-- Flies in the Campsite, Shoo Fly Shoo!

I woke up to the smell of potatoes and bacon.  It must be Sunday.  My dad always gets a full-on breakfast on Sundays and the Supervan is well-equipped to handle two hungry boys' appetites (Dad's and mine, of course).  I ate my regular doggy breakfast, but my dad sneaked me some bits of bacon when my mom wasn't looking.  Dad's are pretty cool like that.

After breakfast, my mom tried to get me to do my business, but I couldn't focus on the task at hand.  I was able to urinate for her and she commended me and said that would have to do.  So, into the Supervan and out onto the road.  Here is our map for today:

Our journey continued as we headed to the Cathedral Valley in the Capital Reef National Park, Utah.  We started at the bottom right of the map and made our way up the Hartnet trail to where my dad is pointing on the map at the top left. 

The landscape was different today.  Lots of grey rocks and a really hard-packed bumpy road.  Since the roads were not paved, I thought if I still had my family jewels, I would be worried about their fate. 

I heard my mom telling my dad that she didn't want any excitement on the trails today.  I guess yesterday's adventure was a little much for her.  She also said yesterday was like a deja vu, four-wheeling with Glen and Steve, whatever that means. 

We pressed on, and it was then I realized that I should have listened to my mom earlier-- I shoulda taken that dump when I had the chance.  Geez, now I gotta hold it throughout this bumpy ride. 

My dad asked my mom to come up to the front seat, and that opened the floodgates for more picture-taking (nice going, Dad). 

We knew we were getting close when we saw the entrance sign and my mom let me out of the Supervan to pose for a picture.  

Ain't I a cutie?

We stopped at an overlook of the valley and since the Ranger said doggies couldn't walk on the trails, my mom promised she would take some photos and share them with me when she got back to the Supervan.  Here's one of a cliff.  Can you find my dad in the photo?  He's wearing green and brown, so it was hard for me to see him at first:

It sure is a long way down!

This is a nice photo of my mom.  She's usually the one behind the camera, so I'm glad my dad convinced her to hand it over.  You may not be able to tell, but she's standing right at the edge of the cliff.  My dad kept telling her to keep moving back for the picture... just kiddin' --

 

My mom has always had an issue when it comes to selecting appropriate footwear.  Today was no exception:

We drove a little farther and saw another lookout point of the other side of the Cathedral Valley.  My mom said the pictures don't do it justice-- of course, I wouldn't know, cuz I'm a second class citizen according to the Ranger and had to wait in the Supervan...  pfft.

We finally decided to set up camp.  There was no one around.  There was grass all over the place, and cow pies everywhere.  I couldn't wait to sniff every one of 'em! 

It seemed too good to be true.  Guess what?  It was.  There were so many fricken gnats, my mom had to tie my bandana around my ears cuz they kept annoying the heck out of me.

Later on, my mom and dad got to take a shower in their portable outdoor shower. 

I was so jealous!  I wanted to play in the water too, but there was too much dirt around the campsite and getting muddy was way too tempting.  My mom said my day is coming...  Uh oh.  On second thought, I don't like baths too much...

My dad gave my mom the night off and he made dinner tonight.  Beef tacos.  Yum.  My dad put a little of the hamburger in my doggy food.  Then after dinner, together, we washed the dishes.  I was the pre-washer (I licked the pan and the plates clean). 

No squirrels here.  I did see a lizard and a lot of red ants.  Lizards bore me, and my mom told me to stay away from the red ants, so it's back into the Supervan for the night.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day...

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