November Excitement

Grand Canyon Trip

Grand Canyon

On Veteran's Day weekend, I took a trip up to the Grand Canyon. Susan had to stay back with Gladys, because she was still on cage-rest for her neck injury, so I packed Zoe and myself into the car and headed North. We stayed in a KOA cabin in Williams, Arizona, about an hour south of the Grand Canyon. It was freezing that night, around 20°, and the "heater" in the cabin was a tiny space heater. Zoe and I were curled up together under the comforter, trying to keep warm. We made it through the night, though, and headed up to the Grand Canyon the next day. We went in the South Entrance and walked along the rim for about 1.5 miles. I can't tell you how many times I heard comments about how big Zoe was and "I didn't know they allowed horses!"

October Update

Honestly, this month was mostly my typical routine of working during the days and lazing around on the evenings and weekends. I didn't go to any local attractions. I did have some cool jobs, but my confidentiality keeps me from spilling the beans! I did get the chance to go to Texas, though, and we had some developments with the pets, so read on!

San Antonio

I went to San Antonio for a week in early October to interpret for someone that was helping run a conference. I didn't have a lot of time to myself, but I did get up to a few cool things while I was there. As usual, I hit up the Hard Rock to buy some pins. I got the annual Breast Cancer month pin as well as a San Antonio pin.

While I was there I also had a chance to explore the Riverwalk, which is basically a nice walkway along the river with lots of trees and some small waterfalls, and it takes you into the heart of San Antonio where there are lots of shops and restaurants along the river. The Hard Rock cafe is actually right on the Riverwalk. I was excited that they had water taxis, however whenever I needed one, there was never one to be found. Lots of tour boats, but not enough taxis.

I decided that I couldn't leave San Antonio without seeing the Alamo, even though I wasn't really interested in it. Mostly it was a gift shop and some small buildings. It was much smaller than I thought it would be. There is a very cool tree in the back, huge and serpentine, and they also had a nice little stream with huge koi in it. Honestly, the pretty grounds were more memorable than the building itself. I'm just not that much of a history fan! Oh, and there was a candy shop across the street with a mirror maze. Now that was a trip!

Pets, Pets, Pets

 The later portion of the month was focused on pets, namely Gladys. We spent what seemed like an entire Saturday with her at the emergency clinic. It appears that the discs in her spine are degenerating and causing her a lot of pain. Thankfully, we caught it in the early stages and it looks like surgery isn't needed. She's recovering with steroids, pain pills and cold-laser treatments (to help reduce the inflammation.) Fingers crossed that she makes a full recovery!

Baxter, on the other hand, is getting snarky again. When he's not playing with his kitten (yes, he acts like he is the only one that can play with Mr. Leonardo DiCatrio), he alternates between wanting attention and wanting to bite us. We had to muzzle the poor guy just to clip his nails and give him a bath. Its not that he doesn't love us. He just gets scared all of a sudden, for no reason that we can see, and his first reaction is to growl and bite. We recently took him to the vet and we hope to put him on a doggy anti-anxiety medication. Fingers crossed that it works!

Fall in Tucson

It hasn't really felt like fall around here. I feel like the trees in our complex are looking a little more yellow, but it's positively green compared to the yellow leaves we see in the East. Some leaves have fallen, but the ones that are still up are only slightly brown around the edges. The temperature has come down, but it's still in the 70s and 80s by the afternoon. The only thing I can really see is that many of the plants and grasses are starting to turn brown now that the wet season is over.


 There are certain hills, like Tumamoc Hill, that I didn't realize had been fairly grassy until I noticed how yellow they became this month. The Ocotillo plants are losing their color and the colorful fruit have fallen off the prickly pear cactus. Mostly, it's just dry here. My lips have become chapped, so I must not be drinking enough water. Otherwise, it's still gorgeous here. Blue skies every day and lots of palm trees (which I assume have been imported.) If you're not ready for winter, I have a guest bedroom!