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Reluctantly, I departed Dixie National Forest, bound for Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument…just next door, geographically. They call it that because the mountains (faintly) resemble a staircase and to honor Fr Escalante, one of the early cultural imperialists sent by Spain to steal this land from the indigenous people. He also informed them that their religion was wrong and his was right.
We stayed here for 3 days, taking long exploratory walks. When I watch Xena explore, I try, mostly unsuccessfully, to imagine her experience of the world. Seeing everything from 6 inches off the ground seems so limiting. But the richness of the olfactory world she lives in must be incredible. She stops at some shrub or other and studies each leaf, inhaling, analyzing, cataloguing. I have informed her repeatedly that one leaf is the same as the next, but she is steadfast in her determination to study each separately.
We had delight weather until the very end of our stay. When 50mph winds and rain/snow threatened, prudence demanded departure. Although the van would have kept so comfortable and dry, I did not fancy driving out through the sea of mud the road would have become. So, we fled.
So much wide open space! So much peace and quiet! So much land to explore! Xena loved it.
Xena loves rolling the dirt at every opportunity.
