tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41148499171246562772024-02-07T20:04:38.050-08:00Crafty PursuitsMandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.comBlogger189125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-88400986839207012942014-06-25T11:40:00.001-07:002014-06-26T06:14:22.369-07:00Dining Room UpdateI realize that I haven't written a real update in... practically forever. So I thought I'd just jump in and let you know how things stand in the dining room.<br />
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You know I've been working on this room for a while, and its still not finished, but when we started, it looked like this.</div>
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As you recall, we added a chandelier back in October, and then just waited it out. I needed to know how I really felt about this wide pine plank "wainscoting". And here is the really terrible truth... I couldn't stand it. It was stained a dark brownish color, which prevented you from really seeing the grain. It also hid a crazy amount of mold that accumulated during last summer's endless humidity wave. Additionally, this room is on the north side of the house and is incredibly dark. I decided to just paint it all white. Well, linen white technically speaking. </div>
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After three coats of shellac and three coats of linen white, the room was already much brighter. I felt guilty for the longest time about painting the trim because it is true to the historic character of the house, but I took solace in the fact that I could walk around the corner into our office to see more pine planks if I really wanted to. So the next step was paint selection for the walls. This was also a tough decision to make... I really liked Sherwin William's "Smoky Blue" but then I painted a swatch on the wall and felt scared... it was such a bold color and I didn't know if I could handle it. But facebook voted...</div>
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And I still wasn't sure. So I told the guy at Sherwin Williams (who knows me on a first name basis) to just pick a color. </div>
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He went with Smoky Blue. </div>
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Once I finally had done allllll of that painting (it was ridiculous) I decided to get rid of my table and chairs and acquire something new. As you may have guessed by now, there is something wrong with me that causes me to take on endless projects. The new table and chairs were much of the same -- endless. </div>
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I began stripping the table first, that was the quick part. </div>
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I really liked how the wood looked completely naked and I tried many different methods to see if I could get it to stay that way. Wax, "white wash" stain, etc. All that ended up happening with those methods is that I made more work for myself and had to strip it back down when I wasn't happy with the result... again.</div>
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This photo doesn't look that bad, but it was much more white-orange in person, like that classic 1980's look that everyone has come to hate in the 2000's. It was a fail.</div>
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The search continued as I decided I couldn't really leave it naked or light colored because the yellow hue of the oak would find a way to shine through. I experimented with different stains and finally settled on a combination of half "weathered oak" and half "classic grey".</div>
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With the stain and poly complete, it was time to tackle the chairs. Oh... the chairs. </div>
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First, I cleaned them with a cleaner that also contained a deglosser. But I'm never one to skip the proper steps, so I sanded them down and then washed them again. By this point in the dining room overhaul process, it was May, and nice enough to set up my paint tent once again and paint gun these bad boys. </div>
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As you can see, the chairs had other plans. These photos were taken after three, yes, three coats of primer. They just flat out rejected the paint. Not interested. Chalk this up as fail # 2. Realizing my only option was to sand these down AGAIN and then do a coat of shellac, the old fashioned way (with a brush... like some sort of Neanderthal) I groaned and moaned and whined like a baby, then finally, sucked it up and did the shellacking. </div>
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I'm fairly certain that I will be buying an additional gun that I can use exclusively for oil-based products moving forward. The problem with old woods rejecting water-based paint is common enough that I know what to do when it happens, so odds are good I will have to do it again sometime. A gun would really streamline the process. </div>
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After all of this, I was finally able to paint the chairs the linen white that I wanted them. So, let's talley the painting that went into the photo below.... </div>
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3 coats of shellac on pine</div>
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3 coats of paint on shellacked pine</div>
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2 coats of Smoky Blue</div>
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2 coats of misguided stain (later stripped)</div>
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1 coat of the correct stain</div>
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3 coats of poly</div>
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3 coats of primer on chairs</div>
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1 coat of shellac on chairs</div>
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1 coat of paint on chairs</div>
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In the photo directly above you can see that I rearranged the room a bit to accommodate a very large seagrass rug generously given to me by a friend/co-worker/boss' daughter. It has a navy blue border which works perfectly . </div>
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With the room painted, furnished and trimmed with a rug and curtains, it's looking pretty good. We're still missing out on some wall art, but I'll leave you with the sight for my source of inspiration. </div>
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Good chat. </div>
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Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-90410525699480602682014-06-02T07:29:00.000-07:002014-06-02T07:30:45.837-07:00The Everglades and Biscayne: Day 3 & 4Day 3: Sunday, March 2, 2014<br />
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By the time Day 3 rolled around, we were practically professional waffle-makers. The hotel we stayed at had a pretty serious free breakfast, which included the ability to make your own Belgian waffles. Since we only had a 15 minute drive to our activity in Biscayne National Park, we took a leisurely pace with breakfast. Had we known just how long it would take to launch said activity, we could have stayed for lunch.<br />
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Biscayne National Park is actually a fairly new park. It was a National Monument for years before finally gaining park status in 1980. Something like 90% of the park is underwater, so it was pretty unfortunate that the only concessionaire allowed to rent boats and operate scuba tours within the confines of the park had an expired contract. Just another example of the government dropping the ball. The busiest season for the park is November - May... the contract expired in September. When we visited in March, 99% of the park was not accessible.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a bad spot for a ranger station</td></tr>
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The ONE method for exploring a small portion of the park was a ranger-led canoe/kayak trip. In this instance, the canoes and kayaks are owned by the park, and are free for anyone participating in the trip. Because Biscayne National Park is practically in Miami, there are many efforts made to engage some of the city-dwellers to enjoy the park free of charge. You can host BBQs and other events at the Visitor's Center, you can take a free kayak trip with a ranger, and there is no fee to enter the park. The hope is that by engaging local residents, they will create park advocates who will love and support other parks. My opinion is that they are bleeding money, and should minimally charge a $5 entrance fee.<br />
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We had enjoyed our kayak trip so much on day 2 that I had high hopes for this trip. We were slated to begin at 10, so Dan and I made sure we arrived early this time. After "checking-in" with the ranger (who seriously must have had some sort of learning disability) we waited nearly two hours before putting our kayak in the water. Not kidding.<br />
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It was honestly the most inefficient thing I have ever seen. First, the ranger hemmed and hawed for an hour (literally, an hour) about how many people she could take out on the trip. I don't understand why this was such an issue... if you have the kayaks to take 20 people, then that is what you can accommodate, no more and certainly no less if you have 20 people interested.<br />
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When it was finally decided that we could in fact take all 20 people, we began the boating safety instruction. At this point, it was nearly 11:30, and I was starving. When we finally got on the water at noon, it had been so long since our arrival, that you couldn't even be mad. It was one of those things where the delay and snags are so insane, you become a little loopy and start laughing at everything.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue crab, the most exciting thing we saw on our trip</td></tr>
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Once on the water, several of the 20 in our party worked hard to learn how to maneuver a kayak, as this was their first experience. We were able to spend our hour on the water moving a grand total of about 500 yards. Sadly, we did not get to explore any of the keys included in the park, we did not get to scuba and we spent a very frustrating three hours not doing much of anything, and certainly not learning anything we didn't already know.<br />
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As far as I could tell, the ranger (who later explained that she had been at Biscayne National Park for 3 years) was hired exclusively to cater to the local population by her ability to speak Spanish. I can only imagine how many rangers would kill to be in Biscayne, especially in the winter. Presumably, all of the other rangers would be far more knowledgeable and faster moving.<br />
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So after our huge disappointment of a morning, we returned to the hotel to sit by the pool. As I've mentioned several times, relaxing is not really my thing. I was able to sit out for about an hour and a half before deciding I would go out for a drive to some of the nurseries we had passed on our drive to the Gulf the previous day. Driving the mini-van around I had to stop for gas and was delighted to walk into the station and discover a frozen coffee machine akin to the Slurpee machines found in gas stations at home. I filled up a cup and paid the $1.17 or whatever it was, and reveled in my cheap frozen coffee. After giving it a little bit of thought, I decided it was probably for the best that we did not have such machines at home... frozen coffee is not light is calories.<br />
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I drove out quite a ways until I came across the nursery that I wanted to explore. Unfortunately, it was Sunday at 5:00 and everything was closed. So I returned to Homestead, did a little quick shopping at Kohls for flip flops (how does one forget to pack flip-flops when traveling to Miami?) and polarized sunglasses for Dan.<br />
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This super-exciting day featured a similarly super-exciting dinner: Dairy Queen for me and Domino's for Dan. We ate in our separate hotel beds and watched movies. Yeah, it was a little lame but hey, not every day can be exciting.<br />
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On Day 4, I got up before Dan and ate breakfast by myself. I spent the morning at Issac Farms, as <a href="http://crafty-pursuits.blogspot.com/2014/03/issac-farms.html" target="_blank">discussed in detail here</a>. We then spent a few hours by the pool before heading back to the airport and getting on a plane to return to a solid temperature of 0 degrees F. New England really knows how to welcome you home.Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-63917051373232273802014-05-22T06:39:00.002-07:002014-06-02T07:30:26.086-07:00The Everglades Day 2<b>Day Two: Saturday, March 1, 2014</b><br />
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We had to wake up really early on Day Two to be able to drive out to the Gulf Coast in time for our 10:00 a.m. kayak tour. I think we left the hotel by 8:00 a.m. I still ended up flying down the Tamiami Trail, cursing the local area industry (farming) for its slow-moving Saturday workforce. I did enjoy passing all of the nurseries though, as was evidenced by my return to <a href="http://crafty-pursuits.blogspot.com/2014/03/issac-farms.html" target="_blank">Isaac Gardens</a> not once, but twice. The road that connects the eastern and western portions of the park also runs through Big Cypress Natural Preserve, which is about as stereotypical FL swamp as it gets! I do wish we had a little more time to explore that particular area, but the schedule for Day Two was pretty tight.<br />
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Finally arriving at the Gulf Coast part of the Everglades, we rushed around to get our tandem kayak rented, apply bug spray and sunscreen and check-in to our ranger-led kayak trip. Did I mention that my boss, Lucinda, was also there? As it turned out, we both planned to be in Florida at the same time... they stayed in Marco Island and we were in Homestead. I suggested that she and her husband Tom join us for the kayak tour of the Ten Thousand Islands. They greeted us as we hustled around (late - as usual).<br />
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Within 10 minutes of our arrival we were out on the water, trying to figure out how to paddle together. You can surely imagine the challenge involved in that escapade! As we worked our way against the breeze we were able to get across the bay to our first little stop. The tide had gone out on the "3 sisters" or "3 witches" little tiny cluster of mangrove trees that was called an "island". Our ranger - Andrew - told us a little bit about the wildlife that he asked us to turn up. Mostly crabs, starfish and other microscopic sealife. The area that we were in was all saltwater coming from the Gulf, unlike most of the Everglades which consists of freshwater coming down (slowly) from Lake Ocochobee. The ranger's assistant - I think his name was John - appeared to be aggravated by our very existence, which became a great joke as the day wore on.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan preparing to walk on the 3 Sisters </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrew offers instructions</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3 Sisters</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I forget what this is, but its alive.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3 sisters, tide out. When the tide is it, you can't see the orange branches of the Mangroves</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan explored</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">many different sized hermit crabs</td></tr>
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Pushing away from the 3 sisters, we began to navigate many small channels of "islands" consisting of mangrove trees and the silt and shells they collect under their unique tentacle-like roots. We had to stop for a few minutes to wait for one of the couples who joined us in a canoe. As it turned out, they had no clue how to operate it! Meanwhile the husband, also named Dan, had lost his glasses at our first stop and had tried to return and find them with the assistance of reluctant Ranger John. Andrew and the rest of our group of pale northerners waited in a cluster of mangroves, trying to find some sort of shade to hide us from the hot tropical sun.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our "shady" spot</td></tr>
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As we waited, Andrew told us about some of the wildlife in the park, including one particular type of bird. Apparently, this bird spends an insane amount of time picking out a stick. This stick needs to be the Mary Poppins of sticks (practically perfect in every way) because he is going to present it to his lady bird. If she accepts his offering, they will use the stick to build their nest together and will remain monogamous for life. If however, the stick is found wanting, she rejects him by hitting him over the head with said stick. Seems a little harsh, but if you're going to make it the corner stone of your nest, it needs to be a good stick, right? So as it turned out, our "Uncle Fred" bird from Day 1 was actually just a man in love. Adorable.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucinda and Tom</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you see the creepy tree crabs?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">us, having fun!</td></tr>
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Ranger John and his compadres finally showed up, with Dan in a single kayak and John in the canoe with Dan's wife. This was all very hilarious to me because Dan, a Vietnam Vet wearing a Harley Davidson tank top, didn't strike me as the kind of guy who liked to admit that he needed help with his canoe. Our group continued the tour learning more about the area and ecosystems as we paddled along. Just when my Dan and I finally seemed to figure out the whole tandem kayak thing, we stopped on another island for lunch. This island - Sand Fly Island - was actually once inhabited by Seminole Indians. We explored on a short trail for a little bit before finishing lunch. As we all got back in the kayaks I had another laugh at Veteran Dan's expense. He was slowly lowering himself into his single kayak and slowly just tipped over. It was honestly in slow motion, I don't know how he wasn't able to stop it from happening.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flock o' Birds</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand Fly Island</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sandfly island on google maps</td></tr>
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Within a half hour, we were back on shore returning our kayak. We bid goodbye to my boss Lucinda and her husband Tom and got back in the car to head east. The guided tour was really informative, it moved at a quick pace and it was a bit of a workout. Dan and I both ended up with blisters on our thumbs and slightly sore arms the next day, but overall, it was a great experience that was well worth the $45 it cost us to rent a kayak for the 4 hours.<br />
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Our next stop was Shark Valley and the lookout tour which is as close to the true middle of the park as you can get. We arrived just in time to hop on the 3:00 tram tour which brings you the 7 miles to the tower. Alternatively, you could rent a bike and ride out - but there is NO shade, and very little breeze. Plus, alligators EVERYWHERE. I'm just not cool with being that close to a wild animal with the jaw strength of 2000 PSI. Plus, under the roof of the tram we enjoyed a little shade and the breeze created by riding around at 10 MPH. Our guides pointed out all kinds of wildlife and gave us some of the fun facts that I already shared with you. It was another nice experience, and certainly recommended. I believe our tickets were about $15 each, so it was fairly inexpensive and we got some great pictures - Including the one below of the alligators laying across the walkway to the tower. Trying to get around them was NOT an experience I enjoyed. Although I guess now I can brag that I escaped being eaten from an alligator... right?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNpoBHs5lNFbW9SAH6nn9uWhueJI8jJipycNdVyGYOKrJAzabT5PhbNizwsHDfr-a6L65THzSGoeIFWse74Ln8_AfH2CveDbvM0-A1wvx3y5UFjJEd0txELoGcDcAq8KJNYWvyXKjLvEo/s1600/Day+2+(31).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNpoBHs5lNFbW9SAH6nn9uWhueJI8jJipycNdVyGYOKrJAzabT5PhbNizwsHDfr-a6L65THzSGoeIFWse74Ln8_AfH2CveDbvM0-A1wvx3y5UFjJEd0txELoGcDcAq8KJNYWvyXKjLvEo/s1600/Day+2+(31).JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">waiting to eat me...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiY_ZN6__rUMX02JdhbvCZU0moI-M5ZQ2_tdMpXSdrh5qUNrt7bO1ouK8SEikvK_tq2AsX5ROtUV44Bt4OIdbf0_nFXrDMcDagzzlk-yNNCX4U45PHvSuQoTyC4VIswm5kXy-aiTdevnM/s1600/Day+2+(32).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiY_ZN6__rUMX02JdhbvCZU0moI-M5ZQ2_tdMpXSdrh5qUNrt7bO1ouK8SEikvK_tq2AsX5ROtUV44Bt4OIdbf0_nFXrDMcDagzzlk-yNNCX4U45PHvSuQoTyC4VIswm5kXy-aiTdevnM/s1600/Day+2+(32).JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I ESCAPED!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPBTC_7hQu4MsuV0aMJP2otWNhyphenhyphenUy93LpsYdCmg9qYbR9pS8yR_JO8u3kSvEH2sdtgL_tAHl-ERQXce1h4topJJo_SJx6oHjlHmRCXKbMowUTPSWu4BiHpqvgfU35PppXVlq9blS4zLE/s1600/Day+2+%252816%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPBTC_7hQu4MsuV0aMJP2otWNhyphenhyphenUy93LpsYdCmg9qYbR9pS8yR_JO8u3kSvEH2sdtgL_tAHl-ERQXce1h4topJJo_SJx6oHjlHmRCXKbMowUTPSWu4BiHpqvgfU35PppXVlq9blS4zLE/s1600/Day+2+%252816%2529.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pink spoonbill </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ26H2Atit9lC_DGh-Pdo0NHlRAdxC_X47OJJGJF879CXF25UqYkeTYgxpvS4gWVsYimYvYDckG0WH5t5IiQznTlEJlX-3RxflSuDI23jdQDZGoNUzWswLOA7wvXNzgC-j6LGOSO7EWC4/s1600/Day+2+%252830%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ26H2Atit9lC_DGh-Pdo0NHlRAdxC_X47OJJGJF879CXF25UqYkeTYgxpvS4gWVsYimYvYDckG0WH5t5IiQznTlEJlX-3RxflSuDI23jdQDZGoNUzWswLOA7wvXNzgC-j6LGOSO7EWC4/s1600/Day+2+%252830%2529.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1ti6TgpXXMf_5Ab2a2R4bcpOR-C1yPNoddAlFxs3RNq0brRXOmkILrSvvJZbkX72gZP2_gzwVX7w25B1z18dawaW0YzU_g24F1aLzvdnAQBwzjnVutNLt88ZlZBZQyGhjrhsaF2IKo4/s1600/Day+2+%252840%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1ti6TgpXXMf_5Ab2a2R4bcpOR-C1yPNoddAlFxs3RNq0brRXOmkILrSvvJZbkX72gZP2_gzwVX7w25B1z18dawaW0YzU_g24F1aLzvdnAQBwzjnVutNLt88ZlZBZQyGhjrhsaF2IKo4/s1600/Day+2+%252840%2529.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view from the Tower</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirlrfCQ8m3VP6bmyzsCFMFqp4FG8usjTPac0-P289wq8sUXZ1src9o5WlZ4Ix9iJdss22UHJx9pV7QHbEWSs5bo_HCd-rQOF8nhNAmOHTREU0QcoELMguUcVTisU6BboeDdZEQ7j2FEuc/s1600/Day+2+%252844%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirlrfCQ8m3VP6bmyzsCFMFqp4FG8usjTPac0-P289wq8sUXZ1src9o5WlZ4Ix9iJdss22UHJx9pV7QHbEWSs5bo_HCd-rQOF8nhNAmOHTREU0QcoELMguUcVTisU6BboeDdZEQ7j2FEuc/s1600/Day+2+%252844%2529.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">look at all of the fish!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgddaP0dl8xLARmcy89Zl9a8WGq_xeUSwPxU8pdw7lAFaQ1ftnHY-iO58sAhTFwlku36cu4buizE6xsUz-doNTLsH-pop0mAQNVhv77X-4XfXRBElH1IF4hwab5CTfYiN7-DJ1YA4t7WuM/s1600/Day+2+%252857%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgddaP0dl8xLARmcy89Zl9a8WGq_xeUSwPxU8pdw7lAFaQ1ftnHY-iO58sAhTFwlku36cu4buizE6xsUz-doNTLsH-pop0mAQNVhv77X-4XfXRBElH1IF4hwab5CTfYiN7-DJ1YA4t7WuM/s1600/Day+2+%252857%2529.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full size alligators = super scary</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGeFQb1X01oj6mHogWqGFs73wo_ABG5EJf7FlazE6DfADF2J_V_f7FolMTlERGWCU6kasmkKnf7OmaS7eYgiw8AdJjjGzSX_yT6azRh_mZno0CqXqUFzn1dnxn76EVgoz0OHWcyyvQm8s/s1600/Day+2+%252863%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGeFQb1X01oj6mHogWqGFs73wo_ABG5EJf7FlazE6DfADF2J_V_f7FolMTlERGWCU6kasmkKnf7OmaS7eYgiw8AdJjjGzSX_yT6azRh_mZno0CqXqUFzn1dnxn76EVgoz0OHWcyyvQm8s/s1600/Day+2+%252863%2529.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BABY ALLIGATORS = CUTEST!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjy3ODOfLAlUURlOwhn54xrHUr5lfhhTEI4BMNTZqAYnn7EZlq9RlKt4h4ujw9bzUoxWPQVesd5BSFhswbfkice7xZsNd4hCFovgGWlveFPpyvLESCouzqrIVQ6GRdMBJNW5P7fVkyrc/s1600/Day+2+%252865%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjy3ODOfLAlUURlOwhn54xrHUr5lfhhTEI4BMNTZqAYnn7EZlq9RlKt4h4ujw9bzUoxWPQVesd5BSFhswbfkice7xZsNd4hCFovgGWlveFPpyvLESCouzqrIVQ6GRdMBJNW5P7fVkyrc/s1600/Day+2+%252865%2529.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy looks like he is smiling, right?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvasmOcV1oSE7KjOkMaFIKPeSa_DblDm88kJmquMQHzUNi31wFIdEV6biE72iBRjMStWioEHytdexg_qzDgp-PtJsaw9dyPsbA9LxgyqkXZKNu5oh5FUhlVrKs18AmlQtIst2P0jPrEhs/s1600/Day+2+%252866%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvasmOcV1oSE7KjOkMaFIKPeSa_DblDm88kJmquMQHzUNi31wFIdEV6biE72iBRjMStWioEHytdexg_qzDgp-PtJsaw9dyPsbA9LxgyqkXZKNu5oh5FUhlVrKs18AmlQtIst2P0jPrEhs/s1600/Day+2+%252866%2529.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pink spoonbill actually gets the distinct pink color from the amount of shrimp it eats. No kidding! Looks like this one was a real shrimp glutton</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2mMYNvfrQdZnRASs3bH2biesHyLiWrM6GOBiJrqM1-dseOHlfTSW2a2WWdtfKVWUcU6mAaNttJq-bYZFHp14jVNxz43ZodI3F-n5xg9nRABpryEVXkTgX-JzgxTKLgWn_iYefXjWf0UY/s1600/Day+2+%252870%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2mMYNvfrQdZnRASs3bH2biesHyLiWrM6GOBiJrqM1-dseOHlfTSW2a2WWdtfKVWUcU6mAaNttJq-bYZFHp14jVNxz43ZodI3F-n5xg9nRABpryEVXkTgX-JzgxTKLgWn_iYefXjWf0UY/s1600/Day+2+%252870%2529.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">seeing these gators walk is seriously the creepiest thing</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Momma and babies</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">baby Anhingas</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowy Egret - the bird that first brought the Everglades into the limelight. In the early 1900's poachers would kill the Egrets for their feathers (they were worth more per ounce than gold because fashionable ladies like to wear them in their hats). The plumes only develop on female egrets who just laid eggs. John Lacey (a congressman) brought the issue of protecting the area and the birds before the Senate.</td></tr>
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After it was over we piled back in the minivan and drove the rest of the way to Homestead. Dinner was had at a nearby Olive Garden, and our experience resembled the first night. We were both shocked to discover that service could be so poor in such an obviously busy and developed area. Was this their first night as a restaurant... ever? This turned into a 2 hour affair in which we both left disappointed and dissatisfied with our meals. We vowed to get takeout on Day 3.Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-62693538694447508592014-04-09T09:27:00.002-07:002014-06-02T07:30:05.730-07:00The Everglades Day 1Hello all,<br />
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Welcome to the first vacation-post on Crafty-Pursuits. I feel so organized.<br />
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We took off for Florida back at the end of February with the intention of spending some quality time at Everglades and Biscayne National Parks. 4 days hardly seemed like enough time when we booked the flights, but as I concluded my research on the two parks, I knew there wouldn't be enough activity to fill those 4 days. And nothing annoys me as much as relaxing. Fortunately the first two days were jam-packed with activity and it wasn't until Day 3 that I started to get bored.<br />
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<b>Day 1: Friday, February 28, 2014</b><br />
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I think Dan finally roused himself from bed (with my prodding) around 9. We had landed in Miami at 10 the night before, and I was predictably nauseous. I told Dan as we landed, "I'm not going to pretend about this anymore, I hate flying." Apparently, this was not news to him. I vowed to take Dramamine on the return trip. Feeling sick, I asked him to drive us to the hotel in our newly rented mini-van.<br />
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"We're going to give you a free upgrade" the Enterprise man announced as he led us to a long line of sparkling white mini-vans. Two points: 1. When do they NOT give you a "free" upgrade? 2. Its hard to consider a mini-van an upgrade. But, I knew it would offer us more room for our bags so I just went with it.<br />
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While Dan slept on Friday morning, I drove over to the Publix across the street to stock up for the long weekend. And following my breakfast, I made us lunch for the day. By the time we finally left our hotel room at 10:30, I was getting excited to see some Everglades wildlife. So excited in fact, I totally forgot to bring our lunches. Oops.<br />
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The drive was fairly short, about 20 minutes from our hotel in Homestead to the Ernest Coe visitor's center. I had to admit, I was kinda enjoying some of the mini-van's features (like a spot to put your purse and the arm rests). I picked up the WPA poster at the Visitor's Center and got some information about doing a hike in the Flamingo area later that day. We spotted our first gator in the pond behind the visitor's center and then took off for the Gumbo Limbo and Anhinga trails at Royal Palm.<br />
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Everglades National Park has 4 different areas: Royal Palm, Flamingo, Shark Valley and the Gulf Coast. Each area is wildly different from the other and has something unique to offer. At Royal Palm, the two trails I mentioned above feature Gumbo-Limbo "hammocks" (which basically means a tree cluster) and plenty of wildlife.<br />
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Pulling into the parking lot at Royal Palm we noticed that a bunch of cars had tarps haphazardly covering them, secured with bungee cords. We ventured a few guesses, but in the end we were wrong about all of them. As it turns out, vultures eat the rubber off of windshield wipers... for no particular reason other than to annoy people.<br />
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Taking off on the two "trails" we saw plenty of bright-red gumbo limbo trees, or "tourist trees" "sunburn trees". They are bright red and their bark peels away like skin off a sunburn. I continued to quiz Dan on the different tree varieties throughout the weekend. He continually named the "sunburn tree" though never remembered that the real name was Gumbo-Limbo.<br />
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The hammocks do make you feel like you have ventured into the rain forest, if only for a minute or so. The climate is so humid in the Everglades that plants grow almost everywhere. Air plants (or tillandsia) and ferns covered virtually every limb of every tree. We also encountered the Strangler Fig tree, which is incredibly cool and creepy at the same time. It grows over other trees and strangles them out completely.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">gorgeous air plant</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strangler fig at work</td></tr>
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On the Anhinga trail (named for the Anhinga bird) we saw plenty of wildlife! Birds, alligators, all kinds of wild and crazy stuff. There are so many fun facts that I learned about each creature over the course of our trip, for example: Anhingas don't have the waxy coating on their features like ducks, so after they swim to catch food, they have to spread their wings and dry off in the sun. Alligators have the ability to exert 2,000 PSI of pressure with their jaws (that's Pounds per Square Inch). However, they also have the ability to be so gentle with their teeth, that they often bite their eggs just enough to crack and force the baby alligator to "hatch". Another quick fact: baby alligators are the absolute cutest.<br />
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One thing really freaked me out on the Anhinga trail. We saw an alligator submerge itself in about 18 inches of water and swim roughly 4 feet away, completely 100% undetectable. Not even a ripple on the surface of the water was giving this guy up and I DID NOT like that. Apparently, alligators are exceptionally stealthy.<br />
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We also saw a bird on this trail that was carrying around a stick in its beak. Dan made a great joke of this, calling it the "Uncle Fred" bird insinuating how truly stupid this bird must be. I had a good laugh over this joke, silly Dan gets me every time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anhinga male drying his wings</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7mbBjnq77jHrQIarfbCDmhZoqtehMYN3uHMMbIBMUzpYl39jsKNEjmxzHUEyd-uv9tZNxFS3efhr0hwBFOCp3q8-F-cNiE9VhlvG-ftHvyt4Qowofmntj6dh5PH0Fj98BLL1h64wBprs/s1600/Day+1+%252851%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7mbBjnq77jHrQIarfbCDmhZoqtehMYN3uHMMbIBMUzpYl39jsKNEjmxzHUEyd-uv9tZNxFS3efhr0hwBFOCp3q8-F-cNiE9VhlvG-ftHvyt4Qowofmntj6dh5PH0Fj98BLL1h64wBprs/s1600/Day+1+%252851%2529.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anhinga female</td></tr>
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After we finished up the two trails, we decided to head down to the Flamingo area for a short hike and lunch. We stopped along the way at various hammocks and different/unusual flora groupings. In the Everglades, the highest elevation is about 15 ft above sea level. The difference from swamp to 3 ft to 6 to 10 in kind of crazy. It amazing how that small change in elevation creates an entirely new and different ecosystem.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you tell its humid here? Look how warped the wood along the railing is. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtiwBd31fw8TARjWmjusbVHKgmtVMMyQ_u9rLHnsAfK90hWe7gGwR806jKaaNRPavwc7UdzYXH3KHxPpgqTvBdUS1sx0_OPSUf39JoaKYHSfCDKoClPX8-mcxABD-XnNt50kJ4rtDEACI/s1600/Day+1+%252865%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtiwBd31fw8TARjWmjusbVHKgmtVMMyQ_u9rLHnsAfK90hWe7gGwR806jKaaNRPavwc7UdzYXH3KHxPpgqTvBdUS1sx0_OPSUf39JoaKYHSfCDKoClPX8-mcxABD-XnNt50kJ4rtDEACI/s1600/Day+1+%252865%2529.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ghost orchid?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYsfydNBSf82g9Vp1o_sEwRQxiPN-Z25vhXd2m7HUCwBHNrtGd4xzV_DW11m_oKQ_PSeMUebVPoWSurxfeA42C5pde3ovKgPIl_TPoGSoIwTEhUZF4yOawROs-dAvz3Y5ypsLrF-dU9g/s1600/Day+1+%252871%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYsfydNBSf82g9Vp1o_sEwRQxiPN-Z25vhXd2m7HUCwBHNrtGd4xzV_DW11m_oKQ_PSeMUebVPoWSurxfeA42C5pde3ovKgPIl_TPoGSoIwTEhUZF4yOawROs-dAvz3Y5ypsLrF-dU9g/s1600/Day+1+%252871%2529.JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From sawgrass to jungle palms</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKy55AKrno_cx6FISMCHQz3QiR7AxLaHaM7qtckHv2PutMqWt5uINgzvqi1Nj2TgpCPgemySrh-Wud04ctLWnVL5gRj9a1TE2GthsXHB4tfg0NO4IvgEJ7K_QKW-nWoNqkvt2dKYv8jfI/s1600/Day+1+%252890%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKy55AKrno_cx6FISMCHQz3QiR7AxLaHaM7qtckHv2PutMqWt5uINgzvqi1Nj2TgpCPgemySrh-Wud04ctLWnVL5gRj9a1TE2GthsXHB4tfg0NO4IvgEJ7K_QKW-nWoNqkvt2dKYv8jfI/s1600/Day+1+%252890%2529.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The one Croc we saw during our stay. The Everglades is the only place in the world where crocs and alligators can be found together. You can tell its a croc because of the pointed snout, the teeth (located outside of the mouth) and the color. Alligators are only black, whereas crocodiles are more green, brown and black. </td></tr>
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Luckily the "cafe", which is essentially a food truck that has been parked in the same location long enough to build a screened in porch all around it, was open in Flamingo. Our gourmet lunch consisted of a hot dog and french fries. It actually was delicious and the view was fantastic. We watched boats go in and out of the bay and appreciated the ability to sit outside in shorts and T-shirts. It was about 78 degrees in Flamingo... Columbia was about 12.<br />
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Following our lunch we strolled the bay, which was dotted with mangrove trees. I gawked at a tree covered in Spanish moss and continued to state what a beautiful day it was. Dan found this amusing. Before getting back in the car, I put on a layer of bug spray so that I would be prepared when we got out to do our hike. It wasn't going to be a long one, about 3 miles total, but I thought it would be a fun way to hike through the jungle-like environment out to another part of the bay. Plus, the ranger had recommended it as one of the more interesting options.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0RcNckN2seYTasXW83TJYIWhpwCAa1JnXndHOO8Fer0vY3geU_Nrhw6tFu-eHVbIgC6HQDEZZ2VxnmSz2gBlKfhhyphenhyphenLMdTA6lafiH97Kpb1vGBvCByNsAjfXb2esk9zLosG6xdutZrf4Y/s1600/Day+1+%2528105%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0RcNckN2seYTasXW83TJYIWhpwCAa1JnXndHOO8Fer0vY3geU_Nrhw6tFu-eHVbIgC6HQDEZZ2VxnmSz2gBlKfhhyphenhyphenLMdTA6lafiH97Kpb1vGBvCByNsAjfXb2esk9zLosG6xdutZrf4Y/s1600/Day+1+%2528105%2529.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flamingo Bay Mangroves</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmPhFQ9kA8BozPhDBhLuAYhvU9ZNK-4InF7atTxi5SOITOt0KbdPuA8yc2-d1Sypldw13p0rEQDfy-tUl0JvxafmuXpdWUO7mvE-xdvWUM4-1yN_GfBffPAnL6BXdrY0oakVm4UjBauPA/s1600/Day+1+%2528116%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmPhFQ9kA8BozPhDBhLuAYhvU9ZNK-4InF7atTxi5SOITOt0KbdPuA8yc2-d1Sypldw13p0rEQDfy-tUl0JvxafmuXpdWUO7mvE-xdvWUM4-1yN_GfBffPAnL6BXdrY0oakVm4UjBauPA/s1600/Day+1+%2528116%2529.JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">beautiful Spanish moss</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHVuz_runEiEKxrMtvlUTKKUBZn9p7QxH5iYxhqzeW4NbaZFFI3WS5_ZyWNM5qZrk8Zzu5h7cWnnUfhDNlqykwqsdjmf4eAbizD5X4L-ZmFU2fVFyXnOxrOSTxCcfjzbj_eIqSJe4QaNo/s1600/Day+1+%252896%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHVuz_runEiEKxrMtvlUTKKUBZn9p7QxH5iYxhqzeW4NbaZFFI3WS5_ZyWNM5qZrk8Zzu5h7cWnnUfhDNlqykwqsdjmf4eAbizD5X4L-ZmFU2fVFyXnOxrOSTxCcfjzbj_eIqSJe4QaNo/s1600/Day+1+%252896%2529.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mangrove trees in the making. Once this shoot grows tall and strong enough, it will send limbs back down towards the ground to take root.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJ-U5e7FhuO-zJX69-TdtX9nsDs5os1XOlfqBNxdB2DXwRHVSYVCxG449-MtpqA5r130U-CJ8_rDA2CH8xkPeuqJoiB_4v22lby1mg1pLdYh8Bdg5P516LJshgn-QE73sAp9OfnqYP4o/s1600/Day+1+(111).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJ-U5e7FhuO-zJX69-TdtX9nsDs5os1XOlfqBNxdB2DXwRHVSYVCxG449-MtpqA5r130U-CJ8_rDA2CH8xkPeuqJoiB_4v22lby1mg1pLdYh8Bdg5P516LJshgn-QE73sAp9OfnqYP4o/s1600/Day+1+(111).JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mangrove limb growing towards the ground</td></tr>
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Arriving at the Shark Bight trail head, we unloaded and did another round of bug spray before heading into the dense hammock. There were small lizards everywhere which amused us for about 30 seconds before I got obsessed with the air plants again. About 1/2 a mile in, Dan noticed the mosquitoes were really terrible, so he sprayed himself for a second time. We passed a couple who appeared to be power-walking back to their car. They both noted that without bug spray, we would never make it. I felt confident though, with my heavily loaded deet can, so we hiked on.<br />
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I don't remember when I noticed it was starting to get out of hand, but it happened quickly. I was getting bitten through my 2 layers of spray and through my long sleeves. It wasn't quite as dramatic as I imagine a plague might be, but it was really close. We were probably 1.2 miles in, but I couldn't stand it anymore so we turned around and power-walked out of there!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG-Bk-H8P41140g7WNbWyVEhjo9N0QIVHV1Ro3gDytvyojwa86wYhuVB0RyCzp8IOUaqIz-6yPb2uVidofqSkvR7zRoaOoJU0JJ2aPh9Cb9id4d9OYknCR25W4PvWVq-q1xDRwkbabud8/s1600/Day+1+%2528118%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG-Bk-H8P41140g7WNbWyVEhjo9N0QIVHV1Ro3gDytvyojwa86wYhuVB0RyCzp8IOUaqIz-6yPb2uVidofqSkvR7zRoaOoJU0JJ2aPh9Cb9id4d9OYknCR25W4PvWVq-q1xDRwkbabud8/s1600/Day+1+%2528118%2529.JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snake Bight Trail (aka Mosquito Heaven)</td></tr>
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When we were back in the safety of the mini-van we agreed to refrain from any additional hikes in the area, and headed back to the hotel. It was probably around 4:30 so we spent the last few hours of sunlight down by the pool reading, sipping on sangria out of a nalgene bottle. I not good at relaxing, but wine helps.<br />
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For dinner we went to a local pizza place that had wood fired pizza. The pizza itself was pretty good, but the waitress was terrible. Dan ordered mozzarella sticks that literally never came. We are still waiting for those mozzarella sticks. When he pointed out that he didn't receive them her response was that the chef forgot. No apology, no "Let me get you that order immediately (and for free)" just a shrug of the shoulders. That pissed me off. She was quite lucky they weren't my mozzarella sticks.<br />
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By the time we got back to the hotel after our hour and a half failed dinner experience, we were both pretty beat and promptly went to bed.Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-78911688922438117852014-03-25T10:57:00.000-07:002014-03-25T10:57:55.989-07:00Whoops and Sorry.Hi there everyone.<br />
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Did you just get like 5,000,000,000 new posts from me in your e-mail or blog reader? Yeah, sorry about that. As far as I can tell (due to my limited understanding of technology) there was no clear way to avoid that mess.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">story of my life.</td></tr>
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The good news... now everything I have written is in one spot! I know you probably don't care, but I am pretty pumped about it because I've been talking about combining all of the blogs for a while now. So now you can peruse any of the tabs on my blog to see different "categories" of stuff such as Our Wedding, Travels, Crafty Pursuits, and most importantly The Pups.<br />
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Some stuff falls under more than one category, for example everything I wrote on my wedding blog was also crafty, so it will be on both pages.<br />
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"Yeah, but what does this mean to me Mandy?"<br />
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Well, nothing really. Just that from now on, when you get a Crafty-Pursuits post it might actually be about my travels, or my dogs. It will still arrive in your inbox or your blog reader.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/03/c4/43/03c443432e879dd3c51ecf18d1b15617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/03/c4/43/03c443432e879dd3c51ecf18d1b15617.jpg" height="640" width="452" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(this is what you are thinking right now)</td></tr>
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So once again, I apologize for the excessive "new" posts that aren't new at all. Hopefully you can remain a loyal reader. Well, let's face it... most of you are family or close friends and don't really have a choice.<br />
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Cheers to that.<br />
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And just so this post contains some relevant information. I thought you should know that I sold my <a href="http://crafty-pursuits.blogspot.com/2011/11/day-youve-all-been-waiting-for.html">dining set</a> last weekend for $300 in order to make room for the "oops I did it again" chairs and the "oops, one more time" table I bought recently.<br />
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More to come!Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-59958273264916298622014-03-25T10:35:00.000-07:002014-03-25T10:35:53.272-07:00What I've been up to...So I promised you all that I had been accomplishing wedding tasks - and I have. A lot of them were administrative in nature: send a check to this vendor, call that vendor, find 120 place settings, you get the idea. But here are 2 things that I have been doing to show you; they highlight the fun and crafty side of DIY, and the way less glamorous, grunt work style.<br />
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Project #1 is something I have been working on for the bridesmaids. Since I anticipate roping them in to do a lot of my dirty work with me, I figure I might as well bride them first with some cool gifts they can use the day before the wedding at our welcome lunch/canoe trip (Amy - you might want to stop reading if you like surprises).<br />
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I found these bags a while ago and picked them up in 4 different colors: one for each girl. They are pretty cute, no? They are kind of like a burlap meets raffia style - very beachy.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yUZHKlGlIgeUrYZOJHZlLM4JmsmUm3v1LqCAKEcM7wVXIvFp-THBfyg2tK0mOjR4uUT1d-27ee6IEYhTHjF1bYpjZyIu6HqMcQrPwcDz-bFczDUdQ4JZl4tgHxIXTYCYaPGdB9OddqsB/s1600/DIY+044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yUZHKlGlIgeUrYZOJHZlLM4JmsmUm3v1LqCAKEcM7wVXIvFp-THBfyg2tK0mOjR4uUT1d-27ee6IEYhTHjF1bYpjZyIu6HqMcQrPwcDz-bFczDUdQ4JZl4tgHxIXTYCYaPGdB9OddqsB/s1600/DIY+044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yUZHKlGlIgeUrYZOJHZlLM4JmsmUm3v1LqCAKEcM7wVXIvFp-THBfyg2tK0mOjR4uUT1d-27ee6IEYhTHjF1bYpjZyIu6HqMcQrPwcDz-bFczDUdQ4JZl4tgHxIXTYCYaPGdB9OddqsB/s200/DIY+044.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIW-g2c32Hcdg2vWpAzOVgswyddm4F5lgmuYWqB-_yFq3rnSUEPNT5a6Pv2lhpzpjTGaNmCR5V7ITJNXuOYAw9-dQGvhMBMv0bDF_-YTX8cIBa4xfRCrsj_lZ1rHJEVqLZGpQtZrOJDeX9/s1600/DIY+042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIW-g2c32Hcdg2vWpAzOVgswyddm4F5lgmuYWqB-_yFq3rnSUEPNT5a6Pv2lhpzpjTGaNmCR5V7ITJNXuOYAw9-dQGvhMBMv0bDF_-YTX8cIBa4xfRCrsj_lZ1rHJEVqLZGpQtZrOJDeX9/s200/DIY+042.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-72629851981631182422014-03-24T11:11:00.000-07:002014-03-25T10:04:23.809-07:00Grand Canyon and Zion: Day 5<div class="MsoNormal">By the time I woke up on Day 5, I was feeling pretty well rested. We had been sleeping in until 8 or 9 every morning and were always in bed by 10. I started to question my judgment call on the rim to river hike. But that was all long before we started down Hermit’s Trail.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">While Dan was waking up slowly, I decided to head down to Kolb Photo studio and see the exhibit on the infamous Kolb Brothers. This was something I really wanted to see because I had learned so much about them by watching the Ken Burns National Parks series. In 1904 Emery and Ellsworth Kolb set up a photo studio right on the rim of the Grand Canyon. They operated a successful business for many years, taking photos of the tourists riding donkeys to the bottom of the Canyon. The crazy thing is, they would take these photos mid-way down, then run up to their shop, develop the film, create prints and mat them for sale to those very same tourists when they arrived back at the rim. It’s a story worth reading up on. While there wasn't a ton of time for me to see everything, I did view most of the displays and buy a little book about their adventures. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjT0uzd7jLGGTFHj0jN7DOHKca208ZjZ99slos_YyupTDv-ykmmGc_deGXGv4RygjhdWF7NQHvHPq6wW4w6uZnvjfZuxExyGMcy8e-BwvMHZmF5vyIpWNmiXoQU3zMAN1NsAihljuCblY/s1600/Day+2+(260).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjT0uzd7jLGGTFHj0jN7DOHKca208ZjZ99slos_YyupTDv-ykmmGc_deGXGv4RygjhdWF7NQHvHPq6wW4w6uZnvjfZuxExyGMcy8e-BwvMHZmF5vyIpWNmiXoQU3zMAN1NsAihljuCblY/s1600/Day+2+(260).JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kolb Brothers Photo Studio</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">We had breakfast at the Bright Angel Dining room once again. Our selections had become gradually a little unhealthier each day. While I didn't eat 6 or 7 pieces of bacon on Day 5, I certainly didn't opt for the egg whites and turkey sausage. Once we were filled up, we stopped at the gift shop quickly to buy our postcard and shot glass before making our way to the bus stop. It is kind of nice to be able to ride the bus along the rim because it gives you a chance to gaze down without worrying about crashing. Hermit’s Rest was the last stop on the line though, so we sat for quite some time before finally getting off the bus and making our way to the trail head. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRpHbi7UnkEn0JkId-uhnNx8iQhxTyL7Ew-06LKSYCw128fJHLGl6So3jKSMIYqMABe6QcvPU87px7a6rqvkvVUrJn9n7pnIFkgdgD4DDqub4FAG-K15cHPC6Tpv9t8MNyLyDP_wfUbo/s1600/Day+5+(7).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRpHbi7UnkEn0JkId-uhnNx8iQhxTyL7Ew-06LKSYCw128fJHLGl6So3jKSMIYqMABe6QcvPU87px7a6rqvkvVUrJn9n7pnIFkgdgD4DDqub4FAG-K15cHPC6Tpv9t8MNyLyDP_wfUbo/s1600/Day+5+(7).JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan rests up pre-hike</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">As we approached the rather rocky trail, we passed a woman with a big backpack who asked us if she could take a bus back to the village. Clearly, she had spent a night or two in the Canyon. As I pointed her in the general direction of the bus stop, her husband peaked around the last turn in the trail, out of breath mumbling, “never… again…”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSwvd61JsOYqzur62zUHGLYinJJJVPIAEdUrq6LTxXK4S9PuCs4VaEHlBiHvNLj2-TD9Q3WpTXSwNL_a1c6qL9taPwC4FcA0nsBI9dv5iUGYh7WdW3La8yyHtoiBtSCzu1d8xO-EF99no/s1600/Day+5+(9).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSwvd61JsOYqzur62zUHGLYinJJJVPIAEdUrq6LTxXK4S9PuCs4VaEHlBiHvNLj2-TD9Q3WpTXSwNL_a1c6qL9taPwC4FcA0nsBI9dv5iUGYh7WdW3La8yyHtoiBtSCzu1d8xO-EF99no/s1600/Day+5+(9).JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Dan said he could relate, and then launched into another tirade about how I always make him do these terrible things (hikes) that he never wants to do as we descended into the canyon once more. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The Hermit’s Rest Trail will take you all the way to the Colorado River, just like the South Kaibab and the Bright Angel Trail… except with less mileage. It was described in my guide book as a great hike “off the beaten path” where you might see springs as close as 1.2 miles below the rim, without all those pesky tourists in your way. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHQ-sKqlQX4dxZpXnC3p1ZwdVUiEElKqfRvPMXr_RVo-_O2wsyw1tDH_4UMcrfPTgup1UFr36PDUmjAl-IRzYpbGbLGN_oZdPaQ46aLoEAv9wseZ16eZxaRmlC4vKbw1PjxybTvqWoISw/s1600/Day+5+(10).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHQ-sKqlQX4dxZpXnC3p1ZwdVUiEElKqfRvPMXr_RVo-_O2wsyw1tDH_4UMcrfPTgup1UFr36PDUmjAl-IRzYpbGbLGN_oZdPaQ46aLoEAv9wseZ16eZxaRmlC4vKbw1PjxybTvqWoISw/s1600/Day+5+(10).JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Well it was certainly a desolate trail, with very few hikers who weren't fairly serious about hiking, but there weren't any springs in sight. Not to mention the fact that the trail itself is one of the wildest things that I’ve ever seen “maintained”. Unlike the other trails leading to the River, Hermit’s rest is incredibly uneven, rocky and offers very little shade. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nPfToPkC1XnMTJwNsagi6AF7wPJ5sDsOB-kzbUu3xhbNMdUzWmxgGvAMFzt-VJlwmF3j8yYSs3vIjrBvncpnIQHGIrsDg0v80DfcIWuNAg2xITAKejiPkU5Z3S5AKDThnmgzNZuVe1M/s1600/Day+5+(15).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nPfToPkC1XnMTJwNsagi6AF7wPJ5sDsOB-kzbUu3xhbNMdUzWmxgGvAMFzt-VJlwmF3j8yYSs3vIjrBvncpnIQHGIrsDg0v80DfcIWuNAg2xITAKejiPkU5Z3S5AKDThnmgzNZuVe1M/s1600/Day+5+(15).JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNw1NKSwU6szuHfcE70UFn4bmkg-gMCkFldEqT9QxvTcgb7rMwK8xuxyT6Ifb-ekB22DSTzzlOely9VzqhjQP6L6jn2N45lTEewYeYrVK80K9U4JMLkEo4kfJVee5qp1U8VhGgb1GZ7ac/s1600/Day+5+(21).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNw1NKSwU6szuHfcE70UFn4bmkg-gMCkFldEqT9QxvTcgb7rMwK8xuxyT6Ifb-ekB22DSTzzlOely9VzqhjQP6L6jn2N45lTEewYeYrVK80K9U4JMLkEo4kfJVee5qp1U8VhGgb1GZ7ac/s1600/Day+5+(21).JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZ_rHq2hzphU8lLfhN06NM4BrMnwarEcoC0Q9cP0T3AojVdo1nU2fVtTjpLvgd0f-W4SSwH5XAaUQdTrQJMly_yEvqz9VNW1wEtOUvw_6B2x1xLbnRg2Reprqehej8p_lvjtYaKcTCkU/s1600/Day+5+(37).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZ_rHq2hzphU8lLfhN06NM4BrMnwarEcoC0Q9cP0T3AojVdo1nU2fVtTjpLvgd0f-W4SSwH5XAaUQdTrQJMly_yEvqz9VNW1wEtOUvw_6B2x1xLbnRg2Reprqehej8p_lvjtYaKcTCkU/s1600/Day+5+(37).JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ends of the Earth</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7vy6PKU03YTv7PDUPSteW-hOco24WxjeGtyzSorBl1bBWLpScWt4aCauGmz0yDJ-WgmBdGsRuqax84Ztw9ELx1eXOLOaEEGfXpjsGKEwS5IHghHI_GGswkq-l4zwG0HfzmPkcKCeyrWk/s1600/Day+5+(38).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7vy6PKU03YTv7PDUPSteW-hOco24WxjeGtyzSorBl1bBWLpScWt4aCauGmz0yDJ-WgmBdGsRuqax84Ztw9ELx1eXOLOaEEGfXpjsGKEwS5IHghHI_GGswkq-l4zwG0HfzmPkcKCeyrWk/s1600/Day+5+(38).JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">As we continued to descend, I started to get nervous about going back up. About a mile and a half down, we came to a junction and decided to turn around. The hike back up was as brutal as anticipated… It’s one thing to hike a nice gravel trail up an elevation of 1,000 feet; it’s another to climb rocks for 1,000 feet over the course of a mile and a half. It felt like we were climbing bleachers for days in the hot AZ sun. We took breaks to rest infrequently since there weren't a ton of shady spots to sit. By the time we made it back to the top, I began to understand why that hiker’s husband was huffing “never again”. The trail is a tough hike, and it doesn't provide the wonderful scenery you can get elsewhere. Not to mention the fact that we didn't catch a glimpse of the River at all, the entire time! If we had the opportunity to pick again, I would have gone for a hike towards the East entrance near the Desert View Watchtower, where the views compensate for the hard work.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnqYKr55Ho9KYMbjFQpy9WGM9dAQM8l7UB1hHXI4uAdRsGR_ToTYtqm5xuf9tcW_zdfu5XNXf3UcDcP5xodf3Luuf0EYqRzO-DwXpxYH7DvcaYGRFylN13soTloVUqai-vq2R5FkJXnCg/s1600/Day+5+(39).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnqYKr55Ho9KYMbjFQpy9WGM9dAQM8l7UB1hHXI4uAdRsGR_ToTYtqm5xuf9tcW_zdfu5XNXf3UcDcP5xodf3Luuf0EYqRzO-DwXpxYH7DvcaYGRFylN13soTloVUqai-vq2R5FkJXnCg/s1600/Day+5+(39).JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij00Z25aQog8zMakXJGUpG-AJFxnOmXZkJw7W5FLqxu2NHi1ywZZY2I5tjAD5-VLILdsUWpNTm87ZahFfjZmqietHtz1bEVXa3q_DjRIufSl85BOLcPpKxT4OqrRKMbS2VngaQsqTEW7Y/s1600/Day+5+(40).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij00Z25aQog8zMakXJGUpG-AJFxnOmXZkJw7W5FLqxu2NHi1ywZZY2I5tjAD5-VLILdsUWpNTm87ZahFfjZmqietHtz1bEVXa3q_DjRIufSl85BOLcPpKxT4OqrRKMbS2VngaQsqTEW7Y/s1600/Day+5+(40).JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdWot2wyynVycKhzO7Y2AMmT21jG3d4hsm_CV4n9rbmnA_2urYzRXSi5_32LwhOej5yiGMy25S3r0WZ-Ghx19dX3yA3d9WLnpguXSfh4xbZJT2sQ6LwxUTr8i6wVtcyjeSgbKRVFyGzWE/s1600/Day+5+(42).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdWot2wyynVycKhzO7Y2AMmT21jG3d4hsm_CV4n9rbmnA_2urYzRXSi5_32LwhOej5yiGMy25S3r0WZ-Ghx19dX3yA3d9WLnpguXSfh4xbZJT2sQ6LwxUTr8i6wVtcyjeSgbKRVFyGzWE/s1600/Day+5+(42).JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Abcew813L3Ft4dEMTtdMfOeZM3gKFSqA88D5WxEt52GqiOPteo4Tx_MM-AFhGauYZZfW4cMU5EoDV_Ci4KVLM7Niy_yp-7cxyDgPc7etfLmtUPEOGPX6czDAMM20bueoHdyAdOudnfM/s1600/Day+5+(44).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8_Uwhb2l8I922FaEFS4Q-8yN_wlyLBMLiMRgtBYztMAzFQhxasycIYsFYIpqWLSxeQA3rvBVvp2Tg3lE66u0QI_OSb3CWH4CF8CQ8BIrjxvNVaQDGR_oG705w63agBiztyU3G6_dpAI/s1600/Day+5+(56).JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLzxIWNt9EfpknONYIUVzvXaDBw7twFV9-BNTCcxNPvnMzMts_N7iiviu0MRWSwumYm243ChjjjTJkPwAlZbPQMZ-fdIku_2_cifq1e187S_4FKjq5hXvM5m5hyphenhyphen7-zlZxDaNZd-DDNaR4/s1600/Day+5+(60).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLzxIWNt9EfpknONYIUVzvXaDBw7twFV9-BNTCcxNPvnMzMts_N7iiviu0MRWSwumYm243ChjjjTJkPwAlZbPQMZ-fdIku_2_cifq1e187S_4FKjq5hXvM5m5hyphenhyphen7-zlZxDaNZd-DDNaR4/s1600/Day+5+(60).JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLcjUCbkRC52Z1v9NsrCARCNkOp91E-5bK1koE2FT5BZ_SWZLiZ9HSnvDUGcp_qMYBvBPJ1iCM4juRDzpA-TuxGPldv9EtDnkGPxd4lD4r5g7Vf0G7B0j07pMH9F6Hv3sg93WRmjS3Xd4/s1600/Day+5+(63).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLcjUCbkRC52Z1v9NsrCARCNkOp91E-5bK1koE2FT5BZ_SWZLiZ9HSnvDUGcp_qMYBvBPJ1iCM4juRDzpA-TuxGPldv9EtDnkGPxd4lD4r5g7Vf0G7B0j07pMH9F6Hv3sg93WRmjS3Xd4/s1600/Day+5+(63).JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT-hG4UlmDTBvOxLpX1qNDQEtU6XeNLtsZha6prXqVcv2IDscNUadz3RlM-xol4Oz7M4yxPqC4nWpo0qbod6xdo6KD7jWnoEcf4vJ2-J0Fod2_BmmcGa3Dqor-daAmSO7l1WlwPzv945s/s1600/Day+5+(70).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT-hG4UlmDTBvOxLpX1qNDQEtU6XeNLtsZha6prXqVcv2IDscNUadz3RlM-xol4Oz7M4yxPqC4nWpo0qbod6xdo6KD7jWnoEcf4vJ2-J0Fod2_BmmcGa3Dqor-daAmSO7l1WlwPzv945s/s1600/Day+5+(70).JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">We stopped at the Hermit’s rest shop, another Mary Jane Colter designed building. It has a beautiful stone fireplace and hearth room, but no ice cream – which I was VERY disappointed about. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWLRCZ1_QJuXvNLVujYfMk5LH1pjQL8dNLRXICuLEuFXDbJt5MAWzfhzUTec9cROSNPTOSjl7nZkG0rNOJ5En0dhyK123pz67joRj6EogoZQ9Jlz5msI5A5ao3Ah6SNovfXHNxjFEGAs/s1600/Day+5+(73).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWLRCZ1_QJuXvNLVujYfMk5LH1pjQL8dNLRXICuLEuFXDbJt5MAWzfhzUTec9cROSNPTOSjl7nZkG0rNOJ5En0dhyK123pz67joRj6EogoZQ9Jlz5msI5A5ao3Ah6SNovfXHNxjFEGAs/s1600/Day+5+(73).JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5hrd0KmeThdWLIzjZcxbDvh6H7Fin-lr-OvVnLVAVLj2tFsLwLnYKkj_z1aQWgHVsEk3DSdamjFwMnMLRXApfXhTqOdsvf7Z8b2Zu9SVkII_HlEYQaK6fGAWPRJf0RWT32mofrDYxfZg/s1600/Day+5+(74).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5hrd0KmeThdWLIzjZcxbDvh6H7Fin-lr-OvVnLVAVLj2tFsLwLnYKkj_z1aQWgHVsEk3DSdamjFwMnMLRXApfXhTqOdsvf7Z8b2Zu9SVkII_HlEYQaK6fGAWPRJf0RWT32mofrDYxfZg/s1600/Day+5+(74).JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Once we arrived back at the bus stop, we overheard a bunch of older hikers talking about their plans for the week. They had reservations at Phantom Ranch and were going to hike rim-to-rim in 3 days. “Good for them” I thought to myself, before hearing them talk about how the Hermit’s Rest hike had taken them 7 hours. I hope they were able to make it out in their allotted 3 days, but it didn't seem very likely. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRb7Nk7NWVxbbL9jOkm2gS-uRsgws0_RnUuhoHXpcFliCwZ6rhrDEsns1GiWN0mEpZ1uBjqTKphlFyFItCmtMHJWo-cHzjlyu2duBc_LGiuKhC97Wb1Z2v8RofgNFVkK6otoCxg_JvCRw/s1600/Day+5+(81).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRb7Nk7NWVxbbL9jOkm2gS-uRsgws0_RnUuhoHXpcFliCwZ6rhrDEsns1GiWN0mEpZ1uBjqTKphlFyFItCmtMHJWo-cHzjlyu2duBc_LGiuKhC97Wb1Z2v8RofgNFVkK6otoCxg_JvCRw/s1600/Day+5+(81).JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Back at the car, we changed out of our soaking wet clothes before hitting the road for the last long stretch of driving down to Phoenix. Yet again we experienced an uneventful trip, except to note that we had to change our dinner plans from “something good” in Sedona to “whatever is close” because the 17 mile side-trip to Sedona would have taken us an hour and a half… and I thought East Coast traffic was bad! Wendy’s happened to be the closest, so we stopped in for a ridiculous amount of food. Let’s just say that 4 people would have been full with our choices… and we were only 2. At least I finally got my ice cream by way of inhaling a root beer float.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">When we finally parked at Dan’s Grandmother’s house in Phoenix, we were pretty pumped to get out of the car and see some familiar faces. It’s always nice to end a vacation by recounting your tales and showing off your photos to someone who is curious. We did our best to finish up some of the food that we had toted along with us all week before bed. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">So we sat around chatting and eating with Dan’s Grandmother and his Great Aunt Margie. Vacation was over, I realized – and decided at that moment to start thinking about the next great trip.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigMTmo-fXcEdh6JU71B5ifs2bn5HhXFhL24Cut_bNYmP6sQcOo-XYImRReAmbzY8ImT9AhccRTGvujLe7bvl8ooHcc7xWIWA56fq1qQCUnUpt3OUeYOTQpQo2YuhlVEdj7LUWILJYEL78/s1600/Day+5+(79).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigMTmo-fXcEdh6JU71B5ifs2bn5HhXFhL24Cut_bNYmP6sQcOo-XYImRReAmbzY8ImT9AhccRTGvujLe7bvl8ooHcc7xWIWA56fq1qQCUnUpt3OUeYOTQpQo2YuhlVEdj7LUWILJYEL78/s1600/Day+5+(79).JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-49297020858688693612014-03-05T11:23:00.000-08:002014-03-25T10:31:05.900-07:00Issac FarmsHi there.<br />
<br />
Just checking in to say hey, and let you know what a fun time I had in Florida the last few days. We went to the Everglades for 2 days and then spent 2 days just kinda hanging around in the sun relaxing.<br />
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As you know, I am not good at relaxing. It's just too boring.<br />
<br />
So I took off in our rental mini-van (more on that later) to check out a nursery that we passed while driving to the Tamiami Trail on Saturday morning. We had been on our way to the Gulf Coast to do a ranger-led canoe trip in the Everglades, a drive that took almost two hours, when we kept passing these adorable (huge) nurseries selling all kinds of beautiful tropical fauna. One in particular (<a href="http://www.isaacfarms.com/">Issac Farms</a>) really caught my attention with its plethora of glazed ceramic pots for container gardening.<br />
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Check it out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvW1YffUNtch8BrJFu6yNnwk1N-1XGr2UxLI9jfIxiH7YPhcV8VrI4_pUMV-AbAAr0csAaRpJb3zOAF5OtWY_86IBLX4azTuY8JCiV1UHjHUXr8vY0YxbrpdPHeHrqODKd98wy1Dy0Hs/s1600/DSC_0229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvW1YffUNtch8BrJFu6yNnwk1N-1XGr2UxLI9jfIxiH7YPhcV8VrI4_pUMV-AbAAr0csAaRpJb3zOAF5OtWY_86IBLX4azTuY8JCiV1UHjHUXr8vY0YxbrpdPHeHrqODKd98wy1Dy0Hs/s1600/DSC_0229.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They used broken pots for mulch, very unique idea!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhdBxHYdJUWJTuReJkWYawT8uFud-2tb6_3Q-WUsO3Lod2I3Eff7RPVAebFcaVR44apLdq2e5JUWEQWQIhxnNzTx_qX3AAyIIi7WqTPlc-g_63_u82yZgY7pFzAqBDRBkPCAEHTcKTao/s1600/DSC_0231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhdBxHYdJUWJTuReJkWYawT8uFud-2tb6_3Q-WUsO3Lod2I3Eff7RPVAebFcaVR44apLdq2e5JUWEQWQIhxnNzTx_qX3AAyIIi7WqTPlc-g_63_u82yZgY7pFzAqBDRBkPCAEHTcKTao/s1600/DSC_0231.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soooooo many pots! Every shape and size! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmOzHlRVFwC2TFMhmjJpuouN3KKMtqi2SghaT0fm86YCK4n0OZkJL8dfkddXm0gXVpJdjyg2-PnTxiunEuQz2TqQx_4sZVmsRoPbjOagNF3aR5j7oRsZvlj3PhG4TNN-8v_reEgpXjEg/s1600/DSC_0233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmOzHlRVFwC2TFMhmjJpuouN3KKMtqi2SghaT0fm86YCK4n0OZkJL8dfkddXm0gXVpJdjyg2-PnTxiunEuQz2TqQx_4sZVmsRoPbjOagNF3aR5j7oRsZvlj3PhG4TNN-8v_reEgpXjEg/s1600/DSC_0233.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cacti</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSHLuc-YFCHzH5kptY7qB-UQo2mppRUNG06SoixZjmgVVkA3s4zngYtVwLxJhsClIJ0ctiocXAptVnxCoetMW1D8glXZvuYMPRYYBgL9a7T_J2zp9cKS9AP2VOZaTNt0BBhB9uzZDwXJA/s1600/DSC_0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSHLuc-YFCHzH5kptY7qB-UQo2mppRUNG06SoixZjmgVVkA3s4zngYtVwLxJhsClIJ0ctiocXAptVnxCoetMW1D8glXZvuYMPRYYBgL9a7T_J2zp9cKS9AP2VOZaTNt0BBhB9uzZDwXJA/s1600/DSC_0234.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Air plants (bromileads) are so funky!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFrdcESDeWSvvzyqGV8FBan7yFew1HOaV4-vQmEju4jLDX5AuIIrkVd3GGWjSW9VVJkgbuTTcEJBHhqjj2UQDLqEM3bwOtTnmWqPLPMgVMhPMerqIIBjFJtwLDnp1uUQeuo5sZgsIBAg/s1600/DSC_0236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFrdcESDeWSvvzyqGV8FBan7yFew1HOaV4-vQmEju4jLDX5AuIIrkVd3GGWjSW9VVJkgbuTTcEJBHhqjj2UQDLqEM3bwOtTnmWqPLPMgVMhPMerqIIBjFJtwLDnp1uUQeuo5sZgsIBAg/s1600/DSC_0236.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The succulent collection did not disappoint!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSEycNOH3_MCa0EGzUXTW_fnTlmTtUvAvHU6ccpIWwerUrD88SusJSkfblJAOgdy0qgbDierLY0QBF9SbIwW1IAuVhKyrj_LIKqQFvyXkr9LtQ4G-yddnixjsTxL164_gVkK5Z6-TqT1g/s1600/DSC_0239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSEycNOH3_MCa0EGzUXTW_fnTlmTtUvAvHU6ccpIWwerUrD88SusJSkfblJAOgdy0qgbDierLY0QBF9SbIwW1IAuVhKyrj_LIKqQFvyXkr9LtQ4G-yddnixjsTxL164_gVkK5Z6-TqT1g/s1600/DSC_0239.JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were several container gardens on display, each more beautiful than the last</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAxRhqzN0XurTaUVjWgmgr6LRsjq-JLR6qw4jgBgSOwU1vWJ4M0b_50uUbq85rlEaVsxVgIDtvrp3gdbqzfg_84E0nuNpdswp3HXx9pragkRfb-pK2PInGZh7rsUWqKcZUbC5b6XzoAyU/s1600/DSC_0246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAxRhqzN0XurTaUVjWgmgr6LRsjq-JLR6qw4jgBgSOwU1vWJ4M0b_50uUbq85rlEaVsxVgIDtvrp3gdbqzfg_84E0nuNpdswp3HXx9pragkRfb-pK2PInGZh7rsUWqKcZUbC5b6XzoAyU/s1600/DSC_0246.JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were hundreds (probably thousands) of these... anyone know what they are?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlvkVzJ_Rw3fEHydzrmVcOj5YlnxtiXupVxWwtvt-2uhmAwn-rAsx_DcRomtsBTUUrN6AjPE14HclV5m7HYAX7yTs0JnHbfexdYWufVwbyhnOrxP3RKOlkiRVTvgEwEZaRGV1lGQ9KHQ/s1600/DSC_0248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlvkVzJ_Rw3fEHydzrmVcOj5YlnxtiXupVxWwtvt-2uhmAwn-rAsx_DcRomtsBTUUrN6AjPE14HclV5m7HYAX7yTs0JnHbfexdYWufVwbyhnOrxP3RKOlkiRVTvgEwEZaRGV1lGQ9KHQ/s1600/DSC_0248.JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These tall, skinny pots were about 4 feet tall!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtw0sZv64kHEXdku1llvqOciV-jKVT348mIj1NXsz_3T2BXQAoxn4tXLVJzwk_nppiN0bdl-0zgqXP8RN2iTewwBqhherhiJKMiONTTRN6i54-_xTPm499HrekXUQILm8hgwLa2h-E5gA/s1600/DSC_0255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtw0sZv64kHEXdku1llvqOciV-jKVT348mIj1NXsz_3T2BXQAoxn4tXLVJzwk_nppiN0bdl-0zgqXP8RN2iTewwBqhherhiJKMiONTTRN6i54-_xTPm499HrekXUQILm8hgwLa2h-E5gA/s1600/DSC_0255.JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These ribbed colorful containers were some of my favorite</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_5F_LbV9-NoLJ2CGT43sZQ8eX7JD0A0JFmhH3IaNDGAE4GiyBNejTCMbpSyd7RSsrbLGeXwX8WgOrxHtdfsaWj68EdEIR__IFmPyLMOmvWo0X7UFjheWu5Kuxsm1zxic1wff6YEyB8Q/s1600/DSC_0258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_5F_LbV9-NoLJ2CGT43sZQ8eX7JD0A0JFmhH3IaNDGAE4GiyBNejTCMbpSyd7RSsrbLGeXwX8WgOrxHtdfsaWj68EdEIR__IFmPyLMOmvWo0X7UFjheWu5Kuxsm1zxic1wff6YEyB8Q/s1600/DSC_0258.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one container was probable about 3 feet long and 1.5 ft wide. Imagine a cacti garden that big?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHUGYo1Iw-b9XG676cuN7rq-sx32yH5nshnaEXfxOFUKsbkN0jvOr7sZ6GeMdR2lrNvQJ0cNx9rRCI2yEXzNxKy7Rv4ZzEsd8LT1Ye4gEjbFvxk2FtvSaLcwEGeahGKxgbc7TSPEnCGE/s1600/DSC_0267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHUGYo1Iw-b9XG676cuN7rq-sx32yH5nshnaEXfxOFUKsbkN0jvOr7sZ6GeMdR2lrNvQJ0cNx9rRCI2yEXzNxKy7Rv4ZzEsd8LT1Ye4gEjbFvxk2FtvSaLcwEGeahGKxgbc7TSPEnCGE/s1600/DSC_0267.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So many chickens with this hen!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDoYztz1Yc4VkbjAuAB9zdcaAlXlYZaUYj7MSODgOJB0WSUjeqw7ZdWhstkFvw9T9JpL4_r03YSZxJROlBsv3VUFcAWQ9BGjDdxb0Q2fBi8T0-GWl2WJxjv2nuHtM3u8H02TNh0hPSAY/s1600/DSC_0270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDoYztz1Yc4VkbjAuAB9zdcaAlXlYZaUYj7MSODgOJB0WSUjeqw7ZdWhstkFvw9T9JpL4_r03YSZxJROlBsv3VUFcAWQ9BGjDdxb0Q2fBi8T0-GWl2WJxjv2nuHtM3u8H02TNh0hPSAY/s1600/DSC_0270.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was dying to take one of these bad boys home. Alas, they were far too large (6 inch pots) for my suitcase</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh5fKh6EH5uhyphenhyphenNdtRkX1kh8kwE_UpyoM4xdnSQqfmnkvGK_Tcdxi4JIE1PY7tjO0vecFP9cUaDbILGrGi10c_8x7dIwaXDOBWWIK7F3ZWFGwqEL6Dmo1nolr7ORgTvpUm6aOrmHYT1-W0/s1600/DSC_0274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh5fKh6EH5uhyphenhyphenNdtRkX1kh8kwE_UpyoM4xdnSQqfmnkvGK_Tcdxi4JIE1PY7tjO0vecFP9cUaDbILGrGi10c_8x7dIwaXDOBWWIK7F3ZWFGwqEL6Dmo1nolr7ORgTvpUm6aOrmHYT1-W0/s1600/DSC_0274.JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1G5_CJ-XojlqqjcscfuC1MsZYRM5vJ_3SVYEqlxJ0fqALW92rsndvY_yDMWIJBsROD9Y8NPLh6hovlEaa1NSI35Z2aEw2Iysb8GZYnhXFgo6T5tItJDISUaVCw__RRhyOej40dau9aQ/s1600/DSC_0276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1G5_CJ-XojlqqjcscfuC1MsZYRM5vJ_3SVYEqlxJ0fqALW92rsndvY_yDMWIJBsROD9Y8NPLh6hovlEaa1NSI35Z2aEw2Iysb8GZYnhXFgo6T5tItJDISUaVCw__RRhyOej40dau9aQ/s1600/DSC_0276.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And I had plenty of creepy friends shopping with me!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TzRwOJf4M1MbRCilmQi1G1ncVPLtjG8Bb4wQCJcfmUySZucUY1c8FSXssy1PoE04h7NsnTtrb27ZBjGDmGMzsopvEQCCC-jf3h5atshIbdBY3FjMp59pcJvome91dnVuN8w9x9JMagU/s1600/DSC_0281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TzRwOJf4M1MbRCilmQi1G1ncVPLtjG8Bb4wQCJcfmUySZucUY1c8FSXssy1PoE04h7NsnTtrb27ZBjGDmGMzsopvEQCCC-jf3h5atshIbdBY3FjMp59pcJvome91dnVuN8w9x9JMagU/s1600/DSC_0281.JPG" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look<a href="http://crafty-pursuits.blogspot.com/2013/05/killer-cacti.html"> familiar</a>?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a sight for sore (snow-blind) eyes!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDByLlR2ue3AjFilm07MM5eTc_wrYHcz21mmFdQCvnHlEbihsa90wtuw-5hzpi4yV6pH_fBoiiNVVM07YwyeJ2JREtetXTyJGIfNFLVLorl5fBuAoHNTCvR-ACYdaFCl7xJAiADjhnQXE/s1600/DSC_0293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDByLlR2ue3AjFilm07MM5eTc_wrYHcz21mmFdQCvnHlEbihsa90wtuw-5hzpi4yV6pH_fBoiiNVVM07YwyeJ2JREtetXTyJGIfNFLVLorl5fBuAoHNTCvR-ACYdaFCl7xJAiADjhnQXE/s1600/DSC_0293.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a><br />
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Basically, this place was amazing. I had a chance to speak to the owner briefly and she was a very kind woman who explained to me that one of the plants I had chosen would die in Connecticut, even if I did keep it inside. Luckily she thought my air plant that I picked up off one of the trails in the Everglades MIGHT survive, if it got plenty of sun from a window.<br />
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I did not leave empty handed of course. I promise to show off my treasures later this week... but let's just say that Dan should be real happy there is nothing quite like this place up here.Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-53302918300382664472014-02-24T06:09:00.002-08:002014-03-25T10:12:09.053-07:00Oops, I Did it Again.As you may have noticed, loyal readers, I've been pretty good lately about not buying things I don't need. Specifically, I haven't brought home any furniture that we don't need (free or otherwise). I'm not sure if this is because I feel my house is full (it is) or because I've been distracted with laziness and curtain making, or maybe because CT is buried under like 3 feet of snow. Whatever the case, our house hasn't seen a new piece since November.<br />
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I'll give you a moment.<br />
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I know, its shocking.<br />
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Anyway as you probably guessed by the title of this post, I found something awesome, and its now hiding in my attic.<br />
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Do I already have a total of 18 dining chairs? Yes. Did I need 6 more? ABSOLUTELY. Look at these chairs... you know I'm right. You wouldn't have passed them up for $165, would you?<br />
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I'm pretty sure that when Dan finds out, he will be mad... some comment about 24 chairs and me going over my allowance will be made. But honestly, it was only a matter of time. Frankly, he should be happy I made it this long.<br />
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The reason I simply couldn't avoid this purchase is because I have been looking for chairs like this since early October. I happened upon this scene in the Pottery Barn at West Farms.<br />
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I wished I had $4,500 to spend on a set like this. And I strongly considered saving for it. For a minute anyway. So when I saw the chairs at ReStore last week, I couldn't pass them up, even if they were $165 plus tax... the shape is fantastic, and I LOVE that they have a cained seat, it's so rustic and casual. Basically, these chairs were begging to be brought into my house.<br />
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Thing is, I'm pretty sure I can't continue to hoard chairs like this. I'm going to have to get rid of a few things soon. Specifically, the set that is currently in my dining room.<br />
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If you know anyone looking, let me know. And in the meantime, just hope Dan doesn't figure it out too soon.Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-77881986460817676952014-02-18T12:21:00.000-08:002014-03-25T10:12:09.103-07:00Curtain CallRemember that time I said I would post more often and then I didn't post for over a month?<br />
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That was funny, wasn't it?<br />
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The thing is, dear readers, I haven't done too much this winter. I've been lazy. I don't know if it is because I am getting older and slower, or because its winter and when its dark my brain says, "time to sit on the couch and watch Harry Potter marathons." Either way, you haven't missed much.<br />
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But with the longer days of February I have started to pick things back up again. I'm sure you noticed on facebook and instagram that work has begun in the dining room. While I can't wait to give you an update on that, we really should cover the old stuff first.<br />
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So, curtains.<br />
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I never really understood what an impact curtains would have here on Sadlon Road. I strongly considered never having them, its not like we needed the privacy! In Manchester, curtains always darkened the rooms, which were lacking in light to begin with. Additionally, I never wanted to cover up the gorgeous chunky trim with panels. But here in Columbia, the curtains really are, as "they" say, the lipstick of the house. Which reminds me, maybe I should start wearing lipstick...<br />
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Check it out.<br />
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In the kitchen I added simple tab-top panels from Ikea. They were pretty cheap ($19.99/window) and they seem to get the job done. Our kitchen isn't particularly bright, so having white, light-filtering curtains was a must.<br />
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In the office I wanted something with color. The paint in this room is pretty blah, so having panels with a little blue and green adds something on the color scale without clashing with the paintings that cover the walls. They are made from a really cool plaid fabric that I bought years ago thinking it would make good curtains for my Mom's family room. Well, isn't it funny how things come around? I was able to procure additional yardage and sewed these panels over the course of several weeks, like a sloth.<br />
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The living room was another Ikea job, although it took me forever to hem the bottom of all of those curtains (10 panels in all). We also finally ordered the wooden blinds for the two windows that did not have them when we moved in.<br />
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Last but not least, the bedroom, near completion!<br />
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And just in case I have not yet made my point about how curtains make you look like an adult who has it all together, check out the two pictures below...<br />
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Not too shabby, huh?Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-52099466242000777602014-01-10T08:23:00.000-08:002014-03-25T10:12:09.050-07:00"Master"Master bedrooms or "master suites" are weird, aren't they? I mean when you think about it, how strange is it to have a bathroom in your bedroom? Why do they need to go together? Even more odd, how does the closet get involved in all of that?<br />
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Yes, I understand how it works. You get up, you fall out of bed and stumble blindly into the bathroom to shower. Then you walk unobstructed (maybe un-toweled?) into your closet and then you are ready to get dressed. It's all nearby so that you don't have to walk down any halls or put on any robes. But what about all of that is really "master" like?<br />
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A master should have his or her own wing. That way, bathroom business is separate from sleeping which is also separate from getting dressed. I know, some houses ARE like this. My house, on the other hand, is not.<br />
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Here was the sorry state of affairs when we moved in:<br />
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<span id="goog_1021934157"></span><span id="goog_1021934158"></span>As you can see, the walls were an odd shade of yellowy gold. Unfortunately, it was yellowy gold over what seems to be navy blue. In addition, there were many un-painted patches and un-patched holes. The trim was actually a few different shades of cream and tan. But overall, the room is a good size.<br />
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The bathroom definitely leaves something to be desired. How many "master" bathrooms do you know that only have 1 sink? How many of them are roughly 10 x 7 at their widest point? (Which is where toilet is directly across from huge vanity.)<br />
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Ok, say you know a master suite with a bathroom like that... does the layout of the suite force you to walk through that tiny bathroom to get to the closet?<br />
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I didn't think so.<br />
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Without a doubt this was the worst thing about this house. Its tough to get dressed for work in the morning if someone else is in the bathroom. Actually, its not tough, it's impossible because you can't get to your clothes because you don't have access. Sure, we could be one of those couples that walks into the bathroom while the other one is using it, but quite frankly, I just wont allow it. There is no need to be that kind of close with anyone.<br />
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Clearly, I've gone off on a rant. But basically, that was one wrong that needed to be made right quickly. So while I re-painted and unified the trim, patched holes (so many holes), and tried to choose paint colors for improving the look of the bedroom...<br />
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Dan got out the old sledge hammer to improve the functionality. </div>
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And after the destruction comes the reconstruction.</div>
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After obscene amounts of shellac (DO NOT BUY TRIM WITH KNOTS) and primer and paint and a second chance e-bay auction, we now have access to all of the clothes and a nice looking bedroom!</div>
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So if you've been keeping track, we have done the following:</div>
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1. Patched and painted walls and trim</div>
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2. Built and installed an awesome sliding barn-style door</div>
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3. Gained access to our closet!</div>
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4. Purchased gorgeous oak dressers (funny story to come)</div>
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5. Bought new blankets and lamps</div>
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6. Moved an outlet</div>
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7. Displayed our quilts on an old ladder (also a funny one)</div>
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8. Put up some art</div>
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which leaves:</div>
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1. Install curtain rods and new curtains</div>
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2. Prime and paint the patches on either side of the door</div>
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3. Put something on the wall above the headboard and the wall between closet/bathroom doors</div>
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4. Class up the dog beds somehow</div>
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That's not very much left. This is without a doubt the closest I have ever been to being "finished" with a room. Although, "finished" is a relative term... I still think I need a different headboard/footboard and maybe I should do something about that bench... the possibilities are endless. </div>
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What do you think? It's a far cry from where we started, isn't it?</div>
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Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-90336659219156623842014-01-03T08:25:00.000-08:002014-03-25T10:12:09.126-07:00Christmas at #12<div dir="ltr">
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Sadlon Road! I know I'm late, but that always happens so really, you should expect it by now. </div>
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I was going to start taking down my decorations yesterday when I realized that I should probably share them with the three readers who haven't come by this season... If you're still there. And I don't want to make a ton of promises I can't keep, but you know I will, so here's another one: I got a tablet for Christmas, so it's a possibility I may post more frequently. It's also a possibility that I will be too busy crushing candies to do anything worth while. Yeah, it got me.</div>
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So then, here is Christmas at our house, 2013.<br />
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Outside decorations were kept fairly simple. A light in each window is somewhat traditional and boring, but it looks so pretty and classic. I added the lit garland around the door for more light, but it almost seems to emphasize how small the front door is in comparison to the total width of the house. Should I repeat next year? The lit wreath was actually here when we moved in. I don't think I will use it again next year because it seems like an oddball item. What I wanted to do was string lit garlands up the peak of the garage, swagging every 3 feet or so. I just ran out of time, after I spent nearly 5 hours (over the course of 2 days) removing fake fruit from individual window swags (also left behind) only to find that they were too small to fit our windows. Doh. And let's admit it, the weather was just too cold to get the Mister to cooperate (heavy ladders would have been necessary, and surprisingly, I can't do everything myself).<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dptkzvfFtnM/UsXKbJqDtkI/AAAAAAAAHPU/uZX1mhL-cOo/s634-no/14+-+2" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dptkzvfFtnM/UsXKbJqDtkI/AAAAAAAAHPU/uZX1mhL-cOo/s634-no/14+-+2" width="640" /></a></div>
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Daytime visitors were welcomed by 3 handmade wreaths hung on the lanterns in between the garage doors. The outside two wreaths were a snap to make because I had purchased some of those bendy forms that let you make a wreath without wire. Next year, I will buy an additional bendy form (at the Fryeburg Fair) so that they can all be uniform. My inner OCD was plagued by the square middle wreath. The inner artist really liked it though. If I forced you to use the door to the mudroom this season instead of letting you walk through the garage, its because I thought you needed to see the wreath I made with my Mom. There may have been a lot of whining and wine involved... the whining may have been about worthless husbands, but I can't recall exactly. As I honestly believe every single year, this is the best wreath I have ever made, and I love it.<br />
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Inside the house was a challenge, I admit. It seems that I have way too many items to put out for Christmas (<a href="https://plus.google.com/115354156020091249004/posts/TR9ascCd28k">see this video I took for proof</a>) and I couldn't decide what should go out in the new house because all I could think about was where it went in the old house. After a full day of putting out decorations (mind you, this is after 2 days of battling with the trees) I <strike>had enough of the decorating</strike> was satisfied with the end result. There ended up being a little Christmas in every room without being overwhelming.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLvWJID56458x33XNNRBzyHRSBer6pfWLquAGQRmXvRc2pSG0E5YUcFwY75SRb1hhYa0nC9jPUJMiiWSQ59tIKm1EmjjopJyXMO59vbeEXzIKp3VOJz52PsVZ4h6L79j54wOC2s8SpCk/w476-h634-no/IMG_20140102_142246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLvWJID56458x33XNNRBzyHRSBer6pfWLquAGQRmXvRc2pSG0E5YUcFwY75SRb1hhYa0nC9jPUJMiiWSQ59tIKm1EmjjopJyXMO59vbeEXzIKp3VOJz52PsVZ4h6L79j54wOC2s8SpCk/w476-h634-no/IMG_20140102_142246.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lesson learned: never put a sign like this in the way of your liquor cabinet around the Holidays. </td></tr>
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As usual, the snowmen dominated the kitchen, but they can't sit on the cabinets here <a href="http://crafty-pursuits.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-at-glenwood.html">like they did in Manchester</a>, so I had to be a little more creative. My Mother in Law always urges me to leave them up all winter, and I might take her advice this year. I would say it depends on how quickly I get agitated with putting everything away.<br />
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The mantel was the first thing I decorated, and the only place in the house where I really had something in mind. I love the forresty outdoor look of it, though I wish there was an outlet within extension cord distance so that I could light up the twig snowflakes. These are the things you have to consider when building a house people! You know you're going to decorate a mantal for Christmas, put an outlet in for God's sake!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVhYEYk0wS7DejHqXSn1wGoVbHjlX6vNmK4DREuBTCWHR6sE8EMxpGZLAFDfWAmsgqxgWjgylXBURh20gqv51KeMeGPxoiNNA5gmXVUXmwXHCKhSa8vfEBPv4vK6_OYq1J5JNqW9YKZs/w800-h600-no/IMG_20140102_142418-SNOW.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVhYEYk0wS7DejHqXSn1wGoVbHjlX6vNmK4DREuBTCWHR6sE8EMxpGZLAFDfWAmsgqxgWjgylXBURh20gqv51KeMeGPxoiNNA5gmXVUXmwXHCKhSa8vfEBPv4vK6_OYq1J5JNqW9YKZs/w800-h600-no/IMG_20140102_142418-SNOW.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't you just love google auto-awesome? They decided to add the snowflakes here.</td></tr>
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These fun/funky/wild garlands were actually left here by the previous owners (as was the retro sled that I paired with ice skates on the front porch). I love their untamed look, but I do wish there was about 3 feet more so I could drape it down the railing post you see to the right in the photo above.<br />
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Upstairs I kept it fairly simple, one little tree in each of the bedrooms and my Pottery Barn pillow guarded by Smokey at the entrance to our room.<br />
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As for the trees, I had always wanted two. After a long lecture from my husband however, I had every intention of saving money by just selecting one real tree this year. So when my Mom and I went up the road to Starkey's (literally about 1.5 miles up the road), I picked out the traditional evergreen tree that we used in the office.<br />
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But when I caught a glimpse of the concolor fir tree, I couldn't resist. It's like my hands were sawing away while I could hear the echo in my head "he's going to be mad!"<br />
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Christmas Mandy gets a little carried away sometimes. It was like I saw the sparkles on this tree way before google ever thought to add them.<br />
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Its tough to tell in pictures, but the needles are just humongous, and its so dense and gorgeous that it almost looked better without the ornaments and lights. Obviously, that didn't stop yours truly. To be fair, the tree was only $35, and I borrowed the stand from my Gramma - so it's not like I went crazy wasting money.<br />
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After I have spent the whole season with them in the house however, I have concluded that I probably wont get two trees next year. I don't really have enough ornaments to cover them both, and I almost never had time to sit in our office and enjoy the traditional tree. Let's just play it by ear next time, ok?<br />
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As for a few of the things you might have noticed as "new" or "different" since I last bothered to post, I'm going to do an update in a few days and let you know whats been going on around here... maybe.<br />
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Probably. If I clean up the craft room by the end of the weekend.<br />
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Let's just play it by ear, ok?</div>
Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-44090333152422026892013-11-22T15:48:00.003-08:002014-03-25T10:12:09.039-07:00ReStore ScoreSometimes when you buy something awesome for a great price, you just have to show it off.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGWq7lMkRUMwARp3kGQ5e56faYMBW2U7JiMfXMwYmXUrIuGIqopeughmbvVcxlvr2uXwR_OCny_nO3tT0F827GOrYYLM-Jx721qHfFA4uEURpM_Yn9dx3xD2VwHGSYxpZBW5k2qwGRc0/s1600/2013-11-21_12-53-57_615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGWq7lMkRUMwARp3kGQ5e56faYMBW2U7JiMfXMwYmXUrIuGIqopeughmbvVcxlvr2uXwR_OCny_nO3tT0F827GOrYYLM-Jx721qHfFA4uEURpM_Yn9dx3xD2VwHGSYxpZBW5k2qwGRc0/s640/2013-11-21_12-53-57_615.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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These fixtures were $5 each at ReStore. With some black spray paints and new glass panels (hopefully they wont be too expensive) these bad boys will look like new. </div>
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That is all, carry on.</div>
Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-2010058847749860512013-11-12T12:30:00.000-08:002014-03-25T10:12:09.031-07:00A Festivus Miracle.Technically speaking, it's not Festivus yet, but this really was a miracle of sorts.<br />
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After I wrote about my camera troubles, I decided to try the very last SD card at my disposal. The camera had given me the CHR/CHA error with 3 different SD cards, so I didn't have much faith.<br />
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Wouldn't you know it? The fourth card was the charm!<br />
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So I bring you some scenes from my dining room. First up, the old hutch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvrG93OrdqP5VmGmlZglECpfEiRRECetweLhQmefduxc6JZlEQFXv5TWsC7QK2-fheU0NP_Gpv5P1LYiOqfbxy-8IpNGxSZBrG1LJSAAnsbNPcB0n39mCzgZ0Jhzk_fJH2WZOPZrm1ywo/s1600/imagejpeg952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvrG93OrdqP5VmGmlZglECpfEiRRECetweLhQmefduxc6JZlEQFXv5TWsC7QK2-fheU0NP_Gpv5P1LYiOqfbxy-8IpNGxSZBrG1LJSAAnsbNPcB0n39mCzgZ0Jhzk_fJH2WZOPZrm1ywo/s640/imagejpeg952.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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I'm sorry, but I have to tell you this story. </div>
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I saw the hutch back in April on craigslist. This was the photo provided. Looking at the picture, you can see a lot of other stuff. Bags, boxes, etc. I dismissed this, thinking that all of those things had recently come out of the hutch, and that's why they were placed haphazardly around it. Hold your hats dear readers, this is a good one.</div>
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The woman promised to give me the hutch for $65 after I (somewhat misleadingly) told her it was for our first house. I assumed that her "I remember my first house" attitude made her an older woman. False. </div>
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My Dad and I drove out to Bristol (a 50 minute ride) and found a young Mom at the door in a flannel shirt and... oh my God, is she not wearing any pants? Oh, wait... she is just wearing tan shorts. Ok, thank God. </div>
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"I forgot that you were coming today" she said, inviting us inside... into her Hoarder's Paradise. She secured some dogs in the kitchen out of the way, while one of her kids showed me his toy. I thought I saw a chicken out of the corner of my eye, and I started freaking out a little. </div>
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Bringing us into the dining room, I learned that the "stuff" was probably never inside the hutch, she just lived in a pig pen. (Disclaimer: I don't think there were actual pigs, but I didn't see the whole house). A small cat walked in between my legs, and I relaxed a little bit. "it was just a cat!" I thought to myself, "chickens in the house with dogs would never work." And I laughed at my foolishness. </div>
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As it turned out, the hutch was in great shape, aside from some dog teeth marks on one of the corners, nothing that I couldn't fix. So I gladly handed over my $65 and we got to the Herculean task of getting the hutch into my Dad's truck. </div>
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Did you notice that I never, ever, ever ask my husband to do these tasks?</div>
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The hutch did not separate. It was one solid piece that weighed about a thousand pounds. There was a lot of grunting, shifting and shimmying that went into getting that bad boy into the truck - and it required all 3 of us to do it. About 30 minutes after we arrived, we were set to go. </div>
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After a round of laughs, I said "Dad, did you see the cat at first? I thought it was a chicken!" </div>
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"It was a chicken! There were 3 of them in the other room!" He responded, completely befuddled. </div>
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"Can you imagine how Dan would have reacted if I brought him to do this?" I asked, right before buying him lunch, a few beers, and putting gas in his truck.</div>
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Since we were moving soon, I left the hutch in my parents garage and promised I would return for it at some point. Luckily, we had plenty of strapping young men to load and unload it at the new house. </div>
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I don't want to make this story any longer than it already is, so I'll wrap it up by saying this: the adventure of getting the hutch was nothing compared to the amount of work required to refinish it. Fortunately, I was finally able to hook up our paint gun (the Heavens opened and Angels sang) so the paint job went quickly. </div>
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Here she is now:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0WKR5n1NNQSAcZVzhiu-KDJ-UPm03D29m2aGPCMrUwI55QN0WI3T2Yx52c3WWvvabgANqSM_Za-OUGPOlCUcBbDVT4DNHz2GyiGI4OABHFEEjkyPhD6rWvtYlYWOOl5d5KfRqt6z395Q/s1600/hutch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0WKR5n1NNQSAcZVzhiu-KDJ-UPm03D29m2aGPCMrUwI55QN0WI3T2Yx52c3WWvvabgANqSM_Za-OUGPOlCUcBbDVT4DNHz2GyiGI4OABHFEEjkyPhD6rWvtYlYWOOl5d5KfRqt6z395Q/s640/hutch.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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I picked a greyish blue from Sherwin Williams called "Mineral Deposit". I'm really pleased with the outcome, it shows off my white serving pieces and dishes well, and I think it will blend with the "linen white" trim color that I inherited with this house.<br />
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I did mess around with the arrangement of the dishes when I first set it up, but I'm still working on it. I think I might need to add some additional color or pattern (with fabric or paper) to the back of the cabinets to make the dishes pop a little bit more.<br />
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The Mr. was quite pleased when I completed this project, because it meant I could finally unpack the dining room boxes that had spent the entire summer just hanging out. And I was happy because I noticed that the color of the hutch is a pretty close replica to the plates we used at our wedding. Subconscious color selection, for the win.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoClu9ogwsw89CeR0xTpZGn5mU8y4_gmge4yP3uWufyuKbJuZZro_G8E8e_L9KN0rYHwG9XXfMvFn-_7q2MTqaA4KQgcAMTsFQgrlucF-kLU6-ZJdw8IPLL6fWF43TEWxnmDL5rVKvmwA/s1600/DSC_1370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoClu9ogwsw89CeR0xTpZGn5mU8y4_gmge4yP3uWufyuKbJuZZro_G8E8e_L9KN0rYHwG9XXfMvFn-_7q2MTqaA4KQgcAMTsFQgrlucF-kLU6-ZJdw8IPLL6fWF43TEWxnmDL5rVKvmwA/s640/DSC_1370.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsMdWnmflMgdGDpkwnp9Yjy30Tsoj3d42MMhZyiPIeCsJbwSDobesYzaSfuIMCnQE0mYVvYCVCLY98J8C84fWCx0wMK9oVqTwRa_2SFAyC5zh1s9jaCv4EAbKi_bKUsyS7Pg_us-FjE_s/s1600/DSC_1371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsMdWnmflMgdGDpkwnp9Yjy30Tsoj3d42MMhZyiPIeCsJbwSDobesYzaSfuIMCnQE0mYVvYCVCLY98J8C84fWCx0wMK9oVqTwRa_2SFAyC5zh1s9jaCv4EAbKi_bKUsyS7Pg_us-FjE_s/s640/DSC_1371.JPG" width="424" /></a></div>
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Like I said, the arranging needs work, but at least it all fits... sort of.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgED7y9YSF9rFBGe5jt3uCOJEXZNgMPqK3Ole99kWKheS9GA_DKnq9JA7TOhO1CY-p3RrYiEfnYbGJyly9AR04SwS9Sqj4yiy6ipeAGv9KKYGl_3fjdkWdZT-OloAfnKOy4lYvG7WNjrSk/s1600/DSC_1374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgED7y9YSF9rFBGe5jt3uCOJEXZNgMPqK3Ole99kWKheS9GA_DKnq9JA7TOhO1CY-p3RrYiEfnYbGJyly9AR04SwS9Sqj4yiy6ipeAGv9KKYGl_3fjdkWdZT-OloAfnKOy4lYvG7WNjrSk/s640/DSC_1374.JPG" width="424" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKjSQLQM4IxaHaRs8Wdn8aTHg9wfJq6hardb59k_xMsIXsc4RpaZ4fE_KKlOb8aLidVzD-Q-vkUbsUyg1XMSUeMHY4p28goiDsy-OrTzp1gComuhqstcBNggTwC6TdE_k_MjkHR79SoVs/s1600/DSC_1375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKjSQLQM4IxaHaRs8Wdn8aTHg9wfJq6hardb59k_xMsIXsc4RpaZ4fE_KKlOb8aLidVzD-Q-vkUbsUyg1XMSUeMHY4p28goiDsy-OrTzp1gComuhqstcBNggTwC6TdE_k_MjkHR79SoVs/s640/DSC_1375.JPG" width="424" /></a></div>
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And now, without further delay - check out the chandelier!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qY__ePltcqsIZHSr6bNhCPXgHyfGDhCadAX08KT9hB3ZI90GYTV_7GFwGE24L1bZ2wggqWn0h4GwE75sK9LSeW32tMXf0Uq46rSpxGWpBIjNttj_Be6IbHx88CX_Z1-bborhdjZmJb0/s1600/DSC_1365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qY__ePltcqsIZHSr6bNhCPXgHyfGDhCadAX08KT9hB3ZI90GYTV_7GFwGE24L1bZ2wggqWn0h4GwE75sK9LSeW32tMXf0Uq46rSpxGWpBIjNttj_Be6IbHx88CX_Z1-bborhdjZmJb0/s640/DSC_1365.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxWObe-5RNzEzKwjcmXhX_r2Ucfz3k3z-BooHbojLA_w5ruoXTvdn_u1cv9yH0ivFm8OW7S9wRGMPAqH5M-YeH16eboNQC3Oms-IzX4bdMdeJzJ0VBKP-J4URwT-ZeNLA_hDy-63up-w/s1600/DSC_1366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxWObe-5RNzEzKwjcmXhX_r2Ucfz3k3z-BooHbojLA_w5ruoXTvdn_u1cv9yH0ivFm8OW7S9wRGMPAqH5M-YeH16eboNQC3Oms-IzX4bdMdeJzJ0VBKP-J4URwT-ZeNLA_hDy-63up-w/s640/DSC_1366.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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There is still a ton of work to be done in this room, but hey - now we have the light to be able to do it!</div>
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<ul>
<li>Paint dark brown wood trim "linen white"</li>
<li>Paint walls: color suggestions needed!</li>
<li>Hang blue and white plates from the wedding collection</li>
<li>Curtains!</li>
<li>New (to me) dining set?</li>
<li>Get my Dad to finish patching the ceiling and wall (this should probably take top priority)</li>
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What do you think? I know, you're too excited about the camera being fixed to care about anything else. You're not alone. </div>
Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-70023697401089646762013-11-11T16:50:00.001-08:002014-03-25T10:12:09.092-07:00Camera DisasterA few weeks ago, I tried to bring my camera with me on a bike ride. I wanted to show you the true colors of autumn on running trail. But then... absolute and utter terror struck me when I got an error. CHR/CHA Error. My camera now refuses to accept all of my memory cards. I don't know what is going on, but its not good.<br />
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I'm going to take it down to the Camera Shop in Colchester and have them examine it. There are two possible best-case scenarios here...<br />
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1. It is easily (and cheaply) fixed.<br />
2. It is dead beyond dead / it is going to cost so much to fix that I might as well ask Santa for a new, shiny D3200. Not that I have thought about this before or anything...<br />
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So realistically, worst-case scenario is that is it fixable, but it will cost somewhere between $150 and $350 to repar, and it will take weeks to get back. Naturally, this scenario is what I think is most likely to occur.<br />
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Either way, consider it my best excuse for not sharing anything lately. I've got things to show you, really I do... but with a picture like the one below (taken using my extremely old and outdated phone) you understand why I'm just keeping quiet instead.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOdmlAz_pGCe-6LcTkhCy0wUx3RGzP1bbKuZKIr7Ws7rOig71u6jATk1dfabfQ2jnEc2K4q7tk9HPG9cYKyItfAzNWGDu35y1SV29weHNUu1peWp2Qfuyyo3v-C3ylIoJdEDCDAV-QCUw/s1600/2013-11-11_19-40-37_870.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOdmlAz_pGCe-6LcTkhCy0wUx3RGzP1bbKuZKIr7Ws7rOig71u6jATk1dfabfQ2jnEc2K4q7tk9HPG9cYKyItfAzNWGDu35y1SV29weHNUu1peWp2Qfuyyo3v-C3ylIoJdEDCDAV-QCUw/s640/2013-11-11_19-40-37_870.jpg" width="358" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my failed attempt at trying to show you my new chandelier.</td></tr>
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Wish me luck friends!Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-67926652636315642602013-10-18T09:22:00.000-07:002014-03-25T10:12:09.088-07:00An ExperimentI'm not really into science. Never have been, probably never will be - but I do occasionally take interest in "how things work". I've also noticed that I have a growing desire to learn about stuff, maybe its because no one is forcing education down my throat anymore. Maybe its because I'm finally an adult? Whatever the case may be, I am conducting a botany experiment.<br />
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Growing up, I had a friend whose father was a Botanist at ECSU. I remember thinking to myself, "does it get more boring than the science of plants?" The answer is an unequivocal "yes." There are a ton of things far less interesting than plants. My desire to learn about plants is a fairly recent one - I'll credit the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and their Orchid Daze. A young guy who was at the exhibit the same time as my friend Dr. Amy and I, mentioned the book "The Orchid Thief". I read it and suddenly found myself interested in this wild world of plants.<br />
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Around the same time, we moved to our new place where I discovered a beautiful magnolia tree. I don't know anything about magnolias, so it really astonished me that this thing had so many different stages of pods and seeds and flowers. After the big, floppy flowers came and went, I began to notice the sprouting of pickle-like pods. Green and bumpy, the pickle pods began to turn pink, then red in late August/early September. A few days ago, I walked by to check on the pods and they had started to open, revealing orange red seeds.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhicqVt-RQBOlfktMsR7xXamrRA2boned_ZEiXoZdsdvPFJRszn2OE0N2Ye0E24t9N15_nmm8xSnthNShxdmkxUuTiXpTBY2JmAUHAO31Rz1Gc-fE8J3Ur-LFB9Cuv58U3f0ADoQsgRtNw/s1600/magnolia-elizabeth-jpg1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhicqVt-RQBOlfktMsR7xXamrRA2boned_ZEiXoZdsdvPFJRszn2OE0N2Ye0E24t9N15_nmm8xSnthNShxdmkxUuTiXpTBY2JmAUHAO31Rz1Gc-fE8J3Ur-LFB9Cuv58U3f0ADoQsgRtNw/s640/magnolia-elizabeth-jpg1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Floppy Flowers</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.smith.edu/gardens/bgilib/web/plantImages/Magnolia-stellata_9-14-04_38284-A_4_W.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://www.smith.edu/gardens/bgilib/web/plantImages/Magnolia-stellata_9-14-04_38284-A_4_W.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pickle pod (not exactly the same as mine, but you get the idea)<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=image%2Fjpeg&blobheadername1=Content-Disposition&blobheadername2=MDT-Type&blobheadername3=Content-Type&blobheadervalue1=inline%3B+filename%3D185%252F1008%252FMagnolia%2BKew%2527s%2BSurprise%2Bseed%2Bpod_thumb_460x0.jpg&blobheadervalue2=abinary%3B+charset%3DUTF-8&blobheadervalue3=image%2Fjpeg&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1349096417480&ssbinary=true" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=image%2Fjpeg&blobheadername1=Content-Disposition&blobheadername2=MDT-Type&blobheadername3=Content-Type&blobheadervalue1=inline%3B+filename%3D185%252F1008%252FMagnolia%2BKew%2527s%2BSurprise%2Bseed%2Bpod_thumb_460x0.jpg&blobheadervalue2=abinary%3B+charset%3DUTF-8&blobheadervalue3=image%2Fjpeg&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1349096417480&ssbinary=true" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pink/Red Pickle Pod (also not an Elizabeth)</td></tr>
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After some serious googling this morning, I have learned a lot about magnolias, including the fact that my "yellow magnolia" is actually called a Magnolia 'Elizabeth' and was created in Brooklyn in 1967. I also stumbled upon a page about <a href="http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-grow-a-magnolia-tree-from-seeds#b">growing magnolias from seed</a>. Hence the big experiment.<br />
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So I've harvested my seeds, and am soaking them now. Then I will have to "winter" them over and plant next spring. What do you think, can I do it? Can I keep them alive? Anyone want to take bets?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Sl2UsSDyRucNQvulEjAq-sRG-puPlnoCT8zsfCzF_LVP54w6JRQO4SPjTD4Rtu7Wy893TPbuHNCmsBXnwzHtj0alISiuN-EWI8kWGCPkDY3aSBK2oaklWLemgCKrxoL15390lk_enag/s1600/2013-10-18_11-42-02_74.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Sl2UsSDyRucNQvulEjAq-sRG-puPlnoCT8zsfCzF_LVP54w6JRQO4SPjTD4Rtu7Wy893TPbuHNCmsBXnwzHtj0alISiuN-EWI8kWGCPkDY3aSBK2oaklWLemgCKrxoL15390lk_enag/s640/2013-10-18_11-42-02_74.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my pods and seeds</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZu7xUKBOWCAkbgoTECUsGashBXrzreP_dgJRRbN3wFVRuyWzYEr2VE1h6VHXmBmH-z_impKaBGBpyOtH6t_-CiXSXRlRcSuQo8EdxqdgQby27x1OpCksId_OnDnRrRxIgaTV52JNnB44/s1600/2013-10-18_11-49-39_144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZu7xUKBOWCAkbgoTECUsGashBXrzreP_dgJRRbN3wFVRuyWzYEr2VE1h6VHXmBmH-z_impKaBGBpyOtH6t_-CiXSXRlRcSuQo8EdxqdgQby27x1OpCksId_OnDnRrRxIgaTV52JNnB44/s640/2013-10-18_11-49-39_144.jpg" width="358" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">soaking the seeds</td></tr>
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<br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-17907762985193027572013-10-09T08:31:00.003-07:002014-03-25T10:12:09.027-07:00Remodel in a DayOccasionally I like to take a short stroll down memory lane and see or read about some of my ideas from a few months or years ago. This provides a snapshot of what I was thinking at the time, what I found important and what is trendy... well, trendy is a relative term - I'm more of a traditionalist with "fashion" and decor. Plus I've come to find that I want a trend before it's a trend (does anyone remember me searching for botanical prints like 8 months ago?) and then I give up on those searches about a week before its in every store.<br />
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Anyway, what I have noticed with our current house is that I am constantly changing my mind about remodeling, paint colors, furniture, etc. So I thought it might be fun (mostly for me... you're all just along for the ride) to take a minute to document my "remodel in a day" from time to time. </div>
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If I could remodel in a single day, without it costing me a penny - these are the things I would do today.</div>
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1. Add a chandelier to my dining room. It's really weird not having a light in there.... This is the "graham" from Pottery Barn. I actually ordered it yesterday after going to the site to find the picture below. So consider this first point as "hey, we are really doing this"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-2gNYe7aGbX8M5WvF1tGktcVMyCwhzhbofhfmioFo4-dJCyuQZcjakMFbIzoFvr4rJ2stIrPJMZMMxYwxvPakCcmd0Xo0Z90MADbq3O2sERKKO9e8VdE_SrbOXxBMIGRzGvhuTPv4DI/s1600/chandy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="574" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-2gNYe7aGbX8M5WvF1tGktcVMyCwhzhbofhfmioFo4-dJCyuQZcjakMFbIzoFvr4rJ2stIrPJMZMMxYwxvPakCcmd0Xo0Z90MADbq3O2sERKKO9e8VdE_SrbOXxBMIGRzGvhuTPv4DI/s640/chandy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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2. While we are on the subject of the dining room, I'd really like to build a custom farmhouse table. I have my eye on a few barn boards currently gathering dust in the "basement" of my Grandparent's barn in Maine. I love the look of worn wood, and I am really into chunky table legs right now so I think something like this table (Restoration Hardware) would be wonderful.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70GlZ1VgkRqtMPRPgzBATs-pAwM-_LNXHnFh4FLA5MeIqUyQnxBRe7_q1r9SnH99zPAJW0nceK7KbqxxEFLLYtwA5Kk3TLopLy91otZN9B9LkYhW8aLx8RHHusBYKpAc-CNCC0E7WyEA/s1600/trestle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="622" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70GlZ1VgkRqtMPRPgzBATs-pAwM-_LNXHnFh4FLA5MeIqUyQnxBRe7_q1r9SnH99zPAJW0nceK7KbqxxEFLLYtwA5Kk3TLopLy91otZN9B9LkYhW8aLx8RHHusBYKpAc-CNCC0E7WyEA/s640/trestle.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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3. I really do think its silly to have two places to eat. A dining room and and breakfast nook seem redundant to me - and its a tremendous waste of space. So today, I am thinking it would be kinda cool to turn the eat-in space in the kitchen into some sort of sitting/hearth area. Because let's face it, there is no such thing as "too many fireplaces"</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/20/e2/61/20e261e521e9abf125b24374ad10b1dd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/20/e2/61/20e261e521e9abf125b24374ad10b1dd.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via BHG</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/34/36/da/3436dafb7b8410fa60ffd9c6a708dab0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="586" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/34/36/da/3436dafb7b8410fa60ffd9c6a708dab0.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via BHG</td></tr>
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or maybe we could just have a seating area without the fireplace... It's really nice to sit on a comfy seat while someone is at work in the kitchen. Its great for talking AND working at the same time. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/74/8d/dc/748ddc35b46c656d10487edf3e63ed81.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="520" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/74/8d/dc/748ddc35b46c656d10487edf3e63ed81.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.lonny.com/magazine/November+2012/exBLL1AV0gR/1#88">Lonny</a></td></tr>
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4. While we are talking about fireplaces, I think you should know that I NEED one on the back porch... and if we're doing work on the back porch, let's go ahead and screen that sucker in. Can you say "sanctuary"?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjOGn5s9oldwWrGDKkMwv25NH8m5PXrZErw5ISrLps0up3tIsInuUyvm-rBxuCg4gk-TfVc1_KK2ahwOB9JHZK5JwXnPPR0QNWxrsLLvJ-wYORX2nhTFDvLXgH0enYetFIBhzPoihVn2U/s1600/9aca3eb12a962d370e265c2f385d5826.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjOGn5s9oldwWrGDKkMwv25NH8m5PXrZErw5ISrLps0up3tIsInuUyvm-rBxuCg4gk-TfVc1_KK2ahwOB9JHZK5JwXnPPR0QNWxrsLLvJ-wYORX2nhTFDvLXgH0enYetFIBhzPoihVn2U/s640/9aca3eb12a962d370e265c2f385d5826.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">houzz.com</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCc4bmv11NYJ3cV_xF_sczf-mtc13h7wHjtkr7sAbH1S3jlMxIfPrCL-th4-Hg0CxDKnQyx_9uUVyDxv13YJMN7e2nM8-_9PXgDeNYackS6vJQc-hul5aHA03VqAB7HqPm_zd5MrFn3no/s1600/d7e8764035d466ffb00bf6c8d98e76eb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCc4bmv11NYJ3cV_xF_sczf-mtc13h7wHjtkr7sAbH1S3jlMxIfPrCL-th4-Hg0CxDKnQyx_9uUVyDxv13YJMN7e2nM8-_9PXgDeNYackS6vJQc-hul5aHA03VqAB7HqPm_zd5MrFn3no/s640/d7e8764035d466ffb00bf6c8d98e76eb.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dongardner.com/">http://www.dongardner.com</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2aXmEl_d1Pt6FFYdE9Yht5nvgL792d6DB2nPS1t9AARvni6knBOBQMJ6dURB23eCO1nhKQxQSh1s9e2PiR-eCbSHlKl831b42x0qOlalyJHFBHVJgR1fwb58E_Su-WS5RTBQZ6JoTcXg/s1600/ed461230a2169f70af27ce6f33698ac0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2aXmEl_d1Pt6FFYdE9Yht5nvgL792d6DB2nPS1t9AARvni6knBOBQMJ6dURB23eCO1nhKQxQSh1s9e2PiR-eCbSHlKl831b42x0qOlalyJHFBHVJgR1fwb58E_Su-WS5RTBQZ6JoTcXg/s640/ed461230a2169f70af27ce6f33698ac0.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This house was featured in the Wall Street Journal. It's valued at $2.5 mill - with that gorgeous porch, I believe it.</td></tr>
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5. Another thing I'm really into right now is the whole "separate but equal" vanity concept. I despise the big clunky vanities. Yes, they are useful when it comes to storage, but they remind me of a mini-van. Sometimes, you just can't sacrifice style for function. Sometimes, you just have to get rid of some of that junk under the sink so that you can have something cuter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHZMY0bNeyk2p7LmjFbhXMUryjk5j-7WvsFZRfUz3kOO1cdFNq_vdjMWp606n-eyNa5FkdKGHb6b6tGylAQQLI4_4HXSRspPEZP1at1PLMUzOvBhRTCxzdAqtX3sVMxGF-aZM8DA9b_Dc/s1600/bath1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHZMY0bNeyk2p7LmjFbhXMUryjk5j-7WvsFZRfUz3kOO1cdFNq_vdjMWp606n-eyNa5FkdKGHb6b6tGylAQQLI4_4HXSRspPEZP1at1PLMUzOvBhRTCxzdAqtX3sVMxGF-aZM8DA9b_Dc/s640/bath1.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCQuhXB1p741jboPfgUJAyztx5G-Qv1sfsqQdLuUhcEyXLBCFAAyTQ8X44k3WH9YAq3767pcNMk5A8bMEmL8FWtuOYrkRPtz3luj3FVg755B8Ul-Xz3bTea_iqxo16N8RItrrPjF9mWI/s1600/bath2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="611" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCQuhXB1p741jboPfgUJAyztx5G-Qv1sfsqQdLuUhcEyXLBCFAAyTQ8X44k3WH9YAq3767pcNMk5A8bMEmL8FWtuOYrkRPtz3luj3FVg755B8Ul-Xz3bTea_iqxo16N8RItrrPjF9mWI/s640/bath2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLjiZ22hq1ZbmYUqKhU8RPjOEP1Htv2fLhpGMgc-ahhgQQdsiJmNrzOaU9RU154UewGbOsrhsHyqhFH37BNKUq8jxEXCBPMn6L11968PLFxIJI6Xx4VQT7myuH9UvdMPmvuYlYkc1fhY/s1600/bath3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLjiZ22hq1ZbmYUqKhU8RPjOEP1Htv2fLhpGMgc-ahhgQQdsiJmNrzOaU9RU154UewGbOsrhsHyqhFH37BNKUq8jxEXCBPMn6L11968PLFxIJI6Xx4VQT7myuH9UvdMPmvuYlYkc1fhY/s640/bath3.jpg" width="506" /></a></div>
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6. Maybe this is dumb, but I really don't like the exterior of the house. It just seems out of proportion to me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXP1HuYa80T6fCfSDqK09QNWtkPHQ30bEbadlevdSKajSSK0I1q2bu6weLHRwyQc-OZwBzaXiRSuzv3aS7SJhYQNP89lF2er7xp1PdIruNuvjJdBBDBg7cdqZ8IpdPOjuwapkKnBiL94/s1600/41.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXP1HuYa80T6fCfSDqK09QNWtkPHQ30bEbadlevdSKajSSK0I1q2bu6weLHRwyQc-OZwBzaXiRSuzv3aS7SJhYQNP89lF2er7xp1PdIruNuvjJdBBDBg7cdqZ8IpdPOjuwapkKnBiL94/s640/41.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Like maybe there should be more windows, or the door should be bigger? I'm also not a huge fan of the overhang, but this is the colonial garrison style. I've spent a lot of time thinking of ways to make it look more appeasing to the eye. This is something that I sincerely doubt will ever happen, but I honestly think about it all the time. Maybe we could add a big focal window upstairs? And a Big door with transom windows downstairs? What do you think?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/99/d3/00/99d3006d0f2dfd295f3c5abf82fcd746.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/99/d3/00/99d3006d0f2dfd295f3c5abf82fcd746.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">houzz.com</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e1/34/64/e134649424f0777d6ad71980bb52b9ec.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e1/34/64/e134649424f0777d6ad71980bb52b9ec.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How about adding some sort of stoop like Molly Frey Design did on this Garrison?</td></tr>
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I did a little drawing below to see what it might look like if we added a stoop, a box-style window seat on the second floor, and painted the trim white. What do you think? Yes, I know its sloppy.<br />
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Who knows, maybe I will come to love the exterior just as it is? That's the point of remodel in a day, I get a chance to think about what I'd do right now so that five years down the road I can say, "I'm really glad I can't remodel in a day."<br />
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Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-75266952543385675672013-10-02T13:22:00.004-07:002014-03-25T10:18:13.155-07:00Not a Crafty Time of YearFirst and foremost let me say that as the title of this post suggests, this is a terrible time of year to be crafting. I say this not because there is any shortage of pumpkin, maple or apple related things to bake, or fall/Halloween crafts to create. No. I just think its too amazing outside to be crafting.<br />
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Sure, I suppose you could garden if you wanted to, but let's face it: by October everyone is sick of working outside and they just want to enjoy it while they still can.<br />
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We (meaning my lovely animals and I) have been out on the trails 5 days a week soaking up the filtered sunlight, the golden foliage and the slight breeze. As you can see, they have also enjoyed a little dip in the Hop River, which follows the course of our new favorite trail.<br />
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Since I decided enough was enough (of resting my possible stress-fracture) I have been running 3 days a week, 3 miles or less per run. I have spent the 2 other trail days biking, about 5 miles per outing. It's fun to get into a new activity and I really like to see Aero and Bruno running all out as I push the pace (for once).<br />
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I wish these crappy phone photos could do this little spot justice. I may have to bring my D50 out on our next adventure, because it really is a beautiful sight to see, especially since we tend to have the trails mostly to ourselves.<br />
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So hold tight readers, probably until November or so, if you are looking for a project... this girl has gone outside to feel the wind in her hair and the sun on her face!Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-44137917588453760762013-09-17T08:04:00.002-07:002014-03-25T10:12:09.042-07:00Pumpkin, Caramel, Maple, Oh My!It's been too long since I have taken the time to bake something. You could say that my mixer hasn't been used since we moved.<br />
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On Sunday, I decided to remedy that with the best that fall has to offer: pumpkin cupcakes with a caramel-maple filling and cream cheese frosting (dusted with cinnamon sugar). This is one epic cupcake my friends.<br />
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The recipe for the cake comes from <a href="http://athousandphases.blogspot.com/2012/12/moist-pumpkin-cupcakes-cream-cheese.html">A Thousand Phases</a>.<br />
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At some point during the making of these cupcakes, I decided to go rouge, as I usually do with recipes. This time, it was both a blessing and a curse, as I ended up with the most delightful frosting ever created... but also, the caramel center of my cupcakes was tough, hard and sticky.<br />
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So my advice is this: use caramel SAUCE, not caramels melted with maple syrup (though the maple syrup taste was delectable. Additionally, write down or try to measure your ingredients. I only had a certain amount of cream cheese (possibly 5 oz) and powdered sugar (maybe 2.5 cups?) so I just dumped it all in. You can imagine my dismay when Mama Crafty-Pursuits declared, "this is the best frosting. I hope you wrote this recipe down".<br />
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Doh.<br />
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Happy Fall dear readers, it is truly a magical and wonderful time.Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-1374652315816925502013-09-14T10:22:00.000-07:002014-03-25T10:18:13.144-07:00Running is the Answer.In February 2012, I went out for a run on a local trail with my dogs. <div>
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A few days later, I went again. </div>
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And so it continued for a little over a month before I got my cousin to come along for the journey. At first, I did it just for the dogs, to get them to come home tired and ready to behave. But then, I was addicted. Next thing, I knew, we had committed to run a half marathon... and we did. </div>
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Running was great for me and for the dogs. We had a daily structure, we had the recommended amount of physical activity and we were all a bit more obedient because of it. I had more energy, I slept perfectly all night and I was absolutely more confident. </div>
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I stopped drinking soda because I couldn't possibly get enough water if I had a soda. And I always ran better with a healthy lunch and lots of water. Which, as you know, is an improvement over soda and McDonalds... not that I ate that kind of stuff daily, but wanting to run better and knowing that healthy food would help, I started eating healthier. </div>
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Out on the trail one day, we met another runner (a real one) who also had a GSP, so we started running together. She encouraged and pushed me to be better... and I was. </div>
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Three months ago, I started to train for the half-marathon taking place tomorrow. I was running on the road for a change to try and acclimate to the hard surface since that is what did me in during the first half marathon. My runner friend challenged me to run 100 miles in one month. And I did.</div>
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But by the end of that month I could barely walk down the stairs in the morning. Shin splints, or a stress fracture, I'm still not sure what. I decided that I needed to take a month off to rest and heal. </div>
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It's been about 6 weeks now and not running is literally killing me. I can feel myself losing muscle, I don't need as much water, I'm eating junk, I can't fall asleep until practically midnight and yet I'm exhausted all day long. I'm grumpy and bored and my legs feel restless all the time. It's time to go back, even if I'm not 100% healed. </div>
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I didn't realize how much running had really improved my life, and I miss it. So whatever the problems you face, just know that running is the answer. It may not seem that way at first, but eventually, you'll see.</div>
Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-8041534366229332592013-09-13T07:17:00.000-07:002014-03-25T10:12:09.106-07:00Fall HuesLast week I had my sister give me a haircut and some color. I've been really diggin' the subtle ombre that she forced on me a few months ago (me: I'm bored with my hair. her: I'm bored with your hair too... you should dye it.) so I decided to have another go with it, though slightly less subtle this around. I know, I know, no-one goes lighter in the fall...<br />
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So I made it up for it in my living room by going darker.<br />
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The chair and ottoman were actually restore finds: $80 total. And you can imagine how pumped I was when I found out that the chair (a JCPenny return) had fitted slipcovers also for sale! So I walked out of there with a chair, ottoman and 3 slipcover options for $150. Not the greatest deal ever, but a pretty good one considering how often I like to change things.<br />
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I really like the way that the brown goes in here. What do you think?<br />
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Onto the next challenge: figuring out how I am ever going to get decent pictures in this super dark house.Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-59181239048630131412013-09-05T08:55:00.000-07:002014-03-25T10:12:09.071-07:00The Yard.Get ready for this.... 80 pictures that feature a very striking "before and after" each in order - I'm hoping that the photos can speak for themselves, since I'm not going to label the "before" and "after".<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEnhIi2sHGC-JpyCNbvWqnx1KfkvKPFlErCiD3MunlL44ymX98vZAXD3_5OMkjvdrbCrilRVBlBkVp_XGBfeNudlPDQDGffC6sIm7Vhyphenhyphen0z1xpmyqP4ThUl1ZG5vUEQT5MNw5gWsosIZhM/s1600/18+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEnhIi2sHGC-JpyCNbvWqnx1KfkvKPFlErCiD3MunlL44ymX98vZAXD3_5OMkjvdrbCrilRVBlBkVp_XGBfeNudlPDQDGffC6sIm7Vhyphenhyphen0z1xpmyqP4ThUl1ZG5vUEQT5MNw5gWsosIZhM/s640/18+(2).JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">before</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">before</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">before</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqtryxax9GZDG4e5AvKfemaceaFUAUWOatfYJlzEfgqE1TkBlauN_CsxQZW87I11VZTbySHzib-T1zRKckrswvZabUeChyefHIa40ncPViY80x8GjfDxMPR9uIyMrdNnIabmC9w3OPArM/s1600/19.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqtryxax9GZDG4e5AvKfemaceaFUAUWOatfYJlzEfgqE1TkBlauN_CsxQZW87I11VZTbySHzib-T1zRKckrswvZabUeChyefHIa40ncPViY80x8GjfDxMPR9uIyMrdNnIabmC9w3OPArM/s640/19.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">after.</td></tr>
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<br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-16392479094252776402013-08-29T08:48:00.000-07:002014-04-28T06:54:13.924-07:00An update, if you please.I've started to catch some flack for not updating this little blog for a few months. Can you really blame me? I've been busy!<br />
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Before you start calling me out on that... take a peek at what progress looks like on Sadlon Road.<br />
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Remember what it looked like before?<br />
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I told you. Progress. Hold onto your hat then....<br />
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and now...<br />
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Ok, so technically I can't take any credit for this. My Mom and Dad re-did the mudroom and bathroom as housewarming gifts.<br />
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But, if you really want to see the biggest transformation thus far, you'll have to wait for my "outside" post. Stay tuned, I promise it wont take 2 months.<br />
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<br />Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-82882361718119740812013-07-01T09:02:00.000-07:002014-03-25T10:04:23.820-07:00Grand Canyon and Zion: Day 4<div class="MsoNormal">I have learned from Dan when it comes to vacations. Sometimes, it’s ok to just relax a little bit. You don’t have to do ASMUCHASHUMANLYPOSSIBLE all the time. So I let him sleep a bit later on Day 4, and didn’t force him into any hikes – or get up at 6:00 a.m. to go hike the narrows like I wanted to. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Instead I took the car down into Springdale, which is the little town surrounded on 3 sides by the park. From there I mailed the WPA Parks posters that I have been collecting at each of the parks we visit. For a grand total of $3.75, the posters arrived home the same day we did (and for a lot less money!)When I returned to the cabin, Dan was ready for breakfast. You know what I had… lots of bacon. Like maybe 5 pieces… ok, it was 6. I had to fuel up for that long car ride down to Page!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxiViHyyLmoXtN9armxpWyNl_yBx8rOuufyiM2asDdHr2Eh_fG0QbcG6mv_auVe-cpY4VBXb3f5eSMhW7fo7rdMoa7Cf6oOyC6sqAhWdkEoV5eCh_GvJkpSvcaFg-2aE9bC5gMassWoFM/s1600/Day+4+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxiViHyyLmoXtN9armxpWyNl_yBx8rOuufyiM2asDdHr2Eh_fG0QbcG6mv_auVe-cpY4VBXb3f5eSMhW7fo7rdMoa7Cf6oOyC6sqAhWdkEoV5eCh_GvJkpSvcaFg-2aE9bC5gMassWoFM/s640/Day+4+(1).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKnAAv9z3TjV7NBKaXH1ottDGgaHqh7JrufXuVe1RPV6N0uEVMtAVoedlwmDpFUMoZNiNdwjo3YWfNBZYeLIlpDbh6AEpatEOKde4w6jW-S82FfTwT5lmo72CJ_ByXra4ACASNdHx6CU/s1600/Day+4+(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKnAAv9z3TjV7NBKaXH1ottDGgaHqh7JrufXuVe1RPV6N0uEVMtAVoedlwmDpFUMoZNiNdwjo3YWfNBZYeLIlpDbh6AEpatEOKde4w6jW-S82FfTwT5lmo72CJ_ByXra4ACASNdHx6CU/s640/Day+4+(4).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDAX8e5kpgQ9yvwCMaKHskeoqWjsdfOv2uOUd7h_cmrIMRnavvYtNt7lV9Wejb4Ud_Y954oq5ZXT7XzL_oU08JOEThmxxE8tCWQ4VKW14KhKm2yJImJSAETe5OIrUp3kKWn51lSe6NBHw/s1600/Day+4+(7).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDAX8e5kpgQ9yvwCMaKHskeoqWjsdfOv2uOUd7h_cmrIMRnavvYtNt7lV9Wejb4Ud_Y954oq5ZXT7XzL_oU08JOEThmxxE8tCWQ4VKW14KhKm2yJImJSAETe5OIrUp3kKWn51lSe6NBHw/s640/Day+4+(7).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">On the way out, we stopped in a few places to take photos once again. Then we got into the cutest traffic jam ever. The tunnel that you must pass through to use the East Park entrance is so tiny, that RVs and double-wheeled trucks need to go through with an escort. So if you get stuck behind an RV, expect to wait for the tunnel to be cleared before you can pass through. Stopped on this mountain, everyone got out of their cars and started wandering around to take pictures – that’s how awesome this place is… even after you have already been there, you feel the need to stop and gawk. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Zu75YnuhcoIdyqczOAdX53-7Urt3DvfbxuQPAKxvnDKNmBgsUJk1cQ8SmfcmqaH-sWBqFkR-PR2CFdZExEBGQNGgMTKdnc9S-c3Ew782mRKUUj8zTj4KFI4lCHQt94aDmBy_K0bcLEQ/s1600/Day+4+(9).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Zu75YnuhcoIdyqczOAdX53-7Urt3DvfbxuQPAKxvnDKNmBgsUJk1cQ8SmfcmqaH-sWBqFkR-PR2CFdZExEBGQNGgMTKdnc9S-c3Ew782mRKUUj8zTj4KFI4lCHQt94aDmBy_K0bcLEQ/s640/Day+4+(9).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">tiny black hole is one of the "windows" in the tunnel"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFYxkbrY5jVNT8bp00s-vk_xQIT-WkvBdS6Qcn33W_Eu1ZvuEpt2pyNW1i0F6ITbRcRBM_yHWpBvUDaessmXN10ndQno1lqgf1rSgPJUQNve1LEoVXQPwCPz75UqKod_Cg0AKURwiiDU/s1600/Day+4+(26).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFYxkbrY5jVNT8bp00s-vk_xQIT-WkvBdS6Qcn33W_Eu1ZvuEpt2pyNW1i0F6ITbRcRBM_yHWpBvUDaessmXN10ndQno1lqgf1rSgPJUQNve1LEoVXQPwCPz75UqKod_Cg0AKURwiiDU/s640/Day+4+(26).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan driving by the "window"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HnDzfFyKAk1MBrDnyFrvq9PmlBugzYW1OybHISVPtgrGMGvuc_4V7yw5qZeTzrHobl6DEbaOBcLOWkzMi6dNtKA_82KF3r22oIyidX8yIvRRz2vbf1Mf2Rg6ScXRi8en3c00XsMsNh0/s1600/Day+4+(29).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HnDzfFyKAk1MBrDnyFrvq9PmlBugzYW1OybHISVPtgrGMGvuc_4V7yw5qZeTzrHobl6DEbaOBcLOWkzMi6dNtKA_82KF3r22oIyidX8yIvRRz2vbf1Mf2Rg6ScXRi8en3c00XsMsNh0/s640/Day+4+(29).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBOjT45AJOxT1mApf66nM5Rr5nRamrYzaGrl18w2eNsbijvnGxo0mrI-nbdo25OrN9zuOucpkpRy5-ntPvJbCsDQMOlILr_jwzifXLZC-Qx44EDKhAMp1zNMYLQQMs2gFjoO0jHR6C8WE/s1600/Day+4+(33).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBOjT45AJOxT1mApf66nM5Rr5nRamrYzaGrl18w2eNsbijvnGxo0mrI-nbdo25OrN9zuOucpkpRy5-ntPvJbCsDQMOlILr_jwzifXLZC-Qx44EDKhAMp1zNMYLQQMs2gFjoO0jHR6C8WE/s640/Day+4+(33).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmMoUcxCAwGHqX9UzUIjRp9VR0wZZR1EGrdCmmt9EcS54RHPwhMGe9PD4gQrkrsMHPgSy7m7z5FeDn4SSwNOeipYbh8pofYvF3RGSwRV0ILU4RraPk0pTlFos9mxM476lkL6oXnLpTnc/s1600/Day+4+(36).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmMoUcxCAwGHqX9UzUIjRp9VR0wZZR1EGrdCmmt9EcS54RHPwhMGe9PD4gQrkrsMHPgSy7m7z5FeDn4SSwNOeipYbh8pofYvF3RGSwRV0ILU4RraPk0pTlFos9mxM476lkL6oXnLpTnc/s640/Day+4+(36).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG9XYJax4dYmfs1PhpQdwj1VAuNaTu3uRUILTU9MXAlqwW_w-aC7BY77K9SNyqHHkxtiCjbrnNY7dAiSobTAHuzI5XZqiKwhWqi0AP4sJdjDmF_I0tcOaJ-rcYoyBfVo5El0rgKaUTszM/s1600/Day+4+(38).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG9XYJax4dYmfs1PhpQdwj1VAuNaTu3uRUILTU9MXAlqwW_w-aC7BY77K9SNyqHHkxtiCjbrnNY7dAiSobTAHuzI5XZqiKwhWqi0AP4sJdjDmF_I0tcOaJ-rcYoyBfVo5El0rgKaUTszM/s640/Day+4+(38).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PUYHmUKCKehQ6snalWUSFjEz9aenTkUosnYwzjAd9Oq7ogPUnkbX_E0JT96fTdEqE4nUjVscurseVS2QnN8pkYaO9ZFyp2bRQM-sqbIeI-c2-1WUeCUtHyXTFrP1UNMEqqD4VxKZyDw/s1600/Day+4+(41).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PUYHmUKCKehQ6snalWUSFjEz9aenTkUosnYwzjAd9Oq7ogPUnkbX_E0JT96fTdEqE4nUjVscurseVS2QnN8pkYaO9ZFyp2bRQM-sqbIeI-c2-1WUeCUtHyXTFrP1UNMEqqD4VxKZyDw/s640/Day+4+(41).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjdvhle7R1v3edZ9UyUQgoJ3cCnarqHJN8S6q0Zk8S1SBqMjmm3hx3w3a0Z9nJyXj4mDiz3B3Nr5UixcXSl-PLVG11FeVA0DiWqysQggcvflTL7tk2ud8_jwHDVmDpHGS-0h1VbKu73s/s1600/Day+4+(42).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjdvhle7R1v3edZ9UyUQgoJ3cCnarqHJN8S6q0Zk8S1SBqMjmm3hx3w3a0Z9nJyXj4mDiz3B3Nr5UixcXSl-PLVG11FeVA0DiWqysQggcvflTL7tk2ud8_jwHDVmDpHGS-0h1VbKu73s/s640/Day+4+(42).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVFIQrvXcpYz2Y8pUoBTHVaCgdsFIU5u0O6-Aiwo3Qrks9hVMD8zIe49RfHFYDRoQhoFg6-iIYltU71HTwZlPdoRqLW4yF1g410Z-8M__GjnrigluEzHwGMDlkq6tV2SPj5WLnG0KxM88/s1600/Day+4+(52).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVFIQrvXcpYz2Y8pUoBTHVaCgdsFIU5u0O6-Aiwo3Qrks9hVMD8zIe49RfHFYDRoQhoFg6-iIYltU71HTwZlPdoRqLW4yF1g410Z-8M__GjnrigluEzHwGMDlkq6tV2SPj5WLnG0KxM88/s640/Day+4+(52).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZUslp5K3PRpxSya6SQL6TFBdiUsKRgxAYk14RmBxWlqtoulV26moySEAJnQsOGPh6N2qeIvWVYueeM-HWvLRM7NyqxL9LftRyZGzW9j66hzPvqg-kdufQYmwXhGLDZA7zh4eRJgwjYHo/s1600/Day+4+(16).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZUslp5K3PRpxSya6SQL6TFBdiUsKRgxAYk14RmBxWlqtoulV26moySEAJnQsOGPh6N2qeIvWVYueeM-HWvLRM7NyqxL9LftRyZGzW9j66hzPvqg-kdufQYmwXhGLDZA7zh4eRJgwjYHo/s640/Day+4+(16).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpddj4_jammztDJ3fZD9bT4r1AKB9i3p6vDV7h8izqpbFlcWW5W2pn_YNnRURsE1clYd1KmFOkK8V7vB_Udx5Z-lpj0EmfA-O2CHwnI5UMG2TN_NQ2k9Qy-cCWpDOCXKw7TiBUptsKQY/s1600/Day+4+(18).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpddj4_jammztDJ3fZD9bT4r1AKB9i3p6vDV7h8izqpbFlcWW5W2pn_YNnRURsE1clYd1KmFOkK8V7vB_Udx5Z-lpj0EmfA-O2CHwnI5UMG2TN_NQ2k9Qy-cCWpDOCXKw7TiBUptsKQY/s640/Day+4+(18).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">traffic jam</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4AN-I2JPCntpJO3rBqN5Xpa5e9JFPnOOOhZ4VN3KKFItawF2-YhFZxo0sjIN2lJjOuoW1j0DXAM3VQcDDpOvyNRjGyGOGZXH8NSU3Aits2RssxbD8lsMKffq60vM0Z7Zn6ve4SmziLmY/s1600/Day+4+(19).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4AN-I2JPCntpJO3rBqN5Xpa5e9JFPnOOOhZ4VN3KKFItawF2-YhFZxo0sjIN2lJjOuoW1j0DXAM3VQcDDpOvyNRjGyGOGZXH8NSU3Aits2RssxbD8lsMKffq60vM0Z7Zn6ve4SmziLmY/s640/Day+4+(19).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqp5hRm5ENNTz-p7ThBcBzmr1c6734o1dACIh_EfiS09Dd-9IeDwhLiD1pyNlJQzOlnsBiM-5Tur761DFmeWGga1oa9BqCSAB6AimmpwSuTqNXLvhtSvT0foliAgVcSx4YFV-cnzKvS0/s1600/Day+4+(22).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqp5hRm5ENNTz-p7ThBcBzmr1c6734o1dACIh_EfiS09Dd-9IeDwhLiD1pyNlJQzOlnsBiM-5Tur761DFmeWGga1oa9BqCSAB6AimmpwSuTqNXLvhtSvT0foliAgVcSx4YFV-cnzKvS0/s640/Day+4+(22).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbleFgo-MdkMSMXC2olk6423y209wYbjUJUy83atM3WAT437tRJBIFD_fElc2AY-GPaYNn-N9SiKgd5Z_vFW6wkP7vT1pdQo8HqtGxJm_PzqS3Lmviu6oXHT1Sw6HoMv7UG5pKjRTNH2k/s1600/Day+4+(23).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbleFgo-MdkMSMXC2olk6423y209wYbjUJUy83atM3WAT437tRJBIFD_fElc2AY-GPaYNn-N9SiKgd5Z_vFW6wkP7vT1pdQo8HqtGxJm_PzqS3Lmviu6oXHT1Sw6HoMv7UG5pKjRTNH2k/s640/Day+4+(23).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Once out of the tunnel the photos continued through the windshield until we arrived in Page. It’s just amazing how all of these unique areas are clumped together. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLSaHl0xkPuFEZSqnqy-oDcH-iOq8h-ukTmjawy390UQgtiZjQ5_fMrdia_W217BSdBOWtwUCoG5a9aatLjRtqN3m_1YPaHYacS8h7G2iK6SgaxN64KQh6o9Ng50WXjQ8ob71vyHDN9Q/s1600/Day+4+%252856%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLSaHl0xkPuFEZSqnqy-oDcH-iOq8h-ukTmjawy390UQgtiZjQ5_fMrdia_W217BSdBOWtwUCoG5a9aatLjRtqN3m_1YPaHYacS8h7G2iK6SgaxN64KQh6o9Ng50WXjQ8ob71vyHDN9Q/s640/Day+4+%252856%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVLEo9anAW4CbdKJ1r0C13YHkMh5I2m_y8RQd6Gnp4lp8cErawJtBYQIM64S37Nbk92U6zADFHlT0sEbHSqJ_6MsYYPvxMfBMH-Mi-eQLrseM5oDDHJH7LQKiY7A2FtEqbwmuLLxGI4Y/s1600/Day+4+%252864%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVLEo9anAW4CbdKJ1r0C13YHkMh5I2m_y8RQd6Gnp4lp8cErawJtBYQIM64S37Nbk92U6zADFHlT0sEbHSqJ_6MsYYPvxMfBMH-Mi-eQLrseM5oDDHJH7LQKiY7A2FtEqbwmuLLxGI4Y/s640/Day+4+%252864%2529.JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZr8kNODfsn3AAec_RfvXyvccSb58mtRiKteY56Auo4hNAGrh5f38PlFilrrGMAYU27O8u91uff4VF_EMlbr1xvZYgkq_Z7QR81JIESS11EUku8wHKpJGOL8TSa39uvZcygxwzfrj7iJc/s1600/Day+4+%252867%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZr8kNODfsn3AAec_RfvXyvccSb58mtRiKteY56Auo4hNAGrh5f38PlFilrrGMAYU27O8u91uff4VF_EMlbr1xvZYgkq_Z7QR81JIESS11EUku8wHKpJGOL8TSa39uvZcygxwzfrj7iJc/s640/Day+4+%252867%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdkD-zXelxznQLJJ6115-BPGy3DvNX_wxLxncoPk_Ek0Sx6oQxptsxQRLuAE4WBDLDdX_hzKlH7rrV-ynd8PeTJVS8ty1b_ALJl6efTdrriMg9VGoJOQeorej-GKk1TN9XSgxtPNIxeII/s1600/Day+4+%252874%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdkD-zXelxznQLJJ6115-BPGy3DvNX_wxLxncoPk_Ek0Sx6oQxptsxQRLuAE4WBDLDdX_hzKlH7rrV-ynd8PeTJVS8ty1b_ALJl6efTdrriMg9VGoJOQeorej-GKk1TN9XSgxtPNIxeII/s640/Day+4+%252874%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We arrived at the Colorado River Discovery Center just in time to go to the bathroom and hop aboard the buses that would take us down yet another tunnel into Glen Canyon, far below the terrifying bridge we crossed 30 minutes earlier. Once out of the tunnel, you are on U.S. Government Land and must obey all safety laws, so we strapped on hard hats for a total of 30 seconds as we walked down to the rafts that were waiting on the Colorado. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqcoixRgxqnX2g8woUZ4yYP82AudqcDDudT_713HiMlW4JwbrSVjMHs9guNrlzcdusEQEDnfwCgSmFkOEcVEWtOemZI3sx7uSGfQeWOyYy3BDomm0UlRra0l28sz0vJwBiaHapSp4IxAQ/s1600/Day+4+(76).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqcoixRgxqnX2g8woUZ4yYP82AudqcDDudT_713HiMlW4JwbrSVjMHs9guNrlzcdusEQEDnfwCgSmFkOEcVEWtOemZI3sx7uSGfQeWOyYy3BDomm0UlRra0l28sz0vJwBiaHapSp4IxAQ/s640/Day+4+(76).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj38OUjVPEwQnnFgS32XePVQmizAeA1fJwmWlooIVVJNEjtcejLTGDTTRvCHOqOYHz3tBfgXER3erHtWUfFrZk5EBSsvrsUyrgYElBkknCgdQVzMjrjtogSUW74Na4QlCAdD9dEVRtzxr8/s1600/Day+4+(79).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj38OUjVPEwQnnFgS32XePVQmizAeA1fJwmWlooIVVJNEjtcejLTGDTTRvCHOqOYHz3tBfgXER3erHtWUfFrZk5EBSsvrsUyrgYElBkknCgdQVzMjrjtogSUW74Na4QlCAdD9dEVRtzxr8/s640/Day+4+(79).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYzJVpRss932UJb9KpHj0bwLcyrpsJyKJQQ1R9nC2aHPwTPxd2UTno7NMRP6caBIv00-OdKlkJFqh7YISFsuXNKA9qXHmW4vTqpKE0Wob21LDtY2dHtWO7vFiBj6_ObwbqpPzrN-aJH4/s1600/Day+4+(81).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYzJVpRss932UJb9KpHj0bwLcyrpsJyKJQQ1R9nC2aHPwTPxd2UTno7NMRP6caBIv00-OdKlkJFqh7YISFsuXNKA9qXHmW4vTqpKE0Wob21LDtY2dHtWO7vFiBj6_ObwbqpPzrN-aJH4/s640/Day+4+(81).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHXqGjX7PzoK5uIvbXPtdgPpzsGqDkrtciLuPVsAa65v2XMfHScUzXGrQhY43IN-V2k6WJ9eROWpH-8WLzKycSoNCCwt_fVG_WmAKVPs-53ifixVZJgYOaKB20XKu8r0AO_hK84rcW6L0/s1600/Day+4+(85).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHXqGjX7PzoK5uIvbXPtdgPpzsGqDkrtciLuPVsAa65v2XMfHScUzXGrQhY43IN-V2k6WJ9eROWpH-8WLzKycSoNCCwt_fVG_WmAKVPs-53ifixVZJgYOaKB20XKu8r0AO_hK84rcW6L0/s640/Day+4+(85).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDP5AAHcuDSQJdrrNic8aOAPI-lHoau4-uz32goWDvzjfmTUzBlF53KwNM9BJ23T1DiCMlHK3_7QPSry0J59FL6dDrsP_cfdlkwtEeCdpsPu0rQlmOfZsjYSePXJhQPHDNvBtaTViy8Q/s1600/Day+4+(86).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDP5AAHcuDSQJdrrNic8aOAPI-lHoau4-uz32goWDvzjfmTUzBlF53KwNM9BJ23T1DiCMlHK3_7QPSry0J59FL6dDrsP_cfdlkwtEeCdpsPu0rQlmOfZsjYSePXJhQPHDNvBtaTViy8Q/s640/Day+4+(86).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The raft trip was one of the first things I booked for this vacation; I thought it would be a great way to really get to see the Canyon. Here’s the thing: if you want to do a half-day trip (meaning, if you don’t want to sleep in a tent down by the River) you don’t really get to go inside the “Grand Canyon”. But I still thought it would be fun - I will say that it was just OK, probably not really worth the $89 each plus tax. We rafted down along the Colorado enjoying the sites and the hot summer sun, which we were certain would burn Dan up. I tried to keep my sunglasses off as much as possible to avoid the dreaded racoon eyes. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The guide was a nice guy, laid back; but he didn't offer a ton of information about the landscape or history, just little anecdotes here and there. The raft floatilla had one planned stop at which everyone piled out and hiked about 1.4 mile down a little sand path to see some ancient hieroglyphs. Though it was quite hot on the river, it was about 100 times hotter on this path, from which Dan declared it "couldn't be worth it." I took a few pictures so he could see later. The interesting thing about the glyphs is not the artistry, or the fact that they have lasted thousands of years (actually, that is pretty impressive, isn't it?) but it's the fact that with more erosion, we see more glyphs. I thought that was kind of interesting - at one point the River was lower and tribes lived around it, then it got continuously built upon by layers of sand, only to be eroded once more. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGT_mw0WJGaBtkgA6jBHeCXHv1AG0bVhl88DlIBVcMY-6yAnjFzr5v_M8LvZd48EEZVpe-IM8TyzfqX3m6t6D43MsoplVQxTJEBzunsGM9JJarbrGa3IRlkJAt5tKbG2IKYCc-tD2pQNg/s1600/Day+4+(145).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGT_mw0WJGaBtkgA6jBHeCXHv1AG0bVhl88DlIBVcMY-6yAnjFzr5v_M8LvZd48EEZVpe-IM8TyzfqX3m6t6D43MsoplVQxTJEBzunsGM9JJarbrGa3IRlkJAt5tKbG2IKYCc-tD2pQNg/s640/Day+4+(145).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5kBx30avCSkwJg9dxcqBuBzigcketD7eo9A_ojJk_pWZsxia4-Uu6vjqhWdYIB7vW2woyYlN80qmoDwy1cP9L2pwos83O4VaNld5yiVc6XylS4w_0guZzOTxiMxJ0_ITDu3r9CUO4qG0/s1600/Day+4+(152).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5kBx30avCSkwJg9dxcqBuBzigcketD7eo9A_ojJk_pWZsxia4-Uu6vjqhWdYIB7vW2woyYlN80qmoDwy1cP9L2pwos83O4VaNld5yiVc6XylS4w_0guZzOTxiMxJ0_ITDu3r9CUO4qG0/s640/Day+4+(152).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Back at the River, Dan was standing in the scorching hot sand. I could not understand this, and was wondering about his sanity as I rushed to dunk my feet in the river, fearful that the fiery hot sand would actually eat away at my flesh. About 4 seconds after dunking my feet, I could feel them go numb. What a painful place to have feet? Between the hot desert sand and the freezing cold Colorado, we probably should have just stayed in the boat! Our guide told us that the River averages about 48 degrees F, because it comes from the depths of Lake Powell through the dam, and is never warmed by the sun because its always moving. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaH-OXfhTm_DvV6L2JqKWilikEjO7El6spXmEvZuIxvjURd9P8iMkVYZBiFg5l2YbaQqoi__VDLkknfp1iy8-BBBn4LQnGsJbs1ljRwyYb3wAHgm_dyS3GyVovgNvYs7Jmdz6l_ufp2rI/s1600/Day+4+(153).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaH-OXfhTm_DvV6L2JqKWilikEjO7El6spXmEvZuIxvjURd9P8iMkVYZBiFg5l2YbaQqoi__VDLkknfp1iy8-BBBn4LQnGsJbs1ljRwyYb3wAHgm_dyS3GyVovgNvYs7Jmdz6l_ufp2rI/s640/Day+4+(153).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I forced Dan to take a few pictures at this stop, which he was not pleased about, but I'm hoping someday he will just accept it. I like photos, we take them a lot... get over it!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0EZFSOpLUYZOjxWdtBViK6Tw20pZ_R3_jMqm8dUObzJvhX-u8QCLChUMAX0XROQqZzlo55dcZ-k9C09_wgY_ZbeY1EACFPhOEU8H6HfOWgyhnyFGVrCKRWkQSVErPg-zuRwhOTSaRXAY/s1600/Day+4+%2528156%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0EZFSOpLUYZOjxWdtBViK6Tw20pZ_R3_jMqm8dUObzJvhX-u8QCLChUMAX0XROQqZzlo55dcZ-k9C09_wgY_ZbeY1EACFPhOEU8H6HfOWgyhnyFGVrCKRWkQSVErPg-zuRwhOTSaRXAY/s640/Day+4+%2528156%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiutQYB_qfvCevLo8UkFiHZgIxBhNOOSJGP2lwV4zOaUPd-H9WY_VEaCB8Lvm_1ikX02zalVQoMFFQ8vHTmDGiK3I27TDFFL29nyEO-CCktsrH5HwKhKO9oM-gTmHf33ORnAtqn0FafcCA/s1600/Day+4+%2528158%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiutQYB_qfvCevLo8UkFiHZgIxBhNOOSJGP2lwV4zOaUPd-H9WY_VEaCB8Lvm_1ikX02zalVQoMFFQ8vHTmDGiK3I27TDFFL29nyEO-CCktsrH5HwKhKO9oM-gTmHf33ORnAtqn0FafcCA/s640/Day+4+%2528158%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMnxwiCBd68MZeG5anCs71ZrrHKZfJTwlpLV-Cxug8bKy_jPlsGglVVBZwAgnR4BhENrP6CF7tAmr5BYqJpUUa5kw_MDK96bfgZUXZ4JqH7JOTqJEzThwPhbsgeRHNYfqRhWyN1qyhyNc/s1600/Day+4+%2528160%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMnxwiCBd68MZeG5anCs71ZrrHKZfJTwlpLV-Cxug8bKy_jPlsGglVVBZwAgnR4BhENrP6CF7tAmr5BYqJpUUa5kw_MDK96bfgZUXZ4JqH7JOTqJEzThwPhbsgeRHNYfqRhWyN1qyhyNc/s640/Day+4+%2528160%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Then, the drama ensued when 3 people (old people) slipped and cut themselves badly when trying to get into the raft. Not sure how they didn't realize that having wet feet on a metal and rubber surface might cause them to slip, but they did and then they spent the next 10 minutes drawing attention to themselves and laying down in the boat to avoid passing out, or other very likely scenarios. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">From this point, we continued down river to horseshoe bend, which is not quite as impressive from the inside looking out. Then, due to the landslide, we turned back up river and motor-boated ourselves to the dam. If the landslide on Route 89 hadn't happened, we would have continued on to Lee’s Ferry, pulled out and ridden in a bus back to Page. In the end, it was a unique experience, but I don’t think I would recommend it to others.</div> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbP59O_yR44CUL9kmCwzVTsheTR4_P1HfoSDyrWp4uVqwtGXxJRz2E5wbPEWMWRLx-Q_oB7WP2d4qugCUu_kUkj_-zA0vyznQ-uJFwBFxOTQUWdmqTTme_mxqCRM_MTR8jUMc3SMtEDk/s1600/Day+4+(84).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbP59O_yR44CUL9kmCwzVTsheTR4_P1HfoSDyrWp4uVqwtGXxJRz2E5wbPEWMWRLx-Q_oB7WP2d4qugCUu_kUkj_-zA0vyznQ-uJFwBFxOTQUWdmqTTme_mxqCRM_MTR8jUMc3SMtEDk/s640/Day+4+(84).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Gmh50LhY77xsPerRWx2qbhiSyPki2usktbSFviquViBzFjjcFibh5MM94M313NR5iW8yuoBr7VCBuMwNtJ-Pgu5QsobYvxgWwI9a3iHU7AFi0mPi6qo2RHeUGdVfkv3mt0Cy7CObsgQ/s1600/Day+4+(91).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Gmh50LhY77xsPerRWx2qbhiSyPki2usktbSFviquViBzFjjcFibh5MM94M313NR5iW8yuoBr7VCBuMwNtJ-Pgu5QsobYvxgWwI9a3iHU7AFi0mPi6qo2RHeUGdVfkv3mt0Cy7CObsgQ/s640/Day+4+(91).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcRbtE0Go5uc2SuLOKhRvvyY-cV77EpKG07HDXqzIDhWcvs6rUIFQTVnp3Iy9USrEI6Baez0xoZn1gI1ouJiyoQ4lssRtsCprAKV39YBEVk7Tp_YRfCua-l8-aQ3HAtjBvoitLhiyOY8/s1600/Day+4+(96).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcRbtE0Go5uc2SuLOKhRvvyY-cV77EpKG07HDXqzIDhWcvs6rUIFQTVnp3Iy9USrEI6Baez0xoZn1gI1ouJiyoQ4lssRtsCprAKV39YBEVk7Tp_YRfCua-l8-aQ3HAtjBvoitLhiyOY8/s640/Day+4+(96).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntz-g2LKC2swQWymlz_ppewWqvoqZpDqbqj3Zu30xoCgNkJWmFUkZXz5xIphou6__6a3S_TSRWQMxMlpzGc9gmNUIe4vVLm8nNRxe8sij-q_Bo9HF-x36VWS7gJk8wNSgO6-kSpt1vxY/s1600/Day+4+(106).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntz-g2LKC2swQWymlz_ppewWqvoqZpDqbqj3Zu30xoCgNkJWmFUkZXz5xIphou6__6a3S_TSRWQMxMlpzGc9gmNUIe4vVLm8nNRxe8sij-q_Bo9HF-x36VWS7gJk8wNSgO6-kSpt1vxY/s640/Day+4+(106).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBEIxCyKzyCCm1FgQIqNznihU5Gy3SKneXOLThO22PoIZGptwAW02SKXUbKzTIZrZgJGNfvSwNJKOL8S5gXKGqE0BOce2OByF36M5_PbS_4r4vXX0IyhM30GWOXuldk-FqsscqMp0rChk/s1600/Day+4+(108).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBEIxCyKzyCCm1FgQIqNznihU5Gy3SKneXOLThO22PoIZGptwAW02SKXUbKzTIZrZgJGNfvSwNJKOL8S5gXKGqE0BOce2OByF36M5_PbS_4r4vXX0IyhM30GWOXuldk-FqsscqMp0rChk/s640/Day+4+(108).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxH5IVTsgtcJH5CwwYTUye3sEotbI3YZ0AdpLgzmFCzeXYgeWE6i-BbWFI6f4f-SagwgMa_yC5PnSR9CX1pf7jreeTYNRaMEG0QNPRTzit1PVw5pYsIqOIpc86iyxlwpEvAB08V5FuNpk/s1600/Day+4+(127).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxH5IVTsgtcJH5CwwYTUye3sEotbI3YZ0AdpLgzmFCzeXYgeWE6i-BbWFI6f4f-SagwgMa_yC5PnSR9CX1pf7jreeTYNRaMEG0QNPRTzit1PVw5pYsIqOIpc86iyxlwpEvAB08V5FuNpk/s640/Day+4+(127).JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Canyon walls are pretty tall...</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvo4fbO8HmuCEBgPvUqFfcpKOzL_enZAfYJp1BpH3MfAUHy3RFPHUYK5kxmNef9GBzViNMg2ZtUYqBr1RN0JD8EGKiqYZM2OBxNJa0d88ZiEv7PMjnkkvaKfChA2iIY7SZdrftWEmJgU/s1600/Day+4+(129).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvo4fbO8HmuCEBgPvUqFfcpKOzL_enZAfYJp1BpH3MfAUHy3RFPHUYK5kxmNef9GBzViNMg2ZtUYqBr1RN0JD8EGKiqYZM2OBxNJa0d88ZiEv7PMjnkkvaKfChA2iIY7SZdrftWEmJgU/s640/Day+4+(129).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhveptLwPoX76qeZoKjNpCLqzJSzYC9ADu-Ss4A4m6am9SRfkTZwb8HfW1p6L7YLSrCplooKp81w1cgvGunKYNq_ZLxO1OpwB3sUh_R6shom0q72I6JQnS8Bh51qUCe4bpHrVsUQNgcE6k/s1600/Day+4+(132).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhveptLwPoX76qeZoKjNpCLqzJSzYC9ADu-Ss4A4m6am9SRfkTZwb8HfW1p6L7YLSrCplooKp81w1cgvGunKYNq_ZLxO1OpwB3sUh_R6shom0q72I6JQnS8Bh51qUCe4bpHrVsUQNgcE6k/s640/Day+4+(132).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZDZr66G-uQ0DDotWatDaFQPb6E9GWAy9IB3UAHyZe4VARfcHIXms2YkeVhM4bV9ZFuYM9wKsvGfMd5z_QcP1flf-_7Pl1ESl1roFCKDC7CfKoyf_8wmnxRFmEeBbUu0-I3CcjI7p-adM/s1600/Day+4+(135).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZDZr66G-uQ0DDotWatDaFQPb6E9GWAy9IB3UAHyZe4VARfcHIXms2YkeVhM4bV9ZFuYM9wKsvGfMd5z_QcP1flf-_7Pl1ESl1roFCKDC7CfKoyf_8wmnxRFmEeBbUu0-I3CcjI7p-adM/s640/Day+4+(135).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgujkLUk97HaXW3oxXryOjuhqvpr5RDpPO97DRHlqFMMnyb2Fc2x13w1m1lQHynENe_ebpk_yL8eV-oh2EfT-hs6g8EVNJsjFIhiOLhtStk7bjsQY_S-Q1NdBTMRvSoC8v8viB0dcQmx3o/s1600/Day+4+(140).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgujkLUk97HaXW3oxXryOjuhqvpr5RDpPO97DRHlqFMMnyb2Fc2x13w1m1lQHynENe_ebpk_yL8eV-oh2EfT-hs6g8EVNJsjFIhiOLhtStk7bjsQY_S-Q1NdBTMRvSoC8v8viB0dcQmx3o/s640/Day+4+(140).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73SCMajBGPDkYLV5QaIGWW3Unl5hZ86dwvZ9jRhAWOornRZl3h62E2C2y4ujW0lR5j0V9yMvrFxvlD6qkyYIwpSYrYbn2SiWhDJYe4TUbAGiS_w8BYp9G8IrfkMrgjB2Q-8NdYO8r2yI/s1600/Day+4+(168).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73SCMajBGPDkYLV5QaIGWW3Unl5hZ86dwvZ9jRhAWOornRZl3h62E2C2y4ujW0lR5j0V9yMvrFxvlD6qkyYIwpSYrYbn2SiWhDJYe4TUbAGiS_w8BYp9G8IrfkMrgjB2Q-8NdYO8r2yI/s640/Day+4+(168).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">inside Horseshoe Bend</td></tr></tbody></table> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Em2e-2qRnmk340YCtpJOxea3KhHTVa6GB9JQx4oktxbpfi-cpdwisQtEXfcMFJc_E2h2UQK2Wca838I7HXLAjpTl79w6PfjaoOfOmK-xOpI1HgJpQR1shof-eGc5xLBl1h0tlN4_cws/s1600/Day+4+(174).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Em2e-2qRnmk340YCtpJOxea3KhHTVa6GB9JQx4oktxbpfi-cpdwisQtEXfcMFJc_E2h2UQK2Wca838I7HXLAjpTl79w6PfjaoOfOmK-xOpI1HgJpQR1shof-eGc5xLBl1h0tlN4_cws/s640/Day+4+(174).JPG" width="640" /></a><br /><br />When we got back on dry land in Page, I was starting to get hangry so we stopped at a Drive-In that was somewhat sketchy. It didn't matter; the food filled me up so that we could make the rest of the 3 hour journey back to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. At this point in the trip, we were really “over” driving, so nothing exciting happened – we both just wanted to get there and get the drive over with - though the sunset was very pretty.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAM7g9ONUxqaJjyYYIu88MUK75p5I0UgXYHYHJ92bksUfE06DQaaqK6c5uZJPyOB22Z5XKJP_ezCW2iBuaEwYspC9KI1_DZr-ES9ZIfL3Rw0qE5ph3OXiaxiNYLOTbdpOGqbQ3IRZSN80/s1600/Day+4+(176).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAM7g9ONUxqaJjyYYIu88MUK75p5I0UgXYHYHJ92bksUfE06DQaaqK6c5uZJPyOB22Z5XKJP_ezCW2iBuaEwYspC9KI1_DZr-ES9ZIfL3Rw0qE5ph3OXiaxiNYLOTbdpOGqbQ3IRZSN80/s640/Day+4+(176).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtvKSMU841Sm0Ex2J5O8KqwgEenuiNtFJkDqFpMk6BqrXQsZXEQ7qq5nyHunqCHwNigGZFKYttAwlSKywh9Ud1BEEfIiHOcDTWZJy8OixTqJlVQYg3sdZk7cyjHnTxoKycjPMb5S2-VkI/s1600/Day+4+(178).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtvKSMU841Sm0Ex2J5O8KqwgEenuiNtFJkDqFpMk6BqrXQsZXEQ7qq5nyHunqCHwNigGZFKYttAwlSKywh9Ud1BEEfIiHOcDTWZJy8OixTqJlVQYg3sdZk7cyjHnTxoKycjPMb5S2-VkI/s640/Day+4+(178).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-uaPB8TDPgWfuQiCj0o6ySHtI6HJb1_qoiP_PSFDsWfq2SQ_CaqtjB6c-lczD6P80UQuUQvfdIoObcPEnbX4QS5rhnRKXQ90X4jJI088SK1H0_mtYLTLxXvxyRfBlVAMUYDtEWXgSEc/s1600/Day+4+(179).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-uaPB8TDPgWfuQiCj0o6ySHtI6HJb1_qoiP_PSFDsWfq2SQ_CaqtjB6c-lczD6P80UQuUQvfdIoObcPEnbX4QS5rhnRKXQ90X4jJI088SK1H0_mtYLTLxXvxyRfBlVAMUYDtEWXgSEc/s640/Day+4+(179).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFp5kg9JBrRUYy-hhZjBRx7VYtpFaxepccDZr1cu3HNDcNR9_K6Y5a1ohmnSQ_f3T64pjI8B0FVlVXQK1sIbPfygcoNHDfMXN1MYG-andTyNS-3e_zGcFg1aaf59-ugk5D3coNCTrBL-0/s1600/Day+4+(188).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFp5kg9JBrRUYy-hhZjBRx7VYtpFaxepccDZr1cu3HNDcNR9_K6Y5a1ohmnSQ_f3T64pjI8B0FVlVXQK1sIbPfygcoNHDfMXN1MYG-andTyNS-3e_zGcFg1aaf59-ugk5D3coNCTrBL-0/s640/Day+4+(188).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />We finally got back to the Village area around 8:30 and both had separate meltdowns about insignificant things like how close we could park to the cabin and which cabin was actually ours… for some reason, I am completely unable to navigate in these tiny areas. I’m always pointing us in the wrong direction, or going the roundabout way. Meanwhile, Dan is always getting mad about it… makes for some enjoyable scenes. This time however, our scene was ended by an elk that refused to get out of the way. He was in a very public area, where tourists wouldn't move (because they were afraid) and the elk wouldn't move (because he was afraid)… quite the standoff. Needless to say, we went around the long way.<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJxQQwGzIDrr7t1cKkoRo0ETy6YyhqtPUYxiKJMYW4GNNk-CV7dINzHicZGOi0j4MfnlbrTOSl1DxiS4rSKJupUZ9zJxsePz23Y4jlcxBniTlnbIlsk5aKkWS8l98gHlrPkhcJLfNnfc/s1600/Day+4+(191).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJxQQwGzIDrr7t1cKkoRo0ETy6YyhqtPUYxiKJMYW4GNNk-CV7dINzHicZGOi0j4MfnlbrTOSl1DxiS4rSKJupUZ9zJxsePz23Y4jlcxBniTlnbIlsk5aKkWS8l98gHlrPkhcJLfNnfc/s640/Day+4+(191).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAFeVF86cJXkQYHHZtMJWxSW_PDcPji9ZfbvEuAdOwos9Tq3-R8V9-jggCdhadBurUWgQaUXL50UgfGO8L8a7IdqjdVix6Ka6tQU3VF9x8zT6j3PPTDOzBVO3gxyLUey9_FD_yA7zHfXk/s1600/Day+4+(193).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAFeVF86cJXkQYHHZtMJWxSW_PDcPji9ZfbvEuAdOwos9Tq3-R8V9-jggCdhadBurUWgQaUXL50UgfGO8L8a7IdqjdVix6Ka6tQU3VF9x8zT6j3PPTDOzBVO3gxyLUey9_FD_yA7zHfXk/s640/Day+4+(193).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">In our cabin (which did not include the rim view as advertised) we opened the windows and wondered why they hadn't bothered to include AC (the Bright Angel Cabins, in case you want to avoid this mistake in your planning). Dan was pleased to find a TV in the room, and tuned it to a horror movie in which a bunch of twenty-somethings go out on a hike, sleep in some cabin and all get killed. Not surprisingly, I demanded that he change the channel immediately. After whining that there was “nothing else worth watching” I found re-runs of the Big Bang Theory and fell asleep pretty quickly. <o:p></o:p></div>Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849917124656277.post-77499981835692479472013-06-20T10:57:00.000-07:002014-03-25T10:04:23.814-07:00Grand Canyon and Zion: Day 3<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Day 3:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I woke up at 8 or so on our third day of the trip, and decided to go down to the visitor’s center and figure out the weather situation. On the top of my “to-do” list for Zion was “hike the Narrows”. In the park, there are many narrow slot canyons that have been shaped by the Virgin River. When the river is low during the dry season, you can hike inside these canyons through the water and see some of the most beautiful and unusual sights in the park. However, the Narrows are very susceptible to flash flooding. Typically, you can’t enter at all until July hits. Because it has been such a dry spring out west (4<sup>th</sup> driest in recorded history) I had my hopes up about being able to do this hike in May. But – thunderstorms were predicted for the two days we were in Zion. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I asked a ranger.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The rangers are very careful about not telling you what to do. It took me five minutes to get this ranger to say, “Well, if it were me? I </span>wouldn't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> go.” So that settled it. I returned to our cabin disappointed, but ready #2 on the list: Angel’s landing. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VUmZxXcrwoJFIqCTCjUcc36UeKz6Rk_xdjtxOfE3sfSSiooHqEargbFL88HqMjjbbyWm_zyXCIftngsFwxIWZwz7jboHYUtRY3Fi2V9F6UQhD072FzI9HpZ_-h2Hp2uMWPIaWIZnA54/s1600/Day+3+(8).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VUmZxXcrwoJFIqCTCjUcc36UeKz6Rk_xdjtxOfE3sfSSiooHqEargbFL88HqMjjbbyWm_zyXCIftngsFwxIWZwz7jboHYUtRY3Fi2V9F6UQhD072FzI9HpZ_-h2Hp2uMWPIaWIZnA54/s640/Day+3+(8).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dan was awake when I got back, and we headed over to the Red Rock Dining Room for breakfast. We could order something off the menu, or go for the breakfast buffet for $11. Naturally Dan went for the buffet, but I decided to just have pancakes instead. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 319.1pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dan: Why would you not get the buffet?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 319.1pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Me: I only want pancakes. They are $6… the buffet is $11, you should be thanking me.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 319.1pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 319.1pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Later on…<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 319.1pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Me: will you get me some fruit?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 319.1pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dan: Absolutely not. You did not pick the buffet, so you can’t have anything from the buffet. I don’t want to get kicked out of Zion.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 319.1pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 319.1pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After he got me some fruit…<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 319.1pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dan: Do you want my bacon?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 319.1pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Me: </span>Aren't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> you afraid of getting booted?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 319.1pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dan: These guys don’t scare me.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 319.1pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Spoiler alert: the bacon was so delicious; I got the buffet the next morning just so I could have an unlimited amount of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After breakfast we loaded up our Camelbaks (which technically, are hydration packs we don’t have the brand Camelbak) and prepared for the hike up Angel’s landing. I was delighted to find that carrying the water this way was much lighter than carrying a few big bottles in the side of my camera gear bag. Like 20 pounds lighter. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSog_jdbFFAD5mJXOYljrReQ2bsDAXsSdE66yZW2a6LZMfHldFnkgFe7DyEFzOOSY6pSFyYI-3ShrgpKljgKvHgH3RPSgZT5wwyoVFUADb9iRNdmZfiIjQJPFpjCcowUtuIvpmBZZWDJk/s1600/Day+3+(7).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSog_jdbFFAD5mJXOYljrReQ2bsDAXsSdE66yZW2a6LZMfHldFnkgFe7DyEFzOOSY6pSFyYI-3ShrgpKljgKvHgH3RPSgZT5wwyoVFUADb9iRNdmZfiIjQJPFpjCcowUtuIvpmBZZWDJk/s640/Day+3+(7).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I had read about Angel’s Landing in a bunch of different places while I was working on the itinerary. It sounded like a great time and a fun challenge. “Sure, I can hike that” I thought to myself, “I’m not scared of heights.” But fear started creeping in when Tom Egan told me that 4 boy scouts had died hiking it a few years ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“One lost his footing and took the other 3 down with him. It’s very dangerous, you have to be careful!”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If there is one thing I don’t trust, its other people. My mother-in-law did not really like the sound of Tommy’s tale, and issued similar caution warnings. I refused to let her know which day we would be hiking for fear that she </span>wouldn't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> be able to eat or sleep until we got back down safely (which was 3 days after the conversation took place). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So as we rode the bus towards the start of the </span>trail-head<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I told Dan “make sure I finish.” When he asked what I meant by that I said, “If I get scared and don’t want to go all the way to the top, make me.” He sighed and groaned and asked (once again) why I always make us do these terrible things on our vacations. My responsible was pretty simple. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Because it’s there and because we can.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN2gXBuq07bGtJwjqybzx2khteT0nK-iRFKZcFLAWTVSRRV9QRdXSl6Btw3c1qYNXLeerH7LQrQponYjC6wruoBEH2TaeUo24uhSYX_vJD_sUczMVkoQ8-kObwaF9dfR9AQr_vavkKBG8/s1600/Day+3+(9).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN2gXBuq07bGtJwjqybzx2khteT0nK-iRFKZcFLAWTVSRRV9QRdXSl6Btw3c1qYNXLeerH7LQrQponYjC6wruoBEH2TaeUo24uhSYX_vJD_sUczMVkoQ8-kObwaF9dfR9AQr_vavkKBG8/s640/Day+3+(9).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGBeIm2EJjpT0mPr5Q_9HbfhRHVdGWLF8rnoUMQJ2XS6jEmkLeRitVioicd-DS4Z7Kup6jLZzYaUFpb20LxBzzl47i4PO7OlFKGAjxpFd0uy3DiE8KfWc7pjKroU2CrrCSOL-tNh04Yk/s1600/Day+3+(14).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGBeIm2EJjpT0mPr5Q_9HbfhRHVdGWLF8rnoUMQJ2XS6jEmkLeRitVioicd-DS4Z7Kup6jLZzYaUFpb20LxBzzl47i4PO7OlFKGAjxpFd0uy3DiE8KfWc7pjKroU2CrrCSOL-tNh04Yk/s640/Day+3+(14).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ZB9yZG-ire_ZalCki0KpKDT9KNacDiF1tN2isTtdTcVBzK2o89KIfy-FjQ9mH2z0P3vQ7vHRIqcJp7-QnKG1-fAa8S2SwLw4kEFK4LpjNurCHW-iF3U4jW9OalzOEttbMTgcmy4MpMo/s1600/Day+3+(19).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ZB9yZG-ire_ZalCki0KpKDT9KNacDiF1tN2isTtdTcVBzK2o89KIfy-FjQ9mH2z0P3vQ7vHRIqcJp7-QnKG1-fAa8S2SwLw4kEFK4LpjNurCHW-iF3U4jW9OalzOEttbMTgcmy4MpMo/s640/Day+3+(19).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As we began our ascent we decided to let a pack of boy scouts run up ahead of us and tucker themselves out early on… we definitely did not want to be anywhere near them as we approached the tricky part of the trails between Scout’s landing and the Summit. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For about 2 miles the trail is like any other steep mountain trail; plenty of switchbacks keep you breathing hard, but the comfort of a wider trail will keep you moving forward. Additionally, the higher you get, the better the view gets, so the incentive to continue is there. We pressed onward and upward resting every now and then in the shade, eventually passing the boy scouts. I was somewhat concerned when we passed parents hiking with toddlers on their backs, but I am pretty certain they did not intend to climb to the summit (at least I don’t think they ever did, because I </span>didn't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> pass them again coming down). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjUZX62pwL4L2yfsn8gKvJIrKAP5oztJYnBD_2sIxbAh9p5ZPyA-z8uDpTkm228VwLH4zlE53JUYkbNaJ_WGmn2Vq9zI1pwebX8ky9RbnuOOD3JHJP6WShAZFqaL_O2ul44Uv02hMFDQ/s1600/Day+3+(34).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjUZX62pwL4L2yfsn8gKvJIrKAP5oztJYnBD_2sIxbAh9p5ZPyA-z8uDpTkm228VwLH4zlE53JUYkbNaJ_WGmn2Vq9zI1pwebX8ky9RbnuOOD3JHJP6WShAZFqaL_O2ul44Uv02hMFDQ/s640/Day+3+(34).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD27inET799LBszqKA8sG4mjnUgONBGh898cvLDtkmMqoG17fRBc4weC7yB0-EreIzzXgNd7DexIF487bGkXpOfsdM7UnYZjOUsor0YPpHcyNUvL6OcSiJn1yguPPhoVYeh827WI-Cplc/s1600/Day+3+(41).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD27inET799LBszqKA8sG4mjnUgONBGh898cvLDtkmMqoG17fRBc4weC7yB0-EreIzzXgNd7DexIF487bGkXpOfsdM7UnYZjOUsor0YPpHcyNUvL6OcSiJn1yguPPhoVYeh827WI-Cplc/s640/Day+3+(41).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my photo of the wiggles</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zionnational-park.com/images/album2/images/angels-landing-ef_jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://www.zionnational-park.com/images/album2/images/angels-landing-ef_jpg.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">someone named "Tanya"'s wiggle photo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xuH6WB2NiMZNSYFfEE_5OEL1f3Ac8170VZVDhc8gkCoAsR6tAu3G2IDk-S2NCWm3y6AewxOYFm13BEHJpsWeOOi1jMGwY4wb0e61jQY-xlyDc2l5fckJgudSn75WZ-MqJJKhmJY0mIw/s1600/Day+3+(43).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xuH6WB2NiMZNSYFfEE_5OEL1f3Ac8170VZVDhc8gkCoAsR6tAu3G2IDk-S2NCWm3y6AewxOYFm13BEHJpsWeOOi1jMGwY4wb0e61jQY-xlyDc2l5fckJgudSn75WZ-MqJJKhmJY0mIw/s640/Day+3+(43).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When we got to Walter’s Wiggles, I explained to Dan (in between labored breaths) that the CCC created the infamous switchbacks in the 1930’s. Dan said he hated Walter, he hated the CCC and he hated switchbacks. I took this opportunity to make fun of him for being so out of shape. The truth was, when we stopped for his lungs, I was grateful to rest my legs. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once we completed the wiggles, we stopped at Scout’s Landing to gain our thoughts before the truly perilous part of the trail would demand our undivided attention. My watch was telling us that we had only been about 1.75 miles, which I figured was wrong because we had lost the satellite so many times – Scout’s Landing was at 2 miles. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiej8mjx_KV1i5gpKEKX0eZL9g78MZke4RUwX2C8I7D5U-KjyICdBB3fJHViKx-EhyLkhg0FRU59Xgl8dVzlOhXjCpvcz6H0WlbtgwrlH5FB7v3jliX38NJJf7NtR33tRCOWE331cAUn4U/s1600/Day+3+(45).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiej8mjx_KV1i5gpKEKX0eZL9g78MZke4RUwX2C8I7D5U-KjyICdBB3fJHViKx-EhyLkhg0FRU59Xgl8dVzlOhXjCpvcz6H0WlbtgwrlH5FB7v3jliX38NJJf7NtR33tRCOWE331cAUn4U/s640/Day+3+(45).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">see the people climbing? The pine above the green shirts is Scout's Landing</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPr55dkme3KhScMGOz_5qlMipe-QpPrd2k_4vCi7cZ89joWLU36x1P3Hqj07WNmnh2D70_DV5_JxSTrBnObA1PLnCE9BL-Z2XzBoecRjv4hyphenhyphenR8nHdCayKwR5MAd6RL0xzY3ZhP0IWujE/s1600/Day+3+(51).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPr55dkme3KhScMGOz_5qlMipe-QpPrd2k_4vCi7cZ89joWLU36x1P3Hqj07WNmnh2D70_DV5_JxSTrBnObA1PLnCE9BL-Z2XzBoecRjv4hyphenhyphenR8nHdCayKwR5MAd6RL0xzY3ZhP0IWujE/s640/Day+3+(51).JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks like the top ahead, but it's only Scout's Landing</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiIX-m_MbdBPCOkFSVNpiPYdpLiti5bbF2QQXZTt5wmDMuvCR7mZSFN0ZbDa3VwdRwjfGbhfCvgmIdhAlnQE2SAD04Bd_ne5g3ucJbKXWpsf-19DoyjBCPKliUrcw2YseDbeKQtmn59w/s1600/Day+3+(52).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiIX-m_MbdBPCOkFSVNpiPYdpLiti5bbF2QQXZTt5wmDMuvCR7mZSFN0ZbDa3VwdRwjfGbhfCvgmIdhAlnQE2SAD04Bd_ne5g3ucJbKXWpsf-19DoyjBCPKliUrcw2YseDbeKQtmn59w/s640/Day+3+(52).JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">awesome trail, no?</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At this point the trail turned into a rock-climbing adventure more than a hike, with chains serving the dual purpose of trail marker and life saver. Step by step, gripping the chain we continued our trek to a point that we were pretty sure was “the top”.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Only, once you got to “the top” you realized it </span>wasn't<span style="font-family: inherit;">, and that </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">this</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">was the real Scout’s landing precisely as described at the 2 mile mark. And this is where I panicked. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGQ_EZXHAtTjMEm4wDq2wli0nO7bWkFkUyY1oDsMaVm7cD-AO95hg1sUvDtQs1lltLyDjcwicwMHQnWdVhwwfl36ReiPp4g86rgrWN6YHkf6fIYvGQW1eutmU5WjtwZdi8eYS8F8eXCA/s1600/Day+3+(79).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGQ_EZXHAtTjMEm4wDq2wli0nO7bWkFkUyY1oDsMaVm7cD-AO95hg1sUvDtQs1lltLyDjcwicwMHQnWdVhwwfl36ReiPp4g86rgrWN6YHkf6fIYvGQW1eutmU5WjtwZdi8eYS8F8eXCA/s640/Day+3+(79).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan = calm... Me = PANIC!!!</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuk9xa364-IqYcXC6iWbbXh3Y0JdaI5LPlt7Cw5vP-wHS-gfoft3-8EW072-igZU5gU-TlBTULivIrpgyPIkXQ7bZqacW0HbClKEDhNLMSGc64QQPbVT73io6zNeqkny0cHfDUgSbd05o/s1600/Day+3+(61).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuk9xa364-IqYcXC6iWbbXh3Y0JdaI5LPlt7Cw5vP-wHS-gfoft3-8EW072-igZU5gU-TlBTULivIrpgyPIkXQ7bZqacW0HbClKEDhNLMSGc64QQPbVT73io6zNeqkny0cHfDUgSbd05o/s640/Day+3+(61).JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what you see at Scout's Landing... this is why I panicked.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Under the shade of a single pine, I began to hyperventilate at the thought of continuing up the sheer spine with nothing to separate me and the valley 1,200 feet below but a narrow trail no bigger than a foot wide in some places, surrounded by other people trying to get up and down – my fate resting in their hands.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No, I’m not scared of heights; I have no problem being up high on steady footing. What I am scared of is falling to my death off the side of a mountain because my foot slipped, or the person in front of me slipped. Even scarier at this point, was the thought of seeing someone else fall off the trail to <i>their</i>death. I felt my eyes begin to water as Dan asked “are you alright?”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let’s face it, Dan and I can be tough on each other. The term “hard-ass” comes to mind, but I got the vibe that if he knew that I was flipping out, he </span>wouldn't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> have pushed me to finish. So I took a deep breath (literally) and forced myself to calm down so we could keep going. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQakvc2APMtVVA2PvAAXIUQI5BUQPiJIItV-o61aPt9XPuSvBlsBqUDm8IA5ua-egl1ithuFT4o5QIiG-A4GXbwIfCPCTVpuS1K8U9zMJgUq9lAMB4w-R06Ntk9p_V1ClTVN4mFOKSNuU/s1600/Day+3+(66).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQakvc2APMtVVA2PvAAXIUQI5BUQPiJIItV-o61aPt9XPuSvBlsBqUDm8IA5ua-egl1ithuFT4o5QIiG-A4GXbwIfCPCTVpuS1K8U9zMJgUq9lAMB4w-R06Ntk9p_V1ClTVN4mFOKSNuU/s640/Day+3+(66).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my scary pictures</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkexf8fxr_paexQ8MbSA-nQL6BICixwHWPD5yyZW-y96C6qGfwH4-lplka16aktpcK8s8XVNGh5g_DOMzgEn4LrY5Jb7sQ9q-XURS4ZYHsnkMJlR3Pa5cfm_4VWHMivJKYgHLJaLTxjE/s1600/Day+3+(75).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkexf8fxr_paexQ8MbSA-nQL6BICixwHWPD5yyZW-y96C6qGfwH4-lplka16aktpcK8s8XVNGh5g_DOMzgEn4LrY5Jb7sQ9q-XURS4ZYHsnkMJlR3Pa5cfm_4VWHMivJKYgHLJaLTxjE/s640/Day+3+(75).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXJfWd5Oku6ngXDpmoXyMCER1JgeHDFjuq6Hckf8_jGSI00kQA9x4OHIz8Rzx0ZdOJKUIE-ikWXkIwqZWJ4-r1xBYY51G7eeDB9Izk312WOa5dka5gk2AFgA9mKVeOJOOsSMgmQ6AhmA/s1600/al2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXJfWd5Oku6ngXDpmoXyMCER1JgeHDFjuq6Hckf8_jGSI00kQA9x4OHIz8Rzx0ZdOJKUIE-ikWXkIwqZWJ4-r1xBYY51G7eeDB9Izk312WOa5dka5gk2AFgA9mKVeOJOOsSMgmQ6AhmA/s640/al2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe Braun's scary photo 1</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.citrusmilo.com/zionguide/photos/joebraun_angelsg11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://www.citrusmilo.com/zionguide/photos/joebraun_angelsg11.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe Braun's scary photo 2</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I moved really slowly, placing every foot carefully down and confirming its steady grip before I lifted my other foot off the mountain. People behind me were probably pissed. In fact, one kid tried to pass me, but Dan wouldn’t stand for it, he told him that no one passes anyone else from this point on. At some points on the trail, the rocks were so much higher than your footing, you had to pull yourself up the chains to get to the next step. In many spots, we had to stop and wait for other people to come down before we could go up. It was busy for such a treacherous hike, but nothing compared to some of the other places in Zion. For the most part, people were courteous and cautious – letting people come down before trying to go up, allowing enough space between each other, and waiting patiently as some of us moved slower than others. The only person pushing my pace was Dan, who wanted to get to the top before anyone else tried to pass me. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, we made it. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The view was unparalleled, and the air was thick with the sense of accomplishment. People ate lunch 1,500 feet above the river and valley below, and willingly snapped photos for others. The wind helped cool us after nerves and hard work attributed to a good deal of perspiration. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhtC9lDmbwuflMPdi2ETJE_Z2XwedoJSKT6m0yLmtKg0YqPk7-o_F-WXoJBAHpASWPXSkMuD3mhT_wddMKFMPdwmo44jlwe_nrZQorpyN56e1_ftUsE4mY6WqwrTmMkZaMM0L21J5IoCI/s1600/Day+3+(90).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhtC9lDmbwuflMPdi2ETJE_Z2XwedoJSKT6m0yLmtKg0YqPk7-o_F-WXoJBAHpASWPXSkMuD3mhT_wddMKFMPdwmo44jlwe_nrZQorpyN56e1_ftUsE4mY6WqwrTmMkZaMM0L21J5IoCI/s640/Day+3+(90).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt6vX0YWpNJ6jSI6vTNacMR3tGWXKjrTzcj4vi0X7eHxa9dUePu1jPtBcAS-WTHZI4AbgE0-dXJ89w9Ltn-5YmYXbfJSgM27KTZukm_dHFNjoZDTQBZK8HfGHTJv_Vlped1I4X4-d7WX8/s1600/Day+3+(97).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt6vX0YWpNJ6jSI6vTNacMR3tGWXKjrTzcj4vi0X7eHxa9dUePu1jPtBcAS-WTHZI4AbgE0-dXJ89w9Ltn-5YmYXbfJSgM27KTZukm_dHFNjoZDTQBZK8HfGHTJv_Vlped1I4X4-d7WX8/s640/Day+3+(97).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi712x6rCP3ClEYM8GZa2iNnZ17CspsdvZTJvu9Fgl0MW2WUcfNrBF2jK0Y9i80Ruow5qZKE3cCKo_cIvjtn1a4lOnuPjQ5MkQAFYHap3Y9kxJ0PBryfeiDo9H1lQrzUogMXlt7D5LQugc/s1600/Day+3+(100).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi712x6rCP3ClEYM8GZa2iNnZ17CspsdvZTJvu9Fgl0MW2WUcfNrBF2jK0Y9i80Ruow5qZKE3cCKo_cIvjtn1a4lOnuPjQ5MkQAFYHap3Y9kxJ0PBryfeiDo9H1lQrzUogMXlt7D5LQugc/s640/Day+3+(100).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUszqAwvM7ier_5_bPw0Z4jjkRMuY1Ye3ZGsuMaPPaVpDCuCtAZab96BEe0Me_KkfHLNAA_NzisqZDNjl0sr5kNJ-B38jCrIzUxN5YV6Ywn9x1lEjdYFnDnY15C2-s4g3Px23KYMoVLec/s1600/Day+3+(101).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUszqAwvM7ier_5_bPw0Z4jjkRMuY1Ye3ZGsuMaPPaVpDCuCtAZab96BEe0Me_KkfHLNAA_NzisqZDNjl0sr5kNJ-B38jCrIzUxN5YV6Ywn9x1lEjdYFnDnY15C2-s4g3Px23KYMoVLec/s640/Day+3+(101).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY8fxOmwZ82I5qSQbwazN2ar6X1Wc8YH7w6hSYIfp95_MUT75TXl749k4OmTXcw-ESogQ-BRbaZhF_G9oh2MItzypK_tJYEaaN7hgV822gXsogqjN3FhY71rFTuYkg5F9cG5rfUXsgNcM/s1600/Day+3+(91).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY8fxOmwZ82I5qSQbwazN2ar6X1Wc8YH7w6hSYIfp95_MUT75TXl749k4OmTXcw-ESogQ-BRbaZhF_G9oh2MItzypK_tJYEaaN7hgV822gXsogqjN3FhY71rFTuYkg5F9cG5rfUXsgNcM/s640/Day+3+(91).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiACLiag6h5Ww1GHOqvS5VYD5AMYNpCGe34s2t9S8pdoN2DvQb8PdQzsuPZmwsNbBbuc5roYigYIsQTFoxEwWVk5-NQgLMciDfJd6pkEo93QIAE08-ZZTyy1WhnBQmnHi56t3NNUht5NU/s1600/Day+3+(92).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiACLiag6h5Ww1GHOqvS5VYD5AMYNpCGe34s2t9S8pdoN2DvQb8PdQzsuPZmwsNbBbuc5roYigYIsQTFoxEwWVk5-NQgLMciDfJd6pkEo93QIAE08-ZZTyy1WhnBQmnHi56t3NNUht5NU/s640/Day+3+(92).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV2map5HAU5DrhKfd_jRTTuRdQg7Wjeat90SE1L0vrWOq5ettTN7iw3XN_IWdlREwEA5YMOuZ0doKSsSwVVPzyJuQD0i49KcOnJtCMdafur8jagrdZBIuCdzQD3R7iorfBc5ZoSKioSXk/s1600/Day+3+(118).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV2map5HAU5DrhKfd_jRTTuRdQg7Wjeat90SE1L0vrWOq5ettTN7iw3XN_IWdlREwEA5YMOuZ0doKSsSwVVPzyJuQD0i49KcOnJtCMdafur8jagrdZBIuCdzQD3R7iorfBc5ZoSKioSXk/s640/Day+3+(118).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC-eLPLok8YNqeEgKeG6DQ3Xh1znABfQbP-6JKSxZfYBDqHZ9TflN0Lf1tLLCEFc8dRVeEjUHYvNk84im10QmlFr9vUtMIsX2b6GnOmwEcoopk_bnlcwyTzaQn-rZpJGRraQX6ibTYUiY/s1600/Day+3+(119).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC-eLPLok8YNqeEgKeG6DQ3Xh1znABfQbP-6JKSxZfYBDqHZ9TflN0Lf1tLLCEFc8dRVeEjUHYvNk84im10QmlFr9vUtMIsX2b6GnOmwEcoopk_bnlcwyTzaQn-rZpJGRraQX6ibTYUiY/s640/Day+3+(119).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dan did not want to stay at the top for lunch, he was very adamant about resting only in the shade. So just as soon as we got up, we started back down. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At first, I was very nervous about going down because I could see the depths below. At least on the hike up, you kept looking onward and upward. Surprisingly though, the hike down was relatively easy. We rested a few times, but I found that my legs </span>weren't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> shaking from fear (and exhaustion) so we continued down quickly. Back down at Walter’s Wiggles I tried to stop and rest, but Dan encouraged me to get down quickly so that we might still have time to at least see the Narrows (since it </span>hadn't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> rained). But </span>wouldn't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> you know it? As soon as we got back on the bus, the clouds rolled in. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKO6y1H_QLxr_68UHc2rj8VFr6fUlU-4GTfVwMXylkcDHwzFNRRbazbiLt-cLh2wI6zSeEabCWirUiaLaHsr9svodhut-zs8s54ttii9xDCP3H7H8del2lDlZcPEpqajxxntoDMNYKlUc/s1600/Day+3+(81).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKO6y1H_QLxr_68UHc2rj8VFr6fUlU-4GTfVwMXylkcDHwzFNRRbazbiLt-cLh2wI6zSeEabCWirUiaLaHsr9svodhut-zs8s54ttii9xDCP3H7H8del2lDlZcPEpqajxxntoDMNYKlUc/s640/Day+3+(81).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmpIX4LUFx9z0MtsgShSOmcfSHkPWTu4JOQB-6P1z9RkMPPalEFosvBXVsm1aVaiDCHSm_sCxB-nA6FJ7xfBuhaW3qyZHokwJpOaraAWsi0bpZU5WhhC-mhm_1CBmCgD-3ZyjK6jWjS5Y/s1600/Day+3+(96).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmpIX4LUFx9z0MtsgShSOmcfSHkPWTu4JOQB-6P1z9RkMPPalEFosvBXVsm1aVaiDCHSm_sCxB-nA6FJ7xfBuhaW3qyZHokwJpOaraAWsi0bpZU5WhhC-mhm_1CBmCgD-3ZyjK6jWjS5Y/s640/Day+3+(96).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5CCuF-tmizmiWMAUyF9s62xeM2VLioMNnlANLYcUcaflQ-5XCN1y95PC3onLxUNvx4-9NEi1wYhB8ct1lh7sH7EeUz1t1To-MD2Pw1CqRzlQVkfqE5SX5LcRFfWqwnu2neU_vCtKyD-U/s1600/Day+3+(125).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5CCuF-tmizmiWMAUyF9s62xeM2VLioMNnlANLYcUcaflQ-5XCN1y95PC3onLxUNvx4-9NEi1wYhB8ct1lh7sH7EeUz1t1To-MD2Pw1CqRzlQVkfqE5SX5LcRFfWqwnu2neU_vCtKyD-U/s640/Day+3+(125).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4PeajvMeMtVz2d_AhF3QKz-bxkmn1u6sE-MWnlTpYs1INb-McJeHUVuqThCV2cbs8wS9j8BkMkN0vWQ01o_AnJuDqKoZOSZgvbi_4zXct5sjOy2MstbihmAxtb81e6pEG3Jg3-G5y1xg/s1600/Day+3+(127).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4PeajvMeMtVz2d_AhF3QKz-bxkmn1u6sE-MWnlTpYs1INb-McJeHUVuqThCV2cbs8wS9j8BkMkN0vWQ01o_AnJuDqKoZOSZgvbi_4zXct5sjOy2MstbihmAxtb81e6pEG3Jg3-G5y1xg/s640/Day+3+(127).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOduWzBMWF7hqsfGAvepYqQHG3h8hFxjboFbm68iXcXsiTwZ1_2S_9phV3lhCvSbdemmfgq-A7SA27D2PxpDPLjD928exxRRHU1eSAghHQRhA8cVUMbhF7vQXaof-jeLfbfkPCV0IyN1A/s1600/Day+3+(128).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOduWzBMWF7hqsfGAvepYqQHG3h8hFxjboFbm68iXcXsiTwZ1_2S_9phV3lhCvSbdemmfgq-A7SA27D2PxpDPLjD928exxRRHU1eSAghHQRhA8cVUMbhF7vQXaof-jeLfbfkPCV0IyN1A/s640/Day+3+(128).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuq7q6vMNEaYCyd2WjZ9VtHbos_U1I4aDfUk24XY-6_GSiI2qnxkBOqh0yj4xgMcQLzTzqPOv74PnKFUHbfd04eh3Yfi3hstq6uwzt0g1tWPMTRuUpV0KDfYoWcJ3Mlt40NloqcAuOsgQ/s1600/Day+3+(129).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuq7q6vMNEaYCyd2WjZ9VtHbos_U1I4aDfUk24XY-6_GSiI2qnxkBOqh0yj4xgMcQLzTzqPOv74PnKFUHbfd04eh3Yfi3hstq6uwzt0g1tWPMTRuUpV0KDfYoWcJ3Mlt40NloqcAuOsgQ/s640/Day+3+(129).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdcZevhLHesJPz_PcEln3gxQeEPJvUMh2X9YfzUBN_G5K277UqvsQ0nAJ5m6pOznDFhmo9XCRTSdIUa_iAnOP-AklGkPfsNNkPLWXc2PbkRTOkh-uL4nIzhq6eNF3Yw9pnzT7u0ufG-o/s1600/Day+3+(130).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdcZevhLHesJPz_PcEln3gxQeEPJvUMh2X9YfzUBN_G5K277UqvsQ0nAJ5m6pOznDFhmo9XCRTSdIUa_iAnOP-AklGkPfsNNkPLWXc2PbkRTOkh-uL4nIzhq6eNF3Yw9pnzT7u0ufG-o/s640/Day+3+(130).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesIN_vjrZWdXqGkRmP57GgIgSDBpkAYrDJYEn2Xz9E3xmQz7K8_t5_CrLlCCWtSVD5LN4011gxyH7gQXYhO2eHvlvlxR1kR_n94TVAxJF35aF9e1IqU5ZEed5Z3Ayqf86_mdLQEctQaI/s1600/Day+3+(137).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesIN_vjrZWdXqGkRmP57GgIgSDBpkAYrDJYEn2Xz9E3xmQz7K8_t5_CrLlCCWtSVD5LN4011gxyH7gQXYhO2eHvlvlxR1kR_n94TVAxJF35aF9e1IqU5ZEed5Z3Ayqf86_mdLQEctQaI/s640/Day+3+(137).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsdrO2Cnc4YZIN-_cfDpkThwz3VV3ESUjhXPxvAX4ENDfYOz7bTwR-vnVGdqsQPnOY_6JSfv6plW-0wukP03PC25lrRnWrPKp_yafNdZExUl1kyoJ8WwukQBEfjkmWPsv4u8w32JuWMsc/s1600/Day+3+(138).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsdrO2Cnc4YZIN-_cfDpkThwz3VV3ESUjhXPxvAX4ENDfYOz7bTwR-vnVGdqsQPnOY_6JSfv6plW-0wukP03PC25lrRnWrPKp_yafNdZExUl1kyoJ8WwukQBEfjkmWPsv4u8w32JuWMsc/s640/Day+3+(138).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As we rode back to the cabins, Dan asked how much water I had left. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“A ton! This stupid thing is broken or something, it’s impossible to drink out of!” I answered. At which point he showed me that I was using it completely wrong. I got a few laughs out of the couple behind us when I said, “wish I had known that 5 miles ago!”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Back at the room, Dan suggested we pursue other hikes, perhaps the one I wanted to do tomorrow. Oh Dan, what a desperate cry for a more relaxing vacation. So I indulged him and we hiked the 3 Emerald Pools, which were pretty dried up and hardly worth the hike. Especially because we ended up behind a bunch of really slow-moving hikers, one in particular was so awful that I had to take his picture. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03NxA5xn3UbBnu4LR6tLVZOTjVI5-z9YmOmmAoAOx6AH4hNUgZBVlTDcdV1Mu9Ab3vwNMYTfswOGvC_guJTVUpMnlssV36FZ0bwqWY4ktC8604Ql3vSqwffDCfiaHGSnBiRPnhyP6AWU/s1600/Day+3+(221).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03NxA5xn3UbBnu4LR6tLVZOTjVI5-z9YmOmmAoAOx6AH4hNUgZBVlTDcdV1Mu9Ab3vwNMYTfswOGvC_guJTVUpMnlssV36FZ0bwqWY4ktC8604Ql3vSqwffDCfiaHGSnBiRPnhyP6AWU/s640/Day+3+(221).JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">slowest hiker ever.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9OGdZqEHiTY_dvSwyshxwLuhx9chdawpaRMFR5X7NdrUM1Lo101JgQeaTxxOm8Co7qXJgc0CngA9gik7eCHPQJIjhvhZkvZp396fR4C_dKJWaQNp9wdARzO2jWmoTDMGVKkn-aPnD38/s1600/Day+3+(182).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9OGdZqEHiTY_dvSwyshxwLuhx9chdawpaRMFR5X7NdrUM1Lo101JgQeaTxxOm8Co7qXJgc0CngA9gik7eCHPQJIjhvhZkvZp396fR4C_dKJWaQNp9wdARzO2jWmoTDMGVKkn-aPnD38/s640/Day+3+(182).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lower Emerald "pool"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNS94YvrwzwbCaacT_rTibsh_mIvjz-1oHJNJsGa0SljscHk195v_e1-2RXoI9Ocqpdu0l5RZEhDgkMcJvDUuSwRTzW6LwWUgceNkpSJaSulQH9iPg2CT2m-HXBda_M8CGa3zR1Kk7SQ0/s1600/Day+3+(186).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNS94YvrwzwbCaacT_rTibsh_mIvjz-1oHJNJsGa0SljscHk195v_e1-2RXoI9Ocqpdu0l5RZEhDgkMcJvDUuSwRTzW6LwWUgceNkpSJaSulQH9iPg2CT2m-HXBda_M8CGa3zR1Kk7SQ0/s640/Day+3+(186).JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiea-CekniaPL-zAHteDDweiPewCPpAzp2aVaGxohy4ZYUyb2x9GvGsuEMzzS1D2UVYKg6J9E5ndvVpaHNQpYQeAi7e2CNdQdOJbZ7Ny49h51sVtioIiCkxkUxTwDdDvegMyQrN9ZO_97I/s1600/Day+3+(191).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiea-CekniaPL-zAHteDDweiPewCPpAzp2aVaGxohy4ZYUyb2x9GvGsuEMzzS1D2UVYKg6J9E5ndvVpaHNQpYQeAi7e2CNdQdOJbZ7Ny49h51sVtioIiCkxkUxTwDdDvegMyQrN9ZO_97I/s640/Day+3+(191).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">feet in the Virgin River (it was COLD)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwIhItApHWzEzhhpwmGHLHlr0q5VH_ZpAUrd_5srFiGXz5SNPSdMmWg6D_-J15l0BrJ_rjdEj9wA7DxYhr9xJm30Jv44LN-KeFQCJq7uKS0zympE2suIF8rAhVacXu3rOnOqdPF9HoNww/s1600/Day+3+(197).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwIhItApHWzEzhhpwmGHLHlr0q5VH_ZpAUrd_5srFiGXz5SNPSdMmWg6D_-J15l0BrJ_rjdEj9wA7DxYhr9xJm30Jv44LN-KeFQCJq7uKS0zympE2suIF8rAhVacXu3rOnOqdPF9HoNww/s640/Day+3+(197).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5iKtrzBhyphenhyphenq3IvNiOKSMZMu0eRFPGSYR6MZePKosm1356S_V4xZ-UNvaXEuB-WOvor_u4QiYsTkN_kARQdhGjASy3Xwl1dChFGjfcujT8BhyTYSa96f63eXscFZy6ISB44r4mp0mpr7Ek/s1600/Day+3+(198).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5iKtrzBhyphenhyphenq3IvNiOKSMZMu0eRFPGSYR6MZePKosm1356S_V4xZ-UNvaXEuB-WOvor_u4QiYsTkN_kARQdhGjASy3Xwl1dChFGjfcujT8BhyTYSa96f63eXscFZy6ISB44r4mp0mpr7Ek/s640/Day+3+(198).JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cairns in Zion</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmlZyy08TVbwkvrMEQHFesZlgPN_S6QeTX1ye6aRKj1MezNf10M2I71aWZvF0xGIAJDoXnOg59BOoZsfm81_3U3_hbuggEMRTrxSB2JiRAQ572oqSf_KBAJdOlDnAI5N2cr9sKMNdh3E/s1600/Day+3+(201).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmlZyy08TVbwkvrMEQHFesZlgPN_S6QeTX1ye6aRKj1MezNf10M2I71aWZvF0xGIAJDoXnOg59BOoZsfm81_3U3_hbuggEMRTrxSB2JiRAQ572oqSf_KBAJdOlDnAI5N2cr9sKMNdh3E/s640/Day+3+(201).JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Upper Emerald Pool</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjec0_7DRv5dgzTs-bedZbxnZ3adbjMkC4E7CSf9T4rLG3kbeoK_Y3RQGYgKEnf9LaoUO4dTW-mpTvHpFf0NBAq3kSJOy0uDiOnBBT-wNQjIXYhJ3DEHA0WXED3XaLUp_4SRpQpUbq5l2I/s1600/Day+3+(210).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjec0_7DRv5dgzTs-bedZbxnZ3adbjMkC4E7CSf9T4rLG3kbeoK_Y3RQGYgKEnf9LaoUO4dTW-mpTvHpFf0NBAq3kSJOy0uDiOnBBT-wNQjIXYhJ3DEHA0WXED3XaLUp_4SRpQpUbq5l2I/s640/Day+3+(210).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me on a giant rock</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynd4KN7PCzssKbBsYR3zyKYA1m1dC71mQKNZD2LHRl6rAJJmO6Yn2WLD8wejOVcOdTFyEgWvPZFZhCccrCXsIZsWgjPyISCBomep7ytHI_quHw2kmz3ACCPxVe46QprMXo3DITqY4fdI/s1600/Day+3+(213).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynd4KN7PCzssKbBsYR3zyKYA1m1dC71mQKNZD2LHRl6rAJJmO6Yn2WLD8wejOVcOdTFyEgWvPZFZhCccrCXsIZsWgjPyISCBomep7ytHI_quHw2kmz3ACCPxVe46QprMXo3DITqY4fdI/s640/Day+3+(213).JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan on an even bigger rock</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDCpOWSQl5zn-uOEimrCYbP9JXNmrBMqVgbmTEQsONJzlg0HKeHHPGpEd7F17v2A_Bk2RRgheVBlFRSKEOjW2uaeWWoD9-dk2aVapkAPGRrjLEE5fAoutnrTN1e9ymLCPNZNWYy3bKmc/s1600/Day+3+(215).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDCpOWSQl5zn-uOEimrCYbP9JXNmrBMqVgbmTEQsONJzlg0HKeHHPGpEd7F17v2A_Bk2RRgheVBlFRSKEOjW2uaeWWoD9-dk2aVapkAPGRrjLEE5fAoutnrTN1e9ymLCPNZNWYy3bKmc/s640/Day+3+(215).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">wildlife</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieRByBwVLFQ4QT55pGJviH3dKktc-1-f58Vcg_SGThowEcpBULHJoQj4uunpnIBKXD8drp4nCCn3wP-hVpuNwPGLOJU1Ojbf8AYXZJZErhYW8mjKpJc8zX_s_RkMzcAoJxYvXaqaPEtuE/s1600/Day+3+(203).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieRByBwVLFQ4QT55pGJviH3dKktc-1-f58Vcg_SGThowEcpBULHJoQj4uunpnIBKXD8drp4nCCn3wP-hVpuNwPGLOJU1Ojbf8AYXZJZErhYW8mjKpJc8zX_s_RkMzcAoJxYvXaqaPEtuE/s640/Day+3+(203).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan getting some perspective</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjzme9J54lDRxDgIeiuRyPZ3M3QQjZcU9jCapBnKULV2C5duq-Hw3YezG0xjCPVCsn_sBPBhfegQ3AFnnkSTjoI5WakUvoMRTK_a7tD60d5UYOGxK4W9EVLMk_44Iq0tvRRJn4mmBIdo/s1600/Day+3+(193).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjzme9J54lDRxDgIeiuRyPZ3M3QQjZcU9jCapBnKULV2C5duq-Hw3YezG0xjCPVCsn_sBPBhfegQ3AFnnkSTjoI5WakUvoMRTK_a7tD60d5UYOGxK4W9EVLMk_44Iq0tvRRJn4mmBIdo/s640/Day+3+(193).JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Middle Emerald Trickle... excuse me, "pool"</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfvpX1ue6gg8S9pI0rF9d_FA8tLH29HsaMeByU4OeBAH_SZq2WT-f3-kVCuhtiE4S62UVIeHLinByzooSYcoZdyDJdQLDR-xmjJQG2rzHdOWm_gns4M_KjZlBYJWHfEAYS_Qyx9m3p5c/s1600/Day+3+(217).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfvpX1ue6gg8S9pI0rF9d_FA8tLH29HsaMeByU4OeBAH_SZq2WT-f3-kVCuhtiE4S62UVIeHLinByzooSYcoZdyDJdQLDR-xmjJQG2rzHdOWm_gns4M_KjZlBYJWHfEAYS_Qyx9m3p5c/s640/Day+3+(217).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Zion</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNp3xk5IWXYCEZeddry1BysEi4W9zM2fUjhgmsFHHHnhMgcTpA_v1wm0Ye-QCcc0pG_c2QQdcHza2UuK2eGYfw58v_MnNbBof1ZGofNiL_COqZQ6owhLIcVjVoU8DtuHYexOuOXlm-kdM/s1600/Day+3+(171).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNp3xk5IWXYCEZeddry1BysEi4W9zM2fUjhgmsFHHHnhMgcTpA_v1wm0Ye-QCcc0pG_c2QQdcHza2UuK2eGYfw58v_MnNbBof1ZGofNiL_COqZQ6owhLIcVjVoU8DtuHYexOuOXlm-kdM/s640/Day+3+(171).JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Virgin River</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF7wH_8zk3gUs2M0eSNtL4zC_ZHfFFvLTtsCn9BCSaCdceikLQOrlGcrGL5mqVXGpBkgWkHf5tYt18nzMOBmpzaFgv1wM4Ndt3xf-wd9KOsZf-10jexeR1TodsArYo_1rS2QK3RjhtK40/s1600/Day+3+(170).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF7wH_8zk3gUs2M0eSNtL4zC_ZHfFFvLTtsCn9BCSaCdceikLQOrlGcrGL5mqVXGpBkgWkHf5tYt18nzMOBmpzaFgv1wM4Ndt3xf-wd9KOsZf-10jexeR1TodsArYo_1rS2QK3RjhtK40/s640/Day+3+(170).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">more of gorgeous Zion</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA2Yfho-O8LrwDHmemlmwkDjbEljefsOUvT3_xGdvhnhFLlk3Ku2iKL-bKqYMrmu54v75EDTSKr1RgoMIBcrHM3XvPHCzh9IytWrkpifGKSNBYB-c2UawmxJNxczVCmdfYk0ulCLX5XBg/s1600/Day+3+(172).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA2Yfho-O8LrwDHmemlmwkDjbEljefsOUvT3_xGdvhnhFLlk3Ku2iKL-bKqYMrmu54v75EDTSKr1RgoMIBcrHM3XvPHCzh9IytWrkpifGKSNBYB-c2UawmxJNxczVCmdfYk0ulCLX5XBg/s640/Day+3+(172).JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Virgin River</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-09tlbUdjbXlJbXg94ofYdYnluXUDnL7EgGWFHh4SvpIE_J6qjjfFevMjznJKOchyOoQY29SCsC64Y5WUer61cV7DXHj-cQ3fYOj-s_d3FJ4ZVy8l1SwrBFRkWgltJkmivBoauPKBO9Q/s1600/Day+3+(174).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-09tlbUdjbXlJbXg94ofYdYnluXUDnL7EgGWFHh4SvpIE_J6qjjfFevMjznJKOchyOoQY29SCsC64Y5WUer61cV7DXHj-cQ3fYOj-s_d3FJ4ZVy8l1SwrBFRkWgltJkmivBoauPKBO9Q/s640/Day+3+(174).JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simply amazing</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By the time we returned to our cabin, we were starving. Fortunately I had arranged for a 6:00 dinner at the Red Rock, wondering if maybe that was too early… not even close. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I ordered twin petite filets (3 oz each) with mashed potatoes and a salad. When the salad came, I asked Dan if he thought I would eat my entire dinner. He said he would be “absolutely shocked” if I ate half of it. Our entrees were delivered when he had run to the bathroom, as he returned I was eating my last bite of filet. Call him “absolutely shocked” as I announced the impressive Sanborn declaration that I was in the “clean-plate club”. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner was delicious – another far cry from the meals we had on our Grand Tetons and Yellowstone trip. But again, we paid top dollar in Zion, where alternatives </span>didn't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> exist</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">. The three meals we had at the Red Rock (2 days of breakfast, 1 dinner) cost us nearly $115.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The night ended with us both on our laptops, Dan doing homework and me uploading the photos from our hike to Facebook.</span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvS3aB7xGx94Hj-_U6Ka8lnAoaSQtvfGRxqAxD3_JgxHdQrp_9ydWiy_nWdEM1bvyx1yjJtTzI9H7vVrLOO0Z0o89GSZBUfXfmxapM0DsRQz4XKtIlWdmxMuIbJe5e7P3FTgSdOewLg8/s1600/Day+3+(161).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvS3aB7xGx94Hj-_U6Ka8lnAoaSQtvfGRxqAxD3_JgxHdQrp_9ydWiy_nWdEM1bvyx1yjJtTzI9H7vVrLOO0Z0o89GSZBUfXfmxapM0DsRQz4XKtIlWdmxMuIbJe5e7P3FTgSdOewLg8/s640/Day+3+(161).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zion Lodge</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQF0heAJa4W8_iVs-MCYIfI9sxqJRPEtTKTR7k78tUBiv6sU-3I9jTjXknh31knUykVhAMX-vlT65BeLB4W8lGPbZ1npBtwZ2xjl6YoFpscEHqGJwO3EXZlplEaXHOlv2lelGiqjfPXs/s1600/Day+3+(168).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQF0heAJa4W8_iVs-MCYIfI9sxqJRPEtTKTR7k78tUBiv6sU-3I9jTjXknh31knUykVhAMX-vlT65BeLB4W8lGPbZ1npBtwZ2xjl6YoFpscEHqGJwO3EXZlplEaXHOlv2lelGiqjfPXs/s640/Day+3+(168).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTYLSnPbL3kZ3a4kzRsOvvr9ImqjMGCy4xcM9MRf6KFh9aE3TvtKPvBZ72I6ALi_j0elUO7nbQYTl-2pF2ikTPHOWQ5rP_kN6jIofzaLpX-i7l2Z5LOQVWckExM1r6L7uZk1qRJaps64/s1600/Day+3+(226).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTYLSnPbL3kZ3a4kzRsOvvr9ImqjMGCy4xcM9MRf6KFh9aE3TvtKPvBZ72I6ALi_j0elUO7nbQYTl-2pF2ikTPHOWQ5rP_kN6jIofzaLpX-i7l2Z5LOQVWckExM1r6L7uZk1qRJaps64/s640/Day+3+(226).JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our cabin</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>Mandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03975555853957549701noreply@blogger.com1