Posts Tagged ‘slot canyon’

Happy Mother’s Day

Sunday, May 12th, 2013

Dear Mom,

You are my best friend, my travel buddy, my partner in crime, and the light of my life. I love you in more ways than words can express. I am sorry I can’t be there in person to tell you everything I have to say, but I can start here; Happy Mother’s Day.

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We have traveled the country together, long hours in the car that never got boring or tiresome because we always had something to talk about and even if we didn’t we both enjoyed the silence and the company of one another other. We have wandered down creek beds, climbed trees, fixed flat tires, run across so many different surfaces that I cannot even begin to think of all their names. And oh the places we have gone, the places you have showed me, enjoyed with me and the memories that I have of you, with you, that I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life.

Like the hellish hikes that we simultaneously horribly regret, yet remember with heart filling laughs even though it was horrible at the time. The adventures that failed, but led us to all new places and things.

I love the times when we can be silly, climbing trees, hijacking tractors in the deepest part of the Bryce Canyon, and shamelessly chasing down every roadside attraction we can find.
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Oh the places we have been. How many backdrops have we seen that belong in fairytales? How many times have we watched sunsets in places that are straight out of story books? How many times have I wished to always be back in the places we have been, while always looking forward to our next adventures?

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Caught between the wonderful life you have given me, lived in with me, and the story books found in photography shops or souvenir stores, you have always been there for me. The every faithful travel buddy, the worried mother, the excited best friend, you are everything that I love in life.

Jumping over rattlesnakes and standing waist deep in the Zion Narrows, you and I have been through everything, and I wouldn’t change anything about it.
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You have been there for me in the hardest moments, followed me down the most treacherous paths, squeezed yourself down corridors that seemed impassible just to show me it could be done.  You are incredible, you are super woman, you are my mother.
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I could never wish for anything more than the life you have given me, the oppurtunities I have been blessed to have with you. The coffee and beignets in New Orleans, the trolley car rides, the rivers we have stood at, the canyons we have overlooked, the wildlife we have gaped at, and the world you have shown me. There are too many memories for me to describe, too many things for me to talk about and how much I appreciate every single second of the time we have spent together.
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I love our family, I love the loving home you and Dad have given me, the loving upbringing and the support you have given me my entire life; even when I didn’t realize you were my biggest supporter and friend.
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You make me laugh like no one else I know. How many different ways can I say that I love you? I hope you know that without me ever having to say it. Even when I am away for months at a time, I hope the wind will carry my words to you and carry my love to you so that you always know you are cherished and appreciated.
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I wonder where we will go next, I wonder what is in store for us in the future.
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There are so many wonderful times in the past, but I know you and I have even more memories to be made in the future. Even if it isn’t on the road or out in the back country or by a river bed, we will always have the bond that is unbreakable, the bond between a mother and her daughter.
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The bond between best friends who know exactly how to make you smile and dance even in the most difficult moments.
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The bond between you and I will last the rest of our lives, as will the memories we have and the ones we have yet to make.

You are my inspiration, my hope, my love, my light. I love you mom more than words can say. I wish I could hug you and tell you in person, and I miss you all the time. You are such a wonderful mother and I hope you know that I thank God every day for giving me you.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom, I love you, I love you, I love you.

Your Eternally grateful and loving Daughter,

Monica

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Utah Trip: Grand Staircase Escalante Part 2

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

You thought our day was over? Nope, not even close. We then headed over to the next part of the national park to go try and see some more slot canyons called Peek-A-Boo Canyon and Spooky Canyon. From the top of the trail it was pretty unassumming.

Little did we know that we had to climb far down to reach the bottom of a canyon in one hundred degree weather only then to reach the slot canyons. It was brutal sliding down the cliff knowing that later I would have to climb back up them with the sun beating down on my back.

We then reached the first slot canyon which was Peek-A-Boo and realized we were unable to do it. With a combination of clumsiness and heat exhaustion we were unable to climb into the canyon. Obviously I was extremely upset about this when faced with the possiblity of having come all this way for nothing.

After a long deliberation we decided to push on and go see the other canyon, Spooky. It was amazing. Spooky is a true slot canyon meaning it is a claustrophobic persons worst nightmare. You have to duck, crawl, and squeeze your way to advance in these canyons but they are so worth it.

The sculpted walls of the canyon are beyond art and beyond all other natural creations. Sometimes it is hard to believe that they were sculpted not by mans hands but by something else.

Like this one for example, the kissing rocks. These two sculpted walls from the right angle look like people kissing. How could that be an accident? The answer? Mother nature is amazing beyond all words

It is quite the experience squeezing through this tiny little gaps. You can feel ever line in the stone, the coolness as you brush your fingertips along it, and you can hear the breeze passing through the canyon’s corridors.

It really was amazing and a must have life experience. They are so unique and marvelous, it is amazing to think that these formed naturally and are not actually pieces of art sculpted by who knows what.

Our day however didn’t end happily, we were stuck on the side of the road in one hundred degree weather with a flat tire. We were going to have to wait but a wonderful person came and saved us! So we are behind schedule now but not by much. We got our butts kicked by these amazing hikes but it was all worth it in the end!

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Utah Trip: Grand Staircase Escalante Part 1

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

Today I started out my morning on the rim of Bryce Canyon watching the sun slowly surmount the hoodoos and cliffs of Bryce in an amazing sunrise.

After that we headed next door to Grand Staircase Escalante National Park for some amazing views and hikes. So we went outbacking in our lovely Outback.

Our first hike of the day was at Willis Creek Trail, this turned out to be an amazing hike along a river that cuts through a slot like canyon. It was awe inspiring and I have never seen anything quite like it.

The lines and shapes created by the wave like stone were extraordinary. The colors were so vivid and bright that you became enveloped in the canyon walls. Even the river was dyed a deep orange red color.

There were three separate slot canyons on our hike each slightly different and uniquely beautiful.

One canyon had a surprise of its own, a rattlesnake. Fortunately the people ahead of us spotted it but it was extremely agitated. Coiled against one side of the walls, hidden half in and half out of the shadows it sat rattling its tail and hissing at us. Needless to say it was scary and we worried about him alot on our way back, wondering where he might now be located.

The third and final canyon was the most spectacular and was a great finale to an amazing hike. The walls were marvelously sculpted and the color was out of this world.

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