Somehow that innocent online exchange took on a life of its own and quickly morphed into elaborate plans for an actual trip to the AC. T'would merely be a drive of 5000+ miles in a van with fun friends and little sleep. Yeah! We can do this! High fives!
But Reality reared its head, trimmed the big plans back a little, and the Alaskan-bound-trip turned into a tour of Utah's like-no-other canyons. From Alaska to the deserts of Utah? Of course! When you can't go cold, go HOT.
The trip included (in exact and meticulous order): Driving ... retrieving socks at rest stop ... motel with lousy beds in Boise ... driving ... pickleball in Ogden ... driving ... cool rented house in Moab ... sunrise hike to Delicate Arch in Arches Nat'l Park ... a dip in the pool ... naps ... ice cream ... Moab again ... Dead Horse Point ... driving ... Mesa Arch (amazing!!) ... rattle snake ... pizza ... expensive but necessary shorts purchase ... Moab (still there) ... driving ... Goblin Valley ... almost running out of gas ... pit-stop behind a bush (t'wasn't me!)... hiking Little Wild Horse Canyon (also amazing!!) ... driving ... the non-town of Caineville ... driving ... obscure motel in Tropic with the sorta-free breakfast ... driving ... Bryce Canyon, sniffing trees, and a hike down into the hoodoos ... whistling lessons in the van ... driving ... The Narrows in Zion Nat'l Park (a perfect hike for a hot day) ... motel in Hurricane (dutifully pronounced hur'-i-cun) ... and the totally logical idea that .......... hey .... we're only twenty-some miles from St. George where there is an actual Arctic Circle. So we went ...
... on the 21st of June,
... to run.
(Side note: AC's milkshakes are not milkshakes. I mean, when it's so thick that you cannot pull it up through a straw, it is NOT a milkshake.)
Continuing: Back to Zion to hike Angel's Landing (wow!) ... driving (unshowered) ... Provo ... more ice cream ... dinosaur bones ... driving ... Boise ... nice hotel with great beds ... water sports on boat with Awesome Niece and Nephew ... (a relaxing visit with Favorite Sister for me, and some quiet hair time with my flat iron) ... Greek food with friendly waiter ... nice hotel again ... driving ... big horn sheep ... quick stop at Multnomah Falls for flattened penny ... and home.
Sprinkled onto EVERY WAKING MOMENT WITHOUT EXCEPTION: profuse and slightly-obsessive picture-taking. (And THAT is an understatement.)
So it goes to show, when life takes away apricots and hands you bananas instead, just know that those bananas will make a fantastic smoothie. And the apricots will be there next year, or the year after that.
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