to colorado and back

To celebrate my 1 year anniversary of owning KoKo and to also take some much needed time off, I hit the road with my road trip warrior, Sarah, her 5lb dog Sky and KoKo -- all piled into Sarah's Ford Escape for a 20 hour ride to Boulder, CO. After seeing a few signs for Phoenix and having passed through Palm Springs it finally hit me to double check w/ Sarah we didn't miss a turn in all our chatting...and while she attempted to reassure me we're good b/c she's done this drive so often (at least the part through Vegas) I opted to still check the map to confirm that we were indeed headed southeast vs northeast - HA! Luckily that was the first 3 hours of driving vs the last as I don't think it would've been as funny after 30 hours of driving!

But once we were on our way we finally made it to Southern Utah to a small town called Knab where her Aunt lives. And she had planned for us the most picturesque picnic at the Best Friends Sanctuary which is a 3500 acre reserve all for animals in need of rescue. The place is AMAZING. And up a set of wooden stairs was this natural amphitheater where the dogs could run free and we could eat and sip wine and (finally) stretch our legs. It was incredible. And probably the most epic part of KoKo (and Sky's) trip b/c he had his first kill -- a squirrel :)

Onto CO we went the next day after some coffees and a lovely tour of the Best Friends campus. We finally hit Boulder by about 10pm and with two out of sorts dogs we were all ready for bed! We had a nice visit with Sarah's parents on Monday and got to see downtown Boulder / Pearl St before I headed off on my own w/ KoKo to see my cousins. First up was Janelle just outside Boulder and then over Independence Pass and off to Carbondale to spend the rest of the time w/ Sheryl and Karl. We had such an amazing visit -- KoKo loved his baby cousin Jack and the football that he got from him as well as the cooling dip in the lake. He was a bit nervous coming down off the mountain after Independence Pass -- his eyes were bugged out and staring out the front of the car, so much so that I said -- Mom, I really do think you're inside KoKo b/c I hear you hated this drive :)

And once in Carbondale KoKo was in heaven with the 3+ acres of land, the wildlife, the two other doggies to play with and of course the cats that he kept trying to "find" inside the house. Never a dull moment -- fun for all. And what a great area! I got over to Basalt to meet a long time client of mine and got on a few hikes, hit the rodeo on the 4th and the First Friday along Main St Carbondale -- all such great things. And most of all, so very leisurely and relaxing -- two things that my trips back east don't include much off b/c of all the people I need to see. So this felt like the way a vacation should feel -- and after not having had one for a couple years now, it was just what I needed. Now the countdown begins to my birthday and my trip to see a medium -- stay tuned for both in the coming weeks!