Sir Campsalot

I have been wanting to go camping for a while (I’ve been craving a solid dose of nature lately) so last Friday, my birthday, I convinced Bradford to come with me and away we went.

Bradford called his dad to get an idea for a good, not-too-far-away, cheap (ie-free), campsite. After their conversation, we settled on West Desert.

The drive was lovely and after exploring a few options we finally settled in to our chosen campsite. We were really glad that it was so remote. Even with all the motorists enjoying the hills, our site was quiet and undisturbed.

We brought hotdogs to roast over the fire for dinner, chips and salsa, makings for s’mores, popcorn, and bagels for breakfast (though we ended up eating s’mores and hotdogs again in the morning, too. Yum!). 

We talked, played some cards, ate a bunch of food, and enjoyed being outside. It was a lot of relaxing fun. I don’t think Bradford will want to play Go Fish or Slap Jack with me any time too soon though, I beat him just about every game. I’m just too good at games that depend on random luck, apparently.

One of the many things I like about Bradford is that he too likes to camp. He also enjoys minimalist camping. Especially just for overnight camping jaunts, I hate packing a ton of stuff and hauling a bunch of things we may/may not use. I love that he likes to keep it simple. We sat on rocks, used the cardboard box that carried our firewood as a table, and roasted our hotdogs and marshmallows on sticks we found in the wild (which proved to be a bit of a challenge- not too many real trees out there in the desert).

We initially planned to just sleep outside in the wide open, me in my sleeping bag and him in/on a bunch of blankets (though his sleeping arrangements were more lack of planning than pure minimalism). Our campsite, however, had a lot of “burrow” looking holes around it and I was soon convinced that I would wake up with a snake snuggled next to my face. Luckily for my face, I have a tent that I always keep in my car (thanks to very limited closet space in my apartment, my car has become an extra storage facility), so we set it up and slept in that instead. Good thing, too. We heard more than one critter scuttling around during the night. We even tried to catch a glimpse of a few by shining our flashlight through the mesh tent window which, in actuality, probably just scared them off.

I love camping and hope to do a lot more of it this summer.

 

Mother Earth is my Home Girl

I was driving to work this morning and I remembered: I LOVE outside.

It was a beautiful morning, warm, sunny, everything was green and glowing from the early sun. I loved it. Being outside (especially in the summer time) is like medicine for my psyche. I love it. It makes me want to quit my job, pack up Charlie, and go play in a field all day.

A few Sundays ago Bradford and I drove up Butterfield Canyon. He had run up it the previous day with his brother and thought it was a really pretty area and wanted to take me up to see it too. It was a beautiful drive. And I am so glad that Bradford didn’t expect me to run up it also.

At the top of the mountain you can over look a few of the counties as well as get a pretty neat view inside the Bingham Copper Mine.

 

There is a little bit of a hippie in me. It surfaces in a few areas of my life and being outside is definitely one of those. I very much believe that there is a connection between nature and our souls. Maybe it’s the trace amount of American Indian in my blood?

It probably has something (or everything) to do with sensing the majesty of all the beauty around me, in the trees, the sky, the landscapes… it makes me feel like I must be pretty amazing too, seeing how I was created by the same hands that made all this. Not often enough do I remember that.

Whirly Twirly

This past Friday, Bradford and I went to the Orem city carnival with our friends, Justin and Heather. The city park (the very park where Bradford and I had our first date over 5 1/2 years ago) was transformed with food vendors, booths selling their many wares, mini-concerts, and temporary carnival rides. All the things you’d expect to find at a carnival (though no clowns sighted, thank the lovely heavens).

After chowing down on some delicious roasted corn on the cob, teriyaki chicken, burgers, navajo tacos, and funnel cake, we decided to take our newly full tummies on some of the rides. In hindsight, that could have been disastrous. And very unpleasant. Luckily for us, and everyone else, we kept dinner down. (Sidenote- does anyone else get a teensy bit nervous about hopping onto a collapsible, transportable, ride that flips and spins every which way?)

First up was the ferris wheel. I had never been on a ferris wheel and I must say it was an enjoyable experience. Even despite the fact that Bradford thought it was fun to tip the car and nearly dump us out. Though it was mostly only scary because I was trying to also take pictures, meaning I didn’t have free hands to hold on to anything. Once I stowed the camera away (realizing he most likely wouldn’t stop) it was more exhilarating than terrifying. However, I found that my trust in him to not kill me has slightly diminished after that experience.

 

After that, the three of us watched and waited as Justin took a turn on the swings.

Next, we headed over to the Zipper. Apparently this was the ride to ride because everyone and their grandpa was in this line. Maybe not grandpas actually, since I think we were some of the oldest people in line... I guess city carnivals make a good Friday night hangout for the local middle/high schoolers.

After about an hour of waiting, with very little hope of the line getting any smaller any time soon (plus we thought everything was going to shut down before we could get on it anyway), we hopped over to the ride next to us that had no line at all and rode that instead. The Gravitron it was. You know those things that you stand against the wall and it spins really fast and you can’t move because the centrifugal force is keeping you in place? I was surprised at everyone turning themselves upside down and every which way on the wall, I could barely move my arms let alone my entire self. Also, Heather, being a responsible future mother, sat out for that ride. Sorry we abandoned you Heather, next time you’ll be right there with us!

      

Thanks Justin and Heather for a fun night!

P.S. Saturday night we had a Birthday party. For me. It was 1920s themed. I don’t have any pictures yet, but stay tuned!

At Long Last

Alright, I couldn't quite last a whole year before another post. At least I tried! (That sounds so much better than, "Whoops, its been almost a year and I still haven't posted a thing!"...)

On to the important matters- I've been missing the old blog and need to spend some more time here I think. I feel that documenting the small happenings in my life will help me feel less mundane and boring. So hopefully there will be more to see 'round these parts more regularly.

Also, a not-so-mundane-nor-boring-matter, I went to Italy for two weeks last month. Bliss, I tell you. Soon enough I will bombard you with all the delicious details.

Until then, here's a small sampling from the trip to tide you over:

The Living is Easy

Ooo Yum I say to myself, driving down the road, with my windows rolled down, sunglasses on, and Billy Joel jamming away on the radio. Lemonade!

There is something refreshingly idyllic about a jauntily set up lemonade stand set on the corner of a residential street on a warm summer(ish) day. Add a scraggly, handwritten Lemonade 50¢ sign, held by a juice stained 8 year old boy, and I am sold.

Kool-aid never tasted so good.