Experience AZ: Camelback Mt. Echo Canyon Trail

Over Christmas break, I got the chance to hike Camelback with a couple of friends who were down from BYU.  (& a bunch of new friends!) 

It felt SO good to get out of the house and be active. Despite the fact that AZ has the most beautiful winters ever, I don't take advantage of getting outside nearly enough. 

This hike is awesome, awesome. The parking on the other hand was awful. It is a tiny parking lot for how many people want to go there, but we ended up lucking out and getting a spot right at the trailhead. (There was a guy with a sign pointing to another parking lot with a shuttle, but it was $10/ person. Sheesh.)

So anyway, it was a decently hard hike, but not like a I-feel-embarrassed-at-how-hard-this-is-for-me hike. Next time you are in AZ take the chance to do this hike. It took us about 3 hours I think and the view from the top was beautiful!

Beautiful view! 

Aww... HHS Reunion 2012.

Also: AZ has the best citrus.

NV: Hoover Dam Helicopter Ride

I know I said Experience AZ and CA coming soon, but :::Surprise::: Experience NV!


My family and I had an amazing time at Lake Las Vegas, which included: uh-mazing food (my dad makes the best stuffing), laughing a lot, lots of time with almost all of my wonderful cousins and their families, the Bunker family reunion (got to hear an audio clip of my gran and my grandpa, who I’ve never met, singing a duet, very sweet), and I played football for the first time ever! We won’t talk about the details of the game, but the important part is that I played!

Now to the main event: The Hoover Dam Helicopter Ride! I can’t count how many times we have driven past the sign inviting us to go on dam helicopter rides (teehee) and my dad says lets go! And for whatever reason (we are cranky after the car ride to Vegas), we don’t go. Well this time, we decided to go!

They told us the ride would be 5 minutes long and would be $60 a person! What?! I know. Buuuut, if you happen to have the extra $60 (or a generous sponsor)… it was seriously so incredible. They pack a lot of amazing into 5 minutes.

First of all, for those of you who have crossed the new bridge over the dam, you know you can’t see anything from it…. Which is disappointing for 2 reasons. I love seeing the beautiful dam and now my family doesn’t get to enjoy yelling out the windows, “Look at the dam tourists, look at the dam clocks, look at the dam tour guides.” Very ma-toor, I know.

The ride takes you along the trail of the old railroad that took workers from Boulder to the dam when it was in construction and then you fly out over the new bridge and dam and it is so very beautiful. After the helicopter ride, we all hiked the old railroad trail.

This video isn't the best of of the ride because I decided I wanted to see it in real life 

instead of through the lens- but you can see how excited my dad was and it's great.

So the hike starts in the parking lot of the Hacienda, which is also where the helicopter rides take off from. It really was so spectacularly fun, I hope some of you get the chance to do it!

COMING SOON

Experience AZ

Experience some CA maybe...

Anyway... point being new posts... COMING SOON!

Flannel 5K

Utah is a major destination for runners. I've only run a couple of 5Ks, but being around the runner's moxie here I've gotten more and more into running. Now, I'm organizing a 5K for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

It's called Lumberjacks & Flapjacks: Flannel 5K. It is going to be a lot of fun! It's November 6 and after the run we are doing a big pancake breakfast!

If you are interested or know someone that is tell them to check out flannel5k.blogspot.com.

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity. ~Voltaire

I realize I blog about food more than anything else, but I just about love it as much as anything else, so it fits. So here are some of my all-stars.

Best Thai

Spicy Thai. I probably eat here more than anywhere else. The yellow pumpkin curry and pad thai are to die for. Or to live for! I don't know, they are fantastic.

Best Quick and Cheap Eat

Sensuous Sandwich. Finally tried it for the first time today- I spent less than $3, was totally full, and also it was delicious. I got the spicy something or other with cream cheese. Bueno.

(Runner up: NuSkin Cafe- pretty good, pretty cheap. I recommend the enchiladas. And the one egg meal for breakfast.)

Best Burger

So Provo is pretty saturated with burger joints and far be it from me to claim to have the expertise on which is best, but while I think In-N-Out is hard to beat Five Guys and Smashburger give a pretty good fight.

Best Grill Food

They mostly just have sliders, but I don't really think of it as a burger joint... Marley's. (Otherwise known as the Harley Davidson Grill) SO good. Love it. I would go more often, but it's in Timpanogos, but good news: they are coming to the Riverwoods. And everything is 50% off tomorrow. (the 22nd)

Best Classy Restaurant

Communal. I absolutely loved everything I ate here. Very classy, very good service, very good environment, and pretty expensive. But if you're looking for something legitimately nice in Provo, this is it.

Experience Life.

4,000 people and 120,000 balloons later...World Record!!!

I was recently in a fierce battle waged upon the emerald turfs at BYU. Thousands of people gathered at the call of the collegiate advisors to do something that had never been done before. There was Aaron and his thousand, and Lance and his thousand, and Moroni and his thousand, and Gilgal and his thousand. Each leader set out with one goal, to break a world record...a feat that seemed an insurmountable task. The preparation was extensive and the 120,000 armaments (balloons) were prepared for days leading up to this battle.

The armies gathered and faced eachother on the fields of battle. Tensions rose as the sun drew high in the sky, scorching the restless soldiers as they looked into the eyes of those who would be victims to their conquest. Rumors were that the enemy's balloons would be so numerous as "to block out the sun." The response came, "So much the better...then we shall fight our battle in the shade."

Finally made it to the Uintas (Trial Lake)

So when I put the Uintas on my proverbial to-experience list, it was one of the ones that I thought well if it happens, cool, if not, I'll live. While I probably would have lived, I am glad I can say that I can now live my life having been to the Uintas. Haha, really though, I had a lot of fun at a friend of a friend's cabin. (Actually it was more like an acquaintance of an acquaintance, but now we are all friends. Haha.)

I didn't actually go fishing, but I watched some of the guys there fish. And they fished from a raft they made themselves. Possibly not the stablest raft ever (2 people fell into the very cold lake) but they did catch some fish.

The cabin was really cool, built in the 1920s and now on the Utah Register. There was no running water or electricity, which we were made aware of once we had already begun driving. Ya, very clever.

There were mosquitoes everywhere. Mosquito mayhem. But we had a lot of fun playing games all night and getting to know new friends. It was a beautiful drive up there and I wish we had had more time to hike and explore around.

Unfortunately, I didn't really take any pictures, but fortunately Max did. So I stole these from him.

I know, I know. We are really cool.

The guys made a raft. Some of them were more successful up there than others.
Did I happen to mention how beautiful it was up there?

"The time has come," the walrus said

Yes, yes, the Experience Utah hiatus has been long. But I'm back in Utah and ready to roll.

While in the library today, my need for distraction led me to the little cards on the table and I spotted this advertisement:


Hello?! Awesome, right? I have had the Springville Art Museum on my to-do list for a long time AND Rubio's is catering AND it is free. Give me one good reason not to come, I dare you.

EU in a nutshell

From last fall on campus

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.

Marcel Proust

Experience This!

So stoked for this and you all should be too! And also you should come!

This Thursday (the 11th)... 6-8pm come and go as you please

Hare Krishna Temple: Yoga-palooza (Or Integrated Yoga, as they call it)

Cost: donations

I know, I know, what to wear? Well the site doesn't really specify, but after some sleuthing I discovered this:

So yoga pants and scrunchies!

Call me if you have questions/ want to come!

All Week

BYU International Cinema
I'll be there at 5:30 tonight.

Need Some Experience Utah Guidance?

So last week in the Wilk, a Skweez worker was going around and getting people's cell numbers. The basic idea of Skweez is you give them your number and then once a day they send you a discount to a local restaurant. It is pretty much brilliant.