Recent Adventures

So basically I have been lucky enough to go to some really cool places lately.  

Nearly a month ago I went hiking and camping with my other education staff coworkers from Ogden Nature Center.  We went to Little Wild Horse Canyon and Goblin Valley.

Then a couple weeks ago, I was in Cedar City.  Hope and I stayed the week there at her parents house while we taught at schools in that area.  We got to do a little exploring while we were there. We went to Snow Canyon State Park (pretty close to Zion but perfect because there were not tons of people) and Cedar Breaks National Monument.  

I've been trying not to bombard social media with floods of pictures so I decided it was worth it to share it on this blog (if people wish to read and see).  

So here is my photo dump. 

Maybe in a little while you'll get a post about a few other recent not so picturesque "Adventures" I've had.

Enjoy!

(There are a lot)

LITTLE WILD HORSE CANYON
(8-mile hike and camping overnight nearby)

The drive was stunning in so many ways, but this was the first jaw dropper just a little ways outside the canyon.

A short way down the trail we came upon some large cottonwood trees perfect for climbing.  Lily wanted to join the fun!

I had never been through a slot canyon before and I was amazed at the intricate waves and patterns the water, wind, and sand had made in moving through this canyon.  It tells a rather dramatic and stunning story.  I kept wishing I were a geologist!

The crew stops for a break.  Hope is walking Bones, I have Lily, Alex is in the red sitting down, the two standing right next to each other are Daniel (my office mate) and his girlfriend Kate, the other two standing a little apart are Brent and his photographer wife Kirsti ("ker-sti") who is from England.  Her photography is brilliant. https://kirstygemma.com/shop/

There wasn't a ton of wildlife in the area but we did see several lizards!  (no idea what kind for sure)

A lot of the trail was narrow like the pictures above but there were times when it would open up into clearings (like the one we were all hanging out in).  Sometimes it would open up enough for several people to walk next to one another.  

Can you find the face that's cracking up?  Get it?  Because it's a rock...and it has...you know...cracks?  There's a face that looks like it's laughing ok?  I'm not a comedian. 

I eventually let the dogs off their leashes once the crowds of people thinned out.  Here they are blazing the trail for us with Daniel and Kate.

There was not a lot of vegetation either.  Juniper was the tree of the day and this giant, sprawling one was just breathtaking.  

Lily poses on a rock!

If you look close you can see Bones' eyes look a little glassy.  I had sedated him what I thought was a little bit for the 4 hour drive there.  He turned out to be more sedated than I thought!  Poor boy.  

The second half of the hike opened up quite a bit and was more of the kind of canyon you would expect and less slot like.  But the view were still beautiful.  

Bones was such a trooper for being a little sedated.  He was often the one at the head of the trail.  At this point the dogs and myself were pretty work out.  I'd never taken them 8 miles before and I hadn't hiked more than a few miles in years.  But I felt rather accomplished (and luckily there wasn't much gain in elevation).

On the way out.  Those cottonwoods.  I miss the red of maples but I do love the yellows of the fall here.  

The dogs were pooped!  So was I.

This is the view from our camp area (since you can't really call it a site.  It had a fire pit made by someone else but that was about it).  The was as the sun was setting.  I couldn't take good pics after the sun went down but it's been a long time since I've been somewhere with so little light contamination.  The stars were wonderful.  And our little camp of random collections of food made for a nice dinner.

It was cold though.

This was a lovely little succulent I found the following morning.

The night was rough as it was so cold and because of the temperature drop (and it's the desert) there was so much condensation that it got quite wet overnight.  I didn't sleep much and since I was exhausted from the day that was rather unfortunate.  BUT the rest of the day made up for it.  

The following are just some wonderful pics from Goblin Valley State Park (you know, where they filmed some of Galaxy Quest!).  It was so fun to climb and explore and be adventurous. I've missed that.  See if you see any goblins!

These rocks aren't really that pretty but check out that goblin face profile!

Hope and I in a little cave we found.

SNOW CANYON STATE PARK

(several weeks later.  Just a day trip while we were in Cedar City)

This state park has so much amazing and distinct geology!  Not only did there used to be sand dunes here but there also used to be volcanic activity!  It makes for some really cool rock formations. 

Hope my adventure companion looks out at the beauty of the landscape.

I'm silly but I got really excited at seeing all the unique plants that I've never seen in person before.  I'm a true nature nerd. 

Cactus!!!!! (I can't really convey to you how excited I was to see all the cactus)

So what makes these rock formations are PETRIFIED sand dunes.  So cool.

There were soft sandy areas here still and it made for some cool track finds.  How many kinds of tracks do you see? (I see at least three...one of them probably had a tail). 

Between some of the petrified dunes were some short slot canyon type areas.  Fun to explore. 

Not pictured is the random small sapling of a tree I saw which had leaves that looked like a redbud!  I was so surprised...I didn't know redbuds grew in this area.  After researching back home I discovered that there is such a thing as a desert redbud!  Again...nature nerd.  I thought it was cool.  

There was this amazingly colorful lichen splattered in random places.  Against the red rocks it was very striking.  I loved it. 

Another tracks find.  I have no idea what kind of tiny creature makes these!  It's got to be a mammal...maybe a mouse of some kind?  

Look at this crazy cool cactus!!!

CEDAR BREAKS NATIONAL MONUMENT

(we just drove up here to see it)

This was rather stunning and was up in the mountains a bit, a short way from a ski resort area.  

Off in the distance on a clear day you can see Nevada.  And also in the distance (not super visible in this picture) you can see Zion national park. 

Thanks for putting up with this photo dump!

I'll be better in the future not putting things like this off.