Bryce Canyon and The Vermilion Cliffs

Our day at Bryce Canyon National Park started with rain.  Luckily, Tyler and I were prepared for such a time like this (thanks to Grammie for the graduation money which = new raincoat...this saved us $12 on attractive plastic trash bag ponchos...but Kolby and Emily looked really good in them!).  

Bryce Canyon, though it did have some hiking trails, had a lot of scenic outlooks.  We were planning on visiting multiple lookouts, so we decided to try and wait out the rain, before doing any hiking, by driving to the furthest lookout.  Once we got there this is what we saw...

We were basically hanging out in a cloud, a cloud that kept us from seeing anything 10ft. in front of us.  So, we headed back to the car (it was freezing) and played a few rounds of spades.  Finally, the clouds cleared up and this is what we saw...

It was incredible!  One of the craziest things about this trip was that the landscape completely changed from one place to another even though each place we went was only an hour and a half apart.  We hit a few other scenic lookouts before starting on our hike.  We hiked a trail called the Navajo/Queen.  It was a combination of two hikes that were about 3 miles combined.  

The tower formations of rocky sandstone are called "hoodoos."  At one part of our hike, we got to a place where people had made their own hoodoos...it was fun, and tempting to knock them all over.  

A lot of times the hoodoos would look like funny faces in the rock.  We actually saw troll doll shaped hoodoos...Emily told us a story about how she wanted to be a troll doll for Halloween.  Signals must have been crossed when she told her mom because her mom dressed her as a model.  It must have been hard to convince people that she was a troll going door to door dressed in designer clothes and accessories.  Anyways, shout out to you Ems...and a Happy Halloween!

Finally, dinner at the Bryce Canyon Lodge...yum, it was nice to sit down to a fancier meal than the "unstoppable" chili we had two nights ago.  This was also where we celebrated Kolby's birthday!  A very successful day if you ask me.

Next, we hiked the Vermilion Cliffs.  We started our day an hour earlier than we expected (our guides were on Arizona time...we were on Utah time...they forgot to tell us that little detail).  When we asked them about it, they said they like that it feels like they are sleeping in.  Okay, so once we realized we were on Steve (our guide) time, we had some breakfast...probably some of the best pancakes I've ever eaten, along with bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, fruit, coffee, and orange juice!  We felt like royalty...then we realized this was one of the biggest meals we had had yet, and we were hiking at a restroomless area...yikes bikes! 

We took the longest, bumpiest ride I've ever taken, on which I reconsidered Steve's offer to sit in the front if I get carsick...too late!  I ended up being fine, but Tyler on the other hand...he had some issues.  I don't know if I've seen someone clutch a seatbelt as hard has he was.  He had too much orange juice at breakfast, and I wasn't sure he was going to make it.  We were both crying...I was crying because I was laughing so hard, he was crying for other reasons.  We finally made it to the place we would be exploring, and it was AWESOME!  Pictures do not do this place justice, but here they are anyways.

Throughout the entire place, the ground was made up of these little "fins."  They were so fragile, so we had to be really careful when walking around...the Germans that went on the hike with us must not have understood this because they clomped around all over the fins.

close up of the fins

Wild oregano!  It smelled good!

This rock was so cool.  The color change is very distinct here, and when you backed away from the rock, you could see the same line run along the ground!

After lunch, we made our way (same/worse bumpy drive) to a place called White Pocket.  Once again, only thirty minutes away and a completely different landscape.  We felt like we were on a different planet.  It was almost like we were hiking on white brains!  Steve did not disappoint us.  These places were so beautiful...definitely worth the nauseousness of the trip out there. 

The BRAINS!!

These are called "mockey marbles."  They are iron deposits in the rocks that had been eroded away.  When the rocks wear down, these iron deposits are all that are left.

Rock with "mockey marbles"

This is a picture of all of the rocks/pottery that we found...apparently, left over from the Indians

We ended the day with a true Texas Bar-B-Q dinner.  It was like eating a plate of meat, and then eating a sandwich!  Susan (Steve's wife) told us that if there was food left on the plate, she had done her job!  With full stomachs, we loaded up the car to head to our next hotel.

All in all...Bryce Canyon National Park and The Vermilion Cliffs = 2 thumbs way up! 

Total # of hikes = 3ish  Total # of miles = 6 (rough estimate)

Vacation Update - Vegas and Zion

Tyler and I have been gone from our home in Arkadelphia for 2 full weeks!  If you follow Kolby and Emily's blog, you understand part of the reason for this long trip from home.  Yes...I know it has taken me so long to actually update about our vacation, but here it is finally.  I'm not exactly sure how I'll do this either...so much happened and has happened since then that I'll try to get it in as few posts possible, but not making any promises:

So, day 1 - Las Vegas...actually night 1.  We stayed in the MGM Grand (awesome) which was on the strip, and after settling into our room, we headed out to walk up and down the strip and see the lights!  It was pretty crazy, but not as impressive as I was expecting.  We did stop by the Bellagio to see the fountain show, and it was pretty cool...it was a lot of water.  Once we made it back to our hotel we had dinner and Tyler and I each gambled $5 (yeah, we're high rollers).  Tyler came out a little better than I did, but keep in mind that wasn't the only time we gambled...I'll get to that later.

The next day we drove to our first stop on the trip...Zion National Park.  It was beautiful!  We ended up getting there a little after lunch and spent the afternoon doing a couple of hikes.  We meant to hike a trail called the "Narrows," but they were closed because of high water.  Plan B: We hiked the emerald pools instead.  The hike we did was about 3.5 miles.  We got to see some pretty cool waterfalls, and even though a couple of the pools weren't very impressive, we did stop at one pool that was very pretty and very helpful in cooling us down.  The last hike we did for the day was to the Weeping Rock...womp womp...nothing too exciting, but still interesting.

Our second day at Zion National Park was pretty intense.  We started our day with a hike called "Angels Landing."  DO NOT let the name fool you...this place was HELL!  Okay, I'm exaggerating, but I will say that I was the most scared I've ever been in my life.  The begining of the hike was great, a bit on the physically intense side, but the views were pretty incredible.  Then, we met Walter...there was a part of the hike called "Walter's Wiggles": 21 switchbacks (back and forth straight up the mountain) where all I could do was take as big of steps as possible so I could make it to the top faster.  Once we got to the top of Walter's Wiggles, we were only 1/4 of a mile from the peak of Angels Landing.  

 Walter's Wiggles

We decided to take a break and have some granola bars.  Our first clue should have been the fact that we were the only ones sitting on the ground to eat...as soon as the wrappers came off the granola bars, we were surrounded by chipmunks!  They knew no boundries, because they crawled everywhere around us...I was just waiting for them to start climbing up my shirt, and since I was so freaked out, I shoved the last part of my granola bar into my mouth before the chipmunk could get to it.  Then, I was afraid that the chipmunk would try to pry open my mouth...like I said, no boundries...speaking of, Emily was actually sitting with her legs crossed and all of the sudden a chipmunk had crawled under her legs and was sitting in her cris-cross applesauce!  Once all evidence of food was gone, we started the last part of the hike...the "if you want to have a near death experience, this is the part for you" part.  We were told that this part of the hike was on the ridge of the cliff, with areas as small as three feet wide.  Oh and there are sheer cliffs on either side of you that range from 800ft. - 1200ft. drops.  The only thing keeping us on at times was a chain that was bolted into the rock.  

 

 View from Angels Landing hike

After a group meeting, and establishing rules ("four points of contact at all times," "Erin, don't say oh my gosh unless you absolutely mean it") we started on the last quarter mile of the hike.  Needless to say, I became an expert at crawling down a mountain on my rear...oh and I cried three times, so we didn't exactly make it to the end, but we all decided that we were very proud of how far we got...and that we were all still alive!  

 The only couple of pictures we have from this view...we wouldn't risk moving around any more than we needed.

Our hike back down was great!  We became good friends with Walter and even learned how to walk down the wiggles without hurting our knees!  When we made it to the bottom, we took our lunch break, and then started on our second hike of the day.  

 Yay! We made it back alive.

Here is a video to demonstrate how you should walk down Walter's Wiggles.  This will prevent any physical pain to the knees.  Thanks Emily for this technique!

We stopped for lunch, and then hiked to Echo Canyon...also physically intense.  If it had not been for the sweet lady that encouraged us to keep going because we were so close, we would not have made it.  It was well worth the work!  We were able to explore a small slot canyon...in the shade...and it was awesome!  We got some great pictures and took a lovely break...lovely, lovely!  

Our new friend we met at lunch

 Our last hike of the day was more of a walk than a hike.  We walked the trail along the Virgin River in the park, and it was very pretty.  There were hanging gardens all around and lots of shade!  We even got to get in the river at the end of the hike...it was FREEZING!!!  We got in long enough to take a picture and then quickly made our way back to dry land.

All in all...Zion National Park = 2 thumbs up!  Total # of hikes = 5  Total # of miles = 12.5

Next: Bryce Canyon National Park and the Vermilion National Monument

The Hot Waterless Ellis Household

Day 5 of the hot waterless Ellis household. That’s right…Tyler and I have been out of hot water since Friday, and this is how we have coped with the situation:

Multiple times we have thought of boiling water on the stove to fill the tub with…no thanks.  We have gotten pretty good at taking quick showers. Tyler currently holds the record for fastest shower yet. He recently shaved a second off of his time of 2 min 25 sec. We’ve found other ways to cut down on shower time. 1) lather the loofah before starting the shower; 2) skip the conditioning step; 3) lather, rinse, DO NOT REPEAT; 4) don’t bother rinsing anything until the end…keep the shampoo, body wash, and face wash on until the very end (this also minimizes time that the full body is subject to cold water).

Last night, after once again contemplating the boiling water idea, we decided to phone a friend. Trusty Becca came to the rescue and offered her shower up to us. We packed a bag of clothes, towels, and shower stuff, and headed over to her place to take advantage of her hospitality. Beating the record was the last thing on our mind. Thanks for the hot water Becca!

Other than our lack of hot water (which is hopefully going to be fixed this afternoon), Tyler and I were asked to take the very large, flat screen TV out of the lobby for the summer, so you can imagine where it is staying for the next three months…in our living room! I’m afraid having this TV all summer is going to make it very hard to give up when students come back. We’ll see what happens! Also, we have recently joined the Netflix world, and since we can now stream through our Wii, we’ve been watching movies and TV series like no other!

The other night, we really wanted to watch TV in bed, but the big screen is in the living room, and so is the Wii…solution: we pulled the mattress from our extra bedroom into the living room and had a sleepover on the floor. It was so much fun. I knew we were missing something though…so…next time we will make a fort and sleep on the mattress in (what will be) the coolest fort ever!

Long Update on Life!

-U-A-C-H-I-T-A!  Last Saturday, our families came to celebrate my graduation ceremony with us.  I love it when our family comes into town, and even though it was about the quickest trip ever, it was great.

I technically graduated in December, but I had to wait until now to participate in a ceremony.  Since we were around anyways it was no biggie!  Here are the parents with me...thanks again for my education...and my fancy new necklace...and my awesome new patio furniture!  I love you both so much, and I can't begin to express my thanks to you.  Tyler and I both are so grateful for you guys and the fact that you took care of our schools!

After the ceremony, it was...of course...picture time!  These are the girls of P3 (Perrin 3rd floor).  I can't believe we stayed friends through our entire college years.  We had all lived on the same hall since freshman year, and this was the first year that we were all separated.  So here we are reunited (and it feels so good) and we're all proud to be holding up our "3"

This is us our freshman year...halloween...this picture doesn't seem like it was that long ago...CRAZY!

Yes...we are all grown up now.  We're off to work, get married, be married, study some more, live in different cities, and keep searching for what we're supposed to do in life. 

Love, love, love these girls!  And of course, I love this guy:

Best husband in the world!  He was such a trooper during all the pictures, and the picture re-takes.  Then, there's this girl:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KACBOO!  Kayla was sweet enough to share her birthday with my graduation and with Megan's wedding day.  She's the Bomb-Dot-Com!  Speaking of Megan:

Right after graduation, we all ran to get in the car so we could get back to Dallas in time to watch beautiful Megan walk down the aisle.  The wedding was PERFECT!  You couldn't have asked for better weather, and we had all been asking for a long time for perfect weather! 

Exchanging of vows...

Unity sand...

The smooch...

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell!

And duh...another wedding means another reunion of these friends.  This is one of my favorite groups of people in the entire world!  These are the besties!

Here are the big besties...plus newcomer Jordan (even though he's been in the group for a long time...now it's official).

And here are the little besties...minus Nikki.  We missed you so much, and wish you could have been here with us.  We'll see each other soon though...I think there's a special weekend coming up for the little besties and their boys?!

Once again, Mr. and Mrs. Ellis

Followed by mom and 2/3 of the daughters. 

It was definitely one of the craziest weekends, but it was well worth the exhaustion that followed.  We're so happy for you Jordan and Megan.  Have fun on your honeymoon!  Kelsey and Kayla, we love you both...more "it" next time.  Ma and Pa Ellis, thanks so much for making the trip to Arkadelphia...we love you both so much (and thanks for letting us stay with you).  Big and little besties, you guys rock the house.  Can't wait till we do it again (let's practice Single Ladies for next time).  Mommy and Daddy, thanks for everything, especially the new measuring tape game.  You are AWESOME! 

Living in Poverty: Guestwriter Kayla Carpenter

Today over 1.4 Billion people live
in absolute poverty and many
have never heard the Good News
of Jesus


This year, (my freshman year at Baylor) I am enrolled in a class called Poverty in Developing Countries. Requirements for achieving an A are as follows: attend class, read the text book (When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Ourselves)* complete 30 hours of community service, and attend Mission Waco’s Poverty Simulation. So naturally, on the coldest and wettest weekend of the year, I packed up my things and headed to the city streets (or rather Mission Waco’s training center).


When we arrived we were told to pick four items to keep for the weekend and everything else would be locked upstairs until Sunday afternoon. I chose my sleeping bag, sweatshirt, rain jacket, and toothbrush. Choosing those things was harder than you would think… you try picking four items to live off of for days. We were then lead to Mission Waco’s thrift shop where we relinquished our clothes and changed into whatever outfits we could find there. I found a lovely pair of off-brand white leather Keds for my feet, a pair of almost white khaki pants that only fit if I wore them about three inches above my belly button, and a blue t-shirt supporting SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design). With the white matching shoes and pants I looked about ready to head off for rounds at a mental hospital.


We then arrived back at the training center and told that we were being given 40 fake dollars to support ourselves and our imaginary children (I think I had two… yikes!) Meals were $6 and a night inside the shelter was $20. So the first night, we braved the cold and slept in the backyard of the training center. I found a spot beneath a picnic table on the paved ground under the covered porch. At about 5 AM the freezing rain began pouring and all those not already beneath the porch ran and grabbed a spot. The ground flooded so for the next four hours I sat on the picnic table wrapped in a soaked sleeping bag trying to block the wind and rain from my face.


Those who paid for breakfast were allowed inside at 9 while the rest of us stayed outside. We then walked about six blocks in the rain to another building where we were finally let inside. We played interactive group games and watched a documentary on the work that Mission Waco founders Jimmy and Janet Dorrell have been doing in Haiti for years.


We split into groups of six or seven and were then sent on a scavenger hunt through the streets of Waco. Items on the list were things such as, “interview a homeless person”, “collect 100 aluminum cans”, “find a reusable item on the street”, “find lunch”. That’s right people, we had to find our own lunch (assuming local restaurants wouldn’t accept monopoly money). So we swung a free basket of fries at D’s Mediterranean Grill and with $10 donated to us by someone who took pity on us we bought a taco for everybody in the group. At 4 PM we headed back to the training center where we had a multicultural dinner.


I, of course, was sent to the India table where we were served curried pork and rice. The US table on the other hand was served salad, steak, baked potatoes, and ice cream sundaes. After dinner we talked about our experiences and headed to bed (INSIDE!).


Sunday morning we walked about 20 blocks to attend Church Under the Bridge (literally it is under I-35 across from Baylor’s campus). Jimmy Dorrell, the executive director of Mission Waco, and my professor, is the pastor and his wife, along with some church members, leads music. For a couple hours we served with, worshipped with, and fellowshipped with the homeless of our Waco community. It was actually a pretty amazing experience. We then walked back to the training center for a free lunch and were sent packing. For the first time in two days I took a shower and changed my clothes.


What did I learn? Well first of all, to be more thankful. Second of all, spending a weekend “in poverty” is NO comparison to what homeless people experience every day. The entire weekend I thought, “I can make it till Sunday, I can make it till Sunday,” but people who actually live without a place to sleep at night can’t say that. I don’t claim to understand, but how could I begin to talk about their needs if I don’t even attempt to learn what they are. Would I encourage you to participate? Absolutely. This description is only a little of what my weekend entailed. All in all, it was a great experience that opened my eyes to the many needs that the impoverished have and the challenges they face.
If you are interested in participating in Mission Waco’s Poverty Simulation go to http://www.missionwaco.org/povsimhtml.html


Want to learn more about Church Under the Bridge? Visit: http://www.churchunderthebridge.org/index.html


*I highly recommend this book, it’s not actually a text book; it’s a small paperback and it actually really good.

How To Have A Happy Easter

Step #1 :Wear Goggles!

Between the amount of sun, pollen, and construction dust, the only way to keep all those things out of our eyes would be to strap on a pair of goggles...we don't have goggles, so we'll just squint!  The construction is moving along though and it looks like the new dorms will actually open on time.  The closer they are to finishing the dorms, they closer they are to our front door.  I actually woke up the other morning because I heard this awful CRASH!  I felt like I was living the "Night Before Christmas" because I actually did spring from my bed to see what was the matter...away to the window I flew like a flash...and then I opened the blinds to see what the damage was.  All I heard was the sound of crumbling rock, and I was convinced that the crew had run into the building.  I was wrong, they were just dumping an entire truck load of rocks right outside our window.  And today, they've moved so close, I think we can actually read each other's lips if the blinds are open.  This closeness also means that Tyler's worst fear has come true...they have taken away our sidewalk that leads to our porch...luckily for us, they have created an alternate route to our porch by replacing the sidewalk with stepping stones construction materials (boxes, rocks, plastic).  It's actually very creative on their part...Tyler hasn't seen it yet, he will not be a happy camper!

Other than nasty construction dust (and stinky porta-potties), the pollen here has been crazy.  It is everywhere: all over the cars, the windows, the sidewalk boxes, rocks, and plastic, and all over my bike...which brings me to my next step...

Step #2: Ride Your Bike

I went on a bike ride (8.6 miles to be exact) the other day, and as I was feeling very good about myself, I think my bike was feeling otherwise.  The next morning, I woke up and found my bike in the following condition:

That's right...flattest flat tire ever!  This obviously was how my bike told me that I was acting crazy the other day...is this a sign that working out is a bad idea?  I don't think so, because I got another bike tube and you better believe I'll be back out on the road again.

Step #3: Admire Your New Homemade Wreath

Thank you Jana White for the fabulous idea!  When I saw this on her blog, I just had to have one for myself.  So, I made this one and I'm very pleased at how it turned out.  Little sis, Kayla, also made one, and we both love them. 

Step #4: Eat Good Food

I wouldn't exactly say we had a fancy Easter dinner.  This whole "living on a budget" thing meant burgers and hot dogs for us on Easter Sunday, and even though it wasn't fancy, it was delicious!  We had some friends over for lunch (including brother Ryan) and finished everything off with homemade ice cream and strawberries...YUM! 

Step #5: Take Pictures

Easter Sunday means picture time!  Here are a couple of the ones we got...by the way, trying to get Tyler to take any kind of series of pictures is very difficult (Lynley, Nikki, and Lindsey can attest to that).  He usually has to be told how many pictures he is expected to smile in...so this is what we ended up with (besides the one at the top of the post).

Step #6: Discover the True Meaning of "Spring Cleaning"

I have never actually practiced the art of Spring Cleaning...until this weekend.  This is not to say that I've never cleaned anything, but rather that I've never extreme cleaned anything.  On Saturday morning (after eating breakfast in bed!), we decided it was time to give the apartment the once over and do a bit of cleaning.  This proposed 1-2 hour cleaning spree turned into an all day affair.  What was accomplished?

* Vacuuming * Dusting * Sweeping * Shaking out the rugs * Swiffer Mop * Bathtub * Toilet * Mirrors * Dishes * Laundry * Sheets * Porch * Windows *

The windows were a nightmare...but I will say that all of our hard work payed off and the apartment looks GREAT!  Now it's time to have company...Jeremy comes into town today, and we can't wait to hang out. 

Update from his visit to come!  Until then, Happy Easter, hope it was a good one for all!