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. 

Sunrise Walks

I swear that every couple of months I am always contemplating where exactly I want this blog to go. Do I just want it to be a bunch of rambling, a place for photography, fashion, etc. I feel like I have never been able to actually settle on something. What is something that I will always want to write about, and share with the world? Well who knows if I actually figured it out this time, but I really think I did.

If there is anything I am passionate about it is exploring this incredible world we live in, and sharing the beauty of it through my eyes. You can always count on me to have the travel bug itch, and to be constantly making lists upon lists of places I want to eventually explore in this world. My instagram and bloglovin' feed have switched from cool outfits and house projects to pictures of mountains, and tiny villages in France. I want to see the world through others eyes as well.

After reading more travel blogs I have come to realize how difficult it truly is to be a travel blogger. The thing is, we don't care about things. We don't care about schedules, materialistic things, looking good in pictures, etc. We care about rolling out of bed to watch the sunrise, and to hike up the side of a mountain to see the prettiest views life has to offer. We care about becoming one with different cultures, and saving every single penny we have just in order to go someplace new. I see all these people with their cute clothes and houses, and sometimes I am jealous. I feel like they have it all, and that I could have this cute life like them. The thing is, that just isn't me. I am going to be the one working my butt off just to buy another plane ticket, or gas money for a road trip. It truly is all I think about sometimes.

So I have thought a lot about this, and I have wondered how I could make it work. I am a full-time student who nannies every day of the week besides the weekends. I don't have much time to explore right now, but it is something my body needs and aches for. That is why I have decided to instead start exploring the incredible state I live in for the time being. I am always so focused on thinking and planning for trips to places that I have never been far away, that I often forget what a beautiful place I live in that I have seldom explored. I have realized that I can always find an adventure just a car ride away.

Here is my most recent mini adventure that I shared with my love. I have been all about sunrise and sunset walks lately, and yesterday we decided to further explore a park right by our houses. It was definitely the most wonderful way to start a morning.

So here goes nothing. Here is to sunrise walks, and sunset wanderings. To experiencing all things local, and finding hidden treasure within the boundaries of my own state. I know that there is so much out there to discover in my own backyard, and I am practically jumping out of my skin with the anticipation of near future adventures. So here starts a blog made for exploring, and sharing the beauty of even the most simple things in life. You don't need to go far to find something new. So yeah, here starts A Day In The Life of my adventures. A travel blog. An adventure blog.