Weekend Photo Blog: Zion and Pepsi

Zion National Park

Last week, the interns decided that we would go hiking in Zion National Park on Saturday. Best decision ever. It was beyond stunning and the hike was so fun (although a bit longer and more strenuous than the guidebook had led me to believe!). It was definitely a day I'll never forget. I plan to post more pictures of the hike and my entire time here in Utah on my facebook page when I've completed my 5 weeks here, but here are a few favorite pictures for now:

At the trailhead

Stunning view. I think the peak on the left is the one we summited.

We took a break in a cave. Ryan, Me, Japhy, Meghan.

Steph, Me, and Meghan

Getting ready to hike the tricky part ahead!

The options are pretty much hold on to the chains and climb, or fall off the cliff!

Gorgeous views made the climb so worth the effort!

Hard to believe we hiked all the way up from that valley!

At the summit! Ryan, Amy, Meghan, Me, Japhy

Pepsi Time

After Zion on Saturday, I thought I would be too tired and sore to go hang out with my project dog, Pepsi, on Sunday. I definitely was tired and sore, but after resting in the morning, I really wanted to go do a little work with my project dog. You know you love your job when you want to go there on your day off! So I headed over to DogTown and picked up Pepsi. I didn't know how he would do in my car or with other people, so we started out small. I took him to Angel's Overlook, which is not far from DogTown and has a nice trail and even a labyrinth. Pepsi jumped right into the backseat of my car without even hesitating. He did not like that I tied him into the back seat (he was very excited and really wanted to be in the front seat). But he calmed down quickly and I think he enjoyed the car! We took a walk along the trails and then over to the labyrinth. I was shocked at how good of a walker he is! I'm used to him pulling on his leash to greet other people or dogs, but when we were by ourselves, there was slack in the leash the whole time. He was the perfect walker! He even walked the labyrinth with me, but he did step out of bounds a few times. I don't think he quite understood the concept! Here's a picture of him sitting at the center of the labyrinth next to a rock that says, "Angels gather here."

Since he did so well with the first part of his outing, I decided to take him down to the Welcome Center in the lower canyon, so that he would meet more people. Again, he did great in the car after an initial period of excitement. We went in the welcome center and all the staff came to say hi to him. They just loved him! He made it his mission to welcome every visitor as well. He did so well! He never jumped on anyone, and I gave some people treats to give to him when he sat for them. He did it every time! I'm so proud of my boy! 

After giving him a well-deserved hug, we headed back to his home in DogTown. I will work with him again tomorrow morning. I'm really excited to continue his work with focusing on me while there are distractions. If we can make progress on that, he'll be pretty much the perfect dog. As long as you're okay with a 70 pound lap dog who will smother you with kisses!