I believe I'm long overdue for a new journal seeing as how I've been back from my trip for over a month now.

For those interested, I have conquered the Grand Canyon! We hiked top to bottom, stayed the night on the plateau without tents, and then hiked the rest of the way back up. There's one thing I can check off my To Do Before I Die List. The other national parks we visited were also gorgeous, and we even took a detour to Las Vegas for the evening when rain & snow at the Grand Canyon delayed us. I'd never been to Vegas before, so it was fun to see the lights and explore the casinos. We mainly ventured around in the Bellagio since we didn't have much time. The water fountain show is spectacular there, and of course I had to gamble while I was in Vegas. I lost all of $2. XD

I also went white water rafting on the Arkansas River. I've been rafting before, but this time we got to cross some sections that were class 6 rapids. Fun fun fun!

One of the best parts of the trip, though, happened at a random rest stop in Colorado. When we were piling out of the van to head to the bathrooms, I noticed a woman trying to corral several puppies with her arms. Of course I was excited to see puppies, but after a quick glance I realized they looked very much like wolf pups. Thinking it too good to be true but knowing they must have at least some wolf in them, I launched myself on her and the puppies and casually asked what kind they were. Gray wolves, she said. 75% pure gray wolf (they had to be bred down 25%). Five of them. Right there. With a woman who needed help keeping them from running off. Would I be willing to watch them for a few moments? OH HELL YES. I WILL TAKE THEM AND LOVE THEM FOREVER. Okay, I didn't actually get to /take/ them, but hold them and love them I did! The lady told me they had picked them up in Texas and were bringing them to some nice place in California where they'd have plenty of acres and lakes.

OMG. I held a baby wolf. If I had been able to swim with dolphins (one of my life's goals) that day I probably would have died happy in my sleep later that night. I'll upload a photo when I get one from the girl whose camera we used.

P.S. I hate writing journals.

P.P.S. If I opened some commissions starting as low as $10 would anyone be interested?