Greyhound Gathering Kanab Utah 2003 / 2004 / 2006

Kanab, Utah.  That was the destination.  The Greyhound Gathering held in  Kanab is an event many folks have been attending since the first one was held. (Greyhound Gang Past Events) Kanab is located in the Northwest part of the United States, at a point where many folks base themselves to then take "day trips" to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, or perhaps the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

We did all of the above and then some!  We are showing a few pictures below, depicting some of the people, some of the dogs at the Gathering. And the scenery along the way was enough to leave you speechless, again and again! A return trip will surely be in my future!  [Here is the link to the  photo album that we have set up on Webshots!]
 

....just a few pics......

Here are some comments from some of the Houston travelers that made the 'epic journey' to the Greyhound Gathering this year.

 Kanab or Bust 2003 

Tim and I had decided to take almost 2 weeks off to get to and from Kanab, Utah for the attending of the Greyhound Gathering. After an earlier test ride it was decided that Mattie and Sweetpea would be OK in the back of Janny’s Van. May 4^th the “gang” left at 4 am with the two pups all excited in the back of the Van.

After an overnight stay and not so good food in Tucumcari, New Mexico, it was off to Santa Fe and Taos via the Turquoise Trail, a wonderful drive through some wonderful countryside. The next day it was Durango, Colorado. The pups have been greyt so far. We learned how to get both of them in and out of the car safely. Both did greyt while in the Hotel’s during the night, Sweetpea seeking Tim’s bed at night and Mattie curled up with me. Leaving Durango we took a fantastic route, The Skyway Scenic Drive.  On this drive we experienced snow, and of course we had to introduce the girls to this new experience. After several stops including Silverton, Telluride and the Four Corners, as well as Monument Valley, we had all kinds of weather. We started out with the heater on and ended up with the AC full blast when arriving in Bluff, Utah.

On Thursday May 8, 2003 we arrived in Kanab and finally found our Hotel Shiloh. One of the first things we did was wash the Van. The exterior as well as the interior was red from all the wonderful driving we did in Utah during sand storms.

Friday morning we relaxed for a few hours while watching snow fall in Kanab while others were attending a wedding in Angel Canyon.

We delivered our Sweatshirts and oriented to our home (Kanab) for the next few days. The pups appear to be happy, not any problems so far.

Due to the colder weather the orientation was held in the Gym. First Tim and I had our pictures taken by a professional photographer, (included in the fee for the Gathering.)

We had a wonderful informative evening and met “old” friends. I met friends from Washington State which included our former GPA Houston hound Winnie, now named Jannie and of course we made new ones and enjoyed seeing the other Houston folks and their hounds.

The first auction was held that evening, and believe it or not, it sounded like people had plenty of credit cards. The bids were rising each second. All proceeds were to go to the Almost Home for Hounds.

Tim and Janny started their shopping spree that day as well and found out it is easier to shop without the pups. We ate at the best Italian restaurant, and to our surprise dogs were welcomed inside the restaurant! OF course we made new friends again. Also discovered that the owner of the restaurant used to live in Fort Worth/Dallas area and loved Houston. (He raved about Houston’s wonderful restaurants…)

During the orientation the hounds were getting pretty tired, except for Mattie, she would visit every one close by and stole their hearts in a heartbeat. We did sleep well that night after a very well organized first day.

Saturday morning after getting up early so we could attend the 10 K with the hounds, we again did some shopping and attended the Blur of Fur; the organizers experienced some problems with the Laser. Sweetpea was the first one that clocked in at a reasonable time, 28 mph. Of course at her age (almost 6) she could not hold the lead. ( what an excuse). When it was Mattie’s turn to race, wow the hearts opened up and she felt it, so she tried to visit each and every one in line. She was adorable. And she ended up taking the friendliest politician prize. What a girl.

The parade was a blast, starting it off with the entry of Elvis (believe it or not he is the police chief of Kanab). Lots of hounds trotted their stuff, dressed up or not, they were waved at and loved by all. Lots of oohs and ahs were heard among the crowd.

After all that, more eating and shopping to make us happy. Of course don’t’ forget the auction and all the special education we received from the Greyhound Gang and invited guests. The weather has cleared up ( but still cold for our pups, so coats were bought and worn with pride) and all of us are happy campers.

The evening was spent at the Angel Canyon. We were cold but tried to hang in there, I think the pups were having the hardest part, trying to sleep with the coats on in the cold. Again we enjoyed seeing all the items being auctioned off, yes we also participated.

A special time and tribute was given to all the kids at the Rainbow Bridge with votive candles along the ridge of the canyon with the dogs names written on it, this was emotional for all of us and tears were shed freely by all. We found the candles with our beloved greys names as well. There could not be in a better place. (We were told earlier that this particular place was considered to be a Sacred Place by the Ancients. The place was indeed a Special Place.)

Sunday morning we enjoyed again the gathering at the Frontier Movie stages and more items were auctioned off. Last minute shopping was done. We collected what we bid on and won from the silent auction. OK so we did not get a lot, but Tim came home with a doggie couch, which is wonderful. Also Sweetpea got a nice new bed. Believe me we were not the big spenders there. There were literally hundreds of raffle and silent and ‘live’ auction items.  A raffle item won by “Mattie” was her very own (used) racing silk. 

We have seen many people, many hounds, it is amazing what the atmosphere is when all is silent and no hound or human speaks. But, wait a minute, the rooooooooooosssssssssssss, now some of these hounds know how to do that, not ours, they were just looking around wondering what the heck was going on. And believe me Mattie can make a lot of noise. 

Tim and I decide after all the walking, talking, shopping etc. we stay one more night at our Hotel to rest up. So we took the hounds and headed to Bryce Canyon, what a sight it was. Some hiking with the hounds, which did not appreciate all the gravel. Sweetpea has been wearing booties all weekend to prevent the pads from opening up. Even after using the musher’s secret one of them did open, but was all solved by the booties. She did not mind once she had them on.

The next morning, Monday, we left the hounds at the Hotel and drove to Zion National Park and did some sight seeing and hiking there. What a wonderful place to be. You can easily spend several days there. We observed the beauty of it and then had to head back to the pups.

We loaded the Van again and headed toward the Grand Canyon North Rim. Again we saw bunches of snow while driving up there. Due to the North Rim only being open part of the year, neither one of us had ever seen this before. We stayed overnight in a cabin with the hounds, they were getting confused by now as where to sleep, I had a single bed and that did not go well with a dog at your side. So Tim finally ended up with two dogs in his bed. Sweetpea had her problem again of not knowing where to potty due not having grass available. Tim did some night walks with the hounds there. The view of the Canyon is unbelievable from this area.  Make sure to make reservations at the Lodge, and dinner reservations ahead of time. We arrived early afternoon and were not able to make reservations for dinner till 9.45pm. After taking the pups where we could, we headed up to view the Sunset, after a wonderful drive. You should have been there. The hounds were, but they did not care for the sunset or the ground cover. The landscape is astonishing. We also saw a Condor fly over the Hotel.

After a fun cabin stay there we drive over 200 miles just to get to the other side of the canyon. (It is only 11 miles as the crow flies.)

Staying at a Hotel outside the Canyon we set out to explore the South Rim. I still enjoy the South Rim the best. No Sunset to observe due to the clouds, but what we did watch for a long period of time with two Biologists was a Condor resting maybe  50? feet below us on a cliff, that jutted out in the deep canyon below.  She was number 19 and had just eaten and was in no hurry at all to fly away. We observed her preening and making all kinds of moves, including pooping!, stretching, but not flying away. The next morning we saw the Biologists again and they did not see her leave either and found her at 8 am still in the same spot, while they were looking in another direction she flew off and now they were trying to find her.

Tim and I went to see the IMAX movie of the Grand Canyon that evening.

The next morning we left the pups at the Hotel and went on a wonderful excursion through the Canyon with the Shuttle bus, we got out and enjoyed the views at each stop. Lots of pictures were taken. Again we did shopping, Tim was really addicted to the Indian jewelry. We did not regret this stop at all. After picking up the hounds and going to a coffee shop we were on the road again. We drove to the Petrified Forest and ended up overnight in Gallop.

We were very interested in the Zuni Pueblo, where the Zuni Indians live, known for their wonderful jewelry. We arrived there far too early; I think they sleep at least till 9 am. We drove several times through the town and noted all the ovens made out of clay outside each house. Later we found out they make their own bread. NO picture taking allowed here. We wanted to buy bread but the baker does not open till 12 noon!!!! Oh well, off we went.

Lots of hard winds on the way to Amarillo Texas, wow what a storm that was. Later in the evening lots of lightening with out thunder, what a sight.

The next day we arrived back in Houston after a wonderful time. Kanab was so inspiring for both of us and so greyt to be with people that care about their hounds. That is the reason to visit the Gathering because people are there to share the love of their hounds.  I don’t think I could not handle more than two dogs, but people had up to five dogs with them. Claudia is a fantastic organizer and gets lots of people involved. If you can take some time off next year it is highly recommended you visit this wonderful city that opens all the doors for the greyhounds, and the unique landscape of the state. If you are going for just the Gathering or you decide to take a longer time to visit other states, it is a worthwhile visit either way.

....and another note.....

"The Greyhound Gathering in Kanab, UT. was a wonderful event that I highly recommend to anyone who wants to experience traveling and doing fun activities with their greys. We enjoyed a weekend that included everything from a parade, to "The Blur of Fur" radar run, to talks on dog behavior and massage, to a chance to watch Disney's "Greta the Misfit Greyhound" in a movie theater with your dogs laying comfortably at your feet! It was a unique opportunity to say the least! Besides the fun acitivities and beautiful scenery of the high desert Kanab area, the Gathering is a chance to spend quality time and increase the bond with your hounds. Take a look at our pictures and, hopefully, we will have a huge group of Houston hounds there next year! -- Lynn Hollingsworth, Howie and Raisin ("the Kanab Graduates)"

and finally.....

*Those of us that have made the trek to Kanab, (and yes it is a long drive, but our greyhounds are greyt travelers) encourage you to consider putting this event on your calendar for next year!  Mattie and SweetPea, Howie and Raisin Bran, Buddy and Sasha, and Josh and Andy!
 

Kanab 2004~

Here are some highlights from Houston area folks who visited the Gathering this year!
The Greyhound Gathering for 2004 came and went--over 350 hounds and over 400 people from across the USA and Canada visited.   Please visit our page from last year to see what we did, what you can see and do, too.  Be sure to visit the links posted there, to get an idea as to the weather, things to do, etc. And here is the link to the Greyhound Gang's website. Here are the links to the various albums that have been created. 
Visit Ripple's Family Album!
Visit Sam, Goldie and GUR Snowman's Album!
Visit Praveen's albums.
Visit Mik Wilken's albums.
Visit Tim's and Janny's album!

Kanab 2006

(In case you didn't know, Claudia did not have a Greyhound Gathering in 2005.)  However on May 5-6-7 of 2006 she did have her Greyhound Gathering and about 350 humans from around the country, Canada and England attended with over 400 of their greyhounds! The weather was absolutely fantastic this year and our travel notes and some pictures can be found  on this page.