Part Two; Zion National Park Angels' Landing

The first day we traveled to Zion National Park. Let me tell you, this place is incredible. So we heard over and over again how the Virgin River carved these massive mountains so they are really tall and very flat.  I didn't realize how much of an international marvel it is. We heard so many different languages on the buses (mostly Asian).  We set up camp and embarked on our first hike; Angels' Landing.  This is not for people who are afraid of heights or are not coordinated. I'll admit, it was scary at times. They said 6 people have died from doing it.  It also was raining, so more slippery than usual. But we made it and I felt very accomplished.

Setting up camp. Little did we know it would be raining and soaking our tent in a few hours.

Playing with zoom. Soo many lizards all over the place

Start of the hike. Not even close to the top, but very pretty.

Red rock all over the place.

Pretty canyon scenery.

K, so these chains are so you don't fall off the cliff and die. They were half a mile up and back. The very last part of the hike.

To my left is where we still had to go...but notice how you can fall either way.  Better keep your balance!

At the top! It's hard to tell in this pic, but it was very high.  I was a little nervous just standing there.

Panorama...I dont know why my camera turns it blue

The Virgin River at the bottom.  VERY far down. The cliff to the left is what we climbed.

Now to get back down.

And it rained so hard that our tent and blankets were soaked. So we cooked in the back of our truck and slept there. Not too bad except it was very hard.

Upside of rain is that it cooled everything down.  Downside; flooding, so no rappelling in slot canyons. Bummer.

August Adventure

Part One; St. George

Did you know that St. George was named after a Mormon settler? Basically everyone was only eating the white parts of the potatoes and and getting really sick. George told them to eat the skins and everyone got better and now the town is named after him. Kinda funny. Never realized why it was called that. 

To start our week of vacation we spent a night in St. George so we could go to church the next day and still get to our campsite on time. It was really nice. Somehow the weather was only in the 80s (it rained) while the missionary we talked to said it is usually 110. Yikes, so glad it was not like that. We went to the temple and then wandered around the town.  I remember I almost went to school at Dixie, so we drove around the school and saw all of the Mormon historical sites. Then we got some pizza at a local place (really really good) and watched a movie at the motel. 

On the way we stopped at Cove Fort. It was settled by Ira Hinckley to be a place for travelers to stay and be protected from Indians.  The rooms were very small and cute. I love seeing historical places.

On the lookout area on top of fort.

Original doors, and inside fort area

I just liked all of the sunflowers in their garden. The elderly missionary said they get to eat everything in the garden.

Brigham Young had bad arthritis and went to St. George in the summers.

Fresh grapes from Young's garden. I've never had them before. They were so good!

Having a conversation with Brigham.

St. George tabernacle 

Hard to tell, but this was a pretty splash pad water river thing in the park. It was so pretty. The red rock really sets off the green grass and trees.

St. George Temple!

Natural Water Slide

When I first came to BYU I had an awesome bishop who would take the ward hiking every Saturday. Some places he took us were beautiful, and I wish I would have paid more attention so we could have done them. But I do remember the sliding rock in Alpine. You just hike a mile up to it and you can actually slide down it without hurting your rear. Its been on my bucket list to do with Jamir ever since and we finally did.

Like I said, Utah is beautiful.

The water kinda shocks you because it is so cold. Felt really good though after hiking in the hot sun

Jamir dared me to get in up to my waist and sit down. 

And to prove his manhood, he had to do it too.

After we went to the Purple Turtle. Weirdly, its something I also always wanted to do. It was pretty good. Huge hamburgers for a good price. 

It started storming so we went home and enjoyed being dry and warm. I love summer thunderstorms.

Jamir Graduated!...

Almost. Still one more semester to go, but we can't wait! It's one of those life changing periods where everything changes and a new chapter is opened. Don't get me wrong. I probably will miss Provo. I've gotten used to our ward and I really will miss my Sunbeams. I feel like they are my own kids sometimes. And my job is going good and our apartment is just right for us. I also forget how beautiful Utah is and sometimes wonder what would happen if we did stay here, but then I think about where I want to go and explore and I can't wait to leave. 4 months!

Yesterday I spent the evening going through all of our stuff and getting rid of it while Jamir prepared his talk.  We do have a lot of stuff surprisingly, but I'm cutting it down slowly. DI will have a lot of books and clothes to sell. Anyways, it was really refreshing to let things go.

On Thursday and Friday we spent most of the day going to Jamir's graduation stuff. I am going to have to exercise a lot this week to work off all the eating out.  I'm glad he walked and we celebrated. Nice to have the closure.

Engineering building. I've always thought it funny that it is also the ugliest one on campus because it has no windows and brick hallways.

 After the ceremony, we took a walk around the BYU path (since it is always pretty) and ate lunch at the Clyde. And to enjoy Utah a little more we drove the Squaw Peak route to Hobble Creek after. I do not recommend this unless you have a 4 wheeler or jeep. Our Nissan Pathfinder made it ok, but it was pretty scary at times since there were giant rocks all over the path. But it was amazingly beautiful.

It was beautiful! There were butterflies all over the place.

We couldn't enjoy the scenery without a flat tire, now could we?

Jamir said I had to put this on here. Notice the textbook helping the jack. He said he is finally putting his books to good use. 

My Husband, the Engineer

Ok, so every wife has to brag about their husband sometime right? It wouldn't be a blog if not. So I'm going to do what is my biggest pet peeve; brag.  These are just some pics of Jamir at his internship by the Payson and Provo temple. It has been a really good experience for him. I'm so proud to have a guy who knows how to get jobs and work hard.

Inside Provo temple. They gave him some nails that were original to take home. Too bad we wont be around when it is finished!