Whirlwind: Arches and Canyonlands National Parks

I thought I was not going to get to a national park this year until October--maybe June, if we managed a run up to Indiana Dunes for a weekend. I was apparently wrong. 

After Finn passed away, my sister decided I needed a break. I've had a rough couple of month--lots of solo parenting while JK traveled, intense work stuff, and then Finn. She begged me to jump on a plane on a whim and go with her to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks for a whirlwind 48 hours trip.

So, my plan-loving soul is going with very little notice or chance to plan. 

Arrive: Fly into SLC, arriving at 12:00 AM, are you even kidding me, meet my sister, grab rental car, and drive to Arches. 

Arches: roll into Arches while it's still dark, hike with headlamp to a good spot to watch the sunrise. We've got a few picked out. We don't have timed entry reservations, so we need to get in before 6 am, and we will stay until we are done. We've got some mild to moderate hikes picked out and we will see what moves us. 

Canyonlands: we will take a quick break in Moab and go check out Canyonlands. We've got some short hikes picked out and highlights to hit. 

SLC: return to SLC on basically no sleep and crash at hotel. Next day, check out Antelope Island and downtown SLC.

Depart: Leave SLC at 6 pm and arrive in Indy at 2:00 AM ARE YOU SERIOUS ugh.

It's going to be wild, and hopefully, what my heart needs right now. It's a disservice to the parks to spend so little time in them, but I'll take what I can get. I'm struggling with the idea of leaving JK and the kids while things are so fresh, but JK is pretty much pushing me out the door. 

Grief

Finn passed away. It was a genetic autoimmune disorder, with no chance of recovery and great pain. He was just a baby.

We are awash in grief. His cheerful face and sweet disposition is everywhere I look, on every trail we take. I've lost my constant buddy, my hiking dog, and my sweet snuggle puppy.

Finn

I wanted to post, and catch you up on the Indiana Dunes trip, but things took a devastating turn here. Our sweet golden retriever, Finn, suddenly became paralyzed over the course of an hour. 

A week ago today, Finn was fine, happy, playful, and annoying, as puppies are--he's still only one. Then he couldn't stand up well. Then he couldn't walk. Then he couldn't get up at all. Then he couldn't lift his head. We took him to the emergency vet, and after time and overnights and tests, we've figured out he has an autoimmune disorder. There's 30/30/30 chances here--30 he recovers fully, 30 he recovers somewhat (and there's a range here from "mostly recovered but can't do this physically strenuous thing" to "recovered means he can lift his head up and maybe support his weight if you stand him up, but he can't walk"), and then 30 he doesn't recover at all and declines further. 

These are obviously not great odds. We had some hope yesterday and the day before--he was lifting his head more, he was holding a position we put him in that he previously couldn't, etc. Today, he is noticeably worse.

Our hearts were so sad after we lost our last dog, Telly. Telly was old and had a great life, and it felt like Telly found Finn for us to help heal. Finn is our sweet boy, just a puppy, who loves to be with us, snuggle, and begrudgingly goes on hikes with us. This is some kind of terrible nightmare. 

Travel Planning: Acadia National Park

I can't believe I get to do this, but the stars aligned and everything came out just right, and it looks like this fall break we will be in Acadia National Park.

Our original plan was Rocky Mountain NP, but EJ and I were talking about fall break and travel plans, and she asked about other places. So she and I came up with a list of other places we thought it would be cool to visit. When I mentioned Acadia to JK, he immediately latched on to that idea because (1) something new and (2) we would fly into Boston, which would give us the chance to see his sister. So, we are off and running on an Acadia National Park adventure--neither of us have ever been, and we've always to go. I may plan a solo trip to RMNP for a short weekend, just so I can get my time in the place I love most. 

Tentative plan: Fly to Boston, rent car. Drive to Acadia and stay in vacation rental there. Hike, explore, do the national park things for 4-5 days. Come back to Boston, hang out with JK's sister, do the Boston touristy things (and maybe toss in some national historical sites!), for a day or two, then head back.

I've started planning hikes and picking places to stay. I tried to talk JK into a train ride from Boston to Maine, but no dice there. 

Short Recap: Spring Break 2022

We did our spring break in Chicago and Indiana Dunes National and State Parks, along with hikes in Fort Ben State park. We had a blast, and my foot survived. The weather cooperated NOT AT ALL. It didn't matter when we were in Chicago--we were inside at the Museum of Science and Industry--but it was either raining, sleeting, or outright snowing for the rest. 

Fort Ben hikes: Camp Creek, Harrison Trace, Walnut Grove trails. We often had to jump off the trails and onto the paved trails due to mud, and we were basically dancing in between raindrops. 

Indiana Dunes: We visited both the state and national parks, an it sleeted on us. We had to keep things short and sweet, which was a real bummer, because we LOVED it. We are planning a weekend return trip. Hikes included: West Beach Succession Trail, (national park), part of the Portage Riverwalk, part of trail 9 (state park), part of trail 10 (state park), part of trail 3 (state park), and part of trail 4 (state park). 

The Indiana Dunes National Park Visitors Center was GREAT. The kids loved it--they loved reading the information, getting brochures, talking to the ranger on duty, and watching the info movie. The movie got them very excited to come back and do more in the late spring/summer/fall, when the weather is better. They did the junior ranger program, and marched off with their books. The ranger on duty was just pleased anyone had tried any hiking at all in that weather, and thought the kids were troopers.