Help Save The Flies

This post is for Bade who thought that I would just make a mockery of him on my blog for him trimming the tree near his deck so that he wouldn’t get his $1 flies caught in it anymore. This is me proving that I would never do that!

Memorial Day Festivities

Taking care of snakes in the yard.

Fishing the Provo River in Midway.

I do have to give one quick shout out to A&W for making rootbeer soft serve ice cream.  It’s so good, I dare you to just eat one.

Black Hole of White Canyon

This weekend my brother, his friends, Bade and I all went down to Southern Utah. We camped near Goblin Valley State Park at the base of Temple Mountain.  Saturday we drove past Hanksville by 50 miles, close to Hite at mile marker 56 to hike the Black Hole of White Canyon.  Approach: Start by parking one car near mile marker 54 (you will see a dirt parking lot area), then drive your other car to mile marker 56 (again, there is a dirt parking lot area) to begin the hike.  This hike is marked with cairns so you should be able to find your way down.  Right off the bat you down climb into White Canyon.  Don’t put your wetsuit on until you need it (I made this mistake :) ) because you have about 30 minutes of hot hiking before getting into the canyon, and then another bit of regular canyon hiking until you get to the water portion.

Personal Gear: wetsuit, hiking shoes, dry clothes, water.Hike Time: Total hike time was around 5 hours; 30 minute approach to the canyon, 3.5 hours in the canyon both walking and swimming, and around 1 hour to hike out.

The Black Hole of White Canyon was a really cool canyoneering hike.  For a large majority of the time you were in water that required you swim through.  I wanted to take lots of pictures so Bade pulled me through most of the water portions.  My favorite thing about this canyon that you can’t tell just by looking at pictures is that the entire canyon is gorgeous.  You don’t have like 3 places you want to take pictures; every step has a picturesque view of a slot canyon.

Mountain Living Perk Strawberry Peak

Bade’s house is in the mountains, which means that he can ride dirt bikes more frequently with less prep work.  We took a ride this evening to the top of Strawberry Peak where we could see down to Strawberry, Deer Creek, and even the Daniel Summit Lodge.

Not-So-Easy Slack Lining

Bade and I tried slack lining today.  It’s easy to get up, easy to stand if you are barely touching the tree branch, then the second you let go of the tree, your feet start shaking like crazy! After you fall off you think “next time I got this” but that’s not really the case.  We tried it a few times and got better each time by a tiny increment.  It was fun to try; it was my first time. The key is apparently to focus your gaze on a spot in front of you on your horizon; I wasn’t very good at that :-/.

I Love Project Weekends

This weekend Bade and I made pillow covers for the pillows on his couch, started yard work such as checking and fixing his sprinklers, mowing his lawn, and digging a new flower bed. Bade has great soil around his house, so it was nice to dig in, other than that fact that this is Utah, so there are rocks everywhere!

We also started the second bathroom floor.  Bade had to lay mortar, hardy-board, more mortar, then the slate tile. All I did was help pick out the tile to use. I’m excited to finish this bathroom with a tiled shower, new vanity and toilet, and fresh paint.

DIY Pillow Covers

Simple no-closure pillow covers in just a few easy steps. These steps are to make covers for 20″ pillows. Start by getting a yard (or 20 inches) of fabric that’s around or more than 44 inches wide.  Cut the fabric to 20 inches wide.  If your fabric is around 44 inches across, then you don’t need to trim.  If it is much more than that, trim a few inches off the end to be down to around 44 inches.

Next, hem the two short, 20 inch ends so that they have nice finished edges and won’t fray.
After your 2 short ends have been hemmed, you can fold the fabric down and iron the fabric to prep for your final stitches. lay the fabric right side up, and fold one side up 10.5-11 inches. Iron that fold. Then fold the other side down so that the fabric makes a 20×20 inch square. Iron all sides, then sew a 1/2 inch seam around the entire square.

Last, turn the pillow right side out through the slit in the overlapping back side, and insert a 20×20 inch pillow.  I used the 20×20 inch pillows from IKEA.

Remembering Our Mothers

This weekend was not only Mother’s Day, but also my mother’s birthday, so I wanted to give a shout out to my mother. My mom has always been the most caring and selfless person that I know. It’s not just a saying that she would give the shirt off her back to anyone, she regularly does give all that she has to others.  My mom keeps peace in our family, worries about her children, watches over her grandchild, volunteers for others, and always makes those around her feel loved. She deserves to have a great weekend! Happy birthday and Happy Mother’s Day Mom!

 

Breeze Through Arches National Park

Bade and I were down in Moab, and had 4 hours of free time so we decided to breeze through Arches National Park to see a couple of the main arches.  I love Arches (I’m a Utahn, it’s in my blood to love Arches), but Bade hadn’t been to Arches National Park since he was a boy.

Bade and I started with the famous Delicate Arch. The round trip hike is just over 3 miles.  It took us an hour and a half from start, to photos, to finish.

Next we strolled to Landscape Arch.  This is the second largest arch in the world.  It’s the largest arch in the world if you don’t count the natural bridge in Asia. It is a mile and a half round trip to Landscape arch, and well worth the mild walk. Bade was going photo crazy on this walk because there are so many red rock formations to see along the way, and if you go when the sun is setting (like we were), all the red rock is amplified and absolutely gorgeous.

The last arch we did was Sand Dune Arch which is about 1/2 mile round trip.  This little hidden arch is a perfect place for lunch because it is pretty, shaded, and it’s fun to play in the soft sand.  We happened to get there around sunset so we didn’t play in the sand much :(.

After these three arches, we drove over to the Window Arches.  Those arches are always fun to see because there are so many in such a small area.  You can see many of them from your car so we just drove through.

Morning Glory Arch Rappel

This weekend we did Medieval Canyon and ended by rappelling off Morning Glory Arch.  We took two cars; the car at the bottom was parked at Negro Bill Canyon, and the car at the top was parked in a dirt parking lot, about 1 mile past the Slickrock bike trail parking lot.  (The dirt parking lot has a big cell tower next to it.) The hike from the start to the first rappel in Medieval Canyon is about 1 mile. The Medieval Canyon rappel is just over 90 feet.

To rappel of Morning Glory arch, we used a 60m rope and it was barely long enough. There are no anchors if you are doing the simultaneous rappel, you just use your partner as your counter balance.  Bade and I were the brave ones who went first.  It was a really cool experience knowing that you are rappelling with no anchors, just a person on the other side.

Solid, Productive, Fun Day

Today had everything.  Bade and I ran errands in the morning.  Lowe’s for Bade’s brother and for a project for my brother and mom. Auto Zone, again for Bade’s brother. Harmons to get food for dinner. My parents house to borrow some large cooking pots, and to start the marinade for dinner. Another grocery store to get snow cones, ice cream, Popsicles and other cold groceries. Bade’s brothers to drop off the things we picked up.  Smash Burger to meet up with my family for lunch. Bade’s brothers again to get some tools (that his brother was using the first time we were there) and our cold groceries we stored in his fridge.  Finally ending at Bade’s house.

Once at Bade’s, we began house projects. Bade painted the last bedroom closet (there are 5 bedroom closets).  I cleaned and moved his stuff (bed, clothing, dresser, etc) into the newly finished master bedroom. Bade fished (didn’t catch anything).  We made a cake for after dinner dessert. Around 5:30 Bade’s family began showing up.

With a group of 9 adults and 6 kids under the age of 6, we went on a dirt bike ride up the squaw peak road (from the non-typical, back side). The dirt road was nice, with a small amount of loose rocks, and a few patches still covered with slushy snow. The top of the road presented us with a near 300 degree view. The sun was getting ready to set, and the air was clear. The only down side… it was FREEZING at the top since there was no cover from the wind.

Bade, his niece and I road home quickly to start dinner for everyone.  We had herb chicken, home-made mashed potatoes (common for my family but uncommon for Bade’s) with grilled peppers and squash on the side, finishing up with pistachio cake for dessert. Everyone loved it!

Today was a very well-balanced productive and fun Saturday!

Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival

This year was my first year ever going to the tulip festival at Thanksgiving Point. Bade and I had a really good time seeing the flowers, tricking the fish, and just moseying through the gardens.  The waterfall garden was by far our favorite. Although, the crazy big sucking koi fish were pretty fun too.

Day’s Highlight… Fishing?

I am still recovering from being sick for the last two weeks, but I had a few new symptoms pop up, and I am so sore from working out lately that it is hard for me to stand up straight.  After a long day of work we went to Bade’s house to do more work.  After a 3 hour ordeal of trying to get a new router installed (second night working on this) so that I have internet for work, trying to stay warm because it was so cold, and being really frustrated at the situation, I am finally able to work…even though now I should be getting ready for bed. I went to bed much later than I anticipated/hoped, and with much less work done than I had anticipated/hoped. I got a few hours of sleep in, before getting an emergency phone call that kept Bade up the rest of the night, and me up for some of the rest of the night.

Sick, sore, frustrated, behind, and now sleep deprived, I am looking back at the day’s events.  Could fishing off the back deck really have been the highlight of the entire day?  Bade caught the first fish within 30 seconds.  I then requested that he catch a smaller fish. He caught a really tiny fish a few minutes later.