Spring Break Part Deux

Spring of 2013 was a tick frustrating. I spent more money than I'd like to admit on getting nowhere in resolving the pain in my knee and got sent off with a sprained MCL diagnosis. Oh well. Spring break was still all kinds of fun. And it was very effective preparation for upcoming adventures.

Ella came to town for a Utah spring break. She is very patient. I was glad she and Julia had the beauty of Utah to keep them distracted from the ridiculous decisions I was imposing on them throughout the trip. Thankfully they are both athletes who are familiar with the frustration of being unable to get after it.

True to form, Julia and I convinced our guest that the best use of time would be to go to see Zion NP. After that we planned to head to Moab and hang out in Arches NP and Canyonlands NP. We headed down for three days in Zion and started with a hike up Angel's Landing, again.

Ella is more confident in the chains than Julia.

This time it was particularly interesting. At about the same time Julia and I both noticed a familiar face coming down from the top. Julia started squeaking with excitement and told me to get ready with the camera. He was very polite. Watch this to see why Julia started squeaking.

Hello best climber in the world. I don't believe
that is hyperbole.

Still good views up there. We'd happily give you a tour of
Angel's Landing if you come to visit.

Dismount.

Ella just said, "Julia don't fart." And Julia had just farted.

The next day I decided to spin up and down Zion Canyon a few times on the road bike while Julia and Ella headed out for a hike. They had a good time, of course.

Still looks good up there, too.

While biking I looked up towards Angel's Landing and noticed some climbers. I stopped to watch and notice there were two near the bottom that were going really fast. Really fast. Also a guy had repelled down a few hundred feet to take pictures of them as they blew by. Eventually I realized I was watching one of the best climbers in the world climb with another of the best climbers in the world. When Julia and Ella got back we found them on another 1,000-something ft route going really fast. Turns out we watch part of an extraordinary day and Honnold had an extraordinary week.

Yeti in Zion Canyon.

The next day we decided to invest in some gear to walk up the Narrows for a while. It was worth it.

Whoa. This is beautiful.

"Hey wife! Take a picture of this cool part. Make me look cool."

A friendly shutterbug/hiker was pleased to take our picture.

We got to see this sort of thing for about 4 hours.

Tall and narrow. Guess why it's called the Narrows.

Nice work ladies. Thanks for the tour.

That night we headed east towards Moab. The next day we settled into a wonderful campsite along the Colorado River. The girls went for a run on Porcupine Ridge and I packrafted down the Colorado for a couple of hours. In the evening they had the wonderful idea of heading to Delicate (Landscape) Arch to watch the sun go down and look at stars. This was a great use of time.

This looks like a good place to peel carrots and cook dinner.

This is very good way to see Arches.

The next day we checked out Canyonlands and headed home for the first shower in a while.

Green River Overlook.

Visit UT and give us an excuse to take you here.

Good use of vacation.