Rim-to-Rim

You know that moment when all of a sudden, out of the blue, you and your best friend have the same days off work so you feel the NEED to go on a fun adventure? Well Chris and I had that moment. And decided to take a spontaneous trip to the Grand Canyon...and hike rim-to-rim.

We didn't have much time to prepare for this endeavor so we simply ran to the grocery store to get some goods, packed our bags and made a plan that went like this: drive to the Grand Canyon and then hike. After a quick post-work nap we left at 1am on Wednesday for our grand adventure.  During the drive I learned a few things about my husband, #1 he knows every word to every Celine Dion song ever written and has the vocal chords to attempt to hit them and #2 he has a theory that if you sing as loud and as ugly as you can then you will sound exactly like Guns N' Roses and can sing along to any of their songs (I tested this theory and he's on to something big). When we came to the crossroads of the sign that said "North Rim <- South Rim ->" we took a wild guess and decided to start at the South Rim, just because.

Thanks to a time zone change - which we totally forgot was going to happen or we would have slept in longer than 1am - we arrived at the Grand Canyon just as the first light was coming up. It's a little surprising, because you're driving in a fairly flat desert--and then suddenly--the world drops off in front of you. It was amazing to watch the sunrise, especially since all the other tourists were sleeping--giving us the opportunity to feel some solitude. We then headed to the backcountry office right as they opened to see if we could get a permit to camp inside of the Grand Canyon at some point that weekend. As you can well imagine, those permits are hard to come by and we had no such luck. This lead to our decision to spend the day seeing sights around the visitors center, and then begin hiking the next morning across the canyon in a day.

Snapped this photo just as a thunderstorm rolled in.

We had fun playing tourist, but definitely felt like we were missing something as we stood at the edge of the canyon looking down. It felt too "Disneyland-ish" and void of the awe factor we had been expecting. Knowing that we needed more out of our Grand Canyon experience we went to bed early to catch a good night's rest before our big hike the next day.

Our alarms woke us up at 3:30am so we could take down camp, catch the first shuttle to the trailhead, and start hiking down Bright Angel Trail by 4:45. The descent into the canyon was spectacular! The farther we hiked, the larger the canyon became, and we finally felt like we were really seeing it. We hiked. And hiked. When we felt like we had to be at the bottom of the canyon there was another canyon wall to descend. When we finally got down to the Colorado River we felt a pang of longing, as we know we will never really feel like we've experienced the Grand Canyon until we've rafted it (mark my words--one day it will happen). The bottom of the canyon was stunning with the black granite, refreshing creeks, and a surprising amount of shade.

It wasn't long after we got to the bottom that we realized we should have planned our trip better, or rather at all--as going south to north meant that about a quarter of our hike was downhill and the rest was going to be uphill. But an uphill battle wouldn't stop us as we continued on. We hiked. And hiked. Annnnnnd hiked. We saw a lot of pretty things along the way, but mostly we just dripped in sweat and thought about how smart everybody else was who we met who had trained for this hike and had daypacks instead of full overnight packs. Since we hadn't planned our hike in advance, we carried all our camping gear to stay at the North Rim. Let me tell you - the size of your pack makes a big difference.

As we approached the north rim we were blown away with how different the terrain was from the south rim. We were no longer in Visitor Center chaos of the desert but had entered a much less populated and beautiful Aspen forest. We were lucky to be able to walk up and get a tent spot in the "hiker/biker communal site." After a quick dinner we crashed and slept like rocks throughout the night.

"We made it!" thumbs up.

Chris threw together the video below, pretty much summing up our big hike.

                                   

When our legs wouldn't move in the morning, Chris opted to take the shuttle back to the south rim to pick up our truck. During his long drive I made fast friends with some neat hikers who were in the communal site. When Chris got back we drove to Page, Arizona, where we had a big all-you-can-eat Chinese dinner and found a campsite near Horseshoe Bend. We were too tired to set up our tent so we just laid our sleeping bags in the truck bed and crashed like we had never slept before.

When Saturday rolled around we once again woke up at a ghastly hour (though slightly later than the previous two days) and drove to Horseshoe Bend to see the sunrise. Our tired legs hobbled the longest quarter mile we have ever experienced to the overlook. Once again our planning, or lack thereof, shone through as the sun rose in the opposite direction of the Horseshoe Bend overlook! Regardless,  it was a scenic and peaceful morning. We met a sweet couple from Japan who Chris offered to take some pictures for. The husband then gave me a small pillow to sit on so I wouldn't have to sit on the cold hard rock, and then insisted I keep the pillow (which had tags in Japanese!) when we left. It was such a kind gesture, and was a wonderful reminder of how little acts of kindness can brighten somebody's day.

When we were done taking pictures we limped back to the truck, began singing a mix of Celine Dion and Guns N' Roses, and headed back home (where we agreed that upon return we would do nothing other than eat and lay in bed for the foreseeable future).

Remember to pray and remember to play,

But really just remember to plan your vacations,

Mr. & Mrs. Our-Legs-Ache-Andrew

Solitude in Arches

Our highlight of the week was backpacking in Arches Nat'l Park. On Friday Dani swung by the visitor's center to pick up a backcountry permit and when I came home from work that evening, mom kindly shuttled us to the trail head for Courthouse Wash. After a short hike we found a beautiful sandy campsite in the narrow canyon walls, overshadowed by the cottonwood trees. There was a slight chance of precipitation, but we didn't even need our rainfly over our tent. Even though I grew up in the desert, I still appreciate the beauty of the red rock, sand, and distinct arid smells.

Dani prepared some delicious overnight oats (pre-mixed containers of oats, craisins, walnuts and brown sugar you just add water to the night before) for breakfast which we enjoyed before we began hiking again. It would be pretty hard to get lost - you just follow the stream in the deep canyon. We found pools, waterfalls, and even a wild turkey. Considering it was a weekend in one of the most popular National Parks in the state, we were pretty lucky to have the canyon all to ourselves! We didn't see another soul the whole trip, disguising the fact that we were less than three miles from the road in either direction.

Sometimes our carefully-placed camera on self-timer falls over. And we pose anyways.

I was officially hired on as a volunteer EMT for the Grand County EMS department this week! I will continue to train until I feel comfortable running with only one other medic. Early this morning we were called to a unconscious vomiting patient in a campground. After a quick assessment and treatment we took him to the hospital. As my first "real" call where I got to actually transport a patient with a medical emergency, I was pretty excited to administer care in the prehospital setting. It's going to be hard to go nursing school this fall when this is so much fun!

Capitol Reef and a Highway Rollover

This week was a blast. Dad, mom, and Jacob left on a Mexican cruise, so Dani and I had the youngest two all week. Dani spoiled them rotten while I was working and training with the EMS department, taking them on all sorts of hikes and adventures. She even baked them a giant cookie and let them decorate it (the frosting reads: No Parents!)! I didn't have work Thursday or Friday, so we took off to Capitol Reef to spend a long weekend in the Park. None of us had ever been there before, so we explored around the desert, discovering all sorts of arches, potholes, and caves. We weren't exactly roughing it in the backyard-like "campground," but Olivia certainly appreciated the flushing toilets.

The rain was off and on all weekend. Desert rain feels pretty incredible - the dampness in the air feels so refreshing, and the fresh-soaked ground smells so alive. The lichen on the red rock turns green, and the rivers turn a copper shade of chocolate milk. We stayed away from narrow canyons, as the scarcely-seen cliffside waterfalls had filled the usually dry river bottoms with flash flooding.

Matthew and Olivia playing in the "Kukoo-moodoo" holes

At the end of our longest 7 mile hike, we found a series of pools, or tanks, that cascade into one another when it rains.  In one of them there were a ton of toads!

When we got back to Moab on Saturday, I took Matthew out to test fire his newly-built potato canon. I can't believe I never constructed one of these when I was his age! When we got home I told Dani that I'll probably have to make one before we have our own sons.

                                    

Today was pretty exciting for me. I was on-call for Grand County EMS, and early this morning we were paged out to a vehicle rollover on the highway. After three previous shifts without any real calls, you better believe I was the first one to the response shed.

Even running code with our lights and sirens on, our travel time to the accident was over 30 minutes. He had swerved off the road, flipped his car at least three times, and landed in the opposite direction of traffic. He wasn't wearing his seatbelt, and the airbag didn't deploy. When we arrived, our patient was up and walking around, and after a full assessment, he refused to be transported, only asking for a bandaid to cover an existing cut on his finger. What an incredible miracle! Although I was looking forward to the excitement of actually being involved in patient care and transport, I was pretty glad that he survived without any serious injuries.

I finished my day with a transport from our hospital to Grand Junction, CO where our patient could have his appendix taken out, as our surgeon is moving and his replacement hasn't arrived yet. I'm really looking forward to volunteering more as an EMT this summer.