We've had so much fun with them, from epic Catan tournaments to dinner dates to camping weekends to Cards Against Humanity to football game parties. Obviously, people move on and we saw that it all was coming to an end recently as Cassie & Kevin neared graduation and prepared to go be fabulous accountants/lawyers in California (Can you see why we stay friends with them? ;) Crossing our fingers they let us come on trips on their yacht twenty years down the road. Jk Holts, jk).
Andrew & KayCee tried to get reservations for Havasupai, which would have been incredible, but alas, the demand for that place is just so high these days and our weekends of choice were all reserved by the time they were able to get through to the office. After some brainstorming over Station 22 sweet potato fries, we decided on the Needles District as our Plan B! Only the best part of Canyonlands, obviously. Island in the Sky is gorgeous, but is more 'drive-to-lots-of-viewpoints' focused and MUCH more crowded. The Needles is less developed, less conducive to car tourism, and just simply breath-taking. I've written about it here and here.
The night before the trip, the boys wanted to have a video game night over at Ryan's work, where they have a projector and comfy chairs for serious gaming. The wives laid on the sofas and talked the evening away while stealing peanut butter M&Ms from our husbands' gaming stash. I loved it. We talked about marriage, the weirdness that's thinking about life before college, our dreams, work, the future, and family. I had to laugh internally because I remember when I was a kid and I would be absolutely incredulous at how my parents could stand it to just sit and talk for hours about who even knows what. SO boring.
KayCee peaking out from the back, teehee ^^^^^^
We may or may not have stayed up way too late that evening, but when the morning came we woke up bright and early and crammed all of our sleeping bags, pads, tent, food, and camp chairs into the minivan we rented for the trip (because if we're going to do this right, we're driving those three hours huge-Mormon-family style). I would definitely say the drive was relaxing and enjoyable as we chatted and snacked on Doritos, but I was in the front seat, with legroom and hardly any bags to deal with! Everyone was good sports.
We knew two things going into this weekend: First, the weather had potential to be seriously sketchy. And we passed through beautiful sunshine, light rain, and deafening downpours almost every hour of the drive! And then secondly, the Needles only has one campground, so we were prepared to have it be full, meaning we would have to camp at a BLM campground outside the park.
Got to the park pay station and saw the familiar "Campground Full" sign posted. It only dimmed our spirits for a second, because let's be honest - so far our luck has been 100% for every camping trip we've gone on! In fact, that sign was a challenge we were happy to take on. We're pros at this by now.
We got to the campground and started around the first loop, scouring each campsite for signs of occupants. Sure enough, every site was already taken, already taken, already taken... We were beginning to get worried. And then... "Wait, is that a site?" We were passing the group site, which is only for groups of 10 or more and has to be reserved online. It was way out on its own separate pull-out from the main road. But just a few feet down was what seemed very much like a single site, but what also seemed very much like it could be part of the group site. We did some sleuthing.
Wasn't really far enough down the pull-out to be closed off by the barricade that would block off the group site during the winter.
Wasn't that big at all and only had one picnic table and fire pit.
Seemed to have its own camp site number and reservation clipboard...
So we jumped on that! Thank you campsite #11 for being so confusing and hidden that obviously no one else noticed you!
Cassie & Kevin brought the most epic tent I've ever seen. I felt like it was almost the size of our bedroom at home! Setting it up was an adventure and took the efforts of every one of us, but playing games at night and being able to all be in there together was great.
After chilling at the site for a bit, we decided to go for a short hike to stretch our legs and see some of the park before dinner. Ryan & I thought Cave Spring would be a good start. It has a little of everything - my favorite mushroom rocks, a neat old cowboy outpost, ladders going up and down the cliffs, gorgeous views, and some Native American cave paintings.
(Andrew or Kaycee, if you guys see this, notice that I somehow managed to take this photo right as Andrew sat in that mud puddle. Enlarge the picture and look at your faces! I died laughing.)
Luckily it didn't start to rain on us until we were only minutes from the car. The dark desert rainclouds were so cool to watch!
And then just like that, they were gone! We enjoyed the sun back at camp and sat and talked in our camp chairs before dinner and the ranger program that night.
Cute Holts. We're gonna miss them so much. ):
Can we talk about how excited Andrew was to chop up the firewood each night? Haha.
Dinner was brats roasted over the fire - so good. The ranger program that evening was about the amazing ecology of the desert and how every piece of it is dependent on another for survival. We hung around afterwards and talked with the ranger and the campground hosts ("our camp mom and dad" as Cassie loved to call them. [: ) as they asked us about where we were from, what we thought about national parks, and how we thought the NPS could reach more millennials. It was a great conversation. The funniest part though was when the camp hosts asked us where we were staying, and all six of us exploded into hallelujahs at the same time about campsite 11 being open and how it saved our weekend. It had them in stitches as they laughed at us and told us about how nobody ever notices site 11!
The next morning we slept in and relaxed with our pancake breakfast. The rest of the day was dedicated to exploring from my favorite trailhead in the park, Elephant Hill. We hiked the Chesler Park out-and-back and ate lunch overlooking the beautiful needles that gave this part of the park its name.
The desert wildflowers were in full bloom and they were gorgeous! Everywhere we looked was spotted with yellow and red and purple. Kevin and I tried to document every one we didn't recognize so that we could learn their names later. Haha.
^^^ Had to stop and take a picture of my favorite rock. [: Best buds since summer 2013!
^^^ Giant cheeseburger? Or macaron?
I love love these prickly pear cactus flowers. Their shade of purple is so pretty.
Lizard friends. Lizard friends everywhere.
Gang's all here!
THESE VIEWS!
I really wanted to try to find these again, and we did! I always wonder about who made them and what their life was like. [: So cool.
Towering needles.
Looking back to where we came from, almost at the end. I love all the mushroom rocks down there!
Are you tired of these views yet? Nope. Impossible.
Cairn and Kevin.
The gorgeous La Sal mountains in the distance. I never made the connection that their name literally means "The Salt Mountains," which makes so much sense with the salty soil and water around here, thanks to all the incredible things that have shaped this place over millions of years! Mind blown.
Cute Potts.
Back at camp, it was time for chili! The temperatures this weekend were definitely warm when the sun was out, but any time it went behind a cloud or cliff, and especially when it went down for the evening, it was COLD. It was still spring, after all! Hot chili tasted great.
KayCee lookin just a little rosy pink. [: She and I got pretty sunburned on the hike.
The sunset was stunning against the red rocks surrounding us as we ate. Mm. So peaceful. [:
Looking back at our little camp and laughing at Cassie because as soon as she saw me with the camera she tried to hide behind the car. Haha.
Nothing better than finishing up a day of hiking with a toasty fire and some s'mores.
We had some pretty epic gaming this trip! Of course we played Catan (Cassie slayed us), and Cassie & Kevin also introduced us to "Cover Your Assets," which we loved!
On Sunday morning we wrestled the ginormous tent back into its bag, loaded up the car again, and headed back toward home. We made a brief detour to Island in the Sky so that the Holts and Potts could get a taste of it. We could see all the way to the Needles off in the distance! That was awesome.
So stunning. EARTH IS RAD. The GHP is rad. This was such a great weekend, and we'll never forget it!
And a lil movie:
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