Best Friends and Weaving a Roller Towel

We are settled into our campground in Utah, not too far from Zion National Park, and have taken a couple of days to relax after some frequent travel days. It was an easy drive to Utah and we have some pretty spectacular scenery from our campsite.

On Sunday I started a weaving project. On Ravelry a group of us are doing a Weave ALong (WAL) to make a roller towel. You probably remember these if you are of a certain age. Every public restroom had a towel on a roller bar to wipe your hands on after washing up. Ick. They are no longer being used in public restrooms in the US, but are actually a pretty nice way to keep your towel hung up in your kitchen without it ending up on the floor. And you don't need a wide loom to weave one. The ends may be fastened together with Velcro, buttons, snaps, or ties. Here is the start of my towel, being woven 11" wide on my Ashford Knitters Loom:

On Monday the weather was pretty iffy so we drove into the town of Mt. Carmel to see what was there. We ran some errands, then called Best Friends Animal Society to see if we could visit. We signed up for a tour of their facility.

This place was amazing. Set into a cliff, the administration building features a gift shop, movie theater, and offices. We met our tour guide and hopped into a company van to ride out to Dogtown.

 Dogtown consists of groups of buildings with 8 runs encircling each one, each run containing 1-3 dogs. We were encouraged not to get too close, to avoid getting the dogs worked up.

Inside each building the dogs were fed and behavioral training was given.

We met Joy, a 6 year old pit bull who loves people but who is aggressive towards other animals. Most of the animals here arrive as "unadoptable" and are given intensive training to rehabilitate them. Michael Vick's abused dogs are here and several have been adopted out after this training. They are referred to as the "Vick-tory" dogs.

Besides dogs, the Animal Society cares for cats, rabbits, parrots, chickens, pigs, horses, goats, and sheep. There are volunteer opportunities for individuals as young as 6 years of age and up, and for 1-2 weeks or more in duration.

We found Best Friends Animal Society to be an amazing and inspiring place, and despite the weather (which turned rainy and windy and very cold) we were glad we took the tour.