moab trip #1

i went to moab last week with one of my friends, cliff. it was SO amazing. the first night we backpacked into the needles district of the canyonlands to a place called chesler park. we got into our campsite right after sunset so the rocks were silhouetted against the sky.... SOOOOOOO pretty! then we hiked to a place called druid arch. that was a really cool arch. while there, we went out to this little mound view-point thing that really wasn't easy to get on... in one of the pictures you might see how exposed the side we scrambled up was.... yes, i did it too... i'll admit, i got a little scared! then we hiked out of the canyonlands and drove to castle valley. castle valley is most known for castleton tower (castle rock). if you've seen mission impossible 2, it's the one tom cruise is "climbing" at the beginning. we climbed 2 of the 4 pitches to get to the top. we decided not to keep going because a) we were no longer on the sunny side of the tower, b) sarah was getting cold... 2 pairs of pants and three long sleeve layers were actually not enough.... c) cliff didn't have the right size cam. BUT don't you worry- we both decided we will be climbing to the top of castleton tower SOMEDAY!! that night we camped at the fisher towers area. those things are HUGE! went climbing on "lizard rock" then decided to drive back to salt lake. the best part of this trip- getting into our canyonlands campsite after dinner.... sarah was hungry and MIGHT have been a little angry about not eating... i complained that the top ramen appetizer cliff had made us was watered down and would be disgusting.... after eating that, two reeses, some granola bars, dried fruit, and two mountain house meals, i could laugh at my predictability. that was the joke the rest of the trip "IT'S WATERED DOWN!!!" the worst part of this trip- matrimoney springs found contaminants in it... the best watering hold in the world has been shut down! i cried a little...

31 reasons my sister is cooler than yours

it was maria's 31st birthday on wednesday. in her honor- i've listed 31 reasons why my sister is cooler than your sister!!
1-she's beautiful
2-her kid angie is the coolest kid in the entire world
3-she's the funnest person in the world to play duets with
4-her kid emma is the coolest kid in the entire world
5-she's a great example
6-her kid keller is the coolest kid in the entire world
7-who needs cliff notes when you're got maria?
8-her mom mary is the coolest mom in the entire world
9-she's a health food nut
10-her dad roger is the coolest dad in the entire world
11-she has a cool truck
12-her brother clark is the coolest brother in the entire world
13-she's a great mom
14-her brother ned is the coolest brother in the entire world
15-she's a great teacher
16-she helps anyone in a pickle
17-she learned spanish from a friend
18-she's a rockin' karaoke QUEEN!
19-she's gonna be a lawyer
20-she's hiked borah
21-she can organize anything
22-she lets you use her garage for storage
23-she's stylish
24-she can sing
25-she composes music
26-she also plays the recorder, violin, viola, organ, and guitar (what did i miss?)
27-she's gonna bike the white rim in march
28-she's a good loser to set
29-she has impecable dental hygiene
30-she's the best pinochle partner EVER
31-SHE'S MY SISTER!!!
i hope you had an awesome birthday, maria! i love you!!

a scare...

my brother, clark, called me at 3:30 in the morning last week. whenever ANYONE calls you a 3:30 in the morning, what's your first reaction? well, knowing clark and his accident prone-ness my first reaction was "oh shit, what'd he break now, and am i going to have to call in sick to work and drive to vegas to make sure he's ok? (clark was in vegas at the time)"
so after having prepped myself for bad news, and a little terrified of what might have happened (remember- 3:30AM) i hear clark, rather perky on the other line: "what was the name of the hike you went on this weekend?"

me- *awkward pause* "what?"

clark (perky)- "the name of the hike! what was it called?"

me- "the wave."

clark (perky)- "because i'm trying to find pictures online and i can't find anything. did i wake you up? some buddies and i want to go hike it today. how long was it? where is it? can you tell me how to get there?"

me- "it's in southern utah. *pause, pause as i try to find the correct words, it's still 3:30, mind you* look up pariah canyon or buckskin gulch. the trailhead starts there. but the wave breaks off from it and the cairns don't help. get a book."

clark (still perky)- "can you email me directions? i'm playing blackjack right now!"

me- "not right now. i will when i wake up"

clark (really disappointed)- "oh. ok."
so after laying in bed for about 15 minutes, my mind still hadn't slowed down from the scare i had of my accident-prone brother who was apparantly jazzed up on many a redbull... i emailed him directions to the wave and called him back

me- "clark- i emailed you directions to the wave. good luck."

clark (perky)- "hey thanks!! blah blah blah- something about vegas and blackjack"

me- "clark- i work in 3 1/2 hours. DON'T call me again."

clark (annoyingly perky)- "ok! sorry!"

*click*

an hour later (no joke) i get a text message. "sorry for waking you up. i'm a little high on pain meds and redbull. i can't hike tomorrow anyway. love you!"

aren't brothers great???

the freezing point of eggs

gen and i went snowshoeing yesterday, and stayed overnight at dog lake in big cottonwood canyon. it was a blast!! we packed a tent (snow was too soft for a snow cave) and food and lots of cold-weather gear. this morning, however, we had planned a very nice breakfast of oatmeal and scrambled eggs. we pulled the eggs out of the pack and lo-and-behold they were frozen!! so it made me wonder... how cold was it in the tent last night? well, i researched the freezing point of eggs (yolk and white are different values... fyi...) and it is -.57C which is 31F. at 9:45 last night, outside the tent, i knew it was 15-20F. i could tell because when i inhaled, my nose hairs stuck together, but i didn't start coughing... we think it got in the single digits where we slept... sweet!!
our timing last night was incredible, as it was apparantly the largest full moon of the year because it's closer to the earth, blah blah blah, and the stars were properly aligned for such adventurous chics.
we woke up this morning with frost around the hoods of our sleeping bags (i used my beanie as a nose gaurd so the tip of my nose didn't freeze, as it was the only appendage allowed out of my sleeping bag...
squatting in the snow with snowpants, gloves, and snowshoes on, was an all-new adventure to me... try balancing THAT, boys!

Winter ROCKS!!!

thanksgiving came and left- i went home and we went bowling.... bowling is perhaps the greatest white-trash "sport" out there! i love the combination of groups you get whenever you go! but it's great fun with the kids! i have very vivid memories of going as a child and having the ball knock down some pins after bouncing off the bumpers at a ridiculously SLOW pace...
december is fun since we finally got snow! i went boarding some time ago with my friends and had a great time being the first in some powder (still not good at powder, mind you)
christmas was awesome! ned and rachael flew in so we got to have christmas with them! i got a ski rack in the form of an rei giftcard from santa and some dressy leather boots! they will have their virgin outing on sunday... anyways, while in idaho falls my family went sledding. going down on the tube was my favorite! (is it inter-tube or inner-tube?)
and just now, i have gotten back from snowshoeing up to donut falls with genevieve, as she is in town for a few more weeks!
last night i celebrated the new year at a low-key party with some amazing girls. we highlighted our favorite moment from 2008 and biggest goal for 2009... mine were shocking... favorite moment from 2008- standing on top of mount whitney. biggest goal for 2009- nationals. what are yours? it's always fun to hear!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!