Arizona Dreaming
You know how they say “All’s well that ends well?” But, what if it’s the opposite? We all know that what happens last has a disproportionate amount of impact, and I regret to say that our vacation in Arizona, had, uh, some low points. But after I whine, I’ll get to remind myself of the best parts of our trip to Arizona through photos. I’ll get the negative stuff out of the way first, so we can concentrate on how lucky Jim and I were to go on a vacation to such beautiful places.
Okay, here we go: Jim gets sick first day we arrive, bad head cold that slams him into being bed ridden for a day in stunningly beautiful Sedona. He rallies the next day, and in spite of his cough and his nose running like a river during the spring thaw, we have two pretty good days at the Grand Canyon. And then, something happens that makes it look like my computer has been hacked and every one of my passwords has been stolen. I’m sick with worry, stomach in knots, don’t sleep much. (I connect with techie 24 hours later and all is well. Whew.) The next day, we come within a microsecond and an inch of being in a fatal accident, which shakes both of us to the core. The next day, while we are at dinner with friends in Tucson, the sitter calls and says “Skip is missing and I’ve called and called and can’t find him anywhere.”
I lost it. I mean, friends, I totally lost my S%*t. I would hereby like to apologize to our (fabulous) sitter, and to the diners on the Terrace at the Arizona Inn, for having to listen to a woman sobbing hysterically in the phone until her husband led her away, blubbering “this is my worst nightmare.” After what seemed like an eternity, (and wasn’t, maybe 45 minutes?), Skip was found. He’d been behind the barn the entire time, staring at the sheep. (Details to come in another post.)
The next day, surprise, surprise, in spite of our best efforts, I caught Jim’s cold. A bad chest cold in COPD/Asthmatic lungs turn out to be challenging combo, so I spent the last days bed ridden and had one of those travel days we all dread, of feeling like crap while getting up at 3:45 AM and flying home across the country.
Okay. Enough of that. I will survive (cue the music).
Here are some things that were GREAT, there was LOTS!
Sunrise in Sedona behind Cathedral Rock on our first morning of vacation:
I had a fabulous walk in Sedona the next morning while poor Jim was ailing in bed. This was just a 20 minute walk from the Inn where we stayed:
There was lot of bird life at the foot of the trail, here’s a Scrub Jay who came down to check me out:
We visited Oak Creek Canyon and Slide Rock once Jim was able to get on his feet. Slide rock is famous as a place where you jump in and let the water “slide” you across the smooth rocks. Here’s a brave young woman doing it in very chilly weather. (I have many memories of Slide Rock–I went to high school in Phoenix and Slide Rock was the go to place for “Senior Skip Day.”)
One of the fun parts of vacation for me is taking photos of other people for them (selfies just can’t always hack it). A nice woman reciprocated for me and Jim.
The next day we were greeted at the beginning of the West Fork Trail by a flock of some of my favorite birds, Acorn Woodpeckers:
The trail follows the base of these ridiculous cliffs . . .
Our two days at the Grand Canyon were our best. Here’s sunrise at the Grand Canyon at Hopi Point:
A few minutes later, as the sun’s rays began to hit the peaks:
Speaking of Hopi, after growing up in Arizona, and living on the Navajo reservation when I was 19, (a story for another day), I was heartened to see how much respect and attention was being paid to the indigenous peoples of the canyon. Here is the Hopi House, designed by architect Mary Colter, a rare woman in a male-dominated field in 1904. Ahead of her time, Ms. Colter did all she could to make the building as authentic to the Hopi architecture as she could. The house now holds a treasure chest of Native American art. Don’t miss it if you go.
Sunsets at the Canyon:
I don’t think it’s possible for me to go to Arizona without visiting the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and going to their Raptor Free Flight event. It only happens from December to March, and provides an outstanding experience being up close and personal with native raptors, who fly back and forth between handlers, often literally inches over your head.
Here’s one of my favorites, the Harris’s Hawk, one of the only birds that hunt as a group, Basically, the wolves of the bird world.
The Crested Caracara is rarely seen in the U.S., and only close to the border. Unlike most raptors, besides hunting live prey, they also eat carrion any chance they can get.
That’s me in rapture of getting to see my dear friend and colleague, Karen London, one of the smartest, funniest, and kindness people I know. One of her books, Treat Everyone Like a Dog, is one of the best behavior books that’s come out since Karen Pyror’s Don’t Shoot the Dog.
It’s time for me to get back in bed (or, rather, on the couch watching The Voice! or, whatever I can find). But I’ll end this with a perfect summary of Arizona: The dry, the prickly, and the surprisingly and stunningly beautiful!
Have a good two weeks, friends, I’m brimming with topics I’d love to talk about, “see” you then!
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About the Author
Patricia B. McConnell, PhD, CAAB Emeritus is an applied animal behaviorist who has been working with, studying, and writing about dogs for over twenty-five years. She encourages your participation, believing that your voice adds greatly to its value. She enjoys reading every comment, and adds her own responses when she can.
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Beautiful, beautiful photos of a lovely place, but Oh, the wrenching anxiety of that phone call! Some holidays are definitely best recollected from the comfort of home, animals safely gathered round us, all perils past and all sickness survived. I hope you are both feeling better, and that your reunion with the dogs was filled with nearly enough joy to compensate for that hour of fear.
Yikes.
All the setbacks were enough to make me throw up my arms and surrender but the call from the sitter would have sent me straight to the airport in a blind panic.
The photos are stunning.
Hope you gave Skip a good talking to.
Last September, the first time I had left my dog to go out of town, I also got the call that he was missing. I join you in being hysterical; the helplessness of having to listen to a phone call of the search had me sobbing by the end too, but luckily all turned out all right!
LeeAnn: Whew! Glad it worked out for you too!
Oh my gosh! That trip was one calamity after another – hearing Skip was missing and the computer scare are probably top of the list. (Illness would be but thankfully, a bad cold didn’t seem to be life threatening). I’m glad everything resolved enough that you could enjoy the gorgeous AZ landscape . The photos are as gorgeous as I remember Sedona and the Grand Canyon.
We didn’t call it a vacation unless we got lost, ran out of gas, and had some type of unplanned emergency (car broke down, money “disappeared,” dog got sick). It was all really low budget exploring-the-backwoods-type of fun adventures, and now that I recall those days, we were very lucky nothing really bad happened.
Well, now that we’re older we plan better–we are less resilient emotionally, mentally, and physically than we used to was–and yet, things happen. The Skip episode would have sent me over the edge into an unreasonable chasm of chaotic thought. Something like the depth of the canyons you were visiting. So glad he was focused on the sheep and not the great escape.
In addition to the Voice (a fav), I just started watching “High Potential” it’s a bit formulaic but entertaining and not too taxing. Bad Sisters is really good, too. And I’ll watch anything with Nicola Walker in it.
Our last(ing) impressions are why we always end our sessions with Daisy (and prior doggies) on a high note!
Feel better and take good care.
LisaW:Thanks for the rec for “High Potential!” I’m on it. And we loved Bad Sisters! You are so right about age and resiliency. I am so much less resilient than I was and current events aren’t helping. Kisses to Daisy!
Ooo. I wasn’t quite as bad as you guys but I got bronchitis at the beginning of my dream vacation – 8 days in Scotland. 🏴. I have to return someday to make up for it.
We have two Crested Caracara living in our neighborhood here in Florida so I think they have begun to immigrate
Julie: Bronchitis is no small thing, sorry that messed up your Scotland trip. Yes, go back! Love that you have Caracaras!
So sorry your trip to a very magical place was so fraught with such heartache. I know it’s no consolation, but the photos are breathtaking and hopefully worth it to your stressed soul. Glad everything turned out well and you so much for sharing the beauty of Arizona.
Tails etc: Glad you enjoyed the photos, we did have a few wonderful days chasing sunrises and sunsets. I’m working on looking at the photos alot to remind myself of all the good!
Thank you so much for posting these gorgeous pictures. Your newsletter is something I look forward to and is a great way to start my day. Thank you, thank you thank you!
The call about Skip would be my literal worst nighmare. I’m so glad he was found! Your photos are stunning and brought back memories of visiting those places with my sister and daughter. Your mention of the (awesome) Karen London’s book, Treat Everyone Like a Dog, made me think about something my late father said to me when we talked about dog training. He was a child psychologist and told me that the same principles should be applied to dealing with people, especially children… praise the good behavior and gently correct the unwanted behavior. He also felt very strongly that every child should have a dog to experience the joy of truly unconditional love. Thank you for helping me remember so many good things.
Carole–your dad sounds like a damn good man!
You can take your dog along the Grand Canyon rim (23 miles of trail) and so we did. We only have one dog so it was easy. Unless we travel overseas we take our dog on all trips.
Guy–lucky dogs! And, we saw lots and lots of dogs at the canyon, was fun. We were too lazy/old to drive from WI to AZ, so the dogs stayed behind.
Dear Trisha, You got in your three bad things right away this year! The rest of the year should be a piece of cake. You have every right to whine! So glad things turned out ok in the end, and thank you for not showing pix of you eating something in Arizona! Love the nature and bird pix! I get it with Skip though, we lost a dog at our vet clinic while on vacation. Our whippet was ill and the vet offered to keep her at the clinic while we vacationed. Forever grateful to her as our girl would have suffered after spiraling down that weekend. Our vet was able to keep her out of pain while contacting us. But the ups and downs with our beloved ones (hubbies and dogs) often are the hardest things to deal with. So glad for you there was a gold lining!
I wish I had known you were here in AZ; I’d have been thrilled to just take a selfie with you! Your book “Feisty Fido” changed my life. After a lifetime of having cats (we still do), I adopted my first dog, a Staffie who turned out over time to be dog reactive. She like two dogs, the ones she was raised with. Being dead ignorant about dogs, I searched high and low for any kind of help and stumbled on your book. I have now read all your books, but that one was the start of my journey of Understanding Dogs. Lily is now a wildly active 13 year old, and I recommend your books to everyone.
Sure hope you and Jim are feeling better now!
So very sorry for the low parts and I hope you’re on the mend. The stress of that call about Skip alone is enough to trash your immune system! But oh, the highs!! Thank you for sharing all of it. Your photos are stunning!!
Beautiful pictures, thank you for sharing.
So sorry about all those stressors piling up on vacation. Lost dogs are high on my list of most stressful things. After my boys did a walk about after a gate was accidentally left open, I got the Whistle tag. It is reassuring that I could track them if they wandered again, which of course they never did. But I had insurance, just in case.
Glad it all ended well and that you still could find some joy amid it all.
Yep, the missing Skip would have put me over the edge as well! I am sure it felt like the bottom had dropped out! So glad he was found. The photos are lovely, thank you for sharing. My vacation for next week was cancelled when I found out after a trip to ER for EKG changes that I have a congenital heart defect and will be having open heart surgery 3/28. Fostering dogs, even walking my own dog is out of the question for 3 months following my surgery. I plan to get a couple of your books and read them during my recovery so I am more prepared for my new endeavor with dogs when capable. Glad you and Jim are on the mend.
Holy S…, lak, I am so sorry! We’ll be thinking of you!
Oh gosh how awful. Beautiful photos, but wow. I’m so glad Skip was okay and that things turned out alright. Hope you are both feeling properly better now.
Glad you and Jim survived this vacation, that Skip was fine after all, and sending good wishes to lak for the upcoming surgery!