A rush of change has been happening in our lives and I'm at a stand still. With a recent ankle surgery I'm coach/hammock ridden for a while. Things are on the up and we have nothing but gratitude to be had. My ankle is in the best repair it has been in the past 4 years, our steps have turned to strides with Roam, and so the list goes on. But change is in the air--the start is what seems like a large sacrifice (though it is small) is looking at ways to cut costs. Numero uno being rent we're moving into a duplex with TK and Devin (conveniently I'm an immobile gimp). Numero dos selling things off--we've been spoiled with all the storage space at the Millcreek home. Finally, cutting back on the many imperative gear purchases--all in the name of Roam.
The final weekend before the long winter of no weekend adventures (i.e. ankle surgery and 6 month recovery) was spent with close friends. Getting feedback on keep it like a secret, sleepover at the cabin (the see-saw from our wedding was still fully functional), and practicing our shooting skills. Lucky with weather we had all sunny and blue skies.
Full set | Last Weekend
Monsoon season can be the pits. Sure our country is dry as bones and can always use the rain, the rock and dirt magically change colors with the touch of water, and we have the best lightning shows. BUT when it's always raining it puts a slight damper on exploration; roads flood, trails become mud slides (sometimes fun...just not when they're rocky), and with the rain sometimes comes hail...yea hail in the summer welcome to SE UT ha! We can really only stand so much "crafting" before we start getting antsy and restless.
Well three great things happened this past weekend 1) we convinced D's BF Scott to come down 2) we woke up to a sunny skies 3) the shemagh shipment arrived (that's 100 for our upcoming Indiegogo campaign in case you were wondering, yes 100). Sunny skies permitting with shemagh wrapped heads we headed to Bayles Ranch nestled in Chippean Rocks.
Bayles ranch is now split into 3 separate private properties. We've been wanting to speak with the owners but as luck would have it one lives in Germany, one in England, and the other in Blanding. It was our first time riding down to this area, and we took a chance dropping by one of the ranch properties. The England owner by chance happened to be visiting and we were able to have a nice chat on his porch and find wait out a looming rain cloud. The cloud emptied and subsided to a drizzle we parted ways with our new friend and as chance would have it we made it back to the truck in time for the hail show.
In Southeast Utah with heavy rains come flash floods. We headed out to Montezuma Canyon to see if we could catch a glimpse at the rushing water. We didn't spot any flashes, however we did find chocolate milk water run offs, rock falls, and a reconstructed Kiev.
Full Set | Last Weekend
Abajo Mountain means "the low mountain." Appropriately named as the low storm clouds cloaked the mountains throughout the weekend. We made our way along the mountain east rim exploring rock bands for new climbs. Overcasting clouds, cool temperatures, escaping setting sun rays, and the smell sage and pine made for an idyllic night walk.
Full Set | Rim Walk
This past weekend I ended up having some extra time before my ankle surgery so we headed down to Monticello. We have been drafting Roam swag so it was about time to create prototypes. Dustin's dad has done quite a bit of leather work so he taught us some tricks of the trade. What it is we're keeping under wraps until our Indiegogo launch, but here are some sneak peeks.
Full Set | Leathermakers
Our most current digs might not be the most glamourous, but it does have its perks year round. In the winter the only heat we had were small space heaters and a fireplace, both with their flaws. The space heaters all blew out from overuse within the first month, and well any of you who live in the SLC valley know the downside to fireplaces with our inversion. Daily we resolved to walking around in our down attire head to toe, they do make down pants and booties. Probably the highlight (because we actually felt heat), before guests came we'd close the kitchen door, open the gas stove and krank that sucker...now that I look back I'm not sure if that was the healthiest of options, but it did lead to some sweet dance parties haha. The perk you ask? Dustin as always has the words of wisdom "this is all for our mental game, it is the ultimate training." Then I would be told to think about Iceland and how cold we were, ALWAYS. How regardless of the cold we still pushed through climbing, hiking, and rocking through it.
The recent warmer months however have helped the toughing it through the wintery times seem like an almost distant, irksome memory. The area of Millcreek we live in used to be an old orchard which over the years (many years) has been sold off in plots. This is what adds to the curvy, tree lined streets, shady walkd and oozing creek; all a seemingly grandiose escape from the typical Salt Lake City grid. Our backdoor opens into a secret-garden esque backyard blossoming with rose and blackberry bushes, accompanying the plethora of trees: apricot, walnut, apple, and some ones we're still waiting to see their produce.
Not to mention the occasional urban bike course finds...I guess all we can say for now life's just fruity.
A few weekends back we were in Çello for the Pioneer Day Celebrations. This is the one weekend where the town is literally busting at its seams, so much so our typical parallel street parking jobs have to be turned diagonal. There's a 24-hour fast pitch game, 5K, parade, park vendors, snow cone mustaches and a great firework show (the Randall's even have a homemade firework show). This weekend was especially special because our sweet niece Vilate turned 1!
Full set || V's B-day
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