Utah Getaway 2014: Canyonlands National Park and Colorado National Monument

I just realized that I never posted the pics from Canyonlands! It was such a stunning place that there’s no way I wouldn’t share the pictures with all of you. From the drive to Canyonlands from Moab to our hikes in the huge national park, it was a gorgeous place. Stunning. I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon, but I can hardly imagine that it would be more breaktaking than Canyonlands. Of course, I will have to make that judgment for myself someday, I hope! 🙂

With no further ado, some pictures from Canyonlands…

Our first view of Canyonlands. See the awesome view in the background.

Sitting in front of Mesa Arch during a hike

Hiking down a sandy, easy trail to a canyon overlook

Enjoying the panoramic setting on the camera. Also, this is about as close as I will get to the edge.

 

 

Another awesome panoramic view

Hunky Hubs in front of an Aztec storage room on the Aztec Butte hike. We had to hike up to the top of a mesa to get to this cool find.

On our final day in Moab, we stopped at this crazy (and I mean, CRAZY) place where a family actually lived for many years.  They blasted their home out of the rock, so there is a full sized house in there.  That part is pretty nifty, actually.  The family that lived there was quite eccentric, to put it nicely.  They had taxidermied (poorly) their personal pets and they were in the house too.  The donkey that died in the 1950’s and was right next to their bed?  Creepy!!  Anyways, we got a kick out of the tour and I would recommend this place to anyone who likes really weird stuff.

Yep, there’s a house in the rock. One of the most bizarre places I have ever seen.

On our way home, Hunky Hubs and I decided to see if there were any places along the way that would make for a convenient stop/hike/sightseeing tour, and we found Colorado National Monument in Grand Junction.  We found it to be absolutely stunning!  We took a hike there, which was nice since we spent lots of time in the car that day.

The trailhead for our hike at Colorado National Monument.

Stunning red rock formations

Overall, we had a wonderful time on our trip to Moab.  We got to see some amazing natural sights and marvel at creation.  We are very blessed to live so close to so many wonderful and beautiful places.  I can’t wait to explore some more or go back and explore these places even more!

Utah Getaway 2014: Arches National Park

I was psyched to get out of town with Hunky Hubs over a long weekend. We planned ahead and did some research on one of my dreams for this year- hiking somewhere cool- and figured out that waiting until summer to head to the Southwest hot spots was not really the wisest idea. Going on a trip in February/early March? Umm, ok, let’s do it! We decided to base our trip in Moab, Utah, where we got a stellar deal on a hotel, and then hike in nearby Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.I grabbed a hiking guide at the library about a month ago and it sat on our coffee table for weeks. We decided to look at it while we were driving to Utah (lol). It all worked out fine though. We found that there were lots of places to hike (an overwhelming number of choices) and that they looked relatively easy, especially compared to the hiking options in our local Rocky Mountains. 🙂 To be fair, there are tons of longer and more difficult hikes around Moab, but we opted for the ones that wouldn’t take more than a few hours.

It took us about 10 leisurely hours of driving to make it to Moab on Thursday, and when we got close, it started raining. Just as we were close to Arches, the sun broke through the clouds and we saw the most stunning double rainbow. I could only capture one arch of the rainbow in my picture:

Beautiful rainbow near Arches National Park

Friday morning, we woke up early and set out for a day of exploring in Arches.  It was a bit chilly and pretty cloudy, but luckily, we didn’t have to deal with any rain.

Getting warmed up with the first of many photoshoots throughout the day, lol

I figured out how to use the panorama feature on my phone- which then got used pretty much all weekend. Here you can see the La Sal Mountains to the south, and the window arches to the left.

Balanced Rock at Arches National Park. We took a short hike around this cool rock and the surrounding area.

I helped to hold up the Arches while I was there. (This is the North Window, I believe)

Hunky Hubs in front of the Turret Arch

Panorama of the windows

This is Hunky Hubs’ reenaction of the movie 127 Hours (he is a goofball). I think that 127 Hours is based in Canyonlands, but close enough. 🙂

Hunky Hubs in the South Window

This picture was taken on the Delicate Arch hike. I’m glad we didn’t know what to expect going into that one. Basically it was a mile of steep incline up and then a mile of steep incline down. Honestly though, it was nothing compared to our CO hikes. This picture shows a cairn (pile of rocks) that shows you where to go. It also shows how far we had climbed. That flat area down there? Yeah, that is where we started…

Looking back over the area we had just scaled

Happy to be at the top of the steepest part of the hike

We made it!! This is the Delicate Arch. It was definitely worth the hike. The wind was INSANE up here so we didn’t stay for long. Sidenote: this is the background on the Utah license plate!

Delicate Arch

Standing on a ledge just around the corner from Delicate Arch

And then I scaled this wall with my gloved hands…. (okay, just kidding but I do like to pretend that I’m that awesome)

All in all, it was a lot of fun and quite amazing to see these beautiful natural wonders.  To be continued…

Two Months Into My 30th Year: An Update and Review

Fishing on a sunny winter day in Fort Collins!

January 15- February 15 has been a challenge for me, as I embarked on the second month of being 30.  Some challenges were expected, such as the goals I’ve set for myself this year, and some challenges came out of the woodwork to test my mettle.  All in all, I would say that my month personally has been about like the weather around here.  Some days are beautiful and sunny, like today, and some days have barely exceeded 0 degrees and been cold and bone chilling.  Okay, that sounds a little dramatic, so I’ll just sum it up to say that I’m going through some stuff and that I know God will see me through the other side.  I am encouraged that my faith has been a great source of strength and that my husband is a wonderful support.  Now that I’ve been mysterious for an entire paragraph, let’s just move on to the happenings of this past month.

I’ll start with yesterday’s lovely celebration- the birthday of Hunky Hubs!!  He is now halfway to 70, as he likes to remind me, and still as hunky as ever.

Hunky Hubs’ birthday celebration- just the two of us at home and two pies (chicken pot pie and cranberry apple pie)

Isn’t he so handsome? This is AFTER our birthday workout, which we wisely accomplished before digging into the pie.

We also had a lovely Valentine’s Day this past weekend.  We decided to celebrate at home with grilled steaks, baked potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts, and a bottle of wine.  Those lovely flowers in HH’s bday pictures are actually the ones he got me for V-day. He is a keeper!

The weather here has been up and down, as I alluded to earlier.  We had an entire week of sub-freezing temperatures that kept me out of working very much (my job involves traveling and spending some time outdoors, so in 0 degree temps and icy roads, I’m not working).  It also kept me from getting outside to do much walking.  Luckily, last week we started to break the freeze, and I was able to get back outside for my daily walks.

People are ice fishing at the city park. Yep, it’s that cold….and I took this while on a walk around the park while braving the cold.

Luckily, for those days and nights where we needed to bundle up inside the house, I had the 30 Day Shred dvd to keep me on track.  Lo and behold, I got Hunky Hubs to join me one weekend and he got hooked!  So now we are both on Day 17 of our Shred.  It has been nice to have the accountability and company with the workout, and we are both showing great results.  Also, the 30 Day Shred is one of my 30 goals, so it will be marked off the list by the end of the month!  Woohoo!  For more details on the 30 Day Shred you can check out my posts here and here.

Another goal is also coming to fruition this month, and I am so excited- Hunky Hubs and I are going hiking at Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park!  We are planning a 4 day trip for the end of the month, when we will head out to Utah and do some exploring.  I am hoping for sunshine and nice weather during our time there, and I am especially looking forward to soaking in the beautiful sites and completing some great hikes.  Stay tuned for a detailed post upon our return.

There are some goals on my list that I am struggling to keep on track.  For example, reading 30 books.  I am a habitual book starter/never finisher.  Lol.  I lose interest quickly.  I actually have about 10 books checked out of the library right now and they are all over- in my purse and work bag and by my bed, in the bathroom, on my coffee table, in the kitchen.  You get the idea.  Occasionally I will pick one up and thumb through it…but I just can’t get motivated to finish one of them.  Hopefully I will have a change of heart soon.

I’ve also had some phone challenges this month (hello, Virgin Mobile and horrible service) that literally kept me off the phone and not texting for about a month straight.  Those problems are now resolved, thank goodness, so no excuse there any longer.

I reached a milestone at Weight Watchers last week- 16 weeks of consecutive attendance!  I am proud of myself for sticking with it even when my progress has been slow.  I am proud that I maintained over the holidays and that I am now on a downward slope with my weight.

My WW keyring with my new 16 week charm (clapping hands) on it.

If you would like more detail on my efforts to accomplish the 30 goals, you can check out the goals page where I have added snippets of my progress under some of them.

I will leave you with some pictures from last weekend when Hunky Hubs and I enjoyed some fishing.  We didn’t catch anything but it was nice to get out in the sunshine and give it a shot.  This is right smack in the middle of town too.  Did I mention lately that I love living in Colorado?  We have around 30 something “natural areas” in town where you can hike, fish, whatever you want to do.  It is pretty awesome.

My wild man.

Trying to look like I know what I am doing…

Hiking Adventures: Greyrock Trail

Have you ever bitten off more than you can chew? Taken on a big challenge? Well, before Hunky Hubs and I set out last weekend, we knew that this hike was going to be a challenge, but we figured we would give it a shot. We survived. Honestly, I am still a little sore and it has almost been a week. Despite it all, I am glad that we took on the hike! It was beautiful and gave me more motivation and wisdom about our future hikes and training. With no further ado…Greyrock Trail is a popular Fort Collins hike. From our house to the trailhead is only about a 30 minute drive into the foothills. It is a 6-7 mile hike, depending on which route you take. Moderate to strenuous rating. The snow and ice weren’t too bad for this time of year since it is mostly a south facing trail, but there were some scary places with an icy path and a drop off on the other side. I only had one anxiety attack and Hunky Hubs literally had to talk me back into the trail after I opted to climb the mountain (off the trail) rather than walk 50 yards on a sheet of ice. All in all, we survived and I’m excited to come back and so the hike again in the spring when the snow is mostly gone and we are in better shape.

Now, on to the pics!

We are excited to set out on the trail!

Ready to go!

We took a little break here. There was a lovely bench and it seemed like a pretty place to catch our breath.

Trekking up a nice incline. This is about an hour into the hike, all smiles still!

White scrambling up the mountainside to avoid the icy path, I scraped up my hand.

The injury, lol.

From the top of one of many passes. Every time we would get to the top of a pass, I would think we were close to our destination, but alas, more hills/mountains to climb!

Finally!! Our first view of Greyrock, our destination.

Hunky Hubs at the fork in the trail. We had a picnic here and then set back out on the trail.

HH decided to scramble up some boulders while we were stopped for lunch. This is the minature version of Greyrock, which we decided not to summit since we were running low on time and energy.

That’s me with Greyrock in the background!

The Hunk and the Greyrock

Looking over into the beautiful meadow. We crossed through this meadow before climbing back up and over a million passes

Looking out across the mountains. Beautiful views and you can see for miles and miles!

At this point, I am exhausted! This is about 4 hours into our hike.

Heading down a steep hillside (for what seemed like hours!)

A closer look at the rocky path

After 6.5 hours, we made it back to the trailhead!!! Yay!

The final crossing to return to the car, over the Cache la Poudre river.

Crossing the bridge to our final destination for the day. We were so excited that we made it.

Hiking Adventures: Gem Lake Trail

From halfway up the trail

Coming off of our hiker’s high from Saturday’s great hike at Lory State Park, we spontaneously decided on Sunday to go on another adventure.  After swapping out Hunky Hubs’ hiking shoes (pair #1 didn’t work), we picked up some trekking poles and headed up to Estes Park.  The weather was beautiful again, in the 40’s and 50’s.  We found a highly recommended hike online at Gem Lake Trail so we decided to give it a go!

The hike started at about 7500 feet and ended at about 8500 feet, and it was about 3.2 miles roundtrip.  We headed out in the ice and snow, really happy to have the trekking poles to get around and provide stability on the icy incline.  We also noticed that about half of the other people on the trail were also using trekking poles.  It was a beautiful hike with breathtaking views of the Rocky Mountains and Estes Park.  We didn’t make it all the way to the lake. The sun started to set and I really didn’t want to come down the icy tall in the dark, so we cut our trip a bit short.  Now I can’t wait to go back and finish the trek.  Here are some pictures which say more than I can with words…

The last pictures are actually from the parking lot, looking back up at the rocks and hills we climbed.

Hiking Adventures: Lory State Park

Over the past few months, and definitely over the past few weeks, I have been bitten by the hiking/camping/outdoor adventure bug.  Luckily, Hunky Hubs got bit too.  Living in Colorado will do that to you.  I mean, you wake up every day to face the beautiful mountains and plentiful sunshine.  What’s not to love?

On Saturday, Hunky Hubs and I set out for our local REI.  He had been insisting for the while that we go and find me some hiking boots but I have been slow to jump on board.  We tried on lots of shoes and finally found a pair each that we liked.  With my oversized feet, I ended up with a pair of men’s North Face shoes that are uber comfortable. 

We decided to put our shoes to the test, so after a quick lunch, Hunky Hubs and I made a short drive to Lory State Park, located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.  Saturday was beautiful, with temps in the upper 50’s and lots of sunshine.  We were excited to try the Arthur’s Rock trail, which involves a little incline and some great views (at least that it’s what our guidebook said).  We headed out onto the trail, made it about 100 yards, and then discovered that the shadowed trail was pretty much a sheet of ice.  I told Hunky Hubs that there was no way I was going to be walking 3 miles on a sheet of ice and that we better find another trail, and quick.  Luckily, we were near the fork with a lower trail, the West Valley trail, so we headed out on it instead.

Hunky Hubs in his new hiking gear

Mandatory pre-hike selfie

Hiking up the West Valley

Some cacti in the snow. I was surprised to find lots of cacti on our hike. Part of the arid Colorado terrain.

After a little over a mile, we decided to loop back to the Jeep on the East Valley trail.  All in all, we hiked about 2.5 miles and had a lot of fun.  I noted that there were several more trails at Lory that I would love to explore sometime.  At just 20 minutes from home, I bet we will make frequent trips to Lory in our future.

On the East Valley trail

When we got home, I needed to stretch out my muscles, so I talked Hunky Hubs into joining me for some yoga.  Yes, he is a good sport.  Yes, it was kinda hilarious because he is not very flexible.

Hunky Hubs in his favorite yoga position

Recovering with some yin yoga

Stay tuned for our next adventure!

One Month Into My 30th Year: An Update and Review

Today marks the start of my 361st month of life! It is also the one month mark from when I launched into my 30 dreams, so I thought I would check in on my progress. I have to be honest with you all and say that this blog has been really positive in my journey over the past month. It has given me direction and kept me accountable to stick with my dreams. There have been days when I felt discouraged, but not many, and for the most part, I am very optimistic and encouraged by what has transpired in the last month.PATIENCE seems to be a real theme in my life right now. I think God is definitely growing me in that area of my life, and I am more conscious of my lack of patience as I go about day to day life. Some days, like yesterday, I feel impatient with my goals. Like, why can’t I step on the scale and already have reached my goal? Or why are these 4 miles feeling more like 30 miles on my body? Or why don’t Hunky Hubs and I just go ahead and dive into starting a family? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding “Just be patient”. Life consists of the journey, not just the reward/goal. We grow when we take the whole journey- including both the great days and the “growth” days.

So speaking of a 4 mile journey: I went for a walk in the cold yesterday.

My life saving balaclava. Yes, I look like a ninja or like I have switched religions, but I don’t really care what anybody thinks when it is cold outside!

I decided to not let the weather hold me back if it isn’t terrible outside (like under 20 degrees or if there’s a blizzard) and I’m geared up for lots of walking and running over the next several months.  More on that later. 🙂

I feel like I made a lot of progress towards my goals over the past month.  I’ve added a page on my site (click here) where I listed my 30 dreams and then I will update with my progress every month or so.  The highlights over this past month included our weekend getaway down to the Denver area (see posts here and here), reading 2 books (see my book reviews for details), and making it through Simple Start with WW (completed yesterday).  I also got halfway through my yoga challenge, and that is still going strong!

Yoga has gotten a lot better since I started 15 days ago.  At first, it was not all that fun.  I’ll be honest.  I don’t think nearly throwing up after every session is super fun.  However, after trying a few variations and getting my body back into its’ yoga “groove”, I am starting to really enjoy it now.  I especially love my yoga sessions at home with DailyBurn.  Brionhy Smyth, the yoga instructor for DB, is a great teacher and somehow makes yoga juicy and smooth like butter.  Okay, I know that sounds kinda weird, but “juicy” and “smooth like butter” are good when it comes to your yoga flow.  I feel relaxed and refreshed after my yoga sessions this week and that makes me happy.  It also is great incentive for sticking with yoga after this 30 day challenge ends!

A shot of my yoga session from last night. It was amazing!

My home studio (lol), complete with couch cushions for props!

My completion of Simple Start with Weight Watchers is a bit anticlimactic because I have decided to stay with the Simply Filling way of eating (which is basically the same as Simple Start but with a bit more freedom) indefinitely.  I feel fantastic after two weeks of eating clean and not worrying about counting points.  The scale is happy too.  My home scales show me down a few pounds over the two weeks of Simple Start, and hopefully I will have a positive update from the “official” scale reading at my meeting soon too.  The biggest change I have noticed is in my energy level and in my long-term outlook.  My energy is higher than it has been in a while, and I feel genuinely healthy.  My long-term outlook is also really positive, in light of eating this way.  I feel like this is a way of eating that I could maintain throughout the rest of my life.  It does not feel like a diet; it just feels right.  That makes me happy!

So what’s next?  Looking forward to the next month, I will definitely be wrapping up my yoga challenge.  I am also planning to start Couch to 5k training in anticipation of the 5k that Hunky Hubs and I signed up for in May!  I am also considering throwing in the 30 Day Shred to prepare myself for strength training at the gym starting in March.  Hunky Hubs and I are setting some goals and working toward a spring and summer filled with hiking and camping, so we are doing lots of research on how best to prepare ourselves for the physical challenges ahead.  I am really excited to explore and to have adventures in our beautiful new home state of Colorado.  Perhaps I will write another blog with more detail on the hiking/camping deal later!

Thanks to you all, my readers, for your support and encouragement throughout this first month!  I hope I can encourage and inspire you as you reach for your own goals and dreams.

Starting my training on the flat trail before we try to conquer those hills and mountains in the background!