Grand Canyon - Rim to Rim

Saturday morning we woke up really early and packed up our overnight bags and jumped back in the van to head over to the North Rim trail head. We officially began hiking at 5:21am! It was pitch black and freezing cold! The freezing cold didn't last long and our day adventure through the canyon was off to a great start!

The Grand Canyon is full of remarkable things you never expect to see down there! It holds aspen-wooded forests, 6+foot tall grasses, tall waterfalls, metallic rocks, beach-like sand, clear-water creeks, cactus-filled deserts, chocolate-milk-like rivers, towering canyon walls, and on and on!

We saw the most amazing things and pictures don't even do it justice! No matter how many corners you turned, a new terrain was there to await you!

Until the last 4.6 miles... then no matter how many corners you turned, another switchback awaited you! I never thought the last few miles would end!!!!!

My dad and I finished together coming in at 24.5 miles in 9 hours and 53 minutes!! It was so rewarding to then look out at the canyon knowing I just walked all the way across it! It is by far the most challenging thing I have ever done!! I did indeed demonstrate a very wonderful version of what they call the "Grand Canyon Shuffle" while at church yesterday! I think it took me three or four tries to bend over and pick up my purse from off the ground. I am not sure if my quads or hip flexers will ever recover and I surely don't want to even think about gatorade or beef jerky ever again!! BUT, it is one of the most fun things I have ever done! And I am so glad I was able to do it with my dad!

Grand Canyon - North Rim

On Friday, Cami and I snuck out of class early to jump in a 15 passenger van with my dad and family friends from the valley as we all headed up to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. I had never been to the north rim until this trip. It was so beautiful and secluded (unlike the south rim) and unlike what you typically expect of the Grand Canyon.

(here is our crew... or most of us!)

The Lodge (rebuilt in 1937 after a fire) was breathtaking! It is housed on the actual rim and has rows and rows of chairs and couches overlooking the Grand Canyon. The starry sky that night was the most incredible I've ever seen and the milky way was impossible to miss! After staring into the sky at all the stars, it was easy to imagine how close heaven is!

(The Lodge behind us!)

We went to dinner at the Lodge as the sun set at the canyon and then watched a live musician play his personally, hand-crafted guitar. It was so fun and quite relaxing!

In order to stock up on as much energy as we possibly could, we headed to bed as early as possible! We stayed in one of the 100 quaint little cabins that were built in the 1930's. They were so simple and small; yet so wonderful well-kept!

And this contraption below was in the shower!! - I am finding myself one of these for my kids bathroom (ya know... once I have some of those!). Isn't that just the coolest thing?!?

Pumphouse Wash

Yes, it is another hiking post!

Last weekend's adventure consisted of...

Slot Canyons at Pumphouse Wash

What can I say?!? We only have so many good weekends left!

And we have WAY too many good hikes to fit in!

Did I mention that I still haven't done Humphrey's OR Mt. Elden?!?

We do take the greatest jumping pictures if I do say so myself!

Peanut Butter Sandwiches

In 8th grade, I ate a bagel and cream cheese, an entire tray of french fries, a huge chocolate shake, and always finished it off with a bag of sugar babies for lunch every single day.

In 9th grade, I accepted the truth that I was in need of a healthier lunch and started taking a peanut butter and honey sandwich to school every day.

I have eaten that for lunch nearly every school day since.

Eight years later, I am quite disgusted by peanut butter and honey sandwiches, but I am poor as ever and STILL packing lunch for school daily.

No fears thought, I have rediscovered JAM!

Peanut Butter and Jam is SO delicious!!

It looks like I will survive my last year of school lunches after all!

Oak Creek Canyon

On Labor day...

(p.s. my dad happens to be the best person I can ever imagine to celebrate this holiday! He is the hardest worker I know!)

...we planned a quick last-minute trip down to Oak Creek Canyon.

Us four girls jumped in the car and belted out the song, Take a Back Road by Rodney Atkins...

"so sick and tired of this interstate system

I need a curve and wind and twistin'

Down a dusty path to nowhere...

Yeah, it makes me wanna take a back road

Makes me wanna take the long way home

Put a little gravel in my travel

Unwind unravel all day long..."

We sure did "tear down some two-lane country" and pulled over at a random spot and hiked down to the creek and played in it for hours.

It was so beautiful and so relaxing!!!

There really is something about driving down a winding two-lane road lined with God's creations with the fresh air blowing through your hair that can make any bad day good and any good day even better!

I thank Heavenly Father time and time again for allowing me to live in such an incredible place!

Sprint Triathlon

Cami and I decided to cross off yet another bucket-list item this year!

We signed up for the triathlon many months ago

but...

the 3 weeks leading up to the race were not filled with as much training as they should've been!

So...

We loaded up my Target bike and drove down to Anthem Friday night to meet our friend, Jaime

for a yummy Italian carb-load, European chocolate, and a few "Say Yes to the Dress" episodes before we finally fell asleep at the hotel.

5am came quite early and we were quite nervous going into it.

But the race began and it was SO much fun!!

My ultimate goal was 1:30:00.

I got 1:29:17!!

And 3rd place in my age group!!

(There were only 6 total)

I am addicted.

Olympic distance now?!

As soon as I can afford a real road bike...

Walleyball Champs

My roommate, our neighbor, and I went down to the newly opened recreational center on campus (boy is it a beauty... as it should be! It only costs us $200/semester). We heard there was a walleyball tournament and we decided to play in it.

Walleyball: (sport) similar to volleyball but in a racquetball court played

with 2-4 players per team.

Once we got there, I was starting to wonder if we were making a poor choice that involved humiliation as many of the teams seemed "hardcore." Regardless, we swallowed our pride and decided to just have fun with it!

To our pleasant surprise, we WON!!

Yeah, we even won shirts for it! It was a blast and it made me realize how much I miss playing!! I think it's time I start playing more often again!