Sarah Ause / saussie.com »

If there’s one thing that’s definitely worth bug bites and pond scum in your underwear, it’s beating this summer desert heat. It’s officially hot out. After an unseasonably cool and awesome June, July has settled in like an unwanted relative coming to visit. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. It just keeps getting worse. So, what to do in times like this?… go play in the water, a lot. Considering the bulk of my recent posts have all been about playing in the water, it might surprise you how many creek and river trips (and assorted other water fun) I don’t actually post. But I am gonna post this one.

Last week, dog trainer Whitney and I took Haley, Rio, Chevy, Chase, Gabby, Desi, Sundance, Simone, Sarge, Sylvie and Major out on a hike. And when we got back near the cars, we detoured for some water fun in the same spot featured in the previous post. I once again stripped to my skivvies (we all know I don’t do pants) and joined the dogs in the water. I am now covered, ass included, in bug bites. Oh well…

Unfortunately, a few days later, two of Haley’s friends, Rio and Desi, went missing during a hike up on the Kaibab. I believe Rio has now been found, but Desi is still out there, so please send all your good vibes toward the Grand Canyon, and hopefully we’ll get her back soon.

Since Annie left to her new home, Molly has been spending time with a dog named Lake. Lake came to Best Friends last year because she had become diabetic and blind. She had surgery to restore her eyesight, and is now just waiting for someone to come along and adopt her. In the meantime, Molly takes her for outings and an occasional sleepover. A few weeks ago, we took Lake to the Virgin River up north of here, so that she could stretch out her legs and go for a swim. Although Lake is known for not doing so well with other dogs, we figured it was worth a shot to bring Haley along. And indeed it was. Her and Haley aren’t BFF, but they can hang out together with no problems. So then on Sunday, when the temperatures were too hot to hike, but we were too bored to do nothing, the water once again beckoned us. Haley and I joined Molly and Lake at the creek up at work. Dylan and James came too, and we all had a blast with a splish-splash.

On short jaunts like this, Haley wears her backpack only because I don’t trust her. She is good off leash when there are friendly dogs that she likes around, but since Lake only tolerates her, I’d rather strap on the backpack than risk her possibly being a pain in the ass and disappearing. I put small bottles full of water on each side and it weighs her down enough that she tuckers out sooner and doesn’t run a mile ahead. Is that so wrong?

Also, my dog is dumb. Despite her rattlesnake bite last year, she’s not paying much attention…

Yeah, more of them.

The outdoor perks of living where I do seem to multiply every day that I’m here. Every day can be a new adventure, as there is such incredible beauty all around… even hidden in places you’d never imagine to find more than sand and scrub. Red Canyon, known as Peek-a-boo to locals, is one such place that arrives out of nowhere and leaves a lasting impression. Oddly red, even for this area, the canyon lives up to its name. A tiny slot tucked away down a dry wash just a couple miles from my office, it is reached only after a bumpy and winding off-road adventure through deep sand.

Despite warm, sunny temperatures around 60 yesterday, the crisp cold of the shadowy canyon bit through my sweater as I wandered the meandering curves of rock with my dog and a few coworkers. Surprises peeked out around every corner. Perhaps the name “Peek-a-boo” is just as fitting as “Red Canyon.”

Logs are jammed high above, showing just how deep the water runs during flash floods. Indian steps in the rock, footholds which once served as a ladder to higher ground, now start over six feet off the sand. Not much help if a flood were to occur today, but once upon a time, when the sandy ground was five feet higher, they could have saved a life.

In one area, melting icicles hung like chandeliers above us, dripping their cold water down. The droplets that didn’t bounce off the rock and hit our faces would instead hit the dirt and roll up the red earth with it. They’d continue downhill, now brown, and slide under a sheet of ice, giving them a resemblance to demonic bugs creepily darting for your feet.

And as is only natural for this area, beauty lived outside the slot just as well as in. Up a small path to the right, an alien-like rock spire pierced the sky. The contrast between the red rock and blue sky was almost blinding.

Yeah, I dig it here.

It rained here over Thanksgiving. It didn’t let up. It just rained, and rained, and rained some more. I woke up the next morning and I could barely see out my window because it was so foggy. But around here, when the fog lifts, it’s a sight that never gets old (maybe you remember last time).

I headed up to work early and photographed the cliffs and the morning wildlife. The wild turkeys were out in huge flocks, the males strutting their stuff in an effort to try to find a mate. Secretly, I imagine they know what Thanksgiving is, and that they were actually celebrating having lived through it. If I were a turkey, I’d be celebrating too… especially on a morning as beautiful as this one.

We, as in the BF photo team. That would be me, Molly, Gary, and Terrah. Yeah, we rule. The end.