"And I Only Busted My Ass One Time ..."

although i became frustrated with my level of hygeine and the knots in my hair towards the end, camping is actually pretty fun. i suspect that the fact that we were able to park our tent next to a cool, clean, refreshing section of the virgin river contributed to my 48-hour tolerance of filth and grime. first-come first-serve at the campground outside of zion national park worked in our favor, despite leaving an hour and 11 minutes past our ETD. complete documentation of our adventures can be found here.

zion was absolutely gorgeous -- i just could NOT get over the beautiful cross-bedding! i am convinced aaron was also fascinated by this phenomenon. the geology simplified: the area used to be a giant desert, covered in giant sand dunes, which later cemented in sandstone. the area uplifted and valleys were carved into the area by the virgin river, exposing all the layers of rock. i do admit to liking the features in kanab, UT better, even though all we did was drive through, because you could see the dune features a lot better. (i know from experience the amazing # of geology field trips that can be supported by a simple roadside.)

on the 4th, we hiked up the narrows, which basically consisted of jumping around in a big, cool creek with huge canyon walls stretching up either side. we didn't quite make it the full 14 miles because i NEEDED a hot dog and a beer very badly in order to properly acknowledge my independence from british oppression. it was a really fun adventure, especially in a dress, although our feet did take quite a beating. and i only busted my ass on a slippery rock one time. unfortunately, the bruise on my ass does not do justice to the amount of pain i experienced. this photo was taken soon after my fall ... the guy who took this picture made a point to ask me if i was okay since he saw me bust my ass back there. thanks, buddy.

on our hike back to the shuttle, we encountered hilarious group of foreigners #1. i was walking along the path, totally lost in my own thoughts when i noticed the people behind me kept saying the same word over and over and over to each other: screwl. what is that? i finally figured out that they were practicing their pronunciation -- of squirrel. i started laughing uncontrollably and had to sit down and let them pass us by.

the next day, we hiked up angel's landing -- the last 3/4 mile of which has 800+ feet drop-offs on either side and features a chain system for you to hold onto to prevent from sliding off into oblivion. it wasn't scary (since i have no fear of heights), just the most INSANE trail i've ever hiked. i tried to imagine some earlier settler thinking to himself: this looks like a good place to walk. it was great. the pictures hardly do it justice, but this one provides a little scale. while on this trial, we encountered hilarious foreigner #2: the count. aaron and i kept close by him and his family during the hike in the hopes that we might catch him saying, i want to suck your blood, in his awesome count dracula accent. no luck.

the woman who checked us in to our campsite did not appreciate my suggestion that aaron and i shower together to maximize our shower tokens -- this is utah, she reminded me. oh, i responded, i forgot about that glorious fact. we showed her though ... and managed to take both of our showers together. the first night, in the boys bathroom, was uneventful. the second night, however, in the girls bathroom, there was a big disgusting mound of hair/suds clogging up the drain which aaron kicked into the stall next to us ... where someone else was showering. needless to say, she did not appreciate this, but i got a good laugh.

on the way home, we took a detour through colorado city, famous for being the home of polygamist leader, warren jeffs. we managed to find a store that would sell 3.2% beer to us on sunday -- the polygamy porter, naturally -- so as to make full use of the photo opportunity. blasphemy complete. we drove around some of the back roads (which were really probably main roads that felt like back roads...) making guesses as to which compound warren jeffs probably lived in until he was imprisoned in november 2007 for sexual misconduct with minors ... until i got super-creeped-out by the whole place and the fact that people allow their children to be raised there and made aaron take me back to the highway. side note: i'm holding fast to my refusal to move to utah. i lived in towns before where the politics were largely influenced by religion, but not by a creepy, cult-like religion. this is where i choose to draw the line.

otherwise, we entertained ourselves catching bugs, sitting with our feet in the virgin river watching the people go by, and of course, burning things. all-in-all, a very relaxing trip. i am happy that aaron is equally as easily amused as i am ... and that we can still be friends when subsisting entirely on hot dogs and lemonade while our BO is only slightly masked by a LOT of deodorant. :)