I thought there was nothing cuter than a bunny.

And then I began fostering kittens.

Easy kittens. Litters where momma is present and she does all the work. (most of the time.)

Seriously, fostering kittens is one of the most selfless and rewarding things I've done in my life. At the same time it's incredibly self-ish. They're just so darn cute!!!!!!! After having 4 litters so far this summer, I feel that I understand "kitten development" in a way I haven't before.

Yes, some days you can roll that ball with a bell right past them and they literally DO NOT SEE IT. They're just not there yet. And one day they do. Maybe just a slight pause, as something registers and their little minds ask "what was that?" Not yet ready to look at it, or pursue it, but acknowledgement.

Then one day the ball reaches toy status. And play begins.

Look for a foster kitten gallery soon.

If labels are required, I'd have to label myself an environmentalist. Yet that label would put mein the camp with many that would have the Glen Canyon Dam dismantled and Lake Powell drained.

I don't want that at all.

Lake Powell's existence allows 3,000,000 visitor's annually to see parts of Arizona and Utah that most would otherwise not have been able to. Grand Canyon receives 4.5 million and many of those visitors drive to the park, look "over the edge," and return home. The average length of stay at Lake Powell, the heart of the Glen Canyon Recreation Area, is 4.5 days, the longest of any federal park.

Lake Powell is neither quick, cheap or easy to visit. Most people who visit have a reverence for nature and the outdoors. For what the lake is today and for what was lost when the canyon was flooded.

I've never seen Cathedral in the Desert. And I would have liked to. But I also never likely would have. For 13 years I lived 4 hours away in Scottsdale, Arizona and I never hiked Grand Canyon. So would I have hiked Glen Canyon? Not likely. But I've been to Lake Powell probably 8 or 9 times in the past 12 years. I've seen Rainbow Bridge and Cathedral in the Desert at a wide variety of water levels. I've seen Lake Powell when Castle Rock Cutoff was closed due to lower water levels. My friend (the one who makes these visits to Lake Powell possible) has seen Glen Canyon and Lake Powell in even more variations spanning over 25 years.

From our daily campsites we can venture up the Escalante or San Juan Rivers. We can swim in the warm waters of Padre Bay. We can climb (almost) Hole in the Rock and marvel at the vision and tenacity of the Mormons who came, wagons and all, on their way to new frontiers.

I recycle. I don't want to eat GMOs where pesticides have been infused in the seed. But I drive a car most days and I respect the right of the developing world to eat whatever genetically-modified grains will help them ward off blindness. But I request the right to eat organic if I can afford it.

And I will continue to visit Lake Powell. By boat. And photographing its many faces.

Look for a Lake Powell gallery soon as I celebrate 12 years of visitation!

Oh yeah. And did I mention Lake Powell is 186 miles long and has over 2,000 miles of Shoreline. More than the western coastal states of California, Oregon and Washington combined.

I'm impressed...