Utah Trip...

Lots of pictures here folks!  This was a long trip!

 

The reason for this trip was 2-fold.  Main reason was Pat was attending a parent seminar/orientation thing at the facility the kid is currently residing at.  Pat thought - let's tack on a bit of a vacay.  This way we can bring the dog, Pat will have the support he needs in me and the pooch, and the kid can do their overnight stay with us in our air bnb.  I would like to say - this facility is amazing.  The staff there really cares about the kids, the therapists are great, the teachers are great, and it really does FINALLY feel, after much hardship. that the kid is getting the help and care they need.  So yay and fingers crossed!

 

So let's begin - day one.  Pat insisted on doing the drive in one day.  We were staying in Ogden, UT.  I'd been there before for my brothers retirement but just for a couple days and I was sick one of them.  So I was excited to really see the town this time.  We learned this day - doing the drive in one day is damn rough.  Especially with my bad knees and our 1 year old 50 pound pooch.  We did lots of stops - even threw in a silly bucket list item and got to Ogden in 14 hours.  Oooof.

 

Stopping in butt fuck nowhere

Like for real....

1st rest stop Geocache!

 

So the silly bucket list item was the Seven Magic Mountains just outside of Vegas.  We've all seen them - you drive by wondering...WTF are those.  Well we found out.  Very cool!
 

Love adventuring with this guy

People trying to make their own version

Lots of photo shoots happening

Poe the Road Dog

Magic Mountains Geocache!

The origin of these

Our next longer stop on the road was St. George, UT.  I had found a really cool brewery that accepted dogs that we planned to lunch at.  Apparently this brewery has no food.  Their sister brewery does.  Well shit.  But we landed at a great little cafe, then took Poe for a walk in a very cool park with lots of neat sculptures and a water area.

 

Starting to notice the pretty mountains in the background everywhere

 

Poe is ready to Protect and to Serve!

After way too bloody long we finally arrived at our air bnb.  It's actually not the usual air bnb - it is where the people live and they just rent it out when they're gone (apparently one of them must be a trust fund baby because they just travel all over) so it was kinda weird.  I will say the location was perfect, very pretty mountain view in the yard and an awesome jacuzzi.  Down side was the place was a shithole and quite dirty but we made do for the week.

We were so happy to finally get there

Birdcage Chair

Poe was so done

Day two we decided to keep it on the chill side since the drive the day before kicked our ass.  Relaxed a bit with some mimosas then hit up the delicious Kaffe Mercantile. The bnb only had a french press and we wanted some legit coffee.  This place is adorable!  It's a house converted into a coffee shop with a little backyard area you can let your dog run around in (as long as not too many people).  Really cute!

We then headed to the River Walk near the Botanical Gardens.  So pretty!

Nice view!

Poe exploring the backyard

Two thumbs up!

Pretty sky!

Arriving at the River Walk!

A park we passed

With the BEST NAME EVA

I mean come on..this park!

After this we headed to downtown Ogden to check out the area.  Very cool spot.  We spent a lot of time there throughout the week!  We then headed to UTOG which was another place we re-visted because it was AWESOME!

These colorful horses are all over downtown

Heading to the back patio of UTOG

This place was rad

Best Calamari I've ever had!

Then back to chill at the bnb.

Her artwork reminded me of my art wall

Poe digs the backyard

Walkin around the neighborhood

Day 3 brought us to the highlight of the whole trip!  Adams Canyon Trail!  It came recommended from my brother and wow was it just beautiful!!!!!  There was a couple of hairy river crossings (hairy mainly because we had Poe) and I did eat absolute shit at one point - thankful I didn't hit my head, but oooof, that hurt.  Other than that - awesome!  Bit of a steep start, but you walk along the rushing river the whole hike!  Tree covered.  Green.  Just gorgeous!!!!

Doin some geocaching of course!

Family portrait

It was so gorgeous!!

Geocaching

Yes I'm a nerd

Baby Xmas Tree!

Sad fallen Xmas Tree

Made it to the falls!

Such a good boi!

Poe the Road Dog

Kissy Love

This is right where I ate shit.  I think I was distracted by these weird knots in the tree - then down I went

The hairy river crossing

Shroom!

Our album cover

Then some afternoon chilling followed by the jacuzzi that we used every damn night!

Someone is beat

Dinner that night was at Ogden River Brewing Company.  This place was by far my favorite!  Super dog friendly - even brought Poe water with ice in it.  Patio is next to the river, just super cool and super chill and the food is amazing!!

Best Fish & Chips EVA!

Day 4 we drove out to Antelope Island.  It's super pretty and we did a bunch of geocaching.  Had a picnic lunch and checked out the Historic Ranch.  We didn't make it to the other side which probably had more stuff to do, and unfortunately the gnat problem was out of hand so we didn't enjoy this as much as we had hoped - and it was alot of driving.  Def a place we'd re-visit in different weather to hike and not gnat season.  But it was super pretty and we had a lot of fun as we always do!

 

We didn't see no damn Bison

Geocaching

WTF

Reminded me of Papa

Geocache!

Our Picnic Lunch

Did lots of geocaching

Nesting birds

Scary Rat Geocache

Was a bit windy right here...

Poe was not impressed

Pat & Poe pretending to be ranchers

For some reason farm equipment looks great in Sepia!

I roped one of them!

Precious Barn Owls nesting in the silo!!  They were so cute!

OMG HAI!!!!!

Fun with my paint setting

We didn't get to see wild Bison but we saw these guys from afar

Huge right?!

Such a pretty drive

That night for dinner was Slackwater. We had some yummy hummus and pizza!  So good!

Peach Sangria!  Yum!

Slackwater

Day 5 is when the "working" part of this vacation begins.  Poe and I dropped Pat off at the kid's facility that morning (about a 40 min drive from our bnb) and headed back to Ogden.  I chose to stay in Ogden for our "Me & Poe" days since I was getting to know the area and felt more comfortable.  So much construction going on everywhere it was easy to get turned around and I was trying to not be in the truck too much.

Back to the bnb to chill and have brekkie

I figured what better way to spend the day with just me and the pup than doing Adventure Labs!  I put them in a separate blog so this one didn't get longer - so you can check them out HERE.  Poe was such a good boi!

After Adventure Lab 1 we headed back to Ogden River Brewing Company since we had such a great experience.  Poe got all the love.

Then hit up a virtual cache but the plaque was missing!  Doh!

Still having time to kill and we're right by it - we did another Adventure Lab.  Again you can see those HERE

Then back to the bnb to chill until we pick up dad.

Somebody was tuckered

I picked up some take out sushi for myself for dinner and it WAS THE WORST SUSHI I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE.  Never eat at Watami Sushi Bistro if you find yourself in Ogden.

Day 6 was similar to Day 5, but a bit shorter.  Pat and the kid were going to hit up a mall after the sessions that day. Poe and I were to pick them up, we'd have dinner together and the kid would stay the night with us.  So - of course we started the day with another Adventure Lab.  Also in this BLOG.  Now sadly this day took a sour turn - A certain pup had an exorcist barf moment in the truck.  So that happened.  I mean with all the crap he was getting into and the driving and everything it must have just been too much - so that was...well...awful.  So back to the bnb to clean up and let him sleep it off changing the rest of our afternoon plans.  I did run out while he was sleeping and get myself some Pita Pit.  These are such legit sandwiches!!!  They don't have them at home so I figured now was the time.

Poe was feeling better and it was time to pick up Pat and kiddo, so off we went.  Kid wanted sushi- so I was determined to find a better spot for take out and we found it. Ohana Sushi.  So much better and their take out presentation was beautiful!  I'd love to re-visit that place and dine in if we come back.

It was voted to just chill and watch a horror movie so Pat & I suggested a classic!

Also look at the adorbs picture they did at the mall...

Day 7 we headed back to Kaffe Mercatile I mentioned earlier and had a quiet brekkie in the back area.  So nice!

Then we decided to go to the Ogden Farmer's Market.  They have it every Sat through the summer I guess, and I had heard it was pretty cool.  You guys....BEST FARMER'S MARKET EVA!  So many vendors!  It was really great!!  So huge and of course so pretty since it's in Ogden and surrounded by pretty mountains.  So we some good shopping in!

 

 

Yes I bought some more tye-dye goodies!

Love this idea!  All the flowers were in this little VW Bug!  Such a cute display!

This little girl was over it.  LOL

Got in a quick virtual cache!

Can you get a bigger thing of shaved ice?!

The park behind the market

After this we paid a re-visit to UTOG Brewery for lunch.  I kicked Pat's ass in Cornhole...chuckle.  Lovely time just as before.

Kid went back later that afternoon and Pat and I decided let's just hit the road to try to cut the drive time a bit since it was so brutal.  So we booked a dog friendly hotel in Cedar City and headed out.  The drive was quite pretty.

See ya later Ogden!

It wasn't easy, and we were pretty beat from the week and I'd say not super prepared to hit the road again, but our slap happy asses made it.  

How cute is this!!! The hotel greets the pets!  

I don't care how late it is, we're having a celebratory drink for making it.

Poe is baffled by the hotel room

Our last day was driving home - and yes, not fun.  But there was a highlight - we stopped in Henderson Nevada after Pat did some searching for a delicious spot for lunch.  We certainly found it! Crepe Expectations.  The friendliest staff and the food was fantastic!  Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs but it was so good!  They brought Poe ice water as well and kept checking on us.  Such a great experience and just what we needed to get us the rest of the way home!

Mimosa Flight - they have so many juices to choose from!

We finally made it home later Sunday afternoon to a very happy kitty!  (Thank you mom for taking care of her!)

Happy Girl

It was a long trip and had ups and downs but Ogden is certainly a beautiful place!  Poe really earned his Road Dog Badge and I look forward to many more adventures with my family!