#redpinelake

My brother and sister-in-law from Atlanta are in Utah for the week for vacation, so we met up with them on Saturday night in Salt Lake City and had an epically delicious meal at a place called Frida Bistro. This place gets an A++++ in my book. To top of the night, the musician who wrote Dave and my’s wedding song (I mean not specifically for us, just the one we chose) was in town so we had the chance to see him perform.

At the end of the night, we went back to our HOTEL - that’s right - I finally broke Dave’s will to not stay at any hotel (other than maybe Indiana on the way home to swim in a pool because we will be sad at the end of our trip). We booked a spot at the Doubletree which has everything you could ever want if you haven’t showered in days or slept on a real mattress in a week. They even give you warm chocolate chip cookies when you check in. Come. on. Walking into our room and seeing that king-sized beautiful bed was one of the best moments on this trip. I mean at least it seemed like it at the time-perspective here.

We slept for 27 hours and woke up like new human beings. We again met up with my brother and sis and headed to Red Pine Lake to do an 8 mile hike to a beautiful alpine lake. John and Elise told us they were a bit hesitant to hike because they weren’t in shape like us (lol) but we all proceeded to conquer the hike to the lake without crying or throwing up.

On our way down, we wanted to replenish our bodies with nutritious power foods after the grueling 2000+ increase in elevation, so we went to In and Out and ordered double burgers with fries and root beers and collectively finished them in less than 10 minutes. 

John and Elise headed for Capitol Reef so we parted ways for the time being. Dave and I then proceeded to look for campgrounds and then give up after 5 minutes because we remembered how wonderful our sleep at the hotel was and booked another one.

We woke up this morning and did some research on where to spend our time before we meet back up with John and Elise in Zion National Park and ended up in Bryce Canyon, which is where we now sit around a campfire. We did a short hike and some scenic driving and saw some really unique and beautiful bits of nature. 

We also learned there are two backcountry hikes so we went to the Visitor Center to get a permit for tomorrow night, where we received a bear box. We knew we wanted to have a campfire and headed to a camp store nearby to pick up some supplies for dinner and firewood. At the store, we were waited on by perhaps the best cashier ever, who shot-scanned Dave and attempted to put my head in the bear box. I don’t know guys.

After we gathered what we needed, we walked over to the park shuttle which is the primary means of getting around the park. After waiting for about 15 minutes we decided we didn’t actually want to wait anymore and that we instead would attempt the 1.5 mile trek back to our campsite on foot. We decided this just as the shuttle pulled up and we were too far to go back.

I just wanted to mention this because awkward things just seem to happen to us. And tonight was no different. See, the bear box is kind of the definitive tool for backcountry camping. If you have one, it’s because you are going into the wilderness and you need to store your food. 

So, by carrying this bear box in my hands, it signaled to everyone “THIS PERSON IS GOING INTO THE WILDERNESS.” And it was filled with chips and drinks. And I had no gear except a camera bag. And Dave was carrying a bundle of firewood and fires are illegal in the backcountry. And we were walking on a trail. In shorts. In the desert. As the sun was setting. 

It was a real walk of shame and at one point I just couldn’t stand it anymore so we went significantly off the trail and ended up on the front porch of some ritzy cabins. I don’t know guys.

Anyway. We made it back. We are trying really hard to stay up past 9:30 tonight because this area is supposed to have some of the best views of the night sky in the country. Fingers crossed!