Summer Travel Map

Monday, August 25, 2008

Some relaxation, then "ouch"!

August 25, 2008
Lake Powell, AZ/UT

We did a pretty good job of relaxing over the last few days, except that yesterday things started to fall apart.

Saturday, we organized and shopped. We started making a list (well, it'll be a list once we actually write it down) of things to do while we're here. I'd like to go ona tour to the Antelope Canyon (a "slot canyon" cut through the sandstone) and identified a couple of places for possible picture making. We also are thinking about a dinner cruise on the lake, and maybe a boat rental for a day. We can also make day trips to the Grand Canyon (North Rim), Zion, Bryce, and Monument Valley, but we've already visited those places so we'll have to see if we want to go back.

One factor will be the weather, more specifically the heat. It was "cooler" yesterday at 95 degrees, and it's supposed to be "warmer" (98/99/99) Wednesday through Friday. We got here a little early; it's supposed to cool off after Labor Day. Maybe this week will be a good time to do the day trips to cooler places.

Yesterday, we didn't have a plan and we over achieved. Geri did a fine job of polishing most of the countertops, and gave Maya Lynn a bath (Merlin's scheduled for today). That's when things started to go downhill. While getting rinsed, Maya tried to do a back-flip in the sink and the faucet head became disconnected from Geri's hand, spraying water all over the place. No problem; it's just water and the floor needs cleaning anyway. A short while later, she was pouring water from the Britta and didn't realise that it had just been filled. Another clean-up project. We laughed about what else could go wrong.

Well, it didn't take long to find out and, unfortunately, it wasn't as funny. I was giving the pups their afternoon walk and stopped to chat with some neighbors. We'd actually met them at the Four Corners Monument, two couples with the same brand coach as us. It turns out that they are leading a caravan through the major southwestern parks starting next week, and ths is their kick-off point. They're part of a group we joined this spring; we're thinking about a "wine country" caravan next year with this club.

Anyway, as we were chatting, the dogs were waiting patiently when all of a sudden, Maya jumped up startled and started licking one of her back paws. She started crying and we figued out pretty quickly that something had bitten her on the paw. The only bugs I remember seeing around the area were ants, but who knows. I had to carry her back to the coach and we started figuring out what to do. Last year, we'd purchased a book on first aid for dogs, and I was sort of glad we had it. The good news was that a section on insect bites was easy to find and had common sense advice (baking soda and water compress, ice to releive swelling). The bad news was that it started out with possibilities that are fatal (recluse spider bites, scorpion attacks, anaphalactic shock, breathing failure, etc.) that I just didn't want to hear about. Who knows what's crawling around out here in the desert?

Once inside, she alternated between furiously licking her paw and limping around on three legs with the offending leg held straight back. It was sad and scary at the same time. We followed the "prescription" (it was time to change the baking soda things in the fridge and freezer anyway) and the compress and ice helped. We also gave her a pill that would reduce itching, and by bedtime, she was better. She woke me up at dawn this morning and wanted to go out, and was walking OK, so I think we're out of the woods on this one.

On the food front, we've decided that it's time to defrost the freezer so we're focusing on eating everything in it. With the heat, it's more effective to cook outside when possible, so that's our strategy, even though that means eating a little later (it starts to cool off around 6:00 PM and we're nicely positioned so our "patio" is in the afternoon shade). On Saturday, we finished up the NY Strips we'd bought and froze back in CT (Costco impulse buy) and yesterday, we made our second batch of Lo Mein, this time with chicken instead of pork (that's what was in the freezer) and peas instead of bean sprouts (sprouts went bad in the fridge). It was still good, and better with the addition of the sesame oil called for in the recipe (we didn't have that on hand for the first batch). This is a pretty flexible recipe, so we'll probably make it often.

Now that we're back in AZ, we can get wine in the grocery stores, so we'll have to stock up. I picked up a few bottles of Sauvignon Blanc and other unoaked whites for apperitif purposes, and we've been working off the selection of value Shiraz and Cabernet blends, with the odd Rioja and Malbec thrown in, that I'd laid in before we left CT. I'm thinking we'll raid the "wine box" and do some shopping while we're back in Phoenix on September 1-3 for Geri's dental work.

Well, that's it for this morning...

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