May 25, 2026

Woke up early, packed up, and hiked the 3 miles out getting to the car at 7:45. We thanked our past selves for the hike yesterday to get us closer.

A stop at the BLM office for a bathroom, McDonald’s for food, Beaver for gas ($5.00 a gallon - eek), and JCW’s for a late post backpacking burger and we made it home. It’s crazy to think this morning we were hiking out of Paria Wash and this evening we’re home mowing the lawn.

What a great backpack! We were able to make it a relaxing, beautiful adventure while covering 30 miles.

May 24, 2026

Guess who was up and at it about 6:30 this morning? The ravens. It’s awesome. 

I love a warm night in the tent. We were way off in our guessing of temps but I’ll take the warmth. We both slept quite well for backpacking. And the stars last night were cool as they shone bright in the sky above the two towering orange cliffs. I like our campsite we’re close to water, there’s some privacy, we’re above the trail, we have orange cliffs surrounding us, but it’s wide enough that it’s not claustrophobic.

Spent a little of the morning finding some desert scriptures (Isaiah 40:3 and Numbers 22:24) and finding an arch thanks to the sun on the side wall. I named it Raven Arch because, well, the yelling ravens. We added “we’re running with the shadows on the night so baby take my hand we’ll be alright” to our Anne Murray “Shadows in the Moonlight” song.

This place! WOW! We hiked to Big Spring (about 4.5 miles) and the whole way was spectacular! The walls, the meandering, the alcoves, the river, and just all of it was so beautiful. Around every bend my jaw would drop. At one point I got a little teary as I was overcome with the beauty and I thought how blessed I am to see this place.

After a good rest and lunch at the spring plus hiking a bit farther to another huge alcove, we hiked back to camp with shoes full of sand and water and camera roll full of pictures.

We decided to hike out some and camp under the cottonwood we saw coming in so we don’t have so many miles in the heat tomorrow. It was a good campsite and we enjoyed the evening eating dinner and relaxing.

May 23, 2026

Kanab put us in a great spot to pick up our permit and hit the White House Trailhead.

The 4.5 miles in the sand was tiring but the seeing the canyon walls get higher was cool. The confluence was also cool. This place is awesome. Even the boring part had some windows and flowers. 

Slide Rock Arch WAS cool. Thought it might not be as cool as pictures looked but it was - even without water around it. Also loved the peregrine falcons chasing each other and talking. 

Stopped after 8.5 miles. Ate lunch and listened the ravens yell, watched the frog, and filtered the water. Sigh. I love this part of backpacking. 

After resting we headed up Buckskin for a bit. It was typical Buckskin - some green and some skinny and amazing. We didn’t go very far before coming back to camp. But while we were in a narrow part of Buckskin, a raven flew through the narrow part of the canyon not far above our heads and we could hear its wings flap. It was amazing! I also watched some canyon wrens. I am digging the birds here. 

We had dinner at a really cool spot. Just eating between towering canyon walls. The ravens are still going strong. Yappity yap yapping. 

I like our camp.  Chilling at the low flowing river, the view of the stars between the tall walls, and even the loud ravens were enjoyable.  Packing our chairs was a good choice.

May 22, 2026

I’ve been cautiously optimistic that the weather would cooperate and we could do our Paria Canyon backpack. The time came and it is happening! We stayed in Kanab which is always good. We like K-town. We ate at Rooster’s which was good. I didn’t see me ordering chicken fried chicken but I did and it was delicious. Would order again. Then we walked past some shops and stopped at an art gallery before going back to our hotel. 

May 21, 2026

I went on one of my favorite late spring hikes. Pine Hollow to Willow to Ridge to Pine Hollow. No traffic, the green (many shades of green) , plus 3 deer and only 1 person made for a good morning. 

May 20, 2026

Handed in my work stuff for the school year. It’s kind of hard when you’re good at something and you only get to do it some of the time. Got to see Darren there and then I got to see Sadie at work - both good things. And Darren and I survived valiant activity. Yes, it’s feels like a survival thing. 

May 17, 2026

Met little tiny kitten Mango. 

May 16, 2026

I've been thinking about the Richfield house a lot this week. Oh how I love that house. I hated to give it up and yet it was definitely the right thing to do. Mostly because the cute little family is going to take such good care of it and make good memories themselves. In a text to her I said that it has been a beautiful closure to some place that has my heart. So many little miracles seen along the way which added to the peace. But I’ll still miss that place! And its location. I’m pretty sure our Capitol Reef visits will go down. Found a few pictures to help me remember.

This first one is our wedding reception in the backyard.  1994.  The next few are from the 70s, with the last one in 1981.

May 15, 2026

We had makeups today for work just like the last two days. I told them I had an appointment but could change it. They said - no need to change your appointment. 

Good, cause this was my appointment. 

Birds, blue bells, green, mountain air, and a lake. 

The rest of the day was good as well - 

Finishing Zootopia 2 with Cam, Lunch at Costco with C and S, and a drop in to say hi to Kenz after Darren and I ate at Chubby’s. 

May 14, 2026

Making jam and eating it with homemade rolls thanks to Kelly. 

May 13, 2026

The song “Road Less Traveled” by Lauren Alaina comes on and 6 years later it still reminds me of the drive to Big Sandy for my first Wind Rivers backpacking trip 6 years ago. 

May 12, 2026

It was a good audiobook and a new puzzle kind of evening.

May 10, 2026

Great weather for a Mother’s Day BBQ in SJ. Good food plus eating and chatting and playing a card game outside. 

Thinking about this last week:

Morning run clouds. Dr Mario. Richfield house. Neighbor chatting at Pettingill reception. Mason laughing. M and R Richfield trip. Telling my Messi joke at testing (Why doesn’t Ronaldo have to clean his room? Because he’s not Messi). Baby sheep and their cute little hopping run. Darren’s talk. Still thinking about Salt Creek. “Have a day to be proud of.”

May 9, 2026

Impromptu Mother’s Day party tonight. Handel’s ice cream, fun presents (waffle iron, hilarious crossed out card, camping puzzle, hiker cross stitch, honey roasted almonds, plus D got me chocolate covered mangoes, other chocolate, and yellow flowers). My favorite thing was the kids singing Phineas and Ferb mom song by Candace. 

May 8, 2026

This morning was refreshing. I’m so tired but I went for a run and the clouds were a beautiful light pink. Then by the end the sun had risen. 

Then this afternoon I ate honey roasted nuts while doing my sudoku puzzle like a not refreshed old lady. 

May 7, 2026

Feeling Richfield house love today as it is officially not ours anymore. Papers were signed and after 60 years there are new owners. Lots of feelings, some of them sad, but there is excitement for this little family to make memories here. I will very much miss that house where I always felt love. It also was a great jumping off place to adventures. Mostly I just miss visiting my parents. (April 2016)

I told the new family to make sure and enjoy watching fireworks on the front lawn on Independence Day.  We spent quite a few years enjoying that.

Two Independence Day classic photos by the tree.  2012 and 2011. (2005 above with Rylie, Camrie, and Kenzie.)

This is the last photo we took with some kids and my parents on July 4, 2022,

May 6, 2026

"Know that rocks found along the way will begin to collect in your backpack—some by choice and some by the very nature of your journey in this life. As the weight increases, please remember that taking Jesus Christ out of your life is not the answer. Removing Him will not lighten your load." - Brother David J. Wunderli 4/26 GC

Reminded me of my heavy pack. Know what to take out and what not to take out. 

May 3, 2026

Today was a day when we woke up for sunrise and the moon setting stole the show. It was going down behind Kirk’s cabin. Plus, the color of the sky was awesome. It was a beautiful shade of bluish purple. We packed up (including our stashed wag bags) and tackled the uphill hike out where we deducted that the scat we were seeing was bear. 

We stopped in Moab at The Spoke for a delicious burger and fries. Wow that tasted good. Add cool water to drink and we were some happy women. 

We went into Salt Creek as strangers and came out good friends.

May 2, 2026

Heard the SC4 owl last night. He’s still here from last year. We played day hikers today for some fun and headed to Angel arch. Oh how I love this arch that reminds me of my mom. Sigh. Jill’s reaction when she first caught sight of the arch was awesome and exactly how I felt the first time seeing it. 

We spent some of the morning enjoying the arch and The Molar. It’s such a cool spot! We took a bunch of pictures and ate some breakfast. It was very enjoyable. Headed back to camp to pack up and head to SC2. The ladies have been so appreciative this trip and their excitement for every new thing we see is contagious. 

Laughed a lot after logging 16 push yourself because you’re tired mentally and physically miles. “This better be worth it.” :) 

We ate dinner at Kirk’s Spring while I texted Darren. Back to camp where we chatted some more. I have loved our evenings at camp!

May 1, 2026

Oh how I love my Nemo sleeping bag. It was a cold night but I slept warm and cozy with it here in Darren’s Hubba Hubba tent. I rarely sleep in a tent by myself and it was kinda nice. Woke up to my Towhee bird friends calling out a good morning. There’s nothing like when the sun comes up after a cold night and the desert comes alive with birds and a little warmth. 

Isaiah 58:8  - Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.

Had a good 5 miles of hiking and checking out ruins, arches, and rock art. All American Man, Four Faces, and Squash Ruins were my favorite once again. It was cool having Jill with us who has an ancient peoples degree and could share with us a little about the pottery and art. We found a cool photo spot and had fun snapping some photos. 

We filled up at the beautiful Four Faces Spring for a long and heavy water carry. Our packs were so heavy and the slog to the campsite was even sloggier thanks to my pack weight. 

SC4 was a welcomed site. We had a good rest of the day talking, talking, and talking. It’s been a a good group of ladies. We’re so different and yet share a love of outdoors. We laughed a lot as the evening lit up the rocks behind our site. 

(Me, Jeanna, Mallika, Sherian, Jill)

April 30, 2026

Back to Salt Creek with some new backpacking friends. My pack is too heavy. Ugh. But it’s cool being in the land of canyons. 

It was a pretty easy hike in. They put railroad ties in for steps and it was a lovely discovery. First night is at SC1 which is a great site. Pick that over SC2 if you have the chance. For dinner I had my usual of Mountain House lasagna.

The full moon was so bright and beautiful tonight. The 5 of us are getting along great for only having met some this morning.