Once in awhile I need a break from Logan

On Saturday, I decided I needed a break from Logan, so I convinced Heather to head down to Salt Lake with me. We weren't quite sure what to do, but we figured SLC was bigger than Logan and we could come up with something to do.

We finally decided to go to the Hogle Zoo. I hadn't been there since I was a very little kid. I don't rememember very much about it even. But, I'd been having a bad week and just seeing all of the animals made my mood lift. :) It was actually a lot of fun, even though it was stupidly hot.

We then went out to the mall and for lunch at Applebees. Luckily, I had no money left, so I couldn't buy anything else. :)

Some colorful fun

What a fun day! On Saturday, Landon, Bryce, Heather, Michelle, and I headed down to Spanish Fork early to go to the Festival of Colors. We met up with Jake and Melissa and their friends there. The festival is the Hare Krishna celebration of spring, and basically it's just a bunch of music and people throwing colored chalk all over each other. It was a blast, although, the next time I will be sure to wear a mask over my nose so I don't sneeze out colored dust again.

After the festival, we went to the mall to wander about, even all colorful. We bought some movie tickets, cleaned up a bit, and then we went to Five Guys Burger & Fries, which was actually pretty good. We were basically just wasting time so that we could go to the Hunger Games movie, which had come out the day before. (I kinda thought we were like the Capitol people, since we were all bright, haha.) It was worth the wait and one of the best movie adaptations I've seen.

Traversing the state

This week was Utah State's spring break, and of course, my dad could not miss out on the fun, so he headed down to Utah for a few days. And, that meant no free moment, haha. Dad does not like to stay still. Luckily, I was able to take a few days off, so that I could play, too.

On Sunday, we headed down to St. George, where we spent a few nights at Aunt Brenda's house. Landon, Dad, Bryce, and Alec spent Monday out biking slick rock trails, but since I'm not much into that, I just hang out with my cousins. We ended up going to Pioneer Park and playing around a bit. We found a crevasse to climb up, and let me tell you, it was a tight fit. It was quite high in some places, and I got a little claustrophobic in the middle.

On Tuesday, we headed out early to hike up Angels Landing. This was actually my idea, since I had never been up there before and seemed like something I would like to conquer. It was actually really fun, and I think that we chose the right time of the year to do it. It wasn't blistering hot like it would have been in the summer, which was nice for me. It was even a bit chilly on top. There were some definite steep drops, though, so I was grateful for all of the chains to hold on to.

After we finished the hike, we drove down to Salt Lake, where we spent the night with Jen. (Thanks for letting us stay at your house and hang out with you!) We had to get an early start in the morning to drive up the Canyons. Landon, Bryce, and I had free passes there from Warren Miller, and we needed to use them. The snow was slushy and it was getting warm, but it is always worth a free ski day. We even got Alan to come join us on the slopes.

I had to get back to work, so we headed back to Logan after our ski day was done. It was quite a fun few days!

Temple Square and a trip HOME

I love Temple Sqaure in Salt Lake at Christmas time. Bryce and Landon hadn't been there in awhile, so I made them come with me for an evening to see the lights. We went with my roommate, and we met one of our friends from Forks there for dinner at Crown Burgers. It was fun, even though it was freezing. There were tons of people there, though. It was way annoying to have to navigate through the crowd. I guess that's what we get for going on a Saturday.

The next Tuesday we started our road trip home for the holidays. It was a long day, but we made it home to Forks in one day -- we actually made pretty good time. We actually suprised Mom and Dad and Kelsie. We had told them that we would be there on Wednesday. Mom's reaction was priceless. So, that was fun. :)

I had to work some while I was home, but just simply being there was quite nice for me. I needed a break from Logan, and I had been rather homesick. I missed my family, my trees, my ocean....

So, I got to see all of that while I was home. We had a good Christmas with the family, and it was nice and relaxing.

Mom, Kelsie, and I went out to La Push, where I almost took a tumble into the ocean. haha. Never turn your back on the waves! One big one is bound to suprise you. We had lunch at River's Edge. I must say, I really miss fresh yummy fish.

On New Years Eve we went up to Hurricane Ridge to go snowshoeing. I'd been snowshoeing once before. Can't say I was anymore impressed with it anymore the second time. It was fun, but not something that I plan on taking up. The boys then headed to Seattle for a YSA dance and to see the lights at the Space Needle. I prefer to spend time at home, no matter how lame other people say that might be.

We spent a good two weeks at home. I wish that I could have stayed longer. There was even more snow there than there has been in Logan. I mean, really, what's winter without at least some snow in the mountains.

Summertime, Summertime, Summertime

I should probably get caught up on all my summertime adventures before I forget all the details. I'll try to keep it short, so you don't get bored. ;-)

First, I know my birthday is not in the summer, but, hey, I missed it on this blog. I turned 24 this year. Crazy. I just don't think that I feel that old, lol. I had a fun birthday, though. I got to have two parties and two cakes. I'm just that awesome. :)

In the beginning of June, I drove up to Forks with my grandma so that we could go to Bryce's graduation from Forks High. I went to the library before we left to pick up some books on tape to listen to in the car. It actually made the trip seem a lot faster, and since I drove most of the way, that's a good thing.

We stayed in Forks for a week and a half or so. It was beautiful weather while I was there. I got to visit my wonderful ocean. I got to see Pursey. I drug my family out to the Hoh Rainforest for an afternoon. We also discovered that there was an archery range in town. I actually really enjoyed myself, and I don't think that I did too bad. :)

I went back to Logan for about a week and then headed off on my next road trip. One of my good friends from Forks was getting married in Las Vegas, so I headed down there for a few days. It was my first trip to Vegas. I can't say that I was really impressed. It was interesting, lots of flashy lights, but lots and lots of people.

It was also very hot down there. I think that I saw one store thermometer that read 120 degrees. Seriously!? That's way to stinking hot for me to handle. And, we were genius enough to decide to walk the strip during the day in that heat. We basically walked from place to place, hanging out in each building for awhile before heading back outside. Next time I go to Vegas, it will be in the winter, lol.

My friend had a bachelorette party a couple days before the wedding. I think I expected a Vegas bachelorette party to be, well, a little more extreme. But, it was really pretty tame, and therefore pretty fun for me. The wedding was also a good time. It was the actually the first one that I've ever been to. It was small, out in a little gazebo behind the casino. It was nice to see all of my Forks friends again, too.

It was then another week back in Logan, some fireworks and holiday things, and then I was off on another road trip. The Johnson Family Reunion was in Clayton, Idaho this summer. It's always a good time being with the family. We did some crafts, played some games, watched some movies, visited an old mining town, and slept in a loft with lots of loud children. Oh, that last part was the most enjoyable. ;-) I actually really enjoy family reunions, and it was good to see everyone again.

Kelsie and Mom also came back to Logan with me after the reunion. We went to Bear Lake, a Pickleville play, did some tubing. I think Mom wanted to spend some time with her parents and in Logan, and it was a fun couple weeks for me, too.

So, my summer was pretty busy, which is how I prefer it to be. Fun times. :)

a GRAND adventure

The morning after my dad's 50th birthday celebration, I headed out on my next adventure. My Aunt Sheila had invited me to hike the Grand Canyon with her, and I decided, "Why not?". It was once again a good excuse to get out of Logan and have an adventure. My cousins Alan and Jared joined us.

So, that Tuesday we drove down to Arizona. It was a loooong day. Road trips are that way, at least to me... tis why I usually drive, lol. It was complete with a stop to buy pants to replace a torn pair, a return to the house to get hiking boots, an hour stop for a conference call (and therefore some playing and climbing in some sandstone), Subway sandwiches, and ice cream in a dead little town. It was dark by the time we made it to the lodge on the Grand Canyon south rim. My Aunt's friend from LA joined us here, and we had a nice sit-down meal.

The next morning it was time to hit the trail. We caught a shuttle to the South Kaibab trailhead and headed out. It was pretty cold and windy at the beginning of the hike. But, in the lower parts of the canyon, the sun finally found us and it became an easy jaunt through the red rocks. It was seven miles to the bottom, and well worth the views along the way.

That night (a great BIG thanks to my Aunt Sheila!) we got to spend the night at Phantom Ranch, rather than in cold, hard grounded tents. Our stay there was complete with a huge, yummy steak dinner and chocolate cake. We even got pancakes in the morning before we headed out.

Thursday morning brought with it sunshine and the promise of a decent ten mile ascent back to the canyon rim. I'll admit, it was a long hike, but it was certainly not as bad as I was anticipating. I guess this was because the temperature ranged from 60F to 40F - perfect hiking temp for me. We did run into quite a lot of ice at the top of the trail, but thanks to Alan's crampon-things, I stayed on the trail and didn't slip to my doom. ;)

At first, I was apprehesive about this trip, but it turned out to be really fun. Me being out of shape didn't have too much of an effect. That is not going to help motivate myself to start working out, haha. :) Seventeen miles in two days and I was hardly sore. My knee didn't dislocate. It was sunny the whole trip. Good company. It was a pretty good trip.

On Friday we drove back to Utah. I was carsick with a nasty headache most of the trip... not really sure why. But some pills and some Sprite seemed to make it better. Of course, we had to make a stop at Bryce Canyon for a few pictures and a stop at Ruby's Inn for a yummy dinner.

Thanks MOOSE! :)

Adventurin' in the Rockies

Sorry if this is a long post, but I really needed to write it all out before I forgot things. :)

I got back to Logan, after my trip home, and worked for a week. After debating finances with myself, I decided to leave town for another week. (I just decided to ignore the money issue...I'll have to work on that now instead, oops.)

Last year, a group of friends and I went camping in Glacier National Park for a week. It was so much fun that we decided to make it an annual sort of thing. This year's trip was to the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.

Eight of us loaded up four cars and headed out of Logan on Sunday, a few weeks ago. Yes, all of the cars were all packed with junk...apparently we are not light campers. We stopped in Roosevelt for dinner at my friend's parents' home and kept driving. That first day we must have drove eight hours or so. My poor little car was having a hard time keeping up...its four little hamsters running in the engine were working overtime on some of the mountain roads. So, I was glad when we finally pulled in for the night at the Meadows Forest Service campground just outside of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. We had to set up camp in the dark, and we were up early again the next morning to drive the rest of the way to the park.

The second day of our trip finally found us in the Rockies, where we started by driving through the length of the park. The drive up Trail Ridge Road was pretty neat, seeing the mountains rising up on all sides. A LOT of the trees were red an dying, though. I guess they've had a pine beetle outbreak all over the mountain west this year. Trail Ridge Road is the highest continually paved road in the US, reaching an elevation of 12,183 feet. It was a very SLOW drive though. There were so many people in the park, and all of the road construction didn't help.

We set up camp on the east side of the park, in the Glacier Basin campground. By the time we finished getting tents up and car spots worked out, it was late in the afternoon. But, with my friends it is never too late for a hike! So, we hiked to Bierstadt Lake. It was only 3 miles or so, so no big deal...except that it decided to rain on us.

The next day in the park was a LONG one. We started that morning at the Bear Lake Trailhead. From there we hiked to Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, Emerald Lake, Lake Haiyaha, Mills Lake, and Alberta Falls. I think we decided that the loop totaled about 11 miles. If you ever do this hike, be sure to start towards Nymph Lake first...hiking steep sections going downhill is sooo much better than uphill.

It actually wasn't so bad, despite the heat and the worse sunburn that I've had all year. I say it wasn't so bad because we got to take a lot breaks. The boys stopped at EVERY single lake that we passed to go fishing, sometimes for what seemed like hours. I got to read a lot of my book, The Princess Bride....which is very entertaining, if you haven't read it yet.

On day four of our trip, we decided to drive up the Old Fall River Road, a one-way gravel road leading back to the west side of the park. Along the road we stopped at Chasm Falls.

We then drove to the North Inlet Trailhead and hiked up to Cascade Falls. It was a six mile hike or so, but not steep at all. It was nice to hike an easy trail, after all of the hiking we had done the day before.

I think that we were all tired and worn out from all of the hiking that we had been doing, so we headed back to camp that afternoon and just relaxed for the few hours before dark. I also have to mention how awesome my guy friends are. They brought all kinds of food for us and cooked us breakfast and dinner every day, dutchoven style. It was so good! This is why I go camping with them, lol. :)

The next day was Thursday, and I had planned on being in Idaho Falls that Friday night for a friend's wedding. So, Heather and I left the rest of the group, and started our drive home... after a warm shower in Estes Park! Yay! I then decided to drive up through Wyoming and see the pioneer sites, since Heather had never seen them before.

We stopped at Independence Rock, walked around Martin's Cove, saw Split Rock, and the Three Crossings area, which is where I have a great-great-great-great-grandfather buried. It's unfortunate that the crossings are on private property, but it was good experience just to see the area.

On Thursday night, we camped at The Sinks Canyon State Park in Wyoming. It's on the Southeastern end of the Wind Rivers, which I had heard was a gorgeous area. I'm pretty sure that Heather would have preferred to get a hotel at this point, but I have far too much of my Dad in me. So, we set up a tent in the dark, and I think we even skipped dinner. It was just such a long day of driving.

That morning we walked around the park to see the Sinks and the Rise of the Popo Agie River. This is where the river goes underground for about a fourth of a mile. It takes the water two hours to get to the rise, where the water emerges on the surface once more. It was pretty cool. I also decided to drive up the switchbacks to at least see some of the Wind Rivers, and Frye Lake, while we were in the area. I will have to come back sometime and explore the range more sometime.

We then drove up through the Tetons and into Idaho. After we had spent a few hours in Idaho Falls, we mutually decided that we just wanted to keep driving and end our trip a day early. So, two hours later, we were back in Logan. It was so nice to have a warm shower and sleep in my soft bed after that long week!

So, this was my week: 27 miles of hiking, 5 nights of camping, 8 awesome people, and 1400 miles of driving. I'm glad I went. A break from Logan, no computers, no phones, and no work. It was fabulous!! :)