Time to Catch Up! (Part One)

Wow! It is definitely time for me to write a new blog. This has been a very busy last couple months and I have quite a bit of catching up to do! So, here's the abbreviated version:

Payson:

It's a family tradition that we always go up to the cabin on the 4th of July. Part of this tradition was created to get out of the Phoenix and Tucson heat, and part of it was created to celebrate my grandmother's birthday on the 5th of July. My grandmother passed away when I was a freshman in college, so this trip has since become a way to honor her memory.

Grandma Kathy. I don't have any digital cabin pictures of her, so here's Christmas when I was in high school.

This was a fun trip. I brought Bill along and he and Grandpa totally bonded (which I knew they would). Every time I couldn't find Bill, I just looked for Grandpa. Here are some of the best pictures from the trip:

I just like to giggle at this one.

 Flowers on the front porch.

 The shoes :)

Grandpa always puts out birdseed in the morning.

A bridge across the stream that passes under the Tonto Natural Bridge.

 The Tonto Natural Bridge (it's much bigger than it looks).

 My Dad. With a Bill growing out of his head.

 The view from inside this cave near the bridge.

 Are you coming out?

 Some young blackberries still on the vine.

 What you can't tell in this picture is that there are about six hummingbird feeders hanging from the porch. All the hummingbirds in the neighborhood know about these feeders and fight over them. Bill and I even heard them bang beaks together once like swords. 

 At the Mogollon Rim with the shoes :)

A ponderosa pine that's been beaten by the wind over many years.

 A monsoon sunset from the Rim.

Bill trying to catch the perfect lightning picture. 

To see all of my Payson 4th of July pictures, click here.

Haboob:

When Bill and I got back home from the cabin, we experienced a huge haboob (dust storm):

This haboob was one of the largest that had been seen in some time and swept over the entire metropolitan area of Phoenix at once. To check out some crazy news footage of the haboob, click here. 

25th Birthday:

At the end of July I had my 25th birthday. I'm still mindblown about that one! My parents took my friends and I out for a gluttonous dinner at Bucca di Beppo. It was amazing. 

I'm deciding how many awesome carbs I plan to order.

The next day, Bill, Michael (my cousin), Devin (one of the guitar players in my band), and I packed up the leftovers and headed out to Vegas. This was quite an adventure since Bill was the only one who had spent any time in Las Vegas. Here are some highlights from that trip:

 The Hoover Dam from the new bridge.

 Right down the street from the dam is a park where big horned sheep like to graze.

 The awesome view from our hotel room.

 The fountains at the Belagio.

 The view from the bathroom.

 Hmmm I see mischief on those faces...

 The shark tank at Mandalay Bay.

 A zebrafish.

 What you see right before Jaws gets you!

 Le Butcherettes opening for Queens of the Stone Age at the Cosmopolitan. 

Queens of the Stone Age

 The night time view from our room.

 The shop from Pawn Stars...with a huge line outside.

 These really cool green rocks we found on the drive back.

 Bill :)

 The sunset.

 The shoes :)

 Michael, Devin, and Bill climbing around the green rocks.

 More sunset.

An ocotillo.

Check out the second part of this blog to hear about August and September!

Crazy Road Trip Summer 2011: Day 7

Waking up on day seven was painful. After driving back to our hotel, grabbing some fast food, and looking at all of our pictures the night before, we didn't get to sleep until around two in the morning. We woke up at six and went to breakfast at around seven. After making ourselves even more tired with a huge breakfast, we set out on the road toward Zion. We had planned to take the beautiful Tioga Pass in Yosemite and head by Mono Lake, but the pass was still closed from the high snowfall. Instead we took the long drive through the farmland and desert interior of southern California. We drove through Fresno, Bakersfield, Barstow, and next to the Mojave National Preserve. Fresno still felt like green California, but once we reached Bakersfield, we started to notice the change in climate. Barstow marked the beginning of Hell. From that point on it looked like we were basically in Death Valley (which we were right next to). It was extremely hot and windy and the air conditioning kept blowing luke warm air. On top of it, Bill and I were just trying to stay awake. Once we drove past the Mojave National Preserve, we finally hit Las Vegas.

This is a turn off on highway 15 next to the Mojave National Preserve. I didn't take any pictures on this part of the drive, but I remember seeing this!

We drove through Las Vegas for the second time on our trip and drove on the other side of the Yucca Flat nuclear testing site (the home of Area 51). It's really pretty large if you look at it on a map, which is a little scary. Look at how much of Nevada it takes up! It is 200 square miles in size! I talked to a guy when we were at Yosemite who said he had been to Area 51 when he served in the military. They transported the men there in vehicles without windows, kept them completely quarantined in the facility, and even assigned them to a specific toilet to keep security as tight as possible. Pretty amazing!

After driving past Yucca Flat, we drove through a small corner of Arizona and then into Utah. 

 A cool canyon that we drove through right after the corner of Arizona.

 The rocks had been through many geological processes and been pushed up through plate tectonics.

 After driving through a narrow slot canyon, the rocks opened up into the beautiful Virgin River Gorge.

Joshua Trees 

The first city we reached in Utah was St. George. It's a beautiful city that seems to have been carved right into the side of the red rock. After driving through a couple of small towns, we hit Springdale. Springdale is a small community outside of Zion that reminds me very much of Sedona. The entire town seems to revolve around Zion and the surrounding Red Rock. It has many artists and photographers along with outdoorsy people and nature lovers. It is also home to many bed and breakfasts. We stayed at one called the Harvest House. 

Bill and I had never stayed at a bed and breakfast, so this was a new adventure. We were greeted by the owner, Tom, who showed us our room. At this particular bed and breakfast, each bedroom had its own bathroom and a couple, including ours, had balconies looking out on the surrounding red rocks. Our particular room was called The Watchman and looked out onto a rock formation called The Watchman. 

 The Harvest House always has the "sorry" sign up because Tom doesn't take walk-ins.

The view from one side of the Harvest House.

After checking in we went to a Mexican fusion restaurant called the Whiptail Grill on Tom's recommendation. It's this unique restaurant that has been made out of an old gas station. It doesn't look like much, but it's amazing! 

The Whiptail Grill (taken the next morning while they were closed)

 The view from one direction...

 and the other.

 My chicken enchilada mmmmmmmmmmmmm.!!

 Bill's ribs which were awesome!!

Chocolate peanut butter habanero creme brulee. Need I say more?

After all that amazing food we were ready to pass out! We headed back to our bed and breakfast and went to bed. Check out tomorrow's blog to hear about our day in Zion!