National Park Beauty

Zion National Park, like many national parks, holds a enormous amount of beauty and wonder. This Photo was captured on the only paved trail in the park that allows the walking of dogs. I had traveled from Wisconsin to the Rocky Mountains, Great Sand Dunes, multiple canyons, Arches, Great Basin, such varied and unique national parks with splendorous sights. Only to find my last national park to be that of Zion in Utah. Along with me for the ride was my, at the time, eleven month old Australian Shepherd puppy, Enzo. He was an amazing travel companion, despite a couple late-night accidents in the car, and had an awesome time visiting these national parks, typically leaning out the window as we drove on the scenic drives to catch all the sights. This photo may be of Zion, but the true beauty in it is the journey that Enzo and I had to reach that spot and for me to be able to take that particular photo.

They say dogs are a man’s best friend, but really, they can be anyone’s best friend, such as my dog Enzo for example. He’s my best friend and we love each other very much, but at the same time he can bring a smile to anyone’s face, and when people crouch down to pet him, he turns into their best friend too. I picked Enzo up in Idaho in April of 2020 and he was so timid, shy, fearful, and in need of some training. After the first couple weeks of having him he was doing so well and knew many commands! Our first trip together was to the North Shore of Minnesota, the shoreline from Duluth, Minnesota to Grand Portage, Minnesota. He had the opportunity to go on some fun hikes through the woods and out to rivers, lakes, waterfalls, and shorelines. He also was able to look over cliffsides for the first time. It was truly his first greatest adventure. This national park trip would be his second.

This photo is beautiful, but the true beauty lies behind the bond that Enzo and I fostered throughout our trip to this stunning location. We had rough times on the road, from Enzo chewing my phone charging cords overnight and both of us getting sick and Enzo having a couple accidents in the car. We also had great times, such as climbing the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado and driving through the parks, blasting music, windows down, not a care in the world. This location was the only National Park on our list that allowed dogs on a single paved trail that took us about two hours to complete. Along this trail Enzo had played in the river, overcame his fear of bridges, fought a couple bugs, got poked by a cactus and then having me pull the needle out, to which Enzo had zero reaction to, and making new friends along the way.

True happiness happens when one cannot think of anything negative anymore, no time constraints, no worries, no bad thoughts, and this park, with this trail was true happiness for Enzo and me. If I could go back and do it all over again I would in a heartbeat, the many other pictures I had taken and that were taken of us are forever in my memory and hard drive. I can only hope and can’t wait for the many more adventures that Enzo and I will go on in the future, perhaps to spots much like this one, beautiful not only in what we can see, but also what it can make us feel.