We tip 15-20% in restaurants.

For casual restaurants here in NM [and in the other states you mention] 15% is about norm and a bit higher in nicer places.

Tip for hotels, we usually do $1 or $2 per person, per night. I am a bit odd in that I like to tip each morning [rather than at the end of the stay], since I figure the person actually cleaning the room THAT day should get the money and when you leave it all at the end, who knows who gets the money. Odd, I know.

If you do any tours, tour guides often get a tip at the end [not park rangers at national parks] $5 - 10 per person would be right. If you have to valet park your car, $1 per trip in and out would work.

Cell phone coverage can be spotty out here. I use Verizon and it works pretty well in most places [that have any service]. I don't know much about cheap, pay as you go phones though.

Where is your first stop - perhaps knowing that, I can suggest where to get a phone.

15%-20% in restaurants is a good guideline, but base it on the pre-tax amount. In other words, don't tip on taxes.

Here are two good references:
http://www.magellans.com/store/article/435
http://www.cntraveler.com/travel-tips/travel-etiquette/2008/12/Etiquette-101-Tipping-Guide

_______________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

Thanks for your help.

DebitNM, we fly into Albuquerque (via LAX) and have 2 nights there - 2 jetlagged nights I'm guessing

We managed to get a hotel on points - first time ever - and are staying at Homewood Suites Uptown. I think there is a shopping centre opposite but it may be more upmarket, would we look in somewhere like Target or Walmart for a cheap phone? Something simple to use and understand would be good for us.

Thanks,
Kay

Kay,
In addition to Walmart and Target, you can also find cheap ($20 or less) mobile phones at CVS & Walgreens stores plus 7-elevens as well.

_______________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

I tip 15-20% at restaurants. I do not tip at fast food restaurants. I do not tip at places that don't actually serve you(most pizza places for example). I do not tip at Starbucks or other coffee places. It is supposed to be 18%. I still base it somewhat on the service I get. If they don't refill my drink(at least one time is all that I ask), etc then I don't tip nearly as well. If I recieve horrid service(this isn't based on what the food tastes like), then I don't tip at all. Really good service, a bit more.

I tip anytime anyone handles my luggage. Usually $1 per suitcase for taxi. We usually have 3 bags and I tip bellman $5. If it is a nicer hotel, then maybe $7.
For some reason, I have never tipped maid at hotel or lodge.

I do $2 on valet parking.

Personally, I avoid valet parking and I prefer to stay somewhere that doesn't have bellman/porter.

As far as tour guides go, I never know what to do here myself. For example- Grand Canyon Rafting-I tipped $300.00 for a family of 3 on a 4 day trip. Canyoneering-I tipped $100.00 for a 6 hour tour(have done that twice with the same company). If you do some type of tour at say Monument Valley, then probably $10 per person would be about right.

Where all are you going in New Mexico? I love Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe National Park, White Sand Dunes. Are you going to Mesa Verde in CO? Don't know that I could spend a month in NM though.

> would we look in somewhere like Target or Walmart for a cheap phone?

Where you buy your phone, and even the brand you buy, is almost irrelevant to your reception. The key is which carrier your cell phone is reaching out to.

CNET is a fairly reputable reviewer of electronics. They have a map that will indicate the quality of reception for different cell phone carrier companies, for any place in the lower 48.

http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phone-coverage-map/

I guess they had a guy walk around and continually ask, "Can you hear me now?"

Use the program for the area you are most likely to spend the most amount of time, and then pick a carrier. Then go online to see which stores in the area will sell you a "pay as you go" phone with that carrier.

I have a pay-as-you-go AT & T plan on my daughter's ancient Nokia phone and just looked at the web site you listed for all the areas I have travelled in during the last year and it is right on! Thanks for the great site. I am bookmarking it for future reference. That is great advice about knowing where you will be spending time and buying accordingly!

Thanks for all this info, I'll take a look at the websites.

PaulRabe, that did make me laugh -
** I guess they had a guy walk around and continually ask, "Can you hear me now?"**

We don't want to spend too much money on the phone and also don't want to spend too much precious holiday time figuring out how to use it and why it won't work! So any research I can do now at home will be good.

spirobulldog - we are only in New Mexico for a short time, flying into Albuquerque, then up to Santa Fe and across to Monument Valley in Arizona. Then we head up to Moab and across to Colorado for the rest of the trip. We have a tentative itinerary but most of it is not pre-booked as we wanted a bit of freedom on the road.

Thanks again. Any more info is appreciated.
Kay

There is a good sized shopping center {Coronado] within walking distance of your hotel [not Uptown, that is the upscale shopping center] and in it is a Best Buy and it will most likely be your, best buy, for a phone.

http://stores.bestbuy.com/2882/

A Samsung, Verizon phone might do the job for $15:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Verizon+Wireless+Prepaid+-+Samsung+u360+No-Contract+Mobile+Phone+-+Blue/9263076.p?id=1218071324172&skuId=9263076

Just saw your last post -- I hope that you will consider working Mesa Verde NP into your trip. It is an amazing site, with abundant natural beauty and a haunting spiritual look into the Ancestral Peubloans.

Thanks DebitNM, the Best Buy store looks good. We plan to visit quite a few national parks on the trip but Mesa Verde doesn't look that interesting to us, even though I've read lots of positive things about it.

Can someone tell me does the phone come with a SIM card or do we buy a phone, then choose a SIM card for a particular carrier? Verizon looks to be the best carrier for the area we're going to. I'm assuming American phones have SIM cards for connection to the carrier?

Thanks
Kay

no, they most likely won't have SIM cards in those phones. [not 100% sure]. You do have to buy a card with minutes though. The phone seems to come already as a Verizon phone, so you buy a Verizon minute card [ Best Buy sells those as well]

Two things about mobile phones: cheap minute cards are available everywhere there are lots of immigrants. You will see the signs outside convenience stores or at gas stations on highways, sometimes in Spanish.

Go back to DebitNM's original response and reread the part where she says coverage is spotty. We have found large swaths of territory, particularly up toward the Four Corners where coverage was non-existent.

I don't know what part of Australia you are from, but there are areas in this part of the US that rival photos I have seen of some parts of the Outback. Fuel and food and drink can be some distance apart, and it is advisable to top up the car and yourself earlier than you might think necessary. One thing that may be very different is the regulation of alcohol. It is not legal to have alcohol on reservations, and there are lots of reservations, each with its own laws and police forces. The beer sold in supermarkets etc in Utah is only 3.2% alcohol, though you can buy "real" beer to drink in bars or carry out from liquor stores.

Yoou really should go to Mesa Verde.

I think 25% for even NYC is too high. 15-20% in a real restaurant where they seat you, take your order, bring food. Any place with less service, less tip - down to 0% for a fast food/coffee place where you go to counter, order, carry your own food, clean up your own mess.

Buffet tipping is always a problem. While you bring your food to table, waitstaff brings drinks, takes dirty plates several times - 10-15%, depending on amount of service.

You will see tip jars on all sorts of counters at sandwich shops, coffee places. Sometimes people throw the coin change they get in, sometimes not. No one will really care.

You may find that some areas you are visiting have very limited cell phone service - no matter which carrier you use. Not sure how it works with Australian cell phone carriers, but we have used text or email with little or now charge when traveling from US to other countries to keep in touch with those at home - on our home cell phones. You may find that you will need to use your home phone for that purpose and the US cell phone for calls US-US. Worth a call to your cell carrier to find out what your options are.

Thanks for all this advice. Ackislander - we will try and remember to top up with petrol and make sure we have drinking water and a few snacks in the car. I had heard about the drinking rules at reservations, it's the same here on aboriginal reserves where you cannot take alcohol and it is not available to buy. Why do you think we should go to Mesa Verde?

Gail - the problem is not to do with the carrier. We could set up 'global roaming' to use our phone overseas but we have older mobile phones that simply don't work in the USA. If we had new smartphones I believe they would work, they have something called Triband or Quadband? The phone system in the USA is different from most parts of the world, I think Japan is different again.

Kay

As you can see, there is no across-the-board agreement about tipping, even in the U.S. The premise here is that restaurant servers are allowed to be paid less than minimum wage because they will make it up in tips. Others who are paid minimum wage do not get tipped as the norm, it's totally up to you (for me, that includes maid service; what am I paying for, after all?! But many will say "dirty nasty job, cleaning your toilet, so tip"; I say there are many nasty jobs paying that minimum, and we don't tip, so call me cheap, I have no problem with it). So, 15% minimum in a sit-down place for adequate service (up or down if you are very impressed or very disappointed).
Tour guides are another matter: my son did this for several years, and was paid almost nothing on expectation of tips (which may or may not be the case for any organized tours you do). If you aren't sure, ASK the guide; many will happily tell you that if you liked their services, a certain percentage would be very appreciated. I doubt very much they would come out and say that they expect anything outrageous, but many, even in the U.S., don't know when a tip is expected in these situations.

"Why do you think we should go to Mesa Verde"

Truly an amazing interesting place. You really need 2 days there, IMOP.

For the most part, Mesa Verde looks like it did over 1000 years ago. It has some of the most amazing vistas that offer the same views that were seen during the time it was inhabited.

"Mesa Verde is famous for the Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings constructed within its cliff alcoves. A trip to [the area/southwest] would not be complete without a visit to one of these culturally significant sites.

Mesa Verde, Spanish for green table, offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, from A.D. 600 to 1300. Today the park protects nearly 5,000 known archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings. These sites are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States."

https://picasaweb.google.com/DebitNM/MesaVerdeMay2009
https://picasaweb.google.com/DebitNM/MesaVerdeInWinter

You can drive The Mesa Top Loop Road and look at several sites from scenic overlooks; you can walk on the trails, you can take ranger lead tours [Balcony House, Wetherill Mesa, Cliff Palace], you can do a tour on your own, Spruce Tree House, you can visit the museum - as much as you want.

In my opinion, you would miss out on a truly amazing place if you pass this by, especially when you will be close.

Why do we tip a higher percentage at a more upscale restaurant?

The bill is already higher so the same percentage is more.

I do it too. But why?

Tipping in NY is 20% - not 25% - unless yuo get some super fantastic service. In toehr parts of the country it may be 15% to 20%. this is for restaurants, bars (but with a minimum), cabs etc. Hotel maids we give $5 per day - but it depends on the type ofhotel. You tip the valets who bring yuor car - a couple $ to more dependig n thetime of place. Also tip airdressers (20%) - if you're going to use them. Can't imagine tipping anyone when you buy an object in a shop - phone or not - those peple get actual salareis - not the $2 or $3 an hour that many wait staff do.

Gennerally, you get better service at more upscale restaurants or hotels(certainly not always).

The rule use to be to tip your hairdresser only if she didn't own the shop. If she is the owner, then you didn't tip.

The rule is there is no rule! But the main thing is that most wait staff (except in California) in the U.S. make a token wage because they are expected to earn tips.

I have a T-Mobile pay-as-you-go phone; I've used it in New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona with no problems.

Lee Ann

sylvia3, I'm curious about the laws in California. Do they make a living wage there, without needing to rely on tips? Is that new?

My husband and I have been talking about how different our two countries are regarding tipping. Here, we have a minimum wage which people can live on and tips are fairly uncommon, certainly most people would never tip in their whole lives. It's a very different culture for us, I think a lot of Australians find the whole tipping thing embarrassing as we never know what to do, how to handover the money and how much.

We are reconsidering Mesa Verde, I'm going to do some more reading about it.

Kay

Agree you should go to Mesa Verde. It's fascinating. You can do the loop rd and also take ranger tours at places like Cliff House and Balcony House in one day but get there by 9AM. For Balcony House, you shouldn't be afraid of heights. The drive into the park is also scenic. I would also recommend driving the "Million Dollar Highway" in SW CO from Durango to Ouray or beyond. You could also take the narrow guage RR trip from Durango but I personally prefer driving it. Absolutely beautiful mt scenery and cute old western towns. It could be pretty chilly there in June.

Have a great trip.

Most waitstaff aren't paid the reg minimum wage in the US so really do rely on tips. Generally, tips get shared in-house among the waitperson, hostess/maitre d', bus people, bartenders. This is only for sit down restaurants where you are served at your table, 18-20%. If you sit at a bar for a drink, bartenders $!/drink. Also, hotel maids $2-3/day, valets parkers $2/time, bellmen $1-2/bag, same for anyone else who handles your bags such as airport shuttle bus drivers. Tour guides based on the length and type of tour, a couple of dollars to $10pp. Overnt adventure type tours much more. Also hairdressers and nail salon people %20 if you do that and taxi drivers/limo drivers. America is a tipping society! Enjoy your trip.

Yes, California now has a minimum wage for waitstaff; but that hasn't changed the tipping!

Again, I disagree with the above tipping pronouncement; there is no standard, other than the restaurants, where the wage is legally substandard, and 15% (not 18%, and do not tip on amount including tax) is the usual starting point.
No, tips are not necessarily shared with buspeople or a hostess. My daughter worked her way through college as a hostess at 3 places, and was NEVER entitled to or given a share of tips. Buspeople get a token amount sometimes; depends entirely on the restaurant and what they are paid. Bartenders get tipped at the bar, and do not share.
Hotel maids? I know of one person in my general group who tips for maids (you are already paying for a clean room, and they make minimum or more. Why would you tip, other than guilt because they have what you think is a lousy job?!).
I do not use valet or bellmen; taxi drivers usually 15%.
I tip shuttle drivers ONLY if they have helped with my bag. I tip hairdressers 15% if they did a good job.
America is not necessarily a tipping society; but it becomes more and more so as well-meaning people throw money at any folks who work for a living with whom they come into personal contact.
(Remember, walk into the back areas of your drycleaner, find the workers, and give them some extra money; it's a hot and dirty low-wage job. Throw a few bucks at that stockboy you pass in the supermarket, he's probably making minimum. The clerk at Macey's? She looks like she's in college, making minimum, could probably use some of your money, too!)

Kay, I'm a fellow Aussie, and we are going back to Mesa Verde for a second look soon - you'll be amazed , there's nothing like it here, and we don't usually realise this ancient culture existed until we see it. We don't use mobile phones, so I can't help you there.

Sylvia, I think the maid deserves the highest tip, because she does the most work for you, and it's personal! That said, I always leave the room as clean as possible, to minimise the work. We travel quite a bit, but try to be self sufficient with minimum luggage so that we can handle it ourselves, and I really don't like paying anything to a young man who insists on carrying my bag a few metres in a hotel, when I've already carried it a few hundred metres outside! Aussies are different, I know!

No advice about tipping or cell phones.

New Mexico has some really good food though. Order biscuits with your breakfast. I don't think I've ever had a bad one in that state.

This could turn into another discussion on food or what things are called in other countries!

What you call a biscuit, we call a scone. What you call a cookie, we call a biscuit. We've had your biscuits on the odd occasion in America for breakfast and they are melt-in-the-mouth fantastic so I'll definitely be looking out for them. Our scones are usually served with jam and cream for afternoon tea.

One thing I don't understand is why a pizza is sometimes called a pie. What do you then call a pie - such as apple pie? Maybe they are both pies. We've had some funny conversations on overseas trips with lots of misunderstandings but it's something to laugh about afterwards.

Kay

Pizzas were called pies when they first came to the US. It is far more common now to just see it called Pizza(occasionally Pizza Pie). If you were just talking about pie, most people would think you were referring to a chocolate pie, apple pie, etc.

I never thought of New Mexico as a place to eat biscuits. I always think Hatch Green Chiles for NM.

I meant to mention that most people that live on reservations do consume larger amounts of liquor than others. However, Utah is a state where it is sometimes harder to find stores that sell liquor. I'm not certain if they sell it on the reservations of not. The Indian Reservations are a bit like a different country,IMOP. I live in Oklahoma and I do have a CDIB card(proves that you have indian bloodline). Mine is like 1/128,lol. But it still has lots of benefits.


Kay, Now where all are you going? I don't see an Iten.

Bisquits are not a NM food, the only places that might have them are china restaurants. I am pretty sure those are southern specialty.

Pizza may have been called "pie" because it is usually sliced into wedges, like a pie.

Reservations do not sell alcohol! Drinking is prohibited on a reservation.

Green chile is one of the things we are best known for as far as culinary delights. There are lots more and New Mexican cuisine I've very different from Mexican food. Sopapillas, bizcochitos, chile rellenos, breakfast burritos, Posole, green chile stew are just a few of them.

Debit, usually when we go to NM we go to see my brother and stay at his house, no biscuits there.

The last time we ventured out to explore your state and ate breakfast out. They all seemed to come with biscuits. In California, breakfast may come with a biscuit but it's rarely worth the effort to chew it.
I too, thought of biscuits as a Southern thing.

The only places that might serve biscuits here are Denny's, IHOP, Cracker Barrel, etc. I can't ever remember seeing them in any local establishment. Not saying they don't exist, just saying they are far from being a "local" foodstuff. Tortillas for breakfast are the norm.

Now I'm tempted to start visiting local restaurants just to see if they serve biscuits! If I do it, I'll be sure to report.

Lee Ann

In the US in most places wait staff is not covered by minimum wage. They often get $2 to $3 per hour - way below federal minimum wage and that is states (as far as I know ) state minimum wage applies of the restaurant is local only na dnot involved in interstate commerce.

But in NYC Mickey D counter kids gets $10 to $11 per hour - since there are no tips - while wait staff in a real restaurant get much less (since they are expected to pull in 20% tips).

Almost ALL fast food places get minimum wage or better.

I wonder just what percentage of tips are actually reported to the IRS.

On a similar subject. Does anyone buy their postal carrier a Christmas Gift. Do you tip the trash man(which is what I do for a living)? I really don't like tipping at all. I think everyone should charge what they need to in order to make a profit and pay their employees in the same fair manner.

The biscuit thing started on that trip because we stayed over on the way to Las Crucias and breakfasted at a place in Benson AZ. They had the best breakfast and I was addicted. The next place was Truth or Consequences, can't remember the restaurant (sorry, I never write these things down.) Great Biscuits Again!

I expected tortillas Maybe I was just lucky.

Interesting conversation, I can't wait to get to America and start enjoying it all - the food, the national parks, the shopping

spirobulldog, you asked for an itinerary. It's not set in stone as we've had roadtrips in America before and it's wonderful to be a bit flexible.

We fly into Albuquerque, via LAX, on 2 June and back out of Denver on 28 June (? I think, with the international date line coming home I could be a day out).

In between we plan to visit:
Santa Fe
Monument Valley (and Four Corners)
Moab - Arches, Canyonlands and maybe Goblin Valley
Durango - maybe Mesa Verde
Ouray - Telluride
not sure here but maybe Gunnison, Crested Butte, Aspen
Glenwood Springs
also not sure how we will reach RMNP - via Georgetown or the backway via Grand Lake
maybe Boulder though it's very close to Denver
Denver
maybe Pikes Peak if we have time

Flights are booked, hire car is booked, a bit of accommodation is booked but most is not. We travel on a budget so try and stay around US$100 per night where possible. Clean but basic is fine.

DebitNM -
as you live in the area, where would they have a decent range of hairdryers to choose from? My hairdryer has dual voltage but with the different amount of power, the hot air coming out of it is pathetic. I thought I'd just buy one that is lightweight but powerful. We plan on coming back in the future so I can use it again and I don't think they are expensive.

Thanks
Kay

Monument Valley is ok, I like Arches far better. Arches is one of my favorite places ever. If you mean Four Corners National Monument, that is really no big deal at all. I don't think I would go out of my way for it unless you have plenty of time. Monument Valley is on an Indian Reservation. It is somewhat like a different country.


Durango is ok, the train is ok. But the train/zipline in Durango is really really neat, although terribly expensive.
Mesa Verde is a really neat place to stop at. I hope you get to see it.

We go to RMNP a few times. I like to stop in Boulder at the Whole Foods Store there(its a huge one right on the hwy)and stock up on picnic supplies. I like the Estes Park side better then the Grand Lake side. My favorite hike is The Lock/Skyline Pond. Trail Ridge Road and Old Fall River Road are both good drives.

I do hope you get to see Goblin Valley. Also there is really good slot canyon called Little Wildhorse that is within 10 minutes of GV. Both are fantastic.

You can buy hair dryers at Target or Walmart

No comment on tipping, but I will weigh in on phones. A tracfone will pick up whatever service is available. They are available at Target, Walmart etc.

Have a great trip!

I'm no expert on this, but when I went to WalMart in Canada and bought a tracphone, I was unable to register and use it. Why? Because to activate it, you HAD to call and HAD to use a credit card with a Canadian address. I thought it was odd that a phone for travel requires you to be a local "citizen", but that was the case. On a good note, WalMart took the entire thing back -- opened -- and gave me a full refund when I explained the problem.

I'm not sure if the same might be true for phones purchased in the US by "foreign" citizens.

Kay, any store like Target will have a good selection of hair dryers. I don't care for Walmart and Target's prices are similar.

Lee Ann

>>I wonder just what percentage of tips are actually reported to the IRS. <<

At restaurants that accept credit cards, I believe, the IRS automatically calculates that servers have received a specific percentage of their credit card sales as a tip. They expect servers to declare some figure close to that estimate on your taxes. So woe betide the server who averages less in tips than the IRS estimates.

There is a Kohls department store in the same mall as the Best Buy. They have hairdryers and might be a tad higher, but it will save you from having to drive somewhere to find one.

You can go to Walgreens, along with Target or Wal Mart. There are locations near your hotel. Google map will help you find one. For low cost necessities, WalMart may suit you for all your needs in one place.

I'm not sure why you think your phones won't work in the US. They won't work on Verizon which uses CDMA but you can simply buy a SIM card from one of the carriers that uses GSM (same as in Australia) so T-Mobile or AT&T. We've had friends/family come from Australia and get SIMS for their iphones, blackberries and various other varieties of phones without issue.

As far as tipping in restaurants in Colorado just double the tax. You'll have left around 17% which is perfectly acceptable for pretty much any situation. You might want to have a quick scan of bills before tipping though - when we first moved over from Australia we had tips automatically added (at least) a few times because we *sounded* foreign so it was a *courtesy* because we probably weren't aware of tipping customs in the US (of course no one gave us the *courtesy* of pointing it out).

Have fun!

Thanks everyone. I think I'll try Kohls first for the hairdryer and maybe Target if I need to.

Hez, this is good info but we don't really understand how it works. We've had instances overseas where phones SHOULD work but simply don't and we could never figure out why. It can be very frustrating. My sister recently bought a SIM card especially for use in Europe but couldn't get it to work, a complete waste of money.

So is CDMA or GSM the same as quadband and triband? Our phones are not new, more like dumbphones than smartphones. We could try buying a SIM card but if the phone is locked to a different carrier it won't work. Also wouldn't the phone need to be triband or quadband, or is it only the American SIM card that we need?

I wish I understood technology more, it just makes my eyes glaze over.

Kay

It isn't just understanding the technology, I'm challenged there too. There are some places in the west where no cell phones work because there are no towers to transmit the signal for a carrier. My verizon phone did work in Canyonlands did work but my friend's ATT did not.

There are also many places where the geography of the area blocks transmission.

If you need to be connected all the time a satellite phone might work.

If you are staying in hotels or B and Bs most have hairdryers in the bathroom.

p.s. don't tip on the tax.

KayF -

Enjoy my home state of Colorado! Box Canyon Lodge is a great accomodation option for Ouray - complete with outdoor hot tubs.

And don't stress about the tipping. As you can tell, even we seppos can't agree.

Thanks everyone. I can't wait to BE there though not looking forward to the long flight and changing at LAX. I wish we had more options flying from Australia. After living in the UK where flights are so numerous and so cheap, Australia seems very limited and expensive. Oh well, it does have other things going for it! Better our weather than Britain's any day

Kay

"Canyoneering-I tipped $100.00 for a 6 hour tour"

Please come on one of my tours!

Just FYI, the usual pay for a driver/guide on a backcountry tour is around $10/hour and we have to prep and clean the vehicle before and after the tour. If we do a good job please consider a tip, if we don't beat us round the head ASAP! Driving these tours is only interesting if the customers are interesting, ask questions, yell STOP, see things and comment on them, tell us about yourself (we'll forget pretty quickly, unless it's worth putting on Facebook)

This was for two guides and we dangled from a rope for 6 hours, etc. Besides, you might make me ride in the back of your truck?

here is a link to my canyoneering with Desert Highlights in Moab. This trip was in Oregon, Iv'e been with them a couple of times.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0IatW7FqybsWUs

Bob, I looked at you pics on flicker. I like your dog Biff. Catahoula?

Yes, Biff is a catahoula as far as we know, he was abandoned in Torrey and we adopted him. He has his own Facebook page too: https://www.facebook.com/BraveSirBiff

I can dangle you on a rope and then you won't need to be in the back of the truck, and you probably won't get nearly as wet as on your other trip! Nice pictures, looks like a great adventure.

Do you guide canyoneering?

I use to have an American Bulldog(used to catch wild hogs). Mine were just pets, but I did try them several times on wild hogs and they loved it. A lot of people use Catahoula's or Black Mouth Curs to bay the wild hogs and the American Bulldog or Pit's to catch them.

No canyoneering for me as a guide though I'd like to go sometime. I do hike around in the slots here and would be glad to show off the easier ones. 40+ years of soccer and 20 years of skiing have taken their toll on my knees and they aren't up to backpacking and climbing any more (I walk 4-6 miles a day with Biff so I'm not in bad shape really)

I've seen videos of catahoulas with hogs, Biff doesn't seem to have the temperament for it, but he's young and has only met one other catahoula (he jumped out of the truck window to get to it, he never rides in the back).

They totally change when they see a hot.