A weekend in the Needles

Ryan's birthday came and went, and we were chillin at home one night, looking forward to the weekend, when we got a call from my family. The next Kropelnicki Roadtrip Extravaganza was underway, and it was a doozy. I've written about these things before, and a few examples are here, here, and here. Most of them happened during my high school years, though, and never made it onto my blog. The basic criteria are two things: multiple all-nighter drives, and going through at least three states in the process. This particular one would include the necessary three states (Utah, Nevada, and California), two national parks (Canyonlands and Great Basin), and several stops in the Bay Area.

My favorite thing more recently about these trips is Ryan's reaction to them. It is utter, unabashed incredulousness and it makes us Krops just chuckle. [: This has been a way of life for us! Carpe diem! Unfortunately though, due to work, Ryan and I couldn't go on the full-blown week of adventures, but we did get to spend two days in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park with my family.

Canyonlands National Park is divided into three "districts" - Island in the Sky (most easily accessible and touristy), Needles (much more isolated and very undeveloped), and the Maze (extremely undeveloped and purely backcountry). Needles was the perfect destination for the weekend. We hardly saw a soul on the trails, while the rest of America's national parks were bursting at the seams with people taking advantage of President's Day weekend and free access to the parks. It's always been my favorite area of Canyonlands, and it has sentimental value after this dendro trip almost two years ago and the events that ensued the night I got home. [:

Anyways, the weekend was perfect. The weather couldn't have been better, our campsite was BOMB, the stars were breathtaking at night, and we spent every minute hiking and talking and laughing. What better way to spend Valentine's than with red rocks, my cute husband, and family?

Oh and speaking of Valentine's Day - the latest installment in the Krop tradition of magazine cutout Valentines. Always a hoot.

The first look. The final word. From conception to birth.

Wise words indeed.

Our last Utah park: Bryce Canyon

Earlier this week was Ryan's birthday, and I practically tackled him out of happiness when he told me that he wanted to use his day off of work to go to our last of the five national parks in the state of Utah - Bryce Canyon National Park. We've been Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion together, and this was our last one! Woo!

 Granted, we still slept in and opened presents and had a fantastically lazy morning before heading off around 10am. It was blissful. For some reason doing things that are perfectly weekend-normal on a WEEK DAY just made it that much better. One of the many reasons we love Ryan's company. Birthdays off should just be the norm!

Driving through Utah, though most people proclaim it boring, is anything but. Each tiny town we passed through and each new mountain range we came to was just so cool. Utah rangeland is stunning and full of the coolest history.

When we got to the park, after flashing our park pass at the ranger's shed like we owned the place, we were happy to see that there were literally six (SIX!!!) cars parked at the visitor center. Late winter and early spring is the time to hit Utah's parks. And it being a Tuesday probably helped as well. [: We saw maybe 30 or 40 people during the entire day. That's my kind of national park experience. Perfect, perfect, perfect.

We strung together a couple of trails to make a big loop through the park. It was Ryan's first time here (my second), and it was so fun to see his awe at the incredible geology of the place! There were patches of ice and snow in the more shaded parts of the trail, as well as a little bit of mud, but nothing too bad at all. We were too happy surrounded by those towering red walls and whimsical hoodoos to complain. Plus, that's what rad boots are for. 

We stopped by C-Stop Pizza, a cute pizza & sandwich restaurant in Panguitch (love those Utah names), on our way out and stuffed our tired and happy selves with greasy breadsticks and great pizza. Overall, a birthday success. We're proud to say we've officially hit every one of Utah's "Mighty 5!"

I love hiking with Ryan. I love being married to Ryan! And speaking of the love of my life, happy 26th, you stud you. You make me the happiest girl on Earth.

(The birthday card I made for Ryan. I was proud. [: )