Wheeler Creek Trail

Hello wonderful humans! So I decided to try something a little new on a hiking adventure we took yesterday. Zac and I were given a GoPro as a wedding gift from one of his wonderful friends, and we decided to try it out! I tried my hardest to make a video that wasn't half bad, but then Zac whipped up a master piece, so I am going to share that instead. I will continue to work on my video editing skills, but until I can come up with something decent I will let the pro handle it! It was so fun to play around with the GoPro, and I loved how easy it was to carry around! I am seeing a lot of mini adventure videos in our future! Anyone else go on some fun adventures this weekend?

3.31.15

I got this post idea from the wonderful and lovely Kayla.  I thought it was such a fun way to get all the things going on in life currently down in one post! So here I am trying it out!

I went to Moab this weekend with Zac and my best friend Emily. Zac had to go down for a week of work, so Em and I decided to tag along for the weekend. It was so nice being someplace so warm, and just spending all day outside. It was a much needed mini adventure, and I already want to go back!

loving: being able to wear shorts! I don't know what is happening with Utah weather right now, but I am all about it. It has seriously been so nice outside, and I spend all the time I can sitting outside on the hammock enjoying the sunshine and fresh air.

working: on getting through this current semester without completely going crazy. I only have 15 credits left until I graduate, and I am just so beyond ready to be done!

obsessed with: the new sheets I convinced Zac in letting me get for his (soon to be our) apartment. We recently made a quick stop at Ikea, and the sheets I have been eyeing for like a year now were on the most perfect bed looking so pretty, and I decided they finally had to be mine! They have yellow flowers on them, so obviously I am all sorts of happy!

cooking: lots of annie's mac and cheese. For some reason Smith's has decided to have like a super sale on them for like a month now, so Zac and I are all sorts of happy about it!

reading: Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler. I actually just finished this yesterday. I listened to the audio book in my car, and I have to be completely honest... I wasn't really a fan of it. I didn't hate it and at times actually enjoyed it, but it isn't a book I would recommend to a friend. I was pretty bummed, because I really wanted to like it! Oh well, you can't have everything.

listening to: Hozier's album. Zac bought it a couple of weeks ago, and I just barely downloaded it onto my phone to listen to while exploring Moab. Zac and I have family sharing on iTunes, and it is pretty wonderful. Thank  you family sharing!

a little sad at: Zac being in Moab for the entire week. I swear it is even harder knowing he is only a four hour car ride away! Like anytime I have ANY free time I think about just driving down just because I can. It is terrible you guys!

wasting time: on Instagram as always. I swear, I am always checking it! Mostly looking for new places to add to my list of places to explore. I probably need to stop seeing as the list is getting a little long. Anyone want to help me get cracking on all these hikes I have piled up?!

laughing at: Scrubs, Scrubs, and SCRUBS! Zac has gotten me hooked, and with him out of town (and our watching of Friends being put on hold until he gets home) I have been watching ALL OF THE EPISODES!

looking forward to: spending my REI dividend! New camping stove, and sports bras anyone?!

appreciating: best friends who take a break from homework to go search TJ Maxx for rompers even though all the ones they have are horrible, and instead having wonderful conversations on the car drive home.

excited: that the wedding date continues to get closer, and we are now down to 163 more days!! It finally feels like it is getting close you guys! Save-the-dates are currently being made, and it is like totally real now!

experiencing: horrible stomach shenanigans caused by dairy, and pretending that it isn't caused by dairy because cheesecake.

grateful for: a weekend spent with my best friend hiking around Moab, and Zac being able to sneak over and camp with us the one night we stayed. Also for my family (mostly mama) who took such good care of our plants and kitten while we were gone. I seriously have the most incredible humans in my life you guys.

Stewart Falls

I figured it was time to start documenting adventures once again. I sort of stopped after our San Francisco trip, and I am just now realizing how many travel photos I have stocked up. For the sake of your sanity, I am just going to start from the latest. No need to go through ALL the pictures. 

Life has been pretty wonderful lately. Zachary and I are currently laughing on the couch at our "under the influence" cat. It is the little things I tell you. Other than that I am just trying not to fail at school which at times is difficult seeing as my brain is daydreaming about trips to the beach and mountain adventures 96% of the time. My list of places to visit is growing rather long, and I am just so ready to start exploring. Zac and I have been really into hiking and camping at the moment, so I have all sorts of camping spots to try. We also got backpacks for Christmas, and are trying to find some cool places to go backpacking. If any of you have suggestions, pretty please share them!

Our latest hike was Stewart Falls. I knew going into this it was a popular one, but it really was so worth it. I am not always the biggest fan of crowded trails. One of the best parts of hiking is the peace and quiet you get from being away from the city, and that doesn't always happen on crowded trails where people are constantly blasting music through their iphone speakers. However, it wasn't really this trails season yet, so it was a lot less crowded that it usually would be I assume. It really was such a perfect hike, and easy enough for really anyone to enjoy. It is generally flat, but you still feel like you have accomplished something at the end since it is 4 miles out-and-back. 

One of my favorite parts of this trail were all the twisted aspens. I can't even imagine what this view looks like later in spring. I might have to go back just to check. That is the one thing I love about hiking. If you like a trail you can hike it a million times, and see a different scene every single time. Everything is always changing, and it always seems to get better with time. 

I don't know about you, but I am pretty sure any hike that ends with a waterfall is worth it. 

No I am going to complain for .02 seconds. My biggest pet peeve on the trail is how much GARBAGE people leave behind. Seriously you guys, it is ridiculous. It is not that hard to just pack your garbage in your backpack. Zac and I have started to collect garbage we see on the trail, and we have realized we now need to bring plastic garbage bags in order to even make a dent in it. So pretty please humans, pick up your trash. Because if you don't I end up doing this. 

What are some of your favorite waterfall hikes? What are you looking forward to most now that the weather is getting warmer? 

Guardsman's Pass

Zachary and I joined some of our friends this Saturday for some breakfast, and a little mini adventure up in Park City. They took us up to Guardsman's Pass, someplace neither of us had been before. We went around noon, and it was a little crowded, but rightfully so. The yellow of the trees on the way up was almost blinding. Fall is in full swing here in Utah, and I couldn't be happier about it!

Once we got to the top our friends took us on a little surprise adventure. They had been here before, and they had taken this short trail they had found which ended up leading to a lake. It was such a beautiful hike, and the lake was stunning! We couldn't find the name of the lake or hike unfortunately, but it wasn't very hard to find. It was also nice, because even though there were a lot of people up by the start of the trail, it was fairly quiet, and we didn't pass many people on our way there.

If you are looking for a pretty drive, and an easy little hike to a hidden lake, I would definitely recommend this for you! But seriously, the drive you guys. GO!

P.s- Tomorrow starts San Francisco adventures, so get ready!

Breakdowns

I swear one day I am feeling on top of the world, and that I have my life all figured out, and then the next day I am on the verge of a mental breakdown. This was my day yesterday. Does this happen to anyone else but me?

Yesterday was just a bad day for me, and when I sat back and thought about it I realized that it was all on me. I was the one stressing myself out, and for not reason at all. Do you ever have those days where you are either of sick of your job, or school, or anything really, and it is just for that day, but it is like all the sudden your head explodes, and you can't stop your thoughts from running wild? You put so much stress on finding that perfect job, or being this perfect person, and before you know it you are doing all you can not to break into a million tiny pieces? Why do we do this to ourselves?

It is ridiculous you guys. The need for being perfect, and comparing ourselves to everyone. Just days before you were thinking how lucky you are, and what a blessed life you have, and the next thing you know you have completely turned your back on that wonderful life, and instead are wasting your time trying to become someone you are not. I think we sometimes we just need to take a deep breathe, step back, and realize most of us have it pretty good, and there is just no need at all to do all this comparing and perfecting.

I guess the main point I am trying to get across is life is just too hard if your are constantly comparing yourself to others, and my goal from here on out is to change my attitude about that. Instead of being jealous of those who might be more successful than me, to instead be excited and proud for them! We should all be rooting for each other. Life isn't a competition! We should all get to CHOOSE the way we want to live without fear of not being good or glamorous enough.

Well this is the end of my rambling ladies and gentlemen. Here is to a new attitude, and to less breakdowns.

P.s- Pictures are from a Saturday adventure with my love to Bridal Veil Falls. We were driving through the Alpine Loop when we stumbled upon this beauty. It was too gorgeous not to stop and pull over to take pictures. I want to go back some day soon, and explore it a little more!

Willow Heights Trail

I don't know about you, but I would definitely consider myself a morning person. I like to be up and ready with the sun, and to get as much out of my day as I possibly can. Waking up a 9am gives me a rush of panic, and a feeling of having wasted so much of my day! Sometimes it is a little nuts, but that is just how I am. Early to bed, early to rise. I guess that is why sunset hikes and walks have really been my thing lately.

I am not talking about getting out early to watch the sunrise. I mean getting outside, and waking up with the sun as it slowly rises over the mountains. I swear it is the most peaceful part of the day, experiencing everything waking up at once. 

My bestest friend Sarah and I decided to go on a little sunrise hike adventure yesterday up Big Cottonwood Canyon. We drove the 12 ish miles up the canyon to Willow Heights Trail. I had heard mixed feelings about this trail. Some saying it wasn't worth it, and others just raving about it. I decided to check it out for myself. 

As I had been warned, the beginning of this hike was a little tough. It is a short hike altogether (only about .75 miles), but that first half is basically all up hill. It was a little challenging, but then you look up and see that you are completely surrounded by silence and aspen trees. It kind of makes up for the tough beginning.

The second half is pretty much smooth sailing. Sarah and I definitely had an interesting experience at the end. We were almost to the end, Willow Lake, when we smelt the most awful smell in all the universe! You know those smells that just seem to get stuck in your nose for always? Yeah, it was horrible. Turns out there was a half eaten elk carcass in the trees, so that was fun and a little eery. We didn't stay too long seeing as how it was probably only a couple days old, and we did NOT want to be around when whatever was eating it came back around. NO THANK YOU! 

Now I will be completely honest, and I will tell you that this lake wasn't the most impressive. It is rather small, and for some might not seem like much of a payoff for all the uphill. However, if you really take a look around you will see just how stunning it really is. Your mind starts to wander, and you can imagine deer and moose slowly making their way out of the trees in the morning, getting a morning drink with the rising sun. You realize just how quiet it is, and how undisturbed everything is. 

So if you ask me I would give this little hike a chance. Yeah, it may not have the most stunning views, but when you are up at that lake just drink in the silence. I think that alone is worth it. 

Costa Rica: Day Five and Six

I actually took a few pictures on these days, so we should all be happy about that! Day five consisted of a wonderful walk through a cloud forest, and a canopy adventure aka zip lining! Not much more to say than that. Zip lining in Costa Rica is a lot different than zip lining in the states. Basically you have a glove with a thick piece of something durable in the middle of your palm, and that is what you use to stop yourself. It is kind of terrifying, but it was so fun!

On top of the cloud forest

What I had to climb up in order to see the top of the cloud forest..

Getting all geared up to go zip lining!

And proof that it actually happened!

Day six was quite the treat. First, we traveled to the Puntarenas region which meant two days of beach! But before the beauty that is the Costa Rican beach, we went on a crocodile tour. I don't know if any of you have ever been on a crocodile tour in the U.S before, but I will tell you what you see. Birds... a lot of birds. Guess what you see on a Costa Rican crocodile tour? Actual crocodiles! Like huge ones that are freaking scary! Let's just say I have NEVER been so close to a crocodile in all my life, and I have also never seen so many! They were seriously everywhere! In one spot there were like fifteen just sun bathing. It was freaking crazy you guys! Crazy!

Well that is all for day five and six. I am sorry I have been so slow putting these up. It is kind of crazy what being an adult does to your time. Thankfully I am done with summer semester in a couple days, and I will have two glorious weeks of no school! I can't even wait! 

Moab

Alright, so I'm posting twice in one day. Is there some kind of rule about not doing that? Oh well, my blog right? You guys, Moab... I have lived in Utah basically my entire life, and I have NEVER been to Moab until two weeks ago. Living in Utah you see all the pictures of everyone spending their breaks there with family and friends. It is just part of living here, so whenever I told people I had never been they usually proceeded to freak out. Well guess what guys? I WENT! And it was more beautiful than any photograph could ever represent. It just has such a cool atmosphere about it. Everyone there is just so happy, and loving life. It just makes you want to never leave!

Here are a couple photos I took while our short little weekend there. I promise these pictures do it no justice.

Do you see that tiny little human under the arch?

Now do you see that tiny little human REPELLING off of the gigantic arch?!

TRAIN!!

Excuse the face I am making in this picture.. I'm not really sure what is happening! 

And I end with a fossilized dinosaur foot print.... legit!!