Zoe! Poor Cindy's shoulders!!
I had this discussion with Bridger yesterday about hiking. I offered to take her to the North Rim today because it was the only chance I could for awhile and she doesn't have school. She said, "Mom I really don't like that kind of thing, you like that kind of thing". So, who doesn't want to go to the Grand Canyon? I guess not everyone. But I guess I can't blame them if it's not their thing right? :)