Escalante

Eric got the week before last off of work. I decided I was not OK with going to work while Eric got to sleep in for an entire week, so I got it off, too! We decided to go camping in Escalante. I went a couple years ago and loved it.

A little Escalantian background: 1.9 million acres of pure, untouched nature. There are red rock canyons, ancient Indian petroglyphs, waterfalls, scorpions, tarantulas, and some rugged 4WD high clearance vehicle only backroads. A moutaineer's paradise. I am a little ashamed putting these pics up. They do NO justice to the landscape.

There were tons of cows on the road out to Escalante.

You may not be able to see it, but theres a canyon in the lower right of the pic. Our campground was down in that canyon, to the far left. Coolest campground ever.

That's our tent!

Hiking is to Escalante what mullets and cut off shirts are to monster truck rallies. They both make the experience complete. Here's Eric filling up our Platypus bag. A MUST when hiking in the desert.
Who's excited??

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Hike #1

Lots of cacti and cactus fruit. We were brave and ate some of the fruit. It was actually pretty good. Mildly sweet and refreshing.

About an hour in. Destination: through the canyon you see behind us, eventually ending up at Lower Calf Creek Falls.

But first, Eric sees something on the ground....

....and picks it up.

We also saw some fish. See, there's three of 'em!

Another half hour and we make it.

Seriously, this water was frigid. The guy behind me was crazy. Although I think maybe he thought I was crazy, judging by the way he's looking at me.

All in a day's work.

We headed back for some good ol' R&R around the campfire, where Eric burned a huge hole in his Sanuks.

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Hike #2, 3, & 4

26 miles down an unpaved, 4WD-cars-only road is a wash with some amazing red rock canyons. There are three canyons in this particular wash. Here's the first one:

The second and third hikes are the more famous ones. Peekaboo and Spooky. They are slot canyons. And by slot, I mean, so narrow that you have to take off your backpack to get through some parts. And if you're slightly overweight, you might get stuck. And if it rains, even 2 miles away from these canyons, youre pretty much screwed. As in, dead. Flash floods are what kill people out here. Peekaboo isn't as bad:

That's looking back at where we came from.

This is towards the end of Peekaboo. It's narrow, but not as narrow as Spooky. I didn't even get any pictures of Spooky because the sky was turning gray and we pretty much hiked like the dickens to get out of there so we wouldn't die.

Here's a video showing you what it's like. The first two minutes are in Peekaboo. Right around the second minute is where he gets into Spooky.

Escalante in a nutshell!

Gross

That is all I have to say about the what the world has become. It's 2am, and Eric and I are wired. We don't have work this week, so we're milking it. And it seems that the only thing that is on was the VMA awards.

First of all, I hate MTV. I feel gross when watch it. I hate how crude, vulgar, obscene, and uncensored it is. All it is, to me, is visual proof of how horrible most of society has become. Such a contrast to the peac and happiness the gospel brings.

I'm just at a loss for words at how terrible the world has become. This year's VMA's was a disgustingly perfect example.

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm starting to really be grateful for the Utah Bubble. I'm grateful for the good examples of those around me. There are so many here. For those of you who relentlessly strive to be forces of good in the world...THANK YOU!

Sometimes I Feel....

like this is the story of my life:

Stop laughing, Dad.

Anywho, here are a few pics I took of my lil sis, Catherine. I don't have Photoshop, but when I do, and when I learn how to use it, watch out.

And for the road, one of my hubby.