Timpanogos Falls Hike

On the top of our to-do list for our trip to Utah was to go hiking. Back before Paul and I even started dating we made it up most of the way to Timp Falls but decided to head back down because I was wearing flats instead of the recommended hiking footwear (in college I was more worried about looking cute than being prepared). Ruth deserves all the praise for making this hike happen though. It was forecast to rain but she rallied up the troops and we went anyway. As a result, we had the trail practically to ourselves and the clouds gave us the perfect cover from the hot sun. Luckily, the rain held off and we were able to enjoy the Fall colors that were underway up in the mountains.

Vince and Ian led the way. Toward the end of the hike Vince asked to be picked up. Maybe we're mean, or maybe we're awesome, but we told him to finish the hike on his own. And he did! The little trooper made it all the way to the falls on his own two feet. I was surprised that he made it down on his own too. I thought he'd be tuckered out but he owned that mountainside!

Kate took the easy route and napped for over half of the hike.

Fall Colors.

Paul and I bought a hiking backpack for Vince earlier this Summer and haven't gotten around to using it. That is, until I made the split moment decision early one Saturday morning that we were going to hike Stewart Falls. I asked Paul if we were going to get a work out and his response was, "yeah, we'll... breathe." Love him.

Long story short, we didn't even make it to the falls. BUT we did enjoy beautiful fall colors, crisp air and quality time as a family. Vince was happiest when we gave him fruit snacks. We couldn't stop laughing because he would stick his arm out expectantly and grunt until we obliged.

As Vince became tired and grumpy we decided to continue on with our spontaneous streak; We stopped at Ripples, a burger joint we frequently drive by but never stop at, to satisfy our hunger. Delicious, I tell you!

Into the Wild.

Remember these guys?

(Margaret, Buddy and Franky)

 Paul got them for me for my birthday.

I enjoyed having them...

until I had a baby.

After that, they just became a burden.

Maybe we're just lazy but it was hard to find time to clean the tank.

Last week we went to Bridal Veil Falls and we noticed that there was a little fish pond.

There were signs all over encouraging people to feed the fish.

Do you know where this is going yet?

Today Paul decided that he wanted to go for another hike.

We decided to go back to Bridal Veil falls because there is a nice path for the stroller.

While getting ready we recalled that lovely little pond.

... So we took the fish with us.

We put them in a pitcher and gave them a HUGE "Last Supper"

We also made the water cold so they wouldn't be shocked to death at the falls.

Within 1 minute of arriving, 3 people commented on the goldfish.

Paul was embarrassed.

He sucked it up and went to accomplish his mission.

There were so many people there!

I couldn't stop laughing.

Paul was a champ and he kept a straight face the entire time.

Two families saw him do it.

We took off for a nice jog and returned about a half hour later.

We were pleased to spot 2 of the 3 goldfish swimming around!

No idea where the third one went though...

Can you see the Orange blurb? That's a goldfish.

Vince doesn't even know what happened.

What you missed from October.

Things have been super busy but I assure you that we are still alive!

Here's a quick update for all of the things you missed from October.

Toward the beginning of the month Paul and I got "boo"-ed with some of the cutest cookies.

One chocolate cookie, one candy corn, two marshmallows and two chocolate chips. 

Yum!

 This is just Paul being all super cutie.

 The best part of October was having my mom come out to Utah.

While she was here we picked raspberries, ate lots of yummy food, went shopping, spent lots of time together. We also made a special trip to the Grotto in Payson (It's up the Nebo loop). It was a leisurely hike with beautiful fall colors and a lovely waterfall to top it off. 

 

Starting in about September, Paul and I would be greeted at our front door by the delicious smell of Concord grapes wafting up from the backyard. Finally, in October, we couldn't resist it anymore so we went out and picked some. We then handed them off to my sister Ruth and my mom to make juice. We drank it during a Sunday dinner when we celebrated Ben and Dan's birthdays. 

These last two are actually from November.. but I doubt you really mind.

This first one is green eggs and ham!

I'm sure that everyone knows by now that Paul loves to surprise me.

 

And this last one is our old loveseat.

We said sayonara to this floral bad boy and replaced it with Grandma's old lazyboy loveseat

Oh happy day.

So there you have it!

A little snippet of October and a taste of the start of November.

Walking in the Desert

I've been in Utah a lot longer than most college students.  One of the first things that most outdoorsy people do is head down to Moab for some hiking, camping, river rafting, mountain biking, etc.  So why haven't I been there after living here for almost 5 full years?  I don't know.  I guess I just loved the mountains that are accessible to me only 5 minutes from my apartment.

Me, almost to the top of Mt. Timpanogos

But Libby decided that it was time to take her husband on a trip down to the red rocks.  How could I say no to a face like this?!

She is such a sweetheart!  I've got one too...don't worry.

It was so funny!   We started out our trip by going to a restaurant where they gave us some tokens to buy shirts with.  I think it is inevitable that any token will somehow find its way into someone's eye.  These were just so dang funny.

I think this was my scary face

After stuffing ourselves silly, we went into Arches National Park to finally start our hiking adventures.  Libby wanted to go out to the Devils Garden, because she missed that one last time she was there.  Landscape Arch is just a quick hike...not even a mile.  That was our first stop.  It is a huge arch, as long as football field, and super narrow.

Apparently, in 1992 (I think), there were some campers that were hanging out underneath the arch.  They heard some cracking, looked up and got outta there.  The right side of the arch was breaking away and almost fell on them.  All the crumbled rock from that collapse is still sitting under the arch.

After Landscape Arch, we continued our hike out to Double O Arch.  Not much to talk about.  Just some pictures.

These little guys were all over the place

I love it!

After a 2 mile hike in super hot desert temperatures we finally arrived at Double O Arch.  I really liked this one because you could get up in it and take victory pose pictures.

This was just cool.  There was some crazy German guy that wanted to climb up to the top one, but he realized halfway up that it was a bad idea, and almost killed himself on the way down.  Crazy Europeans!!

We saw a trail marker that said we could go further out to Dark Angel.  It wasn't worth it.  We could see it just fine from the Double O Arch, but we didn't know.  So here is a picture of a big rock sticking way out of the ground.

I guess the silhouette makes for a nice picture. 

We got back to the car and it was already dark.  We set up the tent and looked up at the stars.  They were beautiful.  And there were so many!  There was even a spot where you could see the cloudiness of the Milky Way.  Libby had never seen anything like that.  Too bad normal person cameras can't take good pictures of that kind of stuff.

After about 3 hours of sleep, we woke up and drove to the Delicate Arch trail head.  A suggestion from a friend made us want to get up to the arch for sunrise.  This was well worth it, as this trail has no shade the whole way out.  We got a little confused trying to find the trail in the darkness, but there were some gung-ho photographers who knew where to go.  So we followed their lights for a bit before it was light enough to see without a headlamp.  

We got some good shots.  Libby showed some very promising photography skills, and I just sat there.  Anyway, here's Delicate Arch at sunrise.

Dawn, looking out from Delicate Arch

Crazy Photographers!

It's big...

...really big!

And that was my trip out to Arches.  We had a great time and were really gross and hungry when we got home.  My wife has great adventure ideas.  I love her.