some of the perks of living in puget sound

parks at the beach with views of the Olympic Mountains, high and majestic above the passing ferries.

oh, and Emory getting to know and love our families so well as we spend time with them.

this is where i live

Sometimes it still feels like we're on vacation. Maybe that's because we are currently staying with Jon's parents for a slightly longer time than we originally planned. Maybe it's because this time after Christmas always seems to mesh all together and I tend to lose track until April or so. Or maybe it's because we still have Utah plates on our car. (Hey, they expire in March, and we may as well make them last, right?) Regardless, when I remember that living here is what I wanted for so long, I feel pretty fortunate that I do live here. For good.

savor the state: national park tour fall 2010 day 3, part 2

So we drove the 160 miles or so from Bryce Canyon to the Grand Canyon on Highway 89. The road is mostly scenic with a few small towns here and there, and side-of-the-road rock shops. In one of the small, southernmost towns in Utah, we stumbled on this little classic car dealership. Most places down there remind us of scenes from Radiator Springs.

and since we've talked about it for years and had the chance, we stopped by Coral Pink Sand Dunes, got a little disappointed with the park, and then played in the mud to make up for it
(I did tell Jon it would make him crazy to be there without an ATV of some kind)

the drive in northern Arizona began as a barren wasteland but turned into an astonishing scenic route through the Kaibab National Forest: sections of the road showcased nature's fury and the leftovers of wildfire; elsewhere, the view opened up to vast meadows amongst the thick trees



please forgive those who don't know how to operate our camera-we wanted a family photo

possibly one of the greatest moments was when Jon thought a much smaller side canyon was our final destination; it made his first view of the real thing even better

we loved how rustic and forested the north rim is (I visited the south rim probably 17 years ago)

and Jon loved the lighting at sunset, while Emory loved on Riley the fox, though we maybe should have gotten him the stuffed Kaibab squirrel they sold in the gift shop (at least we saw one in the wild on our drive into the park)

And then that was it. No hiking, no plans to return the next day, we just needed to see it, you know? Plus the next day was 10/10/10 and a huge group of bright-yellow-shirt-wearing folks of all ages were scheduled to hike from rim to rim. It was a zoo.

savor the state: national park tour fall 2010 day 3, part 1

On our third trip to Bryce Canyon NP in the past year, we finally got to hike amongst the hoodoos. (Last year we had a tiny baby and I was too recently postpartum to want to take a strenuous hike and our trip at the end of February was accompanied by feet of snow in southern Utah). Anyway, the hoodoos are so much larger than they seem from above. And the stone is much harder and colder than I would have imagined.

we started out on the Navajo Trail, but when we found it partly closed, we trekked through the park onto the Queens Garden Trail


I know I'm such a geek; I just couldn't get over how different the hoodoos are from what I imagined them to be

Emory thought holding hands on the trail was great and then he fell asleep
(thankfully he slept in his backpack since he boycotted naps in the car seat)


see how tall?


what goes down must go back up

After about 3-4 miles and an hour or two, we decided to head to the Grand Canyon. Jon really wanted to feel satisfied with the trip, and what can I say? He talked me into it.

savor the state: national park tour fall 2010 day 2

As we packed up the car to head onto Byway 12 on Friday, Emory tried to explore outside our cabin again and again. This year, we really hoped to catch more of the aspens on fire along the route over Boulder Mountain (last time we got there just after a windstorm and missed so many of the leaves but still loved the scenery). Our earlier arrival this time worked in our favor!

unfortunately, the lighting mid-day didn't work for good photos among the aspens. and I swear, when we dressed that morning, I did not plan for us to match all the leaves.
I know what you were all thinking, based on my matching fits for most of my life.

we love Emory's shirts made by his auntie Jessalin



we stopped for lunch at the Burr Trail Grill: such. amazing. food. too bad we ate it too fast to remember to take a picture. just imagine burgers made from local, organic, grass fed beef with such toppings as crispy bacon and gorgonzola or sharp cheddar with sauteed mushrooms and onions. and then picture a green apple and carrot slaw or herb roasted-to-perfection new potatoes. and the ham hock and potato (and vegetable) soup we fed Emory.

and Emory may or may not have had his first taste of soda. (at least it was mexican coke made with pure cane sugar).


notice the size of the lizard in relation to the bolt. tiny.

we took a side road towards Hell's Backbone Bridge, but not knowing much about the gravel path, and after tiring of not getting anywhere fast we turned around just past this old home and gate that men once built "horse high and hog tight."

Emory slept (not a common occurrence on the trip, and we're still trying to get back into nap mode, a week after our return home).

on the road.

walking (one handed!) to the view point at Bryce Canyon

throwing fits over not getting to eat the rocks and sticks. you know, the usual.