Lucky
There is a lot of desert on the way to the Grand Canyon. Through it, we followed the highway that put Utah in our rear view mirror and the Arizona sunshine on our hood. We arrived in the park on the east end of the south rim where our first encounter is The Desert View.
But this post isn’t about that. In fact, I don’t know if I can describe the overwhelming smallness of my being as I glimpsed the Grand Canyon for the first time. The deceptive altitude has already given notice to your lungs, so taking the breath away entirely requires just a short sniff. As I waited for it to return, I thought about Auntie Ferns statement – I could have stood and looked at it all day. Yeah.
So…… while we joined other people along the viewpoint, I noticed a girl carrying a very young Rottweiler puppy. She moved closer until she was standing right beside me. It was apparent that her mother and father were watching closely as other park visitors were ogling and petting the little dog.
I must have spoken my thoughts aloud; “That puppy is so tiny – is it weaned from it’s mother?”
“We have no idea,” responded the girl, “we just found her in the desert.”
“What?!” My voice was certainly raised with surprise.
The mother turned to explain.
“Yes,” she confirmed. “We were driving through the desert and my husband yelled ‘what is that?’ and stopped the car. This little guy was sitting in the gravel. There was nothing around for miles!”
Then she said they gave it water and offered it snacks they had brought along from California. They couldn’t leave the puppy in the hot car, so they carried it to the rim with them.
Someone close behind me asked, “Are you going to keep it?”
The woman looked into the hopeful eyes of her child, and then to her husband standing nearby.
“Yeah. We have another dog at home, but I think we’ll keep it.”
My husband reached out and tickled the puppy behind its ear and suggested,
“You ought to name it Lucky.”
* * * * *
ps.
Here's three photos - I may post some others later. Hard to choose!
Desert View. Smoke from wild fire causing haze
Me! Wind was gusting up to 40mph - and hat head! My $ 1.99 shades. My Expensive ones blew away. Really.
Close to the other entrance -- sun setting. I took this photo because the shadow formed an owl on the other side. Can you see it?
But this post isn’t about that. In fact, I don’t know if I can describe the overwhelming smallness of my being as I glimpsed the Grand Canyon for the first time. The deceptive altitude has already given notice to your lungs, so taking the breath away entirely requires just a short sniff. As I waited for it to return, I thought about Auntie Ferns statement – I could have stood and looked at it all day. Yeah.
So…… while we joined other people along the viewpoint, I noticed a girl carrying a very young Rottweiler puppy. She moved closer until she was standing right beside me. It was apparent that her mother and father were watching closely as other park visitors were ogling and petting the little dog.
I must have spoken my thoughts aloud; “That puppy is so tiny – is it weaned from it’s mother?”
“We have no idea,” responded the girl, “we just found her in the desert.”
“What?!” My voice was certainly raised with surprise.
The mother turned to explain.
“Yes,” she confirmed. “We were driving through the desert and my husband yelled ‘what is that?’ and stopped the car. This little guy was sitting in the gravel. There was nothing around for miles!”
Then she said they gave it water and offered it snacks they had brought along from California. They couldn’t leave the puppy in the hot car, so they carried it to the rim with them.
Someone close behind me asked, “Are you going to keep it?”
The woman looked into the hopeful eyes of her child, and then to her husband standing nearby.
“Yeah. We have another dog at home, but I think we’ll keep it.”
My husband reached out and tickled the puppy behind its ear and suggested,
“You ought to name it Lucky.”
* * * * *
ps.
Here's three photos - I may post some others later. Hard to choose!
Desert View. Smoke from wild fire causing haze
Me! Wind was gusting up to 40mph - and hat head! My $ 1.99 shades. My Expensive ones blew away. Really.
Close to the other entrance -- sun setting. I took this photo because the shadow formed an owl on the other side. Can you see it?
Comments
one of these days i would truly love to see the grand canyon myself.
that puppy is lucky. i hope it lives a long and healthy life with this kind family.
And your pictures are just amazing. I've never been out west. Its overwhelming to look at even in pictures
Tracy
(one is a shadow figure and the other one is wearing sunglasses)
I got to get to the "big ditch" someday!! In the meantime I'll enjoy your pictures.
That puppy's first name is "Beyond", Lucky is his middle name.
Your photos are awesome.
The Gran Canyon is indeed breath taking. I remember when I saw it the first time in 1971, I had an urgent (very urgent) need for a toilet. But when I saw this amazing landscape, I completely forgot that nature had called me !
Nearly 20 years later I saw it for the second time. Hadn't changed a bit. It didn't belong to the Indians either. So it must have changed a lot. I saw pictures with this platform. I don't know if it's nice or not.
The puppy story is wonderful! Wow!
Enjoyed your photos. I saw the Grand Canyon just once, flying over it at about 35,000 feet, but even that was very impressive.
I hope you DO remember the Nun Joke.
Love, Merle.
That puppy is SO lucky! I can't imagine the horrible people who left him there!
but oh, the people. abandoning a dog in the DESERT? that's too cruel to think about. Glad 'lucky' was found.
The Grand Canyon has been on my wish list forever.
Beautiful pictures. Is that owl on your bird life list?