I Survived Utah – Day 3 – Journey to Salt Lake

On Sunday Ian and I woke before sunrise to make the return journey to Salt Lake City.  We decided to avoid the mountain pass we had taken on the way to Moab and return a different route.  It had snowed a little overnight (not the twelve inches that the car rental lady threatened) and though it wasn’t enough to make us worry, a one lane highway through the hills didn’t sound too great.  We cut across the state and the going was clear for about two hours, until we hit The Reef.

The Reef is a huge rock formation that rises out of the ground like spikes along a dragon’s back.  Once we crossed it, the road filled with snow.  Only one lane of the highway was paved, which wasn’t too much of an issue since it was only us and about six trucks on the road.  Total.  For the balance of the four hours.

This was cool until we realized if we got stranded there was no one coming to get us.  This was cool until our car ran out of windshield wiper fluid and snow spray froze onto our windshield.  This was cool until the washing liquid at every gas station was frozen solid.  Then it was not so cool to be so alone.

Needless to say, we made it.  I got a very sexy sunburn/windburn/sandburn combo right across my cheeks, just below the hat line and above the scarf line.  My badge of pride.  I was happy to get back to a warm Los Angeles.

Overall park rating: Arches: A+, Canyonlands: B

I Survived Utah – Day 2 – Canyonlands National Park

On Saturday Ian and I made our way to Canyonlands National Park.  While Arches is defined by rock protrusions, Canyonlands has deep valleys carved through rock.  The road to Canyonlands is so remote that there are no fences around the bordering cow fields.  This leads to a good question: Why did the cows cross the road?  Answer: To get to the other side (and give us a heart attack.)  The cows didn’t seem to understand why we kept beeping at them.  At a standstill, we mooed and took their pictures.

Once in Canyonlands we made a short hike to Mesa Arch, overlooking a vast valley of red rock.  We didn’t get there at sunrise as we planned, but the light was beautiful rose gold all the same.  One of the nice things about both parks we visited is that instead of using signs to mark the trails, the parks use stacked rocks.  It’s a much more natural way to mark things that lets the beauty of the landscape shine through.

After exploring Canyonlands, where I managed to lose one (but not both) of my gloves, we ate lunch at Denny’s a la Road Trip Tradition and ventured back to Arches.  The same park ranger recognized us from the day before, probably thinking, “Suckers.”  We only had about two hours until sunset so we had to decide between the hike to Landscape Arch, which spans the length of a football field, and Delicate Arch, which decorates every license plate in Utah.  We chose the latter and began our hike.

The guide map boasted that the trip would only be a three mile loop, but it’s not an exaggeration to say we walked uphill both ways, fighting a fierce wind that was somehow always in our faces and never at our backs.  The hike was pretty exhausting and finally finally we turned the corner on a sharp ledge and saw the arch balancing in the distance.  We crossed a lip of rock into a small valley to take some sunset pictures.  We faced issues, however, crossing back.

Delicate Arch is surrounded by walls of rock, and our small crossover happened to be the one place where all of the wind funneled to.  The wind is a massive and strong erosive force, flinging sand and carving rock.  When I tried to cross back over the lip, with steep cliffs on either side of the three foot path, the wind lifted my backpack off my back.  I had visions of floating away to my doom, parachuted by my travel pack.

Luckily the wind subsided just enough to let us pass.  We walked back with the sky bursting into a rainbow colored sunset.  Definitely worth it.  After dark we decided on dinner at a restaurant that had looked busy.  When traveling to strange places, busy is a good sign.  Sadly, we had our hopes dashed when we realized the only reason the restaurant was busy was because it was closed for a private holiday party.  Of course.

We settled on Eddie McStiff’s, which Ian objected to on the basis of name alone, but which turned out to serve a delicious meal.  We left the restaurant to a light snowfall.  This time we made it to nine pm before crashing.  Traveling is not for the weak of heart.

I survived Utah – Day 1 – Arches National Park

Well, Ian and I are back from Utah in one piece, which is saying a lot given the odds we had on this trip.  Since Ian worked the night before and I had a late final, our sleep totals when we landed were 1.5 hours and 6 hours respectively.  When we finally got to our rental car agency (whose computers were down making everything super slow) the rental girl tried every scare tactic in the book to get us to upgrade our car:

Girl: You should upgrade.  It’s going to snow this weekend!

Us: Oh, we won’t be in Salt Lake.

Girl: Where are you going?

Us: Moab.

Girl: Where?

Us: Down South.

Girl: Oh, well it’s going to snow there too!

Right.

Girl: You should get a heavier car.

Us: This one’s fine.

Girl: No, but you’ll slide everywhere.  It’s going to be twelve inches of snow!

Us: It’s okay, we’ve driven in snow before.

Girl: But not like this.

Us: We’re from the East Coast.  It’s worse than this.

Girl:

Finally she crumbled.  We started our journey to signs of Windy Road Next 50 miles, Watch for Falling Rock, and Deer crossing.  It was one lane in each direction.  A dubious start to our trip.

Five hours later we made it to Moab, Utah.  Moab is a sleepy tourist town, thriving only due to its proximity to both Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.  We dropped off our bags at the hotel and headed to Arches around 2 pm.

With literally one other car in the park with us, we had the whole thing to ourselves.  Arches has the highest concentration of stone arches in the United States.  To be an arch, an opening must measure three feet from one base to the other base.  And the arches and rock formations are awe-inspiring and huge.  Slabs of rock weighing hundreds of pounds balance delicately on thin bases, held in place by gravity and luck.

We drove by a formation that looked like three women standing together.  “I’ll call it the Three Girls,” I announced proudly to Ian.

“Lame,” he said.

But when I pulled out the map I discovered that the rock did have a name, “Three Gossips.”  I was pretty darn close.  I should be a rock namer.  I bet I’d be pretty good.

After a few hours of exploring and a spectacular sunset we headed back to Moab.  We found a cute Mexican restaurant for dinner.  Pretty much, when we go on these trips Ian and I get so hungry that everything we eat is The Best Food Ever.  The dinner was no exception.  Full and happy and tired, we went to the hotel room, turned up the heat, and fell asleep at 7 pm.

Destination: Salt Lake City

Today I’m off to Utah with Ian for a photo expedition. We found a fantastic deal for super cheap flights, and seeing as how we haven’t done any major trips this year we jumped all over the offer. So we are booked for a flight to Salt Lake City. Our plans are to hunker down in Moab and go to Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park during a quick three-day weekend. Ian has even vowed to wake up early so we can catch sunrise and sunset in both parks. He works nights, so that should be funny.

I’m also super excited because I picked up a copy of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak for the plane. I’ve heard nothing but good things about the book, and the cashier at Borders even vouched for it. It’s been really hard not to crack it so far, but I’m keeping it as an end of quarter reward. One of the best things about getting through finals is that I get to read for pleasure for a couple of weeks. The only problem is that once I’m in the middle of a book, I want to do nothing else but finish it. So if you can’t find me, you’ll know where I’ll be – reading and photo-taking in the middle of nowhere.

One to go…

I have one last final to get through tonight before winter break officially starts.  It’s not the same type of month-long all-you-can-sleep winter break glory that I used to have at Emerson College, but it’s a break from homework nonetheless. I’m looking forward to 9:31 tonight when I’ll be done with the quarter.  At the same time, I dread having an evening exam.  Who schedules a 6:30 to 9:30 test?  Don’t people know that that is my dinner time to bed time range?  That my brain shuts down then?  Obviously they should have consulted with me first.  Clearly the schedulers weren’t thinking right that day.

Schmooze on Over

Tonight is a very special Westside Schmooze here in LA.  Sara Wilson Etienne and Gregory K., who have been coordinating the monthly meetings, are passing the torch to Rita Crayon Huang and Lee Wind.  Sara and Greg have done a fantastic job over the past couple of years, putting together fun-filled and informative meetings.  They’re also amazing writers, funny as hell, and all-around awesome people.  I just want to say thank you for everything they’ve done.  I know Rita and Lee will also do a stellar job, so I’m excited to see what they will bring to the future.  No matter what, Schmoozing is an incredibly worthwhile experience.

Ian’s New Camera

This weekend Ian and I went and bought him a new camera, the Canon 5D Mark II. For those of you who love all things photography, this camera is a big deal. It’s one of the first digital SLR’s to have video capabilities, and it takes really crisp, huge photos. That aside, procuring said camera was a huge ordeal. Ian has been following the 5D forums for months, waiting for this time to be released. He pre-ordered this camera online from two different vendors, waiting to see which would ship first. In addition to placing this pre-order, he has been hounding down camera shops across the country, trying to see who would be the first to get this new gear. This was his weekend morning activity – calling stores when he got a lead on a forum. As luck would have it it was Best Buy in Lakewood, of all places, who had the camera. So we headed down and Ian picked up his new baby. Now that he doesn’t spend an hour a day tracking down this thing, what will he do with his time? Don’t worry, I am allowed to make fun of him. You can too.

Little guys vs. The Man

This weekend I had to replace the brake light on my car, so I took it to my local mechanic.  (I know, by now you’re probably thinking my car is a junker, but I love it still.)  In the past I’ve taken my car to the local Toyota dealer to get fixed, and it’s always an enormous headache.  The last time I was there I had to wait until the whole shop was closing to get my car, and then the girl at the register decided to add an extra zero to my bill, effectively charging me an extra grand.  Oops.

With this type of past experience I was expecting to have to wait for a while to get my light changed out.  Imagine my delight when the local mechanic took my car right away, changed the bulb in front of me, and charged me only for the bulb.  No hidden labor fees!  It was amazing.  The best part of this is, if I ever have longer repair work to be done, the shop is just three blocks from my house.  I am a new loyal customer.

In addition to better, faster service at local shops, I feel better knowing my money is going to a local shop owner rather than a large corporation.  My friend Emily recently made a similar point about patronizing small businesses rather than large chains.  It’s fun to branch out and try new things, so I’ll continue to check out the alternatives.  On the other hand, South Park did an episode about the value of corporations and why they are successful.  Plus the episode includes underpants gnomes.  Anyway, it’s an interesting debate.  Which side are you on?

Don’t believe what they sell you

I was watching Gossip Girl earlier this week when lo and behold one of the main characters whips out my phone.  Miracle of all product placement miracles!  Then, at the next commercial, there is my phone again.  This is pretty amusing to me because I’m normally about a year behind everyone else in technology.  The only reason I have this fancy new phone is because my old one was about three years old and it cracked in two the week before my wedding.  And while the new phone is cute and trendy, my overall rating of it is: fail.  Two weeks after I bought it, the screen cracked just from keeping it in my purse.  Where else am I supposed to keep my phone?  I’m girl and you’re marketing this phone to girls.  Who have purses.  I swear, I didn’t throw my phone or drop it or anything.  To fix the screen you need to replace the whole phone.  Gah.  Now, four months later, the numbers are wearing off the keypad.  I am too stubborn to get a new phone since I will most likely break it again.  Oh well.  Too bad I don’t have the kind of cash the characters on Gossip Girl have.

It’s a Secret

The other day Ian and I met a fifth grade teacher at a friend’s birthday party.  Ian and I had spent the morning discussing how we had gotten our first deodorant at the time of our elementary school’s sex education class.  This culminated in a conversation with the teacher about sex ed, because it’s a pretty funny topic.  It turns out that in Lancaster County, anyway, they don’t teach sex ed until sixth grade.  Sixth grade!  I think that’s preposterous, considering how fast young kids are maturing these days and how many of them engage in sexual activities.  If you don’t get to them until sixth grade, it may already be too late for some kids.

Anyway, Ian’s recollection is that the boys had his class and got some little gift, and when they met up with the girls after their sex ed talk the boys asked what gift the girls had gotten.  “It’s a Secret,” they giggled.  Get it?  Like Secret deodorant?  Hilarious.

For my sex ed class, the boys and girls were also separated into two rooms to watch videos about our current or pending sexual maturation.  The boys had to go with Mrs. Bortle, gym teacher at large, who was about sixty, with frosted hair and bad knees.  Like in Ian’s school, the girls were given Secret deodorant.  (I bet Secret deodorant has been worn by many girls on their path through puberty.)  My friends and I were delighted by our free gift.  My guy friends, however, rejoined our class looking like someone had kicked their dogs.

“What happened?” I asked.

My friend sunk his head into his hands.  “Mrs. Bortle,” he groaned, “said penis.  And I think she liked it.”