Day 5: Coyote Buttes South

We did a guided hike through the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument on Day 5. We spent the first half of the day hiking through a place called Coyote Buttes South. This was probably my favorite day, and maybe Kolby’s too--- but he said that pretty much every day of the trip so it’s hard to know. There was a lot to see and a lot more exploring than hiking, which my legs were grateful for. Kolby climbed all over this place… ALL OVER IT. He was like a kid in a candy store. We had to buy permits for this area ahead of time and we didn’t see anyone the whole time we were there. They limit entrance to these places because the rocks are fragile and it would all get destroyed quickly if it ever got crowded. This place was so incredibly neat, I wish I would describe it better. Maybe I’ll just add in a few extra pictures.

Day 4: Bryce Canyon National Park

Our day at Bryce Canyon was definitely a highlight of the trip. The day started out rainy and foggy, but we just played cards in the car for about an hour and then the day turned out to be perfectly sunny and cool. We drove around to several scenic outlooks and then did a 5 mile hike that took us down into the canyon. It was all a lot of fun and Kolby got to do a lot of climbing, which is one of his favorite things to do.

Day 2 & Day 3: Zion National Park

We made it to Zion National Park fairly early on Day 2 and had planned to do a hike called The Narrows, but the trail was closed due to high water. Our Plan B was a series of smaller hikes, which turned out to be a really great way to ease into things and see a lot of the park. On our second day there we went on a 5-mile hike called Angel's Landing and a 4-mile hike to Echo Canyon. It was a lot of hiking, but everything we saw make the treks worth it.  These days seem like forever ago so I don’t have much to write about it, but here are some pictures.

Day 1: Las Vegas

I wouldn’t say that Vegas is our cup of tea. I guess it was about like I imagined it would be, but it was all still a bit overwhelming. We were just there for one night, and we stayed at the MGM Grand which was really nice. We arrived late in the evening so we took a stroll down “the strip” and did some sightseeing, including a stop to watch the fountain show outside the Bellagio that made an appearance in Ocean’s Eleven.

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Then we headed back to our hotel for a delicious dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant and spent some time at the slot machines. I put $1 into a penny slot machine and within seconds I turned it into $4.30. Not a bad return for my first gambling experience. I cashed out and moved on to some other slot machines where I subsequently lost that $4.30 plus another $2 in a matter of minutes. And that’s how Vegas makes its money. Kolby followed a similar pattern, first doubling his money and then losing it all plus some more. I think we ended the night down $6 or so. What can I say, we’re not high rollers :)

We're Back

We’re back! We made it in late last night from our whirlwind tour of the great American southwest. It was such a fun vacation… definitely one of my all-time favorites. There’s a lot to share, especially pictures, but it’ll take me awhile to go through everything because I put my new camera to good use and filled up over 4GB of memory cards. That’s probably 1500+ pictures… yikes. I’m hoping to narrow them down to a top 10 from each destination (Vegas, Zion, Bryce, Coyote Buttes, Antelope Canyon, and Grand Canyon) and do one post for each place. Then I’ll make a flickr album and anyone who wants to see more pictures can browse that.

I don’t really know how to sum up our trip other than to say that we had an awesome time seeing some spectacular places with some really great friends. We did a little gambling, spent some good time on the road, hiked A LOT, saw some amazing sights, took way too many pictures, laughed until our stomachs hurt, played many hands of spades, hiked some more, invented the best game of all time, and made some really great memories. We really couldn’t have asked for a better trip. We’re very tired and very sore, but we’re just as pale as when we left thanks to some SPF 70 with zinc oxide :)

Great News!

Hey friends and fam,

Just wanted to share some great news... Kolby got a job!!!

It is a senior AP English position at a nearby high school. He'll also be teaching a creative writing class. It is his absolute dream job, and we are totally in awe of what a great opportunity this is for him!

The job is at a really unique school-- it follows a project-based learning model where things are done a bit differently, with a much stronger focus on technology and on independent and group learning, as opposed to lecturing. The campus is technology-rich, and all students have a laptop to use in classes. Although it is public, students must apply and only 100 or so students per grade are accepted. Kolby will be teaching their first senior class, so he'll have a LOT of flexibility with what he teaches. It will be a lot of work, but he is excited to be in a position that will require all that he has to offer. He is already hard at work thinking of summer reading.  Heaven help those kids.

We made our own great plan for Kolby to teach at our Alma Mater next year, but when that all fell through we knew God had something different in mind-- though we were devastated and really doubted that anything would work out at all. Why we let those doubts creep in when God has always, always taken care of us in one way or another this entire time is totally beyond me. I feel like an idiot for worrying so much, but I am so incredibly happy for Kolby and we are so grateful for this awesome opportunity. I’m proud of you, hubs!