Oh Canada!

Guess what everybody! I'm in Canada! Woot! Woot! Let me tell you how I got here ...



A little over a week ago I flew to Salt Lake City, UT where Marie picked me up. We spent the day shopping and found the perfect wedding dress. (right, Marie? :) Wedding dress shopping is actually tons more difficult than I could ever imagine. Plus, I had gotten up at 4am for my flight that morning so I was pretty darn exhausted by the end. That day was also Marie's fiancee's birthday so they had dinner together and I met up with Michelle Haffner and we went to this groovy cafe in Provo. We walked into the cafe and there were these people sitting on the floor playing music ... I think it was Javanese Gamelan but I could be wrong. The only reason I say that is because it sounded familiar to the music Leslie and her classmates were playing long ago when she was taking Javanese Gamelan and I was sitting outside in the hallway listening to it at Berkeley. Anyway, we had a good time and we chatted about lots of subjects. After dinner she showed me around a bit and we went into the science building on campus and played with all the fun 'toys.' They are more like science experiments that you would do in 6th grade. It was great! I shot air bombs. It was such a fun day!

The next day Mabecka and her dad, Rob, came and picked me up. We drove from Provo to Goblin Valley. It is a beautiful drive. The landscape is so different from anything I'm use to. At Goblin Valley we met up with Mabecka's sister, Em, and her fiance, Jared. By the time we got to camp and had it all set up, it was time for dinner and after that it was already dark. But since Mabecka, Rob, and I hadn't done anything but drive all day (and they more than I cause they came from Pocatello) we wanted to do something so we decided to walk down to the valley with our headlamps on. Mabecka told me not to get excited because the goblins don't really look like goblins. I didn't believe her for a second. When we got there we looked out into the valley but could hardly see anything. The moon was covered with clouds so it was a pretty dark night. We hiked down to the bottom and once down there it was amazing! Because it was so dark when we shined our headlamps out, it only lit up one goblin and these goblins actually looked like goblins! They each had human characteristics to them! I loved it and Mabecka was shocked that they actually did look like Goblins. Haha! We ran around and took pictures for a while, but we didn't venture too far because it was so dark we didn't want to get lost and be unable to find our way back. So that was it for the night. We walked back to camp, got ready for bed, then went to sleep. The campground was so silent and we didn't understand why everybody was going to sleep so early. (We as in Mabecka and I) And we were told that's just what you do when you camp. As the week went on, we understood completely and became those campers that went to bed nice and early when it got dark.

In the morning we had breakfast, grabbed our packs, filled our watersupply then headed out to hike Wild Horse Canyon. I didn't know what to expect, but I was excited. I really had no idea what to expect- I had no idea how long it was or what type of hiking it would be. The weather was beautifully warm so we just wore t-shirts and shorts. When we first started hiking it was just kind of normal. Flat with little ups and downs. The only thing that made it unusual was that we were in the desert, and I've never hiked in the desert before. BUT as the hike progressed it became more and more amazing. I don't even know how to begin to explain it. Basically we were hiking down a narrow canyon with walls that shot up for what looked like miles. It was so grand and impressive. We hiked forever. But we found out it was a loop so we just kept going. Up, up, up, and up. Finally we started going down a bit, but it wasn't as satisfying as it should have been. By that time Mabecka and I were dead. My feet killed and that was the first time I had exercised since ... who knows when! But it was worth it. After we got back to camp we decided to walk back over to the valley and see the goblins in the daylight. The colors are more impressive during the day, but they don't look as goblin-ish. After spending a while in there we were pooped and decided to walk back to camp along the road. (Clarification: when we walked to the valley at night it was along the road, when we walked there during the day it was along a trail that was suppose to be shorter but was probably the same.) When we were walking back along the road we were surprised at how steep it was! It made up feel better for how much we were out of breathe. (It wasn't JUST those waffles and German pancakes I had eaten all winter ;) That night we built a campfire and I pulled out my gee-tar. We sang wonderful campfire songs such as Yellow Submarine, Last Kiss, and Let it Be. A couple sites over was another person playing his guitar but he was just madly picking and not playing songs. He was good, though. Kind of intimidating. Especially since I didn't really know how to play the songs that they knew the words to. After jamming for a little bit we went to bed and fell asleep immediately to a most beautiful slumber.

In the morning we closed up camp. We hiked Ding and Dang Canyon that day and then left for Moab. Ding and Dang Canyon were fun. Ding was pretty easy. Very similiar to Wild Horse where there were technical things, but nothing to make your heart pound. We went up ding and then came down dang. Dang was hard. And there were some scary and difficult parts. Not scary and difficult for Em and Jared because that's what they do, but scary and difficult for the rest of us. There was one part where we had to spread eagle between the two rocks and inch our way down, and another where we had our feet against one wall and our butts against the other and scooted down. Quite frightening. Especially when my legs started to quiver cause they were getting tired. That was the best hike, though. And we wouldn't have been able to do it without Em and Jared, that's for sure! I decided that in the summer I'm going to do some Rock Climbing activities. I am the secretarty for Outdoor Activities so I'll be able to find out when they are coming up and maybe I can do them for free. ;) Anyway, after that hike we drove over to Arches. By the time we arrived at Arches the campground was full so we found another campground in Moab that actually had showers and stayed there. We set up camp, had dinner, and called it a day.

In the morning we got ready and drove up to the Devil's Garden trailhead. That was a nice trail. It had tons of great arches. And it was a pleasant hike. The only unpleasant part was when we headed back down. When we started it was a bit windy and chilly, but by the time we headed back is uber windy and you pretty much felt like you were being sandblasted. Not a good feeling on your bare legs! Oh wait, hehe! When we were up at the last arch we stopped at before heading back a lady was taking pictures for us and then we took pictures of her and her husband. When we were getting our pictures taken we were standing up in the hole in the wall (and there's a cliff on the other side) and just doing slightly daring type things. Nothing that made us feel too uncomfortable though. So when this couple went up there, their daughter who is probably 7 or 8, yells out to them, "don't do anything scary! Just go up there and sit." Her parents took a few pictures sitting and then the man decided he wanted to stand up. The mother was going to also but she decided it was a little too scary. When they did that their daughter yells out, "I didn't come here to see one of my parent's die!" And when they came back down she went up to both of them and gave them each a big hug while sighing with relief. Haha! The funnier part, though, is their son. This entire time he is sitting with his back to the whole ordeal playing in the dirt with a stick. His mother looks at the pictures and laughing a little says, "Ooh! I look like a chicken!" And the kid without turning around or anything says, "My parents don't look like chickens!" It was so funny! Maybe a 'had-to-be-there' moment. But believe me. It would have made you laugh out loud too! When we got back from the hike we tried finding a place to eat lunch, but the only place we could find without getting sand whipped into our eyes and teeth was the car. So that's where we had lunch. After lunch we chose to hike up to Delicate Arch (the arch that is on the Utah license plate). By now the wind is howling so we put sweaters on, but our legs and faces are still getting a natural microdermabrasion. Ha! The next morning my skin actually was a tad softer. Naja, we hiked up and up and up and up and the higher we got the stronger the wind became until we finally reached the top. At this point it felt as if the wind would pick you up and carry you away. There was a little shelf/wall we could hide behind and finally Mabecka and I got brave enough to climb over this wall to get closer to the Arch. Surprisingly it wasn't as windy when we got closer. After spending a while taking pictures and such we hiked back down. The hike down was worse than the hike up. This time the wind was blowing everything into our faces. Pretty much we were eating sand. We were relieved to get down and went back to camp, had dinner, and rested up. The next morning Mabecka, Rob, and I decided to go into town while Em and Jared did more hiking. The town of Moab is very touristy, cute, and friendly. There were some cool shops that sold real native jewelery, flutes, baskets, rugs, etc. And another shop I liked that had fashionable and hippy clothing. We went to an art gallery also that had some beautiful watercolors. There were also some oils and pastels, but the watercolors were my favorite. When we were through with town we decided that we had to go hike a little so when Em and Jared asked us what we did we could tell them we hiked a little. :) So we drove up to the park and hiked a trail called Park Avenue. It was only one mile one way and very beautiful. The entire countryside is gorgeous so I feel kind of repetitive when I repeat that over and over. But believe me ... it was! After that hike we drove around a while pulling out at the vista points and enjoying the scenery. We decided eventually to go back to camp and get dinner ready, which we did and then go to bed. The next day we closed up camp and headed back towards Provo. We stayed the night in Helper, Ut where Em had taught for a few years. We stayed with her principle who was very hospitable and nice. It was also great sleeping in a comfy bed again! The next morning we visited for a while and then drove back to Provo. We toured the BYU campus for a while, found a campground to stay at, and got some dinner. After dinner we all went to different movies. Mabecka and I saw Bride Wars. Very cheesy. After the movies everyone except Rob went back to camp and climbed in our sleeping bags. Rob drove up to SLC to pick up Mabecka's mum, Cathy, at the airport. I'll tell you what. Never, and I mean NEVER, camp in Provo when it's snowing!!! It was an awful feeling to wake up in the morning and see snow crusted over your entire tent and see it coming down like a blizzard outside! It was so cold. The next night was worse though! Cause the sky had cleared and we turned into popsicles. Anyway, when we woke up with the snow Em and Jared were leaving so Mabecka and I were abandoned in the snow with no transportation and only a granola bar each to eat. We wrote notes on a box we found to Mabecka's parents letting them know that we would be in the showers and please not to leave us there all day. Then we stuck one on a chair full of snow and ice in the middle of the driveway, and the other between the tent door and screen so if the first blew away they'd get the other ... and if they didn't see either ... we'd be doomed to a frozen death. We got in the showers and took long, hot showers. There was no need to hurry and get out! As we were finishing blow drying our hair Mabecka's parents returned so we finished up and headed over to campus. This time we looked at the art gallery and then because apparently we were somewhat grumpy her parents decided to abandon us too. I don't know where they went but Mabecky and I just hung out in the eating area on campus near the bookstore. We just vegged and found a good spot to people watch. But it wasn't a very good people time because there weren't very many people coming through. I also gave Mum and call cause my phone was dieing and it would be the only down time I'd have before I got up into Canada. PS. I won't answer my phone while I'm up here and I don't think I can get texts ... actually I'm not sure about that one. If you need to talk, call me. I won't answer, but I will call you back from Mabecka's house phone. They have a good long distance deal. Anyway, finally everybody arrived at our meeting time and place. We grabbed some food and then went and watched Macbeth. ...It was alright. Pretty confusing and boring actually. After that we went back to camp and froze our tushes off all night. It was almost the coldest night I've ever had. Jared said the next day that it had gotten to about 7 or 8 degrees below 0. No wonder! The bag I had was only good till 5 degrees below! Haha! Don't worry, we all snuggled as close as we could. In the morning as soon as it was a decent hour we packed up and jetted. We stopped at Cabella's because ... not sure why. And then continued our drive up to Canada. We drove pretty consistently till Dillon, Mt where we stopped for lunch and then continued on until Cour de'alene (sp?), Id where we stayed the night. In the morning we finished our drive off and arrived in Kelowna, B.C., Canada. It was really easy crossing the border and we didn't have any problems. The border guy was actually kind of funny. When they said I was from a different place, he was like, "An American?!" "Two weeks!" He was just in a good mood I guess. :)

Now I've been hanging out here. Everything is still pretty dead (like most places are ... it's just that I came from Redding and they are full blown in spring getting their leaves and all) but it's gorgeous. Kelowna is right on Lake Okanogen which is huge and lovely. There are also mountains around and it's just down right gorgeous. Different from the desert. Similar to Redding area ... but still a little different. Yep. So that's it. When Mabecka goes to work I do homework assignments that need to be finished before April 20th ... or write blogs. And when she's home she teaches me how to be Canadian. It's great fun! I've picked up the "eh" quite easily because they do that in Germany too. (Not 'eh' but something similar)
Naja.

Ps. Mabecka and I both put pictures up on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=114094&id=750065335
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=240475&id=725995077&ref=nf