The Grand Canyon and Escalante.

So a few weekends ago, memorial day weekend at the end of May, my friends and I decided to take a little three day trip down to the Grand Canyon in Northern Arizona, and then to Escalante in southern Utah (pronounced ES-CUH-LAN-EE.) hah. And it was soooo fun!!

We spent the first night on Point Sublime in the Grand Canyon. And oh man was it beautiful. SUPER WINDY. But beautiful. At the point we had a 280° view of the canyon. And it was so ep. It said in the description pamphlet that "eating and sleeping will become secondary." And oh man. They were not lying.

ch-ch-check it out:


The next day we headed up to Escalante. It was gorgeous! He hiked to a waterfall (Calf Creek Falls) the first day we were there. And it was beautiful. We actually hiked out in the dark, and the moon was so bright that we didn't even need to use flashlights. It was great. By the time we had finished the hike it was completely dark though, and the place we had wanted to camp out was full.
So this was the sight that greeted Aleena and I when we got back to the car. hah.

The men. Gathered around the map:


Luckily, we found some random place to camp that night. hah. It was pretty sketch. But fun. It actually turned out to be a good little campsite. We made bratwursts and smores, it was great. Also. This was the first night that we were nowhere near a bathroom, or even port-a-potty. Luckily, I didn't need to go to the bathroom til I got to church. So I held it.

Church on Sunday was soooo great! I LOVE the Escalante Second Ward!! The people are just so genuine and kind. And the ward was fun. haha. Hilarious. And I just felt comfortable there. Even though I smelled like campfire and looked horrendous, everyone was just so kind and reached out to us; to me. hah. And relief society was a hoot. hahah. Oh my stars. The lady teaching the lesson taught on President Uchtdorf's last conference talk. So at the beginning of the lesson she brought a picture of President Uchtdorf to the front of the room, set it on the table and was like, "I just thought I'd put a picture of President Uchtdorf up here during the lesson so that we could all admire his pleasant face." Aleena and I almost died. It was hilarious.

After church we went to the hole in the rock memorial on the edge of Escalante which was cool. We then decided to go to the actual Hole in the Rock. So we went to set up our campsite and then headed down the long and treacherous road. It was quite the drive, but it was soooo good to see it. I've always loved pioneers, but I think I gained a newfound love and appreciation for them hiking down this place that they drug handcarts down. It was incredible. I want to do geneology and find out more about my pioneer ancestorage. Cause I think it'd be fun to name my kids after them and then tell them stories about the amazing people they were named after.

Here's a pic of the gang at Hole in the Rock:


We had the cutest little campsite the last night. I was in love. I probs coulda stayed there for longer had it not been for the whole no bathroom situation. hah.

Here it is:


It was fun. The last day! We hiked Spooky and Peek-A-Boo Canyons. And they were sooo fun! It was a blast to climb and hike through these. And we took lots of fun pictures. I'll try and post just a few of the best ones.

There were some tight squeezes:


I liked creepin':


group pic in peek-a-boo:


We were hiking through lots of sand, so we had sand contests. I won. everytime:


I was trying to be legit and take a cool pic. hah. but I was too chicken to go any higher than this:


And perhaps my favorite picture of the trip. hah. First, a little background. I HATE GOING TO THE BATHROOM IN NATURE. Just ask anyone that went on this trip, and they will attest to how much I whined about it. Like I was sooo obnoxious. [Sorry team...]

haha. but! In celebration of NEVER having to do it again, Aleena and I took this celebratory picture.

It's the best:


Ha. But yah. It was a great trip! And I'm sooo glad I got the opportunity to go enjoy nature and also to bond with these people. They're the best.

Happy Summer! Here's to, hopefully, many more fun adventures before I leave!

Katniss:


I Love Life!

The Church is True!