Itty Bitty Kitty Committee part 3

Our third set of kittens was only with us for two weeks. These little ones needed to get acclimated to living in a house and needed to fatten up so they made the weight required before they could be fixed.

These three came to us already named.

Adam was the biggest of the three and the bully of the group. We really had to watch him when it was feeding time because he would push the other two away from the food dish. Any other time he was a purr machine. You could just look at him and he would purr. He also squeaked when he ran. It was like throwing a squeaky toy down a hall… squeak…squeak…squeak.

Keenan was the smallest of the three. He too was a purr machine. He spent a lot of time on JoAnna’s lap helping her work. He was also the most vocal. He would walk up and squeak at me or Jo for no reason. He also slept on Bianca's bed right next to her.

Isabella (Izzy) was our shy little girl. She only came out for petting if she was jealous of the attention the boys were receiving. Izzy was a unique little girl in that she had extra toes on each foot. There were a few times when she actually got her toes caught on each other and ended up hopping around until one of us fixed it for her.

All three were cute in their own way and we definitely would have like to have them a bit longer but we did fatten them up and get them ready for new homes.

More toes = more love.

-Cory

AZ Road Trip Part 3: Flagstaff

In between visiting the Hubbell Trading Post and Petrified Forest National Park Jo and I took a day and went to the Flagstaff area. We first headed to Walnut Canyon National Monument.

This monument only has two hiking trails and visitors are only allowed in a very small portion of the park. Most of the park is preserved for its archeological significance. The Parks Service was restoring one of the trails so we packed up and took the single trail that was open. It was very interesting. We were able to weave in and out of the cave dwellings that are the main draw for the park. It was a very nice walk and a very pretty park.

After Walnut Canyon we drove up to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Sunset Crater was easily one of my favorite parks we visited. It was simple and well designed. There were a few hiking trails, both with great views of the Flagstaff area as well as the Crater. When we started the longer of the two hikes it began to rain. I ran back to the car and grabbed our rain jackets and we enjoyed a very nice hike in the rain. I think the best part of that hike was the fact the trail was empty of people except this small family. Both mom and dad were finding and sharing the great parts of hiking, even in the rain, with their boys. It was inspiring to see a pair of parents sharing the Parks with their kids in an appropriate way.

Sunset Crater loops up to Wupatki National Monument, one of the biggest archeological sites we had the chance to visit during the trip. It was very cool, but by this time we were a bit tired of ruins. We took the self guided tour and took some photos but I think we were both glad to be back in the car and headed to Flagstaff.

In Flagstaff we took some time to walk around the downtown/University area and peek in to the little shops. We had a lovely dinner at a nice little restaurant and followed that with a very tasty latte. We were both impressed with Flagstaff and we look forward to exploring it a bit more in December when we will be spending time with Jo’s family in Sedona.

Peas!

Cory

AZ part two!

Jo and I decided to leave Canyon De Chelly a few hours earlier than we originally planned and hit the road so we could get to Holbrook, AZ a bit sooner and get a hot shower at the KOA that was to be our home base for the next few days.

Fortunately, we stopped off at Hubbel Trading Post National Historic Site.

The Trading Post almost defies description. It is a large complex that includes stables, a store, an art gallery and the Hubbel Home. The store is still an active trading post selling various goods. I bought a Navajo cake, a sort of chocolate/corn/raisin tamale snack, and ate it as we walked the grounds. We also took the park service’s tour of the house. John Lorenzo Hubbel and his family lived in the home while they ran the trading post. The home is a glimpse into life at the post and the relationship Hubble had with the local Navajo people as well as a gallery for the art he collected. It was an amazing stop and well worth going out of the way to visit.

We continued on to Petrified Forest National Park to pick up our map and then to Holbrook to set up camp. We took our highly anticipated hot showers and then collected a free piece of petrified wood (not collected in the park… we triple checked) from one of the local dealers and headed 20 miles west to Winslow, AZ. Yes, that Winslow, AZ.

Winslow sits right on Route 66 and the sleepy little town is trying to make the most of its historic location and a single line in The Eagles song “Take it Easy.” There is a Standing on a Corner Park with Route 66 stores on adjacent corners to the park. We, of course, had to stand on the corner and call our respective parents. We then sampled Route 66 sodas and headed back to Holbrook for dinner.

Our last day in AZ was spent at Petrified Forest National Park. We did every single hike available and enjoyed most of them. The highlight for us both was when a ranger explained that we could actually go down in to the desert via a path behind the Painted Desert Inn and Museum. It was nice because the park was busy and this got us away from the masses and gave us a much better glimpse of the park. Many of the hikes were paved and weaved in and out of the piles of petrified wood.

I think the hardest part was watching inconsiderate people trample off the trails to see pieces of wood. Jo and I had a long conversation about why we, as Americans, seem to think that ignoring the posted signs and requests to stay on the path and trundle off where ever we want is seen as our right? I love the parks, and I think they are amazingly important, but it really bothers me to see people treating them as something that are rightfully theirs and not as the gift they are. We tend to forget that the United States is fortunate that our government and a few private citizens were smart enough to preserve some of our natural beauty. Very few European countries have National Parks because they did not have the foresight to care for the land a bit better. So how about we appreciate what we have and not let our kids trample down the hill instead of taking the trail…OK… I feel better, mostly.

We also spent a day exploring the Flagstaff area – which will get a separate post after this, so stay tuned!

Standing on a Soapbox In Las Vegas, Nevada,

Cory

Northern Arizona Road Trip, Part 1

Jo and I so enjoyed last summer’s road trip that we planned another tour of local National Parks, this time in Northern Arizona. We started last Wednesday and Northeast to Navajo National Monument just outside Kayenta, Arizona in the Navajo Nation. It is here we ran into Arizona’s kooky time issues. In a nutshell, the state of Arizona and the Hopi Nation do not recognize (celebrate? Conform to?) Daylight Savings Time but the Navajo Nation does. Ergo, on the Navajo Nation, during the summer, it is Mountain Standard Time; but everywhere else it is Pacific Standard Time.

Anyway, we spent the first evening hiking the two trails around the rim of the canyon and looking over Betatakin, the Anasazi – or Ancient Pueblo People if you prefer – ruins. The second day we broke camp and met a ranger at the visitors’ center to take the 5 mile, round trip, guided tour to Betatakin. It was, by far, the highlight of the entire road trip. We were able to walk gingerly around the ruins and our guide was extremely knowledgeable.

From Navajo National Monument we headed to Canyon De Chelly National Monument. Now, Canyon De Chelly is pretty in its own right but we had a few issues with the park. First, it sits on the very near outskirts of Chinle, AZ and the proximity of the Navajo town seems to affect the park. The canyon consists of two rim drives each with their own overlooks. The overlooks are nice and they give decent views of the canyons and the Anasazi ruins. The campground feels more like a state park grounds and there is a strange instance of the locals simply parking at open sites and...well... hanging out. This most likely goes hand in hand with the signs at the Visitors' Center that warned about a rash of robberies.

Our biggest issue was, as I stated above, the effects of Chinle. First, there are numerous merchants at every overlook selling Navajo tourist trinkets. That in itself is not bad, but they are a bit pushy about it and all the trinkets are the same. It distracts from the canyon. Second, and more irritating, is the fact that the only way to go in to the canyon for a majority of the year is by hiring a guide from town. Again, not a big deal, in fact we like the idea of the Navajo Nation working in tandem with the Parks Service, but the majority of those tours are done via 4 wheel drive. As you all know, we dislike the destroying of nature via wheels.

We did stumble upon a Ranger hike into the canyon, a rarity in the park. It was a good hike but we were still a far distance away from any ruins. We planned on taking another guided hike the day we left the park, but decided against it due to fatigue and disillusionment. From the canyon we headed to our final destination, Holbrook, AZ on our way we would visit Hubble Trading Post National Historic Site and would spend the next few days in the Flagstaff area as well as Petrified Forest National Park.

Stay tuned for the rest of the trip!

-Cory

Editor's note: If you don't have anything nice to say, 1) don't say it at all, or 2) be courageous enough to put your name to it. Anonymous comments will no longer be accepted. Have a great day!

The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee take two: The Gentlemen of the Shire

On Saturday we returned the second of the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee to the Homeward Bound gang. This time we had four little boys with us:

Frodo(the striped one):

Gandalf:

Smeagol:

And Pippin:

They were a bit more of a challenge than Tara and Scarlett. The boys had only lived in a large crate and were basically in shock when we let them out the first night. It was a bit of a…. well… shitty mess. With a little guidance from Homeward Bound we decided to have them stay in the extra bathroom. Keeping them in a smaller room reduced the stress, both on them and us. After about a week they began to warm up and embrace their full kittenness (what… it’s a word).

As each week passed they became much more loving and playful. They would often spend hours in the front room pouncing on one another and playing with the numerous cat toys we have.

Frodo and Smeagol became great friends and were often found together (funny, no?). Gandalf, true to his name, was often the most curious and the first to explore. He was also very independent and would wander away from the group to find his own place to play or sleep. Pippen was very reserved and quite shy.

We’ll be taking a break from kittens for a few months as our travels will keep us out of the house for most of the rest of July and August.

In a quiet house once again,

Cory

The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee take one

You remember the pictures I posted on Facebook of the Bare Naked Ladies concert?... you don’t? go check them out…

You with me now?

Well, that was an event called Pet-A-Palooza. It is a fundraiser for the local SPCA and other animal groups here in Las Vegas. Jo and I have avoided it for the past few years because we feared our lack of willpower when it comes to adopting new critters. Jo stumbled upon the possibility of fostering kittens and…lo! There are kittens!

We got the two little scamps eight weeks ago when they were four weeks old. They didn’t even have names; we spent the first few days calling them “the orange one” and “the white an orange one.” We worked hard on finding them a pair of literary names and finally settled on Scarlett and Tara (really? You don’t get the allusion?... try Wikipedia).

Scarlett came to us with a runny nose and a bit of an eye infection. We got the eye cleared up fairly quickly but she still has the sneezles.

Tara grows exponentially each day, both in girth and in fur. Scarlett remains hyper and wiry.

Tara purrs the minute you touch her; Scarlett likes to sleep in JoAnna’s hood.

They both sleep…. A lot. When they are not sleeping, they are attacking each other, JoAnna’s desk, Toby… but not Abby, never Abby.

On Sunday we take them back to the woman who runs the program… and pick up more.

In Love and Fur,

Cory

New Orleans Photo Essay

Ok... we know... it has been way to long. Instead of taking forever to write a long post on New Orleans, we figure a photo essay might be better.

The Union Station in Los Angeles

Lamp lights in the French Quarter

The Corn Fence House

Cafe Du Monde

And again

Street cars- we took one to the Garden District

Katrina damage to Louis Armstrong Park

The cemeteries are one of the coolest parts of the city... all sorts of photo opportunities

So there you have it. New Orleans in a very small nutshell. That brings us up to the beginning of April! Crap...

Peas!

Cory