weekend in the wilderness.

i’m back from camping!

hope you guys enjoyed kara’s guest post and also had a chance to enter my tofuXpress giveaway :)

i spent the weekend exploring the desert. not to be confused with dessert.. although i do like the idea of a weekend full of dessert exploring so i am not opposed to that. this past weekend, however, was spent here:

goblin valley. 

i am unpacked and clean.. just doing some laundry and relaxing on the couch. too bad i have to go back to work tomorrow!! ah well, such is life. at least i had a nice mini-getaway.

there are over 600 photos of the trip! for sanity’s sake, i will break this recap into two parts ;)

FYI: half of the trip was photographed with my point and shoot and the other half with my DSLR. you may see drastic differences from one photo to the next, that’s why.

we got a late start friday after work. we initially wanted to leave at 4 PM but, of course, that never happens!  we ended up hitting the road around 6 PM.  the kids were happy to be coming along!

the drive was a rainy one.  i felt pretty bummed because camping in the rain is no bueno.  we were keeping our fingers crossed for clear skies!  i snacked on an apple, a kombucha, and plenty of yogurt covered pretzels & veggie chips on the drive down south.

 

we got to our destination after the sun went down so we drove aimlessly down a dirt road until we found a camp site fully equipped with a fire pit. we parked our cars and set up camp!

the boys built a glorious fire. because that is what guys do.

penny helped.

the gals set up the tents. because that is what gals do.

the next item of business was obviously FOOD.  the dinner menu was taco soup & quesadillas.

SPORKS!!

    

i actually made the taco soup (using my original recipe) friday in the crock pot, so all we had to do was warm it on the camp stove.

the quesadillas were a last minute decision, i threw some cheddar between some flour tortillas and cooked them in the cast iron skillet over the fire.

after slicing up some avocado, dinner was served!

delicious.

after dinner we relaxed by the fire, happy it wasn’t raining.  eventually my sweet tooth got the best of me and it was time for some dessert in the desert!

it’s a given that dessert=s’mores!

my marshmallows almost fell of the stick! side note: whenever i type “marshmallow” i have to backspace because i accidentally type “marshall”.. EVERY time.

i know that most people typically make their s’mores with a chocolate bar and graham crackers.. but it is much easier (and, in my opinion, tastier) if you sandwich your toasted ‘mallows between two keebler fudge stripe cookies.

gooey and delicious. i had one more toasted marsh(all)mellow for good measure.

 

we ended the night all tucked into the tent!

good night!

saturday.

we woke up to sunshine! hooray for clear skies.  it was fun to wake up and see what our surroundings looked like since we’d arrived when it was pitch black outside.  turns out our camp spot had some outrageously amazing views.

each of us had our morning duties :)

kristen gave randy his morning workout with a little chasing around!

she caught him ;)

marshall made coffee. we bought a french press that is made specially for camping. read: plastic and it won’t shatter into a zillion pieces if dropped (like my glass french press i have at home).

rory got the fire going so we could get some coals that were prime for a cast iron cooked breakfast.

janetha cooked breakfast!

penny helped.

i cooked turkey sausages first and then and scrambled eggs~

and once the eggs were done i warmed the sausages up again because they had cooled off a bit. this campfire cooking is a little tricky!

breakfast was perfect! i had two sausages~

eggs with ketchup~

and a couple slices of delicious honeydew melon~

  

i went back for more melon. i am addicted.

after breakfast we hung around camp, relaxing and enjoying the sunshine.

utah weather is always unpredictable and saturday was no exception. it went from scorching hot and sunny skies to overcast and storming.. we quickly put everything into the cars or tents and bundled up in our rain gear.

the rain quickly turned to hail!!! i ran for cover and penny & randy joined me safely in the tent, away from the hail pellets.  marshall waited the storm out in the car and kristen & rory were in their car, as far as i know.

it was gnarly! the tent was shaking and the hail was super loud.. i was nervous.

but the dogs just cuddled up and it didn’t phase them.

they don’t grasp the concept of a hail storm.. in a tent.. in june.

marshall grabbed the point and shoot so he could take some photos of the craziness while i waited warmly in our bed.

check out the hail pellets!

ridiculous.

when marshall told me the storm was over, i emerged from the tent.. and wouldn’t you know it, the sun was shining again! it was like there was no storm at all. aside from the hail remnants, of course.

randy was happy that his daddy was OK. i think they missed  each other during the storm ;)

it’s ok, randy dog.

 

all that anxiety made me hungry.

 

peanut butter filled pretzels? yes please.

and that will conclude part 1 of my goblin valley recap. yeah.. i know.. part 1 didn’t even include our visit to the actual valley. but i have a lot to show you guys! so next time i will talk about our hike amongst the goblins and the remainder of the trip.

stay tuned!

hope you all had a great weekend.. i am going to go join the pups in my bed :)

no Qs tonight!

xo. janetha b.