Arrived in Kanab – billed as The Greatest Earth on Show! Home of western movie filming for decades and also known as Little Hollywood.

Even the government shut down didn’t deter visitors from flocking to its National Parks. We greatly appreciate Utah for paying for its National Parks to re-open the day we arrived so we don’t miss a thing.

We are temporarily planted in the area known as the Grand Staircase. There are chocolate cliffs, vermilion cliffs,

white cliffs, grey cliffs and pink cliffs leading up to Bryce Canyon. The chocolate and vermilion cliffs are so deep in color that they melt in the rain and drip down over the white and grey stripes in the canyon walls, staining the lighter colors. Mmmmm…Hot chocolate and whipped cream views every morning.

We will be volunteering at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Angel Canyon for five days and staying on site at one of their two full hook-up RV sites that overlook the canyon. Drove by to check out the area today as we arrived a day early. Very impressive.

The town of Kanab is small, western, looks to have a few decent restaurants but our main directive is to enjoy helping where ever we are needed in Dog Town at the sanctuary.

After a night at Kanab RV Corral with our front window just a few feet from the main street we moved to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary this morning.

Our first exposure to the Sanctuary will be a tour in the afternoon giving us an overall lay out of the land. About 90 minutes long, meet and greet cats and dogs and load up on information helpful when volunteering.  Wandered into the Visitors Center and helped Lucy Lu socialize.

The Sanctuary was founded in 1984 and they have a No More Homeless Pet Partner Network of over 900 across the country. Their mission, No More Homeless Pets. Their battle cry, Save Them All. They have a strict adopting guidelines that helps keep returns down. The sanctuary owns 3,700 acres and lease another 17,000 acres from the state. There are approximately 1,700 animals at the sanctuary at any given time. It is an amazing organization and was high on my Bucket List for the past 10 year.

Our tour began with a movie of introduction, then a guided driving tour of each area with explanations and questions answered throughout. Horses, pigs, sheep, goats, dogs, cats, rabbits, birds and wild animals all make their home at the sanctuary until they find their forever home. A wonderful heartwarming experience.

Absolutely prepared for our early evening relaxation, slippers donned, full wine glass in hand, enjoying the darkness taking over the sky and brilliant stars shining in the night for the rest of the evening. Being in the presence of peaceful silence, where ancient peoples have gathered in centuries past, is healing for the soul and reminiscent of the tranquility we so thoroughly enjoyed at Millpond.

Daybreak and we had to take the chill off Ribbit before heading off to Bryce Canyon.

Because of a mix-up in our schedule, we don’t have the required orientation class until Monday so we are free to wander off for the day. With KatieBug along for the ride and snug in her crate, we headed to another of my Bucket List destinations, Bryce Canyon.

On our way, KatieBug got to meet saddled horses waiting in their trailer. Later we found out that horses in this part of the country are not just used for trail rides by tourists.

Passed through Red Canyon shortly before arriving in Bryce Canyon. A small but remarkable example of what was to come.

We first visited the small museum at the Visitors Center and read about the creatures that walked this area in pre-historic times. Always thought T-Rex and raptors were scary until I read about the gargantuan Deinosuchus…Predator of the Predators.

Stopped by the Lodge but they had a roaring wet fire in the fireplace and smoke was thick so we left quickly.

Up next was Inspiration and Bryce viewpoints, marveled at the Hoodoos (odd-shaped pillars of rock left standing from the forces of erosion) and took so many pictures I almost filled our memory disk. Beauty beyond belief!

Perfect weather and so few tourists that I actually got pictures without people wandering through shots. I made the 1000 foot hike up to Inspiration Point alone while John stayed with KatieBug…no pets allowed on the trails.

There are no words to describe the feeling you have looking out over Inspiration Point, especially at the highest point. The climb is very steep, very high elevation, with uneven paths. If you have stability problems, getting to the top is an accomplishment in itself.

Amazing, gorgeous, breathtaking…all fall short when you lean up against that chain link fence, the wind gently blowing in your face, gazing out into the distance, a forever view of nature’s awe-inspiring splendor. Each person that reached the top fell silent as they witnessed the layered columns of colors swirled in patterns only nature would dare to compose. It was an experience beyond anything I could have imagined.

Brice Point was an easier walk to reach the canyon view.

Fairyland Canyon was our last stop.

After seeing the columns from above, I plan to return to hike down among the columns on our next visit.

Leaving Bryce Canyon we drove leisurely out of the park, pausing to watch the jack in the box prairie dogs pop from piles of red earth and Mule Deer wandering along the side lines.

Driving into Panguitch through intermittent rain produced my first shot of a full, pot of gold to pot of gold, rainbow.

When we saw a second rainbow, we chased it through town only to be abruptly interrupted by a cattle drive crossing the roadway. Those saddled horses KatieBug and I met earlier were mounted by a family of cowboys, the youngest looking no older than six.

Poor Ribbit is standing on its last legs. Could be the transmission that I have been claiming was going out for the last 6 months, but what do I know? We had to rent a car to get us back and forth from our RV site to Dog Town for the next few days. The song lyrics, “This isn’t exactly what I had planned” running through my head. Luckily Kanab had a total of one rental car so our plans rolled forward.

Early rise next morning so we turned in after watching the resident Mule Deer grazing along in front of our motorhome window.

Six a.m. came awful early but it’s our first day volunteering at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary so we don’t want to be late. We were requested to volunteer at the puppy socialization for the first hour but quickly decided that constant bending and chasing around after wild unruly puppies was not going to happen on our second day. Next few hours were spent walking the seniors, some quite spry, on the sandy trails at Old Friends.  The facilities rival some of the best and most well kept kennels we have seen.

John walked the spunky oldies, I asked for easy walkers so between the two of us, we walked nearly the entire three hours on the trails. High altitude and constant movement really worked up an appetite!  Each day we joined the staff, other volunteers and some of the founders at the on-site lunch restaurant. It is open every day, only $5.00 per person and is a buffet of vegan delights including drink, meal, dessert and a heavenly view of Angel Canyon from nearly every seat in the picture window lined room.

Two large screen TV’s display bios of this week’s furry enticements, cute faces with pleading eyes ready to come home with whoever is ready to adopt.

Our afternoons were spent with the three of us exploring. One trek led us to Coral Pink Sands State Park where movie stars came to make movies as far back as the 1940’s.

Somewhere in the park are dinosaur prints but a four wheel is needed and our rental can only handle regular roads. We settled for looking out over the sands from the large pavilion complete with stadium seats, watching two red bundled figures hike far out onto the sand.

A robust pink color and silky to the touch, we let it slip through our fingers before brushing off and driving back to LilyPad in preparation of another early morning.

The statement greeting us all each morning entering Old Friends, “We Owe it to Them to be Worthy of Such Devotion” touches every heart that walks through the door.

There were five of us volunteering for most of our time at the Sanctuary. Some come every year for several weeks, some come for months at a time, some have come almost daily for years but all come to give of themselves and shower these lost but hopeful furry souls with love and affection. Dog walking, washing dishes, sweeping, poop scooping, socializing, all are chores that the care givers in each Octagon dog home are very grateful to you for performing.

Into town for a look see and to snap a few shots of the local attraction, The Little Hollywood Movie Set Museum. Sets from Kenny Loggins Live, The Outlaw Josey Wales and others are together outside the museum and free to the public to explore.

The area is small but interesting and we returned in the daytime to explore a second time. After another morning volunteering at Best Friends, our afternoon trip took us through Zion National Park.

Our last day at the Sanctuary before leaving for The Woodlands. We made a reservation for next year, 10 nights with plans to volunteer at Old Friends and perhaps Piggy Paradise. Gave out lots of belly rubs and hugs before leaving. Knowing that two of those we walked and fussed over were soon going to forever homes helped our separation from these special Old Friends.