Backpacking Coyote Gulch!

Coyote Gulch, down in Escalante, UT, is an amazing canyon full of red rock, green trees, and rushing water! A group of 9, including me, headed down April 14th, and after a long 30 mile and very irritating bumpy dirt road (more so for the drivers, which I was 1 of 3), we were at the trail head! Liz Gerke, Justin Rae, Curtis Sorenson, Becca Vikari, Anna Pugliano, Adam Gwyn, Diana Cuadrado, Lauren Eliason, and I had a great time exploring the canyon! The way down into the canyon involved us scaling down a pretty steep face, which I took my pack off and slid down carefully on my bottom; however, the way back out of the canyon was another story. Adam scaled up the rock like a lizard and attached the rope to a tree and then with a ~ 40lb pack on, we pulled ourselves up the face! It was pretty scary, no lie, and I'm not too excited to do it again, but it was an adventure! Our adventures in between these two moments involved kicking, splashing, and enjoying a great hike through the canyon! P.S. most of these amazing pictures were taken by Curtis Sorenson, I wish I did!

My ~ 40-45 lb pack!

Justin...need I say more!

Myself, Justin, and Liz at one of the beautiful falls!

Amazing, right!

Curtis, the picture taker, and Adam in the background!

Adam, Diana, Lauren, Liz, myself, and Justin heading out on the trail to Coyote Gulch!

Enjoying the beauty and sun of the canyon!

Justin running to catch up with us! I love the angle of this picture!

These trees were pretty cool, debris smashed up against the tree, evidence of a previous flash flood!

Natural Bridge!

The group, myself, Liz, Diana, Lauren, Justin, Anna, and Becca!

Lauren up top, and Liz, taken before the descent into the canyon!

 

Oh Justin, after I took the picture he told me to take a look at it. What a guy! We were almost to camp! Can you see how exhausted Adam looks!

 

Curtis making his way through the currents!

I love the texture Curtis captured in this shot!

Liz and I hiking through the river!

 

Liz captured in a great moment! I wish I knew what she was smiling about! :)

 

The upward ascent, Justin is trailing behind helping us up the face! The pack suddenly felt much heavier!

 

Three friends enjoying a beautiful day in Coyote Gulch!

Camping & hiking in beautiful Zions National Park!

Zions National Park...one of my favorite places to camp, hike, and thoroughly enjoy life! My friend Erin Johnson and I planned a few months ago to go this weekend, not thinking ahead that it could be the same weekend as conference and since it was we didn't broadcast the trip and decided to keep it just the two of us. We had a blast! Erin had never seen anything in southern Utah as far as National Parks go, so we originally had planned Bryce Canyon because I haven't seen it in a long time, but instead went with Zions because it was going to be warmer. And it was warmer! We had beautiful weather, 70-80s, and just a few rain sprinkles as we were heading out Sunday morning. I took this picture coming down from the Upper Emerald pools.

My tent on the right and the beautiful view (minus the trailer) we had each morning as we unzipped our tent!

 

The ever inclining trail to Angels Landing!

Erin and I on Angels Landing trail!

Scout's lookout right before the accent to Angel's Landing! It's a beautiful view, but a scary 1400ft drop (hence the picture below)! 

Overlooking the beauty of Zions!

I pay attention to this sign every time before attempting Angels Landing. It saddens me every year to hear of another fatality on this hike.

Is this what that sign was warning about? :) A 1400ft drop? Luckily I don't have much of a fear for heights!
I actually get a little nervous looking at the picture though, funny!

The chains of Angels Landing!

When I came a year ago, there wasn't a waterfall here at Weeping Rock, yet this year there was. I loved how the wind was blowing the water and how it ran down the rock.

The Lower Emerald pools, the walkway underneath these falls is quite interesting to walk through. Mud...red mud!

Erin took this amazing picture, the sunlight was streaming down at the perfect moment over the Lower Emerald falls! 

On Friday night, we ate here, the Bit & Spur! It is a nice, Mexican restaurant, with obviously a little flair! I'm not so sure what the snake and spider were about, but the food and especially the fresh avocado dip was amazing!

Burn embers...burn! Obviously we didn't earn our Eagle Scout award or we would've ate dinner a lot sooner! I was bummed we forgot to buy coals, they would've worked a lot faster and easier than burning wood!

Yum, I love tin foil dinners!

Cruisin' the Mexican Riviera! More pics to come, Emily has the rest!

 

I'm on board the Carnival Spirit in San Diego port! My sister Emily and I flew out of SLC March 20th and boarded the ship for a full week of fun in the sun down the Mexican Riviera! It was very overcast and windy in San Diego that morning so I wore my hat (which I had bought on my previous trip to San Diego when we went to a Padres game)!

 

Have you ever driven across the Coronado Bridge? If not, it's quite an experience. Take turns with the driver so everyone has a chance to look over the entire city!

The tug boat helping us into position as we embark on our journey to Mexico!

I'm not sure where this was taken, but I believe on our way out of San Diego. Beautiful!

Land's End! Bienviendo a Cabo San Lucas! The rock formations are absolutely breathtaking! Sea lions are everywhere as we took a water taxi to Lover's Beach. Great name, I know! And the best part is the connecting beach on the back is named, Divorce Beach! :) Just to the left of Land's End is a rock formation which sat in the shade, and that is where the sea lions laid out! I loved hearing them bark or whatever you call the sound they make. It was really fun to watch them in their natural surroundings!

Passing Pelican beach, Emily in our water taxi enjoying the view and sun!

I officially name this rock...Sea Lion rock! There had to be about 20 or so, they are so cute!

Divorce beach! Desolate...I hope, let's have no visitors! The waves were actually higher on this side. We enjoyed watching and listening to the waves crash down on the beach.

A glimpse of a sea lion! I took the picture too late, but he was there!

The beautiful waves on Divorce beach

A view from the walkway around the pier in Cabo San Lucas!

Sunset in Cabo...this is what paradise looks like!

Pictures of a devastated Japan

 

The 9.0 earthquake hit northern Japan around 2:40pm on March 11, 2011. Tsunami sirens immediately began warning citizens to get to higher ground. They were well prepared but had little warning to get to safety. Above, houses tossed around like they don't weigh a thing, lie amongst the debris.

 

 Tsunami waves crashing into the city

A yacht tossed around in the waves, is found on top of a house after the debris settled

A mans hand caught between the rubble...so sad. This was the worst earthquake to hit Japan. The earthquake, which ranked 9.0 on the Richter scale, didn't even cause the most damage. The devastation from the tsunami was much worse. The death toll is estimated in the tens of thousands. This natural disaster has had me captivated. I've been intrigued to watch the news, home videos, and any updates on the citizens of Japan. My prayers are with you, bless you all!