Day 32 – Tuesday, May 31

This morning Mom and Dad had breakfast in the restaurant at Needles Outpost.  Dad was pretty intrigued by the place and the owner.  They operate totally off grid.  Dad said the stove AND the refrigerator run on propane, the lights were solar powered, and they haul in water.  They don’t have a well of their own.  Mom and Dad said the guy who owns the place makes really good omelets.  The leftovers they brought back to the motor home smelled really good.

After breakfast, Mom and Dad went back into Canyonlands to take a hike.  They were planning to go to Chesler Park, which is the main place to find the Needles that this district of Canyonlands is known for.  Unfortunately for them, they missed a trail marker and ended up about two miles off course.  Since this was a seven mile hike, they didn’t think they would be able to go back to the place where they got off course and do the rest of the hike, since it would now be eleven miles.  It worked out good for me, because they decided to give up on that hike (after only four miles) and come back to me.  I was very glad to see them.

We haven't seen a lot of wildlife on this trip.  We see deer at most national park campgrounds.  They are pretty stuck up.  When I yell "Hi" at them, they just run off.  Mom and Dad also saw a lot of chipmunks in the national parks with vegetation.  Since it has warmed up and we have moved to national parks in desert, Mom and Dad have been seeing fewer chipmunks, but lots of lizards.  So far, no snakes.  Mom seems to be happy about that.

Lizards at Needles District of Canyonlands

Trail Markers at Canyonlands

To be fair, I thought I should include Dad's photos of the trail markers.  I didn't want to come right out and say it, but at first, when he told me that they got on the wrong trail and got two miles off course, I thought they were getting stupid in their old age.  Then, he explained to me that the trail markers were piles of rocks and they followed the wrong set, it made more sense to me.  If you can't see them in this photo, maybe you can understand,too.  There is a trail marker pretty near the center of the photo and another up at the top of the ridge.  Seems like trying to spot two sets of them and then decide which one is the trail would be even harder.  I'm just glad that they made it out alive, since I can't open the kibble cabinet myself!

We left Canyonlands and went into Moab, Utah.  We are at a campground in town and have electricity.  We are all glad for that, because we can run the air conditioner.  It’s getting warm here.  Mom and Dad went out to explore the town and I stayed here to take a nap in the cool air.  Mom and Dad had Mexican Food while they were out and I had kibble when they got home.