I’m home now after a whirlwind adventure out west with a friend. There is so much to say about this trip that I don’t even know where to start.
The trip was to Utah. I flew into Salt Lake City where my friend Johnna picked me up at the airport and we were off and running for the next week. We spent a couple of days in Salt Lake and the rest of the week in Moab where we stayed in a tiny house (that’s what they called it on Airbnb – it was really a very nice house trailer) that was home base for shopping, sightseeing and hiking in the famed Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.
I’ve flown over this part of the country before but this was my first time visiting. Let me tell you, friends – coming from the lush, green, overgrown southern part of Ohio, landing in Utah was about like landing on the moon. There’s little vegetation and instead lots of rock. Salt Lake City seems like a never ending sprawl of houses and development rimmed by mountains. To put things into perspective, the county where I live has about 13,000 people and literally more trees than people.
Rather than detail the entire journey in one post, I’ll tell you about a few things over time. Today, we’ll talk about hiking because that was my favorite part.
I went to see the sunrise over the desert and I was not disappointed. There is something magical about the desert around Moab and the way it changes with the light. I loved watching the way the landscaped changed as we stomped around on boulders, through sand and along rocky rim trails.
Starting early accomplished a few goals. Not only did we get to see the gorgeous morning sky, being out early kept us safe. Temperatures can easily rise over 100 degrees by lunchtime and our goal typically was to be back in the car and doing something else by then. I’m a fair complected person but with an early start, a lot of sunscreen and a lot of water, I managed to come home with no burns and no heat stroke!
My pictures don’t do justice to the beauty of this place but I hope you enjoy them anyway.
An aside – I love to hike but abandoned traditional hiking boots years ago. They feel too heavy and bulky for me. Instead, I opt for New Balance trail runners. They feel like a tennis shoe but have great treads that took me everywhere I wanted to go (and a few places I didn’t want to go) out there. I also carried a small day pack with supplies including a couple of extra insulated water bottles. Don’t bother with plain plastic. Your water will be boiling in no time.
Back to school time always makes me want to run out and buy notebooks and crayons. I’m not clear on why because I really hated school when I was there. College was great though. I’m a proud alum of Ohio University, a Bobcat, and I’m so pleased that life allowed me to study there. It was a great experience that taught me so much both in and out of the classroom. I especially love the quote on this gate – “So enter that daily thou mayest grow in knowledge, wisdom and love.”
Today is my birthday. If all goes according to plan, I will be off on a grand adventure with a friend today. The last couple of birthdays have been really hard for me but I’m actually ok with this one. 2018 got off to a rocky start but I’m thinking this day will mark the start of something great. These are optimistic words and probably famous last words but I’m sticking to them.
Street photography is something I would like to do more often but I’m a bit timid about photographing strangers. I’ve heard horror stories about street photographers being verbally attacked by their subjects who do not wish to have their picture taken. She has a great presence and was so lost in thought I doubt she would have noticed me raise my camera but I shot this from the hip, just to be safe.