Three Musketeers... and a dog: June 2010

Oh yea! I have found a new obsession (ok obsession might be too strong a word) in Roller derby. This is where Pete and I went (with another couple) last Saturday night, and I am hooked. So I have always loved roller skating when I was younger, and after seeing the Movie Whip It last year, Pete bought me my own pair for Christmas. Turns out though, roller skating is really hard! It tires us out, our goal is just to skate for a 10 minute stretch before resting, its that hard. So with our love of roller skating newly refreshed, we bought tickets to the bout and went to find out what it is all about, and I am in love with it. As Pete put it, every aspect of this sport screams Laura, and he is fully behind me trying out for the team....it can't have anything to do with their short shorts.... All of the players have cool funky names and little outfits and shticks to go with it, and then the actual sport is awesome, just enough aggression, with no actual fighting on wheels no less. Loved it! The whole thing was just a lot of fun, and yes we have been brainstorming for the last few days what our roller derby names would be, and yes I am planning this years Halloween Costume right now.

Always on the go - and looking for new spots to camp/ hike/ four wheel - we reserved a spot at the Boulder Mountain Guest Ranch for the Memorial Day weekend. I was turned on to the town by a couple of co-workers who worked there last summer. I was told that it was an awesome outdoor spot, with tons of four wheeling trails, and I was sold, also the fact that they had openings when I called in February didn't hurt either.

We had never been to Boulder Utah, nor had I heard of it, but it is in the southeastern part of Utah, near the Grand Staircase Escalante National Park. The Cabin that we stayed in, only had 9 rooms, which kept it very quaint and quiet, also the staff there was awesome, very laid back and friendly. Overall the weekend was a success, just entirely too short! We had so many more things we wanted to do, but ran out of time. (and energy)

We went on this awesome hike to a waterfall called Calf Creek, it was an amazing hike, visually, and not too tough terrain. It was only 80 degrees or so, but we felt like we were burning! A lot of the trail was red rock and sand, which can be hard to trek through, and yes we took our dog. Sushi was awesome for the first half (3 miles) she was jumping up the rocks and we were so impressed with our little trekking dog.

The kids had a lot of fun, there were a lot of rocks and caverns to explore, and of course lots of lizards and snakes!

This is Annie and Dan and little Gabe posing under a tree.

And then we turned a corner and there was the falls, and it was really visually stunning, made the whole trek worth while. Unfortunately the water was freezing!

But the kids had fun, playing in the sand. Then they devised an ingenious way to climb up the wet slick rock, by carrying the sand up and covering the rock to give them traction, so that they could climb up, and then slide down. Fun to be had by everyone.

This is Emilee Fike with little Sophie and Annie with Gabe. - Unfortunately the hike back was another 3 miles in the heat, and our dog was finished. Pete had to pick her up and carry her, and it was pretty embarrassing.

There was also plenty of four wheeling trails, some groomed just for ATVs which is always a nice bonus. We went out on all 5 of the ATVs up Hell's Backbone Road to find a bridge called - what else Hell's Backbone Bridge.

The actual ride was really cool, there are tons of drop offs and chasms, that gave my height anxiety a run for the money, but the scenery was amazing!

The bridge was not very long, which was good for me, (fear of heights and all). I thought it was going to be like half a mile long, but it wasn't, but my heart still stopped every time Cadence leaned over the edge to look at how far down it was.

This bridge was created to loggers along time ago, when they had no way to get from one mountain side to the other, so they felled giant trees and laid them down across the chasm, and then drove across on those two logs. Yikes! The original log bridge is still intact underneath the road bridge, and it took about 2 seconds for Dan to hop the railing and start climbing around underneath.

So of course all the men had to do, brave maybe, but I kept thinking about them scooting across on logs, and I held my breath until I saw Pete again.

Here is my brother Adam, leaning over the edge. - Overall the trip was very cool, and I can't wait to plan another trip back there for a longer length of time. I didn't get any pics of the guest ranch that we stayed at, but we thought it was great, and I fell in love with that area, and that part of Utah. We went out to eat at the Hell's Backbone Grill, (which has been on Oprah - snooty snoots) but it was delicious, and the scenery and fishing was really awesome as well. And who doesn't love a place that sets aside trails just for four wheeling and keeps them groomed and safe? Loved it.