One day while sitting in the office at the estate, I was going through my emails and noticed one from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. I get a lot of emails from them, but this one was different and it stood out from the others! I opened it and it was an invitation to the Friends and Founders Event for 2022! We had been talking about going back to the sanctuary for awhile and decided this would be a great thing to attend and also volunteer if possible. We chose the April 28-29th session and started prepping for the trip! We had tried to remember when was the last time we had gone down there, but knew it had been awhile. While packing, I decided to pack a couple of shirts I had bought on the last trip and there it was……the date…..2015!!! Wow, seven years ago, too long!!! The excitement began for our spiritual reset which is one of the things that happen to you when you make the visit. There’s nothing like the feeling you get when you drive into Kanab!! Kanab has grown quite a bit since we last visited. It once was a pretty quiet and sleepy town, but things have changed. There are a bunch of new restaurants and hotels that have sprung up since. One of the new hotels, and the one we stayed at, was the Roadhouse and Mercantile. It is owned and operated by the sanctuary so your room fees are helping support it! Not only is it pet friendly, but bringing dogs and cats from the sanctuary for sleepovers are highly encouraged. There is also a store there where you can purchase shirts, pants, pet accessories, and other items with the Best Friends logo. It was a pleasant hotel, and btw, you can do your laundry for free! When not at the sanctuary we drove around town looking at houses, RV parks, and enjoying the sites of the surrounding area. We ate at some new restaurants and also visited some of our old haunts that still remain! These are all great eateries:
Our first day there was a free day, the only one we would have. We decided to drive up to Zion National Park. It was a return trip for us, but it had been many years. We got on the park shuttle and headed into the park and picked one of the trails to hike. We hiked all the emerald pools, there are three. It was a gorgeous day and the temp was just right. We got back down and Debbie wanted to hike the angel’s landing trail until we got tired and then we would turn back. Of course that didn’t happen until we got to the top where the chain begins. I was gassed and had a painful blister on my toe. Luckily she had a band aid in the pack and I made a quick repair so I could make it back down. I wasn’t thrilled and you can see all the pictures in the photo album! Not a young buck anymore!!! The rest of the week was all involved with dog outings, an afternoon in Cat World, and attending the Friends and Founders events. We took two dogs on outings, Riff Raff and Satchel. Debbie loved Satchel and had I been ready for another dog, we would have taken him back with us like we did with Cordell. I’m just not ready for a pet just yet. One day we spent at cat World just hanging with some shy kitties and taking a couple on a stroll.
-
- Riff Raff
-
- Satchel
-
- Playing With Cats
-
- Kitty Stroll
Our last two days were involved in the events. We hiked up to the Labyrinth and Gratitude Gardens, enjoyed a brunch with many of the founders of Best Friends, listened to their Roadmap to No Kill 2025, visited our pig and goat friends, went to the Blessing of the Animals in Angel’s Rest(Kleenex needed), toured Dogtown, watched a training session of a wild horse at Horse Haven, did a tour of the new Horse Haven and their clinic, toured the Best Friends Clinic, and went to the farewell reception. It was so fascinating and fun. We still learned a whole lot more about the sanctuary even though we have been there many times over the years. There was a lot of upgraded areas and to see the clinics and the new horse haven made it all the more special. We feel so confident when making our donations that our money is being used so wisely in the care of the animals. You can do a tour of the sanctuary right from your device by clicking here. Better yet, plan a vacation and visit for yourself and especially your kids. It is a magical place!!! We will be back real soon!
Go here to visit the full photo album of our trip!!!
Filed under: Blueberry, Green Tea | Tagged: Angel Canyon, Angels Landing, Angels Rest, animals, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, cats, dogs, dogtown, Givens, goats, hiking, Horse Haven, horses, Kanab, no kill, Piggy Paradise, pigs, rescue, Riley, sanctuary, shelter, Utah, vacation, Zion | Leave a comment »
Life At The Givens Estate 