"Dirty" 30 Adventures...St. George

Even though Derek  wasn't able to join me on my annual birthday hiking in Zions, 

my friend Leslie & her family were kind enough to go hiking with me!

Friday:

Afternoon Temple session led to meeting some long distant relatives.  I stalked them down at the end to ask them if they're related to Nephi Savage, since anyone with the Savage name has a high probability of being related to me.  After much discussion we concluded: we have no idea. My dad checked the book o'Nelson and didn't see a Levi Savage.

Then I met up with Dani and spent the evening with her & her cute lil puppy Harley.

Saturday:

Zion awaits!

But the way things shook out, 

I wasn't able to do Observation Point, 

the hike I normally do, but that's ok.

Emerald Pools it is! Parts of the trail was closed due to ice.

So these guys...

Super nice, took some group photos for us even!

Funny thing is, that log they were squat pressing, 

Leslie's little boys were lifting it around and playing with it just minutes before.  

I love this park.

Hiking now involves the use of "Jazz Hands"

The evening ended with the Johnson's being ever so wonderful to let me watch the

 RSL vs. Timbers game.  And pizza. I'm pretty lucky.

Sunday:

Hiking the reserve to collect Moqui Balls.

Her boys are so goofy!

Red, White, and Blue...

Cinder Cone Volcano:

By far my most FAVORITE hike.

 EVER. 

Has been. For quite a while.

With this view... can you blame me?

That's Snow Canyon State Park in the background.

Snowball "fight" in the crater...

There's Leslie and her boys in the carter

What the volcano gave me.. 

this was a few days later.

The bruises were pretty epic.

The side I did my epic tuck n roll down...

Snow Canyon State Park

Did some deep breathing in my "spot".  

It's right by a popular area, but always left alone.

Lots of hours spent here in this little shaded oasis over the past decade.

Monday:

A quick stop to Kolob Canyons on my way home 

to finish out the weekend.

Timber Creek Overlook Trail.  I was going to try a different one, 

until I saw this was the only one hike-able without snowshoes...

Sheer bliss :)

Lake Powell Adventure!

Over UEA weekend one of my best friends came with me on a little trip to Lake Powell for the half marathon so I wouldn't be by myself- Derek had to work.

I rode the front runner down to Provo to meet up (Shaun was coming from Price). I get off the train and there was a wonderful smell! FOOD! We look across the street.. 

Food Truck Round-up!

Dinner time!

 We also got burritos from Sweeto- Burrito.  It was dark, sorry no pics.  Just trust that they were amazing! And those doughnuts you see above? MELT IN YOUR MOUTH! $3 for a small (8ct). Totally worth the splurge!

 We spent the night in St. George to break up our drive.  So it's only logical that we have Orange Peel and Fractured Prune for breakfast.

Please ignore my finger... I was just so excited to put my feet on red dirt again!

Onward to Lake Powell!

We stopped at the race expo to pick up my stuff first.

Pulled into the resort and see this.. they said they were "training".

There was A LOT of water everywhere, and for an area that has lots of signs about water conservation.. 

 View from our room.

 The Rainbow Room offered a runner's special for dinner, so of course we took them up on the offer. NEVER again. Total rip-off that place, just FYI.

Race day!

I was really excited to actually run a half that I was going to be injury free. 

Didn't train but that doesn't really matter in my case.

What did matter was the "massage" I got Thursday morning.  Chick totally did something to my IT band and then didn't finish working it out.  A rumble roller can only do so much.

Miles 1-4: 

Easy, slightly up hill, running around the neighborhood.  

Felt great and managed an 8:15 min pace.

Miles 4-6:

SO PRETTY! We turned onto a trail that ran along the curve of the river. I don't run with my phone, but at this point I kinda wished I did! The trail was sandy- way sandy. I could feel the sand seep into my shoes and I knew I was going to get blisters.

Bonus points: An amazing lady was pushing her kid in a stroller and she kept getting stuck, so I picked up the front wheel and helped her out a bit. She ended up passing me at mile 10 fyi.

Mile 7-8: 

Downhill yay! I was amazed with how many people were pulling up on the downhill instead using the free speed and no effort required part. 

Crossing the bridge next to the damn was really cool.

  Shaun was the best athletic supporter stalker!

Mile 9:

Yup.  You guessed it. Freakin' mile 9! 

That IT band decided it had had enough and gave me a wonderful 18 minute mile.

I thought I was going to die.

Mile 10-12:

Running along the road that leads to the lake, not as pretty since there's boats all over the place but it was still awesome.  My pace had gotten slower but oh well.

Mile 13.1:

Probably the hardest last mile ever since my surgery. But I finished.

Still had tons of energy I could've gone harder if not for my IT band.

Lesson learned.

 I'm hoping my next half won't be so dramatic. 

So...

What do you do in Lake Powell without a boat and only a few hours of playtime?

 Pretend you are being attacked by a shark..

 Enjoy the beach, collect shells and drift wood...

 Tour Antelope Canyon..

 It's a wolf...

The outline is a bear... that high point in the cutout is the top of the ear.

 Take the "hike" to Horse Shoe Bend...

We were going to take a Damn Tour but we missed the last one by minutes! MINUTES!

So we started a our way back to St. George with a few stops along the way.

 Like this BLM office and Museum. It should have been open, we got there a half hour before the posted closing time.  Oh well.

 And this rock thingy...

Totally coverd in carvings.. 

This geological point of interest...

 I've never been at the back side of Zions, so took this way back to town.

This my friends is us coming in through the back door to Zions...

And what's an adventure without a little pit stop to Grafton?

 Of course we freaked ourselves out and didn't get out of the car, just took pictures and sped off!

 On our way back home, we stopped at Zions to breathe it in.

LOVE me some Zions, even if it's just a ride on the tram and a walk to Weeping Rock.

Wild Turkeys!

Courtney took this while I was singing- me and Shaun kept making up our own lyrics to pop songs.  It was hilarious, just trust me.

BEST WEEKEND EVER! I'm so lucky to have such great friends!