Dear Isaac, Maia, and Virtual Wanderers,

We have arrived at Hovenweep! That means we are done with out mini August road trip and on to our early September Hovenweep trip. Nothing flies like time on a road trip.

Today’s big stop was at Salmon Ruins in Bloomfield, NM. I like these ruins because they are actually privately managed. The ruins are on an old homestead that’s also part of the attraction. They are another outlier to Chaco Canyon like Aztec Ruins  – see post from yesterday.

That means it’s much more dog-friendly than the National Parks. Dogs do need to be off the ground when in the ruins section. It’s for occasions like this that I carry my umbrella stroller.  The girls appreciated the lift and it’s a good thing because the stroller tires are full or burs!

I ended up taking photos of the ruins along with the appropriate tour guide section because the dogs don’t like to linger in the sun while I read. I can review it later.

I think traveling with dogs just requires a different approach. The rules for National Parks are made for couples and families. Maybe one dog in a group of humans. It takes some creativity to go solo with multiple dogs.

After that came the journey through Four-Corners country to Hovenweep, which is on the CO/UT border. There was a lot of monsoon activity all around us this afternoon but we missed most of the real heavy rain. I felt bad seeing Shiprock town so flooded. I even got weatherproof spray on the larger tent before the thunderheads returned. 

Tomorrow’s activities will include dodging said storms and hopefully some ruins exploring.