Running Away to the Desert (Again)

Learning: A four-day weekend surrounded by two four-day weeks is just about the right pace for me right now.

Last week, Qualtrics (and all of SAP) decided that in the face of hard times, they would turn Memorial Day weekend into an extra long weekend by giving us Friday off as well as Monday. It was pretty cool to be given that extra unplug and unwind time, and I'm extremely grateful for a company that is not only financial stable but also is attentive to and acting on the extra needs of employees in these tough times.

With this extra gift of time, we decided to high-tail it to the desert, along with approximately half of the state of Utah. Fortunately, the desert is pretty big, so there was plenty of space for all of us. The extra van in this photo is my parents', there wasn't actually a traffic jam of VWs on the dirt roads. Although... that would be pretty epic if it were the case.

We're self-contained in our van, so we don't need campgrounds (although flush toilets are awfully nice when you can get them). So we just headed down the Burr Trail in Escalante National Monument until we found a secluded (and ecologically responsible) side road to camp on.

There was a large sandstone hill-rock-thing down our dirt road that Ben immediately vowed to conquer. We had, of course, packed along a set of three unicycles so that he and WanYing had a few to choose from for whatever camping unicycle needs might befall them. We like to stick to packing only the necessities while camping - beer, hot dogs, unicycles, sleeping bags.

I got to play photographer for the unicycle slickrock adventures and it was a blast, except for the part where I got totally freaked out trying to climb down the giant sandstone mountain and my children had to talk me down. Yes, I was scared to walk down the same slope my son carried/rode his unicycle down. I stand by my self-preservation instincts.

Here are some of the choice unicycle shots and movies:

It had been years since we had hiked to Calf Creek Falls, so we decided it was time to make the trip again.

Here's Sasha on our last trip to the falls :)

And here's another one from the way-back machine! Thank goodness the kids can hike 6 or 8 miles under their own power now!

It was such a lovely hike - hot on the trail, cold at the falls. The trail was busy, but not so busy that you felt like you couldn't find your 6-foot bubble. And the dogs loved it.

I'm pretty sure this is the same place as where I took Sasha's photo 8 years ago!

On Sunday we decided to try a new adventure and drive to Spooky and Peekaboo Slot Canyons. This meant driving 26 miles down a dirt road, which didn't sound so bad until we discovered that the road was essentially one huge washboard. It was astoundingly awful and I have pledged to Steve that whenever he wants to upgrade the van's shocks, I will not stand in his way.

Deeply awful drive that it was, the hike more than made up for it. The 1.4 miles to the slots themselves was super beautiful and a total unexpected bonus to the day.

Like everything else, the slots were busy, but traffic moved through pretty well except for one chokepoint where we ended up waiting 30 minutes for a family to navigate one of the 12-foot drops.

The slots were the perfect level of adventure for us. Plenty of squeezes, a few drops to navigate, a few climbs to get over, but nothing that required a rope. I can see why these slots are so popular!

I am so grateful for the time and space to get away with my family. The freedom of running away to the desert, where we can experience adventure and move our bodies and still do it in a way that is safe for ourselves and the local communities is a huge blessing.

I'm sure we all have a bunch of figurative steep grades and sharp curves ahead in the coming weeks and months. I'm just grateful that last week we got to enjoy these literal ones on a family adventure!

The Wave

Welcome back to our blog! Like everybody else, in this time of school-from-home, work-from-home, everything-from-home, we've been looking for constructive outlets for our energy and yesterday Sasha latched on to catching us up on our family scrapbooks! A couple of years ago, I finally caught up on our multi-year scrapbook backlog (link to that celebration here) and now Sasha is carrying that torch!

It's been so cool seeing how much my kids love looking through our scrapbooks, connecting to treasured memories, and reading the corresponding blog posts that describe our adventures. This is such an important time for our whole family to feel that connection to our past and to our stories. So, in honor of Sasha picking up our scrapbooking, I'm going to try and come back to blogging!

There's so. much. to. say. So let's start with beautiful photos of our amazing state!

The Wave is part of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument and I have wanted to visit for years (and years and years). The landscape is fragile, and the BLM limits entry to The Wave to 20 people per day - 10 from an online lottery and 10 from an in-person lottery. The online lottery takes place each month, three months in advance of the month they're issuing passes for, and I've been applying for years. In December, our number came up and we got to purchase passes! For March 18th. You know, the first week when Coronavirus rewrote our reality for Utah residents.

Steve and I went back and forth (and back and forth) on whether or not to go, but finally decided that any location that only issues 20 entries per day was as isolated as we could ask for.

I am so grateful that we decided to go. Spending a day in the sunshine and rain and sand and rock and fresh air was an amazing boost to our spirits. And marveling at God's creation anchored our souls in a profound way. Truly, what seemed like the worst time imaginable for a trip to the desert ended up being a complete godsend. And there's nothing like a 7-mile hike to ensure you sleep well at night, regardless of the anxiety of the present time!

Here are some highlights from the hike:

The diagonal sections of sandstone layers were so cool!

A dinosaur track

I'm such a sucker for the wavy lines in the sandstone!

And, finally, we made it! Entering The Wave is an amazing experience. The folded lines of sandstone, the colors, it truly is awe-inspiring. Plus, there's lots of space to climb, and you know my kids love to climb!

Our entry into The Wave did begin with a bit of a mishap. See that giant pool of water and the fairly steep rock sides surrounding it? Well... WanYing went first and successfully navigated the pool. And then I went next and ended up soaked to the knees with very squishy hiking boots. At this point, the others found an alternate path. Ah, well, at least I was wearing quick-dry pants.

WanYing shakes the sand out of her boots

Sasha in The Wave entrance that didn't threaten wet feet

There's a reason that everybody's reviews of The Wave include ten million photos and continually-effusive language - it's simply an amazing experience. Throughout the day, it was so cool to see how the rocks changed color when the sun peaked in and out of the clouds, and how the entire landscape turned maroon when the clouds did finally open into rain and sleet.

We also hiked above The Wave to get another view and do some more scrambling, jumping, and climbing. WanYing is really missing her time at the climbing gym since they closed (groan), so at least she was able to get a little bouldering in!

Finally, the rain that had been threatening all day did come and we got to see the beauty of the wet desert. We got showers and sleet, but it wasn't too cold and it certainly didn't interrupt the fun of our hike. It was especially cool to see The Wave turn into a series of cascades as the water tumbled down the sandstone. The desert in the rain is every bit as pretty as the bright-and-sunny desert!

It took years to happen, but I think our trip to The Wave ended up coming at exactly the right time.

Albion Through the Years

Earlier this month we went camping in one of our very favorite places - Albion Basin. It's a campground up in the Wasatch National Forest nestled within Alta Ski Area in the winter. It's cool in the summer heat, above the summer haze, abounding in wildflowers and deer and moose, and one of the prettiest places on earth.

We went up to Albion again this year with our most longstanding of camping buddies, the Knappenbergers. As we hiked and watched our kids and drank a few beers, it was easy to wax nostalgic about the many summer adventures we've spent on these acres with so many folks we dearly love.

Hike 1: Catherine's Pass

Catherine's is the pass that separates Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. If you climb up from the Alta side, you look out over Brighton Ski Resort. It's crazy to realize how interconnected our mountains are from above when you're not limited by travel by vehicle - it would take 45+ minutes to drive between Alta and Brighton in the best of weather, and we made the hike in that or less. It's also crazy that I love this little turn in the path so much that I've photographed it for 10 years!

Ben, Cody, Sam 2010

The Cases, Jamie, WanYing (in baby carrier!) 2012

Sam leads the way, 2011

Sasha and Dad walk into the sunset, 2018

When you get up to the Catherine's saddle, you can see right into Millie lake on the Brighton side. It's a lovely place for a snack and a photo.

Sam, 2007

2011, WanYing not so sure about this whole thing

Apparently apples were the theme in 2012

WanYing, Sam, Apples 2012

Steve and Jamie (in case you didn't recognize us) 2012

Sam, 2018

Hike 2: Cecret Lake

Reportedly named by miners with poor spelling skills, this "secret" lake is a favorite in Little Cottonwood Canyon. When you're not up for a big hike, you're always up for a stroll to Cecret. And, yes, all photos must be taken on this particular rock.

I'm pretty sure this was our 2005 Christmas card photo

The boys sporting some sweet hair, 2007

Morningstars and Powells (Sasha in carrier), 2010

Sasha and Dad, 2018

Hike 3: Snowbird to Alta

Our very favorite hike is a big one. We drive down to Snowbird, take the tram up, and then hike across and down to Alta. It's the best!

Look at all of those little babies! 2005

Ben and Zack are still friends... although they don't hold hands anymore, 2007

Still great friends! 2018

We had 2 more blog-worthy memories made this year at Albion. The first is our semi-successful reenactment of our winter photo skiing at Cecret lake in April.

We all had a good chuckle at the "no swimming" sign in April

And here we are in August!

The second blog-worthy story came on our final evening of camping at Albion. Our friend Josh came up for the evening and remarked that he could go for a pizza. Keep in mind that the closest pizza was several miles down the mountain at Snowbird, so we were joking around about needing a delivery service. Eventually Josh said something about paying $100 for a pizza delivered to this remote campground.

A few minutes later, Ben says, "Were you serious about that $100 thing?"

Long story short, Ben embarked upon a 3 hour, 10 mile, $70 profit unicycle ride to Snowbird and back. At sundown we started to get a little worried about him and Josh drove down to make sure he was doing ok (there's no cell coverage at Albion). The kid has grit.

And that pizza, reheated over the fire, was some of the finest I've ever had.