| Snowboarding in November/Watch out for Rocks! |
| November 15th, 2004 While hanging out at the landromat, I came across the following excerpt in the Southern Utah News- Utah Highway Patrol section: "10-30-04. Traffic Accident. A suicidal boulder caused approx. $3000 damage to a 2000 Ford Taurus after running onto the highway at mile #100 on S.R. 89. The driver of the vehicle was unhurt in the 1:40 pm accident, but the large rock was reduced to pebbles. Officers talked to witnesses in the area, but it was unknown why the rock leaped into the road. Name of the boulder is being withheld until next of kin can be notified." Aren't they funny here? I'd like to point out that on October 30th, I was actually making my way down to Kanab via S.R. 89- I live by mile 59, and arrived around 4 pm, so I guess I probably missed the rock by 2 hrs. Phew! One thing I have learned since arriving here- if you see a sign that says "Falling Rocks", they mean business. Especially after there has been rain. Last week I passed a section of road where every day there were more big rocks piling up on the side of the road, moving closer and closer to the road. And yesterday while driving to Brian Head I came across a rock the size of one of my tires in the middle of my lane! The rocks are almost as dangerous (if not more) than the deer! November 14th, 2004 My first day off since I arrived! I went snowboarding!!!! This is the earliest I've ever been able to get out on my board. And the snow was awesome! I tried out my new snowboard pacakge, and loved it. So, I will definitely be selling off my old board. Any beginners looking for a sweet little 145 with clicker bindings (boots size 8 1/2 women's) let me know! The workshop finished yesterday. We're sad to see the other 20 amazing women we met leave. Yes, there really were no men at the workshop- there was supposed to be one, but he cancelled. If only he knew.... Amyway, I walked away with a lot of great ideas, and also with reinforced confidence in the skills I already have in my back pocket. Now I'm moving into project mode, though I'm still slightly undecided. I'm spending time with both the dog groomer and trainer, and I have two days with teenage kids from the Navajo Nation. I'm excited to work with the kids. I have no idea what to expect at this point. November 11th, 2004 This week has been a whirlwind with the workshop and my internship going on concurrently. It has rained here quite a bit, which presents a challenge for me both in terms of running and what to do with Alex. Running wise, pretty much all but the main highway are dirt roads, and if any of you have been here before you'll understand that the "dirt" is actually fine red sand which turns to clay in the rain. If you try to run on this clay, it sticks to your shoes and you end up carrying and extra 10-15 lbs on your feet. I'm challenged enough with the elevation at 5000 ft, I don't need extra weight and limited maneuverability. As for Alex, he hates being wet, and isn't used to using a pet door, so I've felt bad leaving him alone in the wet. But he seems to be OK, even though he is slowly turning into a black and red dog...I'm going to bring Alex a friend home one of these nights- just for the night though, not permanently. :( I may take Wolfie (above) if they get along. It looks like I'll be moving into some Humane Ed related activities for my project. I'll keep you all posted on the specifics. Otherwise, I'm just getting fat on all of the food they are giving us (luckily it's just this week for the workshop). To burn it off, I'm filling in as much of my off time as possible with yoga if I can't run. So.... Peg November 7th, 2004 So, what have I done since my last entry? I spent the entire day Thursday helping out in the "Old Friends" area for older or special needs dogs. So many of these guys are so awesome, and it's unfortunate that most of them won't get adopted because of their age and/or limitations. Please click on the picture of Wolfie (above) to get a glimpse of a few of the dogs and some tidbits about them. On Friday and Saturday I moved to cats. I shadowed the vet tech Friday morning, and acquired a new skill- how to force feed a cat. The trick is not getting most of the food all over yourself instead of in the cat. I'm working on that. The last two days I came home reeking of cat food. Yuck. Vet tech work is something that interests me, so it was great to get a glimpse of what it is like in a rescue situation (one word: BUSY!). Saturday morning I spent with kittens. Mostly doing the daily cleaning. They are extremely careful with the kittens here because they are so susceptable to disease. When you work with kittens, you have to come in in freshly laundered clothes and you can't touch the adult cats before going into the kitten area. Each time you come in and out of a room you have to step in a bleach bath and sanitize your hands. Some of the rooms were quarantined due to ringworm, and in those I had to put on a hospital gown and spray myself and anything thnat came in the room with me with disinfectant. I did get to play with a few kittens, teaching a teeny one named Ernest how to use his pet door, and watching three special needs kittens (one blind in one eye, one blind in both, and the other with deformed hind legs). At the end of the day I hung out with some feral cats. Many were friendly, they just didn't want you to picfk them up. Some wanted nothing to do with you. One very special kitty named Jose, who looked like he was just pulled out of a bucket of water- he's skinny, his fur is matted and his ears are hardly there- just loves people. He crawls up on you and nuzzles his head in the crook of your neck and puts his paws around your neck as if hugging you. He has respiratory issues, so he snuffles and grinds his tgeeth while he is doing this. He also needs to be force fed, but he seems to enjoy it. He's not much to look at, but his heart makes up for it. This morning was then start of the sanctuary workshop. We were joined by 20 more women, many with really incredible stories about the rescue work they've been doiong. I look forward to spending this week with them. But this afternoon is just for me and Alex. :) Alex came with me this morning, but didn't enjoy waiting in the car for three hours so we won't do that again. I took him for a long walk while my laundry was going so hbopefully that made up for it. But it was raining mso he probably didn't enjoy that either. Alex is slowly turning red from the red clay ground here. You may not recognize him when he comes back! I miss everyone. Take care! I'll see you soon! Peg |
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