Grand Teton National Park & 4th of July Festivities

Grand Teton National Park: 1 July 2017

For the 4th of July weekend, we wanted to see the Idaho Falls firework show, because it's one of the largest displays in West, and because Idaho is just an awesome place to be in the summer time. We were originally going to camp somewhere, and join the Guthrie's the evening of the fireworks, but as soon as Myrna found out about that idea she insisted that we stay with them at their home in Idaho Falls. Our first day there, the Guthries had a family wedding, and Carli and I were off to the Tetons to explore. We didn't know much about the park, so we picked a hike from a hiking app, and ended up with a good one!

We saw a Moose!

4th of July Festivities with the Guthries! 

These are the Guthries! Our relation to them is Nichole who married Stephen who is Carli's brother! They are so awesome, and we see them in Provo a lot because they come down for all of Nichole's dance stuff. We couldn't thank them enough for inviting us into the family for the holidays. We felt so at home with them.

We even got to ride four wheelers! 

At the fourth of July festival, we met up with Ryan and Katelyn Stucki, and played catch until dusk when it was time for the fireworks. We just wish we lived closer to them!

There were a lot of people there, and it took a very long time to even get out of the parking lot after the fireworks ended. 

Grand Canyon National Park: Rim to Rim Hike

Grand Canyon National Park: June 2-3, 2017

We needed another adventure, so we got James, Miranda, and Clint together in our car and set out for the Grand Canyon. We drove all the way to the North Rim of the canyon and made it in time to get some pictures of the canyon around sunset.

Clint had this crazy idea, to hike from one rim of the grand canyon down into the canyon, and up the other rim... in one day. The hike was the biggest reason for the trip. The rim to rim trail is about 24 miles long from one rim to the other. The decent consists of the first 14.3 miles and 6,000 vertical feet before hiking for a few miles along the bottom of the canyon. The ascent is then a 9.6 mile, 4,500 vertical foot climb.

I had already been training for some time for my July marathon, and Clint had recently completed a Disneyworld run series, and is generally in pretty good shape. We had researched about how strenuous the hike is, and the risks of doing it all in one day. Many people hike in one day, camp, and hike out the next. We couldn't really work out a reservation to camp in the canyon, and didn't want to carry all the supplies necessary for it, so we decided that we were macho enough to hike it all in a day.

Some pictures at the North Rim the evening before our hike. We got to this overlook and were amazed at how beautiful it all was. We also thought to ourselves, that it didn't look that far from one side to the other. Then we continued down the path, and found the real Grand Canyon. 

This was the Grand Canyon that I was imagining. The previous picture was just an adjacent canyon. We actually started our hike in that adjacent canyon to descend into the main canyon.

We had perfect timing as we got there just in time for the sunset, and were able to get some great pictures with everyone before Clint and I started our hike. Also, don't mind that guy standing in the tree.

We had some trouble finding a campsite, as all of them at the north rim campground were full. We ended up finding one off the side of the road in the forest about 20 minutes north of the rim. Clint and I had to wake up very early to start out hike by 3:00 AM. We needed to start early to beat the sun and the heat. As the North rim is a lot higher in elevation than the south rim, it got pretty cold at night. When we left the campsite at 2:40, James drove us to the trailhead and the car's thermometer indicated that it was 32 degrees outside. Carli and Miranda stayed sleeping in their tents while we got dropped off at the trailhead and started our dark descent. 

When we started the hike, it was pitch black outside and 32 degrees out. We were both bundled up in a long sleeve shirt and lightweight jackets with headlamps and hiking poles. It's probably a good thing that we couldn't see off the edge of the trail, because there were a lot of really steep cliffs like this picture! This is Clint leading the way as the first bit of light started creeping into the canyon. It turned out pretty grainy, because I had to amp up the exposure in Adobe Lightroom. 

As we were hiking, Carli, James and Miranda slept and woke up when normal people do. They took the car and made the long drive around the canyon, taking a stop in the Kaibab forest to stretch and explore.

We made very good time as we hiked, and were down into the bottom of the canyon and almost to Phantom Ranch before the sun hit us. This is the last picture of us thinking the hike was easy, as we were headed right for the sunlit area in the background.

We had been hiking smart by taking lots of breaks, and drinking lots of water and staying fueled. We brought along plenty of GU energy gel packets, beef jerky, PB&Js, electrolyte pills and trail mix. We probably had more food than we actually needed. This picture was taken right after our long lunch break at Phantom Ranch, and you can tell that it just looks hot. From the 32 degree start, it had warmed up nearly 100 degrees and was well into the 110's, and possibly 120 degrees. We had long since shed any optional clothing, and couldn't drink enough water. 

This is the bridge we used to cross the Colorado river and start our ascent! At this point in the hike, it was so hot!

On our way up the south side of the canyon, we started running into more and more tourists. The north rim is far less popular and less accessible than the south rim which is just a few hours from Las Vegas. We had to pull to the side and let this mule caravan pass us by. 

I think that this water stop was at Indian Springs, just a few miles shy of the north rim. As we were coming up to the water stop we were talking about how much cooler it felt than in the heart of the canyon, and were relieved to be out of the heat. Then we saw the thermometer and were surprised that it was still 100 degrees.

With about four miles left in the hike, we were still going strong and making great time. We were on pace to finish the hike in less than 10 hours, but those last few miles were brutal, as was the heat and the sun beating down on us. Both of us bonked pretty hard and had to take a lot of breaks. In the end, we made it!! I just laid down on the sidewalk and let everyone walk around me. We were met by Carli, James and Miranda, and made our way out of there after taking a picture by the park sign. 

We drove to Carli's parent's house near Las Vegas and made a stop at the Hoover Dam because James and Miranda had never been there before. It was closed, but we were able to drive across and get a good look at it before continuing on to Carli's house where we went swimming, sat in the hot tub and ate Papa John's Pizza. Checked that one off of the bucket list!

2nd Annual Moore-Stucki Camping Trip: Yellowstone & Palisades

Yellowstone & Palisades: May 26-29, 2017

Campsite at Warm Slough

Last year we went camping with Ryan and Katelyn Stucki at Bear Lake and had such a good time we've made a summer camping trip into an annual tradition! This year we decided to meet up in Idaho, and visit Yellowstone and the Walkers. Idaho did not disappoint. It wasn't my first time in Idaho, but the first that I can really remember. We camped at Warm Slough, just outside of Rexburg.

It was kinda rainy, but the clouds parted right as we got to our campsite and the weather was perfect for the rest of the weekend. 

This campsite was free!

We played frisbee and catch with a baseball while our tin foil dinners cooked in the fire.

Yellowstone National Park 

Yellowstone was a lot of fun. There was a lot of traffic going into the park as we got there around 10 am, but because we have a national park pass, we could take the express lane.

I love this picture because it was only afterwards that I realized that there was a bird on the back of the bison!

We didn't really explore a ton of the park. Really only made it into the thermal areas near in the western side. That's the best part anyways! We got to Old Faithful at a perfect time and only had to wait about 15 minutes for it to blow.

I remember the blast being bigger when I was younger, but we read later that the height can vary.

It was super windy! Not really... It took us a few tries to get this picture.

Carli really is a good photographer! We love our DSLR that we got last year and have put it to good use.

Some of the geysers go off hundreds of times a day, and some won't go off for years at a time. Some are predictable, and others are not.

It is awesome that you can see a visualization of the temperature change going down into this thermal spring because of the various species of bacteria that thrive at certain temperatures.

Bison were the most exciting wildlife we saw. This guy was hiding in some trees right off of the trail.

After an awesome day at Yellowstone, we drove into town and ate at Big Jud's, and stayed the night at the Stucki's place in Idaho Falls. Ryan has a calling in a single's ward so we went to a BYU-Idaho single's ward for church on Sunday. After church, we drove out to the Palisades to visit the Walkers at their cabin.

Palisades & The Walker's Cabin

We LOVE Amy and Jon Walker. They were such a stellar senior couple in the city of Omsk, Russia while Ryan and I were district leaders of the two districts in the city. To give you an idea of how awesome they are, they brought the attendance of youth night from 3 to just under 30 in their time there. The youth of Omsk love them, as I'm sure everybody who gets to know them does!

Their cabin is a kid's dream. This is the 3 story tree house that Jon has built over the years.

 

Oh, and there is a hanging bridge from the tree house to the top of their shed that spans over their parking area.

We spent some time at their archery range. (Parking area)

As is the Walker's tradition, they took us up Blowout canyon so that we could add a rock to their pile. Every visitor that comes visits this place and makes their mark. Each of those rocks represent a person who loves the Walkers!

Just up the road from their cabin is this view that we went to watch the sunset. Places like this are my favorite! Not cities, or manmade landmarks, but natural beauty. We're so lucky to live in this world!

We went back to the cabin and all sat around the fire talking, listening to Ryan play the guitar and singing.

We took a break from the fire to go back up blowout canyon, up to a meadow to see the stars. 

The next day we had breakfast, and made our way for the reservoir to kayak. Here's everyone!

We decided to kayak across and back which ended up being a lot farther than we thought it was, but it was a lot of fun!

Ryan and Katelyn picked out their Christmas tree.

It was an unforgettable weekend! On our way back to Idaho falls, we stopped for square ice cream, but ate the square off before we could take a picture.

Big thanks to the Stuckis and Walkers for all of the fun!