March 27, 2026

Today started out so good. The birds were singing as I went on a pre-hike run. Just as I finished and got to our door my entertaining audiobook finished. Great timing! 

We hiked up around Pine Hollow with a little green, some fresh air, and a Salamader Flat bathroom that was open and clean.  

March 22, 2026

Sunday thankful thoughts from the past week or so:

Reflection Canyon - Reflection Canyon - Relection Canyon! Escalante area. Dance Hall Rock. Sleeping in a tent. Staying warm in a tent. Sleeping in a tent mid March - the earliest ever in a year. Headphones to muffle the wind. Jaw dropping views. Magical sunrise. A campsite oasis. Juniper trees. Navajo Mountain. Top of sandstone view. Vortex. Silence. Solitude. Getting texts while on HITRR. Magical sunrise.  Sunrise colors - in the sky and sandstone cliffs lighting with the sun. Mountain house lasagna. Dinner spot. Being with Darren in a remote and gorgeous place. Lovely weather. A short chat with Kenz. Tester training. New Goodreads friends. Comment from a temple worker. March madness. Sitting outside on a Sunday afternoon with D, KT, MR, C, S. 

March 19, 2026

Still thinking about our adventure.  I can't get over the fact that it was just the two of us in this jaw dropping place.  Amazing!

March 16, 2026

D and I chatted tonight about our amazing getaway to a desert paradise.

March 15, 2026

Yesterday after getting into the tent, the wind picked up and the gusts didn’t stop until about 2AM. Not a lot of sleep happened. Go backpacking they said. It’ll be fun they said.  Actually it was way fun even if we didn’t get much sleep. I ended up getting up about 6:30 to catch the sunrise. I went back up to the spot Darren showed me yesterday. It was breathtaking. The way the incoming light lit up the whole canyon and all the slickrock was super cool. The sunrise started a little pink and then turned to yellow and orange. Sigh. What a cool experience - magical actually. 

After snapping lots of photos and also trying to just be present, I headed down to the actual overlook and enjoyed that spot for a while. It was awesome to get two different views of the beautiful sunrise. I think that this was the best sunrise experience I’ve ever had. Just me and the rocks and the colors of the sky. Sigh!

I came back to camp where I met Darren along the way and boy I love that guy. Turns out he cleaned up all my tent stuff - packed up my sleeping bag and pad and that was just really nice of him. We had a little breakfast and then headed out. Turns out when you follow the trail markers it’s less mileage and a little easier. We made it out pretty quick (well 3 1/2 hours which isn’t really quick but wasn’t bad). I was definitely tired but extremely fulfilled. (Love this pic below that Darren snapped.)

I had packed some lunch stuff so we made ourselves a sandwich which tasted really good. Two hours back to the highway on the dirt road where the washboard stretches were long and plentiful. Then we drove the rest of the way home and make it back about 7:00. That was an incredible, awesome, beautiful adventure! Three out of three for 2026.

March 14, 2026

This morning we got some birds in Merlin from our tent.  Then we took a few photos of the rising sun in this cool spot.

We loaded up and headed out for our 8 mile hike. It was a bit of up, down, up down hiking but then somehow I lost the trail and we ended up hiking farther than we needed to, but saw some cool rock stuff.  All in all it wasn’t bad just extra sandstone walking. We also had dirt walking and rolling sandstone with Navajo Mountain looming in the background dusted with snow. Sigh. It was getting warm and windy so we were happy to make it to the almost viewpoint. 

We decided to camp in the most sheltered place we could find. It wasn’t far from the overlook but was far enough that we could be away from the crowds. Spoiler alert, the crowds never happened! We ended up seeing one day hiker for maybe 10 minutes and that was it as far as people. So cool to be the only ones out in this remote place! We passed probably a dozen people that were coming out as we were going in so we timed it just right. 

We dropped our packs and headed over to the view we came to see that lived up to the hype. We spent some time just soaking in the beauty and snapping some photos. What a  super cool place - the white and the orange rocks plus the blue water and sky - sigh.  

After getting our fill we headed over to our campsite that had just enough shade with a couple Juniper trees. They also gave us just enough of a wind break. We were thankful for those junipers. We ended up enjoying a little siesta under the shade of the tree and on the grass. We totally enjoyed relaxing at our little oasis just being. 

We took our dinner back over to the overlook which was a brilliant idea. I thought we might see people, but we didn’t. We had just us two. (Oh happy day.) Darren had packed me in some lasagna (I love Mountain House lasagna) and we cooked up our meals and chatted and gazed out at the incredible scene. It was just the most fabulous dinner date maybe ever. Being with Darren tonight made me so very, very happy. I will remember it for a long, long time. 

Before heading back to camp, Darren explored some of the slick rock up higher while I went over just a little bit where you could see a different part of Lake Powell. It’s just a neat place that Reflection Canyon area. I said a little prayer feeling extra thankful and thinking a bit of my mom and dad. I looked up to see the clouds turning pink and the sunset starting to show up. 

Darren told me I should come up to the top where he had been so I did. It was another amazingly cool spot. There were some vortex (vortexes? vortici? who knows what the plural is) and then there was an exceptional view of Reflection Canyon. It gave you more of a straight on shot with a cool angle of the curves. So glad Darren found that spot. 

March 13, 2026

We're starting a fantastic adventure near Escalante in the GSENM (Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument). We left about 1 o’clock after Darren got off work early and drove to Escalant (as some of the locals pronounce it - they also say EscalantE but not Escalawntay) where we stopped for pizza at the Escalante outfitters because they have delicious pizza. We saved some to have for breakfast on Saturday because someone (me) forgot to pack breakfast. We drove down Hole in the Rock Road to find somewhere to camp. We made it pretty far before daylight started to fade - around 36 miles. Just after Dance Hall Rock we found a tiny pullout and set our tent up in a kinda cool place. (Plus there was a bathroom at DHR.) I’m pretty sure we heard fiddles from the pioneers. :) It was a kind of windy night but the stars were really cool. We tried to do a little night photography where Darren’s photos were really cool and mine were really not.  We randomly had enough service to text the girls. I love that they send random pictures when we’re away.