MOAB: CANYONLANDS & ARCHES

for months we've been trying to make it down to moab. finally, after weeks of planning (and a beautiful stop in capital reef), we made our way over to the awesome area of arches and canyonlands. we were tenting it at a campground in town, and pretty much the only thing on the agenda was hiking, so we found ourselves setting out on a lot more hikes than we planned. After we counted up all of the miles of red rock trails, we were surprised to find that we'd actually hiked over 25 miles! i'm not sure i knew we had it in us!

here's a few highlights from our amazing adventure. and further proof that utah really is the prettiest state in the union. 

i have to say a huge thank you to mother nature for the fabulous cool, but not too cool, weather. and another thanks to jared, for humoring this desert rat by going on a few extra trails. best weekend of 2015 so far. can't wait to top it with more summer loving.

ROAD TRIPPING: CAPITAL REEF

we started our weekend roadtrip a little hesitant- still debating until the night before if we should go out of town this weekend or wait for a better time. to begin with, we'd both picked up a cold somewhere earlier in the week, and were feeling pretty lousy by the time the weekend rolled around. plus, we've been worried about jared's grandmother's health and wanted to be there for her and the family. it just didn't seem like a good time. on top of all that, the forecast was predicting rain... and who wants to sleep in a tent in the cold rain with a sinus infection?

still...i knew i would kick myself for weeks if we didn't go, besides jared was convinced we HAD to go since we'd already paid for the campground. so we decided to take our chances and head down to red rock country.

here are a couple photos from our first stop, capital reef. we were basically planning to kill some time in capital reef on our way to arches and canyonlands since moab was expected to get their majority of rain on saturday. what started as a quick sightseeing trip through capital reef turned into a 7.5 mile hike through one of the most beautiful canyons i have ever seen. we hiked almost the entire way to the golden thrown without seeing another person. it was just gorgeous.

we also made a quick stop at my great great grandfather, elijah behunin's cabin. i would totally love to live here, lij. tiny home with amazing scenery? count me in.

THE CRATER: MIDWAY'S GEOTHERMAL HOT SPRINGS

in our effort to experience everything cool within an hour drive of salt lake city, we discovered this little gem- the crater. the crater is a 10,000 year old geothermal hot spring in midway, ut. the spring is surrounded by a rock dome with an opening in the top for light to filter through. you can visit year round because the water is always a nice warm 92 degrees. plus... it's the swimming hole from 127 hours!

it was cool and rainy outside but the crater was still hot and steamy. we soaked for about an hour and, i have to admit, by the end i was a little motion sick. the warm water bubbles up from the middle of the crater, creating a current which constantly pushes you toward the edges. we tried to fight it at first, but eventually we gave in and floated on our backs over to the rock walls.

it was fun watching everyone bobbing around in the foggy scene, looking like they are about to climb aboard hercules' boat on the river styx. have i mentioned that utah is the coolest?

thanks to this guy for making every saturday a memorable saturday. i hope you are all having a great weekend and are opening the windows and listening to the thunder and rain. love ya lots!