Monday, June 1, 2009

Another visit to Utah...

As mentioned in my previous blog, we were going to Zions national park. Well did we have a blast or what?! We got there Friday, May 15th and set up camp. We then started our adventure. The weather was perfect! The first hike was just about a mile long or so. The park has these shuttles and they take you to each destination. We went to the top. We wanted to go to this hike called the Narrows. Keven and I were planning on going for the overnight hike, but we left early, and the water was too high to stay the night. So we decided to go a couple miles in for the day and then head back. It was SO much fun! These first couple pictures were before we entered the Narrows.


When we first walked into the water, it was FREEZING! Seriously, I thought my feet were going to fall off. But then after awhile, it felt really good. (Either my body was numb or it warmed up.) There were a couple parts that the water went really deep. Check out Keven walking with his backpack over his head! :)Here I am with my sister in law, Dana.This was about half way in. We took a stop and just played on the rocks. Then we went further in and came across these amazing rocks!! It was so crazy!As we were running through the water and the mud, it got really deep on some parts. In the below picture, Bryan (Keven's brother) went to jump over this dam and his legs totally seperated and he was stuck for some time. We had to throw him a stick and pull him out that way, because everytime we would try getting closer, our feet would sink. On our way back, the guys found a fanny back and we had a race with the fanny pack! They threw it in the water and we had to see if we could be faster. It was so much fun! There were a couple times that I ate it and just went sliding down the water. By then the water felt good...so it was fun! :)The next day, we wanted to hike Angles Landing. It was a 5 mile hike, but we are talking complete incline the entire way up. We went in the morning, which was nice because it wasn't so hot. We kept thinking we hit the top, but then people kept walking. On the way up, they had these poles and chains to help you get up and guide yourself. This view isn't even to the very top!Here we are at the top of Angles Landing...And look...there were some angles in the distance! :)On our way back, Keve found this cool little cave thingy. He...of course...wanted to climb it and see where it went....he just kept going up and up...and up! He could've gone further, but the others were waiting at the shuttle for us...So then we came back to the campsite, ate, and then went out for some more. We heard about this little cliff jumping place. It wasn't super high, but it was still fun to cool off and swim. Keven loves cliff jumping. And is ALWAYS the one doing the cool things on the rock! I didn't get a picture of his handstand before, but here's the back flip! :)
I love camping and just being outside, with the stars and the bon fires and just talking. We left Sunday for Salt Lake to stay with Bryan and Dana. Whenever we come to Utah, we never have a car, so because we drove up this time, we were able to go see our friends and family in Logan. (Go USU!) We went out to eat up there and hung out with my old roommates Hope and Kaleena and their families.
We went to Utah State and reminisced and EVERYTHING. We went back to our old houses when we were dating and after we got married. We walked up on campus and just enjoyed our time up there. We went out to dinner with my amazing Grandma Gloria and then headed to our good friends, Lisa and Tyson and Sawyer (still in Logan.) It was so nice to see them. We left the next day and hung out some more with Dana and Bryan and Grandma Marilyn and Doyle. Then we went to Roosevelt to see Keven's parents and family. Kev had a golf tournament with his dad and I...ran. haha! Fun, I know! :) Sunday, we went to Bluebell to see Grandma and Grandpa Todd and Steph and went to visit the graves of all those in our family that had past. Between Roosevelt and Bluebell, Keven's relatives all have their tombstones there. It's great seeing all the family history together like that!For Memorial Day, we went to Roosevelt cemetary to see the Todd side of the family. All of Grandpa Todd's family was there. Some of the aunts and uncles came over for a wonderful brunch. A couple days before, Keven and I were talking about all the projects we love to do. SO we told Bruce and Carla that we want to build a rock water fountain in their backyard. So...that's what we did! :) We went to Strawberry canyon (about an hour away) and started loading up the truck. This is the second of 3 truck loads full of rocks and bolders! Some rocks were so big that three of us had to carry them!This is the before picture of the backyard. We had never done this before...so it was definitely a learning experience, but I think it turned out really good. We, unfortunately, weren't able to see the FINAL result because we had to take the pump and filter back and we had to leave. SO we got the contruction all done, and they just have to fill up the pond with some water and put some flowers all around. And the AFTER!!!Carla didn't want a pile of rocks on the backside, so Keven came up with this cool idea to have a plantar in the back. That's bark and Carla will put her flower pots on the back side. We also are going to open up the deck so you can walk down to it and see the view a lot better. We also need lighting, but the majority of it is done. So we'll have to show a final picture when it's ALL done.On our way back, we stopped to see Keven's best friend Steve and Megan and then we headed home. Keven had said that he hadn't stopped in Las Vegas as an adult, so we stayed for about 6 hours and just hung out, ate and...well laughed. There are some crazy people in Vegas! :) This was a must...and Keven was in love with the water! :) We love flying, but it was nice to drive and see everyone that we don't usually see. We had a blast, but it's nice to be home too! :)

10 comments:

Julia Holmes said...

Wow you guys are always taking such fun trips and doing such fun stuff together! Grant and I need to step it up :). Looks like you guys had an amazing time. So happy for you guys that you have this time to do all of these fun things :). That is really lucky.

Sundbergs said...

That looks like fun. I love all the pictures. Looks like a beautiful place to go and hike.

The Ward Family said...

What a great trip! Glad you guys had fun!

Josh and Kaleena said...

Lori said that you were trying to find out if you could work at that Avalon Hills. Is that true? If I had known that all I had to do to get you guys to move back is find you a job, I would've been looking all along.

Kipn n' Sarah said...

Wowzers sounds like a trip and a half, and a blast at that! I have always wanted to hike the narrows, don't know if I could do angel's landing because heights FREAK ME OUT but looks like fun! You guys are so super cool! We seriously need to hang with you guys sometime to play!

Heidi said...

We camped in Zion last summer...and we hiked the narrows...and if you want a good laugh, we did what you did in and out...I was SEVEN months prego and HUGE FAT girl...basically floated back down, becasue I fell so many times...ha ha h

Anonymous said...

FYI, taking those rocks was illegal!

Todd Family said...

FYI, you creep, stop looking at my blog. Did you know it was illegal to be a stalker? At least disclose your name the next time you leave a comment. Apparently you have never been to Roosevelt...

Island Lillies said...

Aloha Todd Fam!! What a blast catching up with you two on your blog...actually, I am tired now!! You guys are the busiest couple I know!! It's crazy what you two can accomplish in a day! In a trip! Just crazy! Wow! I wonder who "anonymous" is that made that poopy comment on your blog...
It is lovely watching your blog and keeping up with you guys!! When are you guys coming to Hawaii??? Seems that you guys, Bryan and Dana should be making a trip soon, yes??? Love you guys so much!!

Kade and Kaylee said...

So I grew up 30 min. from Zion's and I used to hike Angels Landing and the Narrows all the time! There are a few different routes you can take on the Narrows which is really cool! If you guys ever go back you for sure need to hike the Subway! That's my favorite of all! Looking at your pics made me miss Utah State too! I haven't seen Hope forever!! Looks like she has a kid!?