A Little Taste of Moab

Last week I went on my travel study to Moab, UT.

For those that know nothing about Moab it is a tiny town surrounded by 2 national parks: Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. We mainly went to Arches of the two but we had many adventures.

The trip began last Wednesday with a 6 hour drive to Moab where we stayed in this lovely little motel. Surprisingly not as scary as I thought it would be but the tv's in the rooms were definitely a lot older than me.

Our first trip started about 30 minutes after we arrived where we headed right into the park to hike to Delicate Arch. It is quite a hike and quite a view.

This view is actually pointing away from the arch to show that there is a huge drop off on the other side. FYI not a huge fan of heights and no railing...but it was beautiful! (More pictures of much better quality coming later).

One of the nine other students on the trip, Adrianne. We became fast friends and hiking buddies.

The next morning we awoke at the lovely hour of 4am (having gone to bed around 11:30pm).

By time people started arriving in the park we had been there for at least 4 hours...no biggie. 

This was at Pine Tree Arch where we watched the sun rise.

That afternoon we went to Sand dune arch which I only have pictures of on my actual camera but it was BEAUTIFUL!

Then in the evening we went to the Window Arches, Turret Arch and a few more.

I stayed late to do some night photography and got some pretty cool shots. Sadly they are on film and I do not have any copies with me to scan in but I will later, promise.

This time I didn't get to bed until midnight when the full(ish) moon was high in the sky.

The next morning we got to get up at 3:50am....the moon was still up and fyi 4 hours of sleep really just feels like a longish nap. This time we went to Dead Horse Canyon which I have no pictures of on my phone because I was mostly asleep. It was a beautiful but surprisingly cold sunrise. 

Later that day we did get a nap which was as long as our sleep the night before. Then headed off to Hanksville where we were going to camp. 

It was too windy to set up camp so we went to Goblin Valley that evening where is was even more windy so we didn't stay long past sunset. We also managed to get sand and dirt in EVERYTHING.

We got back after dark and set up camp and passed out.

Luckily Saturday we got to sleep in to save up our rest for the hardest, craziest, most beautiful hike of all.

Horseshoe Canyon.

I recommend using the bathroom before you go because there is at least an hour drive on the bumpiest road ever and you'll likely have to pee when you get there just from all the jostling. 

It is 7 miles round trip and 5 of those miles are in the sand where you descend almost 800 feet into the canyon.

FYI hiking in the sand is much more difficult.

The first mile or so is just climbing down into the Canyon which isn't too bad.

Then you get to the floor and hike another 2 1/2 miles in. Along the way there are 4 or 5 panels of barrier canyon styled rock art which if I remember right is thousands of years old.

The final panel (well most of it) seen below is BEAUTIFUL! Much more amazing in person but this can give you a little feel.

Those figures are often a few feet tall.

It was breath taking and well worth the hike!

The hardest part was getting out though. 

Warning the trail to get up and out of the Canyon is kind of hard to see. Half of our group missed it at first and we may or may not have lost one of the teachers for about 3-4 hours...it was pretty scary...

Also I recommend going in the late afternoon because it isn't as hot and there is more shade. 

This is me after the hike feeling like a beast hiking that 7 mile trail!

We didn't get home until 1:30am.

Sunday we woke up, broke camp and headed to see a little more rock art and the Little Grand Canyon.

It was beautiful but at this point I was just ready to get home and see Garett.

5 days is far too long and I missed him like crazy.

Here is panorama of the canyon. You should be able to click on it and see a bigger version.

It was pretty but I'm not a fan of heights so I didn't get too crazy.

We finally got home around 8pm where my husband welcomed me home with marinated steak and potatoes and it was delicious! (Isn't he the best?) Of course I had to go back to school the next day and play catch up but it has all worked out. Now I am FINALLY getting to relax and slowly catching up on my sleep.

(Side note, a lot of places in the middle of nowhere have pretty good cell reception and I find that odd). 

Anyway that is all I have for now. I'll post later though it might not be until the end of the semester (4 weeks) but I will post eventually.

It was an adventuresome trip. To quote myself when asked why I chose this trip and what I liked about it.

"It seemed more interactive than going to a bunch of museums and looking at pictures and then it ended up being much more interactive than I thought".

It was great but next time I'd like to go with my husband and family.

Hope all is well with y'all and I'll try to post more in the coming weeks.

-Megan

I Give it 100% Support

I've been meaning to tell y'all, anyone looking for a fantastic show to watch, or one you should watch regardless of your searching or lack thereof is Fullmetal Alchemist-Brotherhood.

Now anyone who knows me well knows I'm not a huge fan of anime shows. 

Most of them annoy me.

But this one is fantastic!!!!!!!!!!

You can find all the episodes on youtube or free on Hulu.

Only the first 6 episodes are in English, the rest are subtitled, but I found it to be no loss to the show.

actually after watching a few clips of the English version, I prefer the Japanese version. 

It's an amazing story line with great characters.

I give it five stars and if it were a book series I would own it all.

As it is I still want to own the the disk versions for myself eventually. 

The episodes are about 23 minutes each, though they are short, beware.

It IS addicting.

So I wouldn't start the show unless you have a good bit of free time.

But if you want, here is the link to the show. 

I was going to post the first episode on here, but it won't let me because it's too long or something.

Dumb.

But there is the link for the youtube version and here is the link for the Hulu version. 

Seriously go watch it.

I promise you won't regret it.

Or at the very least for my sake, watch the first episode or two.

If you're not hooked there is something wrong with you.......just kidding....

It's about two young brothers that do the taboo in their magical society and try to do human transmutation to bring their mother back to life.

What happens however is not what they bargained for, losing more than just their mom.

This sets in them a quest to gain what they lost, but in the midst of their journey they meet new friends and foes as well as uncover secrets that throw them into an adventure they didn't bargain for.

At such a young age these boys experience things most adults never would forcing them to grow up and change in ways they did not expect. 

Sorry I'm not great at writing hooks, but hopefully that's enough to get you started. 

I hope you enjoy it, because I did.

It's now among my top 3 favorite shows.

ENJOY =D =D =D =D 

Megan B.

Spring Has Arrived!

 I'm hoping if I say it and truly believe it that Rexburg will go along with it.
Plus it's been in the 60's this week and it can stay that way.

Lately Garett and I have been reading fiends. Here's just a taste of what we have been reading.
I'm working on the Saga of Recluce series and Garett has been trying out some new stuff.  

I cut my bangs too short and too much by accident but I think it turned out for the better. 

I actually like them this way. 

What do you think?

This weekend Garett and I went down to Utah to see my family and for his mission reunion.
We watched Rise of the Guardians which we enjoyed thoroughly.
Then spent Saturday afternoon hanging out with my family, enjoying an afternoon walk and the wonderfully warm weather.

Saturday evening we went to the reunion.
Garett served a church mission in the Zimbabwe, Harare Mission.
It covered Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.
While there he made some awesome friends and I finally got to meet some of them.

This is Nate. I found out he is from Asheville, NC. The best state ever.

Then there is Troy. Garett's son. (That is what they call the missionary they helped train when he is new).
I had met him before, but it is always fun to see them together.

There is Fasi. He is half Samoan, half Jewish which is an awesome mix. 

Here is some of them together.
(There were about 80-100 people there including their mission president Elder Dube and his family)
There was a dinner and a get-to-know-you segment.
It ended up being a blast.
Plus I got to meet Sam's girlfriend who was just wonderful.

From left to right: Nate, someone, Sam, Kenneth, Fasi, Troy, Garett and Chris.
They were a fun bunch.

Oh and Steven spotted Garett while he did a back flip. I was so excited. I hadn't seen Garett do one before.

Sunday my mom made a fantastic Easter dinner which we all got to share.
I got to meet the exchange student from Brazil that my parents are hosting, Flavia.
She was really nice.
In case you forgot who was in my family.
Left to right: Dad, Mom, Aaron, Flavia, Catherine, Jesse, Nikolai, UJ and Garett. 

Now here are some adorable pictures of my sweet nephew, Nikolai.

He loves phones.

So many teeth!

I love this one. 

Look at his dimple. =]

It was a much needed relaxing weekend filled with friends, family, good food and warm weather.


That is all.

Sunshine makes life better.

Megan B. 

Truth Be Told and Other Happenings

I will be completely honest with you, this post is MOSTLY to dote on my ADORABLE nephew. So if you don't want to see about 15 pictures of the cutest little boy in the world, then skip down 2/3 of the page to the other stuff in this blog. For now enjoy some crazy cute pictures of Nikolai.

Part of why I am doing this is partially out of homesickness and partially because I keep having dreams about my dear sweet Nikolai and it makes me miss him.

Ok so for this picture below, I feel if you put glasses on him he would look like a baby version of that kid from Meet the Robinsons. Anyone else agree? Maybe I'm just crazy.

Modeling baby anyone?
(Plus his shirt is really cool ;D)

What you lookin' at?

This tamagotchi is so delicous.....

He found my camera.
He likes cameras.

I feel he is ready to give a BIG hug. =]

I think i said his name.

Turtle turtle.

Ooooo shinny...

=]

=]

He can stand so well =]

I am this tall.

In other news Garett and I had a lovely 11 hour drive from Utah to California. It should have been 9 1/2 hours but when we were an hour away from being home there was an accident on I-15 South & a brush fire on I-15 North in around the same area. Needless to say ALLLLLLLLLL lanes of traffic were shut down for probably 2 hours

Thankfully our WONDERFUL GPS found a detour for us so we could get home.

Now for random pictures from our trip:

This ride looks intense....

Vegas castle thing. It makes me think of legos...

The black pyramid

This road makes me laugh every time but also want to sleep.

As soon as I saw this sign I got excited and yelled "IT DOES EXIST!" 
(see video below)

Garett grew a beard.

Then shaved it into a goatee. 

 

Yeah it's gone now.

In other news I have been CRAVING to play Pikmin 2. Not sure why but I just really want to play it.
Maybe it's because Pikmin are kinda cute and Garett plays as Olimar on Super Smash Brothers Brawl. 



Anyway that is all for now. California is gorgeous and I am slowly learning my way around. I can now get to most all of the important stores in Glendora.

Ah Glendora, does anyone else think it sounds like a fairyland? (It might as well be, it really is gorgeous here!)

Once Upon A Time Season 2 starts tonight as well As The Mentalist Season 5! 

CAN'T WAIT!!!

Off to go get ready for church =]

Megan Bonds =D