Matt's Life

Little Sahara October 2011

2011-11-06T21:05:00.004-07:00

My friend Mike took me 4-wheeling, a first for me. We hit up a place called Little Sahara, about an hour and a half southwest of Provo. I had a ton of fun learning to ride the thing and cruising around the large sand dunes.

Below are some clips of some pro jumping, haha. In one clip I risked going end over end. I learned the scary way to make sure you keep the throttle on through the jump.

Lake Blanche June 2011

2011-07-17T23:39:00.008-06:00

Stela, Rebecca, and I join up with Mike, Chas, and Sam at a cabin up in the Cottonwood Canyons. It's a pretty cool place but we were the first to use the summer cabin which is buried in snow during the winter. This means there were plenty of spiderwebs, dead bugs, and mouse droppings to be found. We paid our dues by helping to clean up the place and we camped in the living room with a wood fire going in the fireplace. The neighbors had a zip line that we took advantage of as well. The next day some of us hit the Lake Blanche trail and after a few hours and a vertical climb of 2500 feet we got to the iced over lake. Due to sudden warm weather the rivers and waterfalls were gushing but it got snowy the higher we went. Poor Rebecca was only wearing flip flops and the snow and elevation change didn't sit too well with that. She's all smiles while on the zip line but I'm not sure if we are friends anymore because I chose the hike. However, it was certainly very beautiful up there.

Bridal Veil Falls June 2011

2011-07-17T23:27:00.008-06:00

In all the time I've been in Provo, I've never done any exploring by the famous Bridal Veil falls in Provo Canyon. So, Ellie, Stela, Rebecca, and I set out on an adventure. It was a gorgeous day and there were plenty of people hiking up. We got to where the official trail ends and promptly ignored the sign in the picture. We got pretty high before we were satisfied with the day's work. One more sight in Utah to check off my list I guess.

Phoenix April 2011

2011-07-17T23:21:00.003-06:00

Nadine and I decided to pay Jeremy a quick visit in Phoenix which included a nice hike up Camelback mountain, a D-Backs game, and Downton Abbey. His lordship Jeremy took us to a cool vegetarian Indian restaurant where we ate what I would describe as General Tso's cauliflower. Flat Stanley made the trip too, thanks to our nephew Sawyer.

San Diego January 2011

2011-07-17T23:12:00.005-06:00

What better time than January to get out of Utah and head to San Diego to spend time with family. Jeremy, Nadine, and Melanie joined me for the weekend with our Aunt Celia. We spent some nice moments together including Tarot, piano, hiking, sunshine on the beach, and the farmer's market. While at the market I got a memorable exposure to Kale when Nadine bought a green drink with Kale as a dominant ingredient. I've been eating Kale pretty regularly since.

Yosemite Aug 2010

2010-09-11T15:08:00.017-06:00

The Mission: Survive three days in bear country, 6 miles from any sign of civilization. This means no toilets, no drinkable water, and no complaints.

The Players: Me, Collin, Ellie, Mary, Rebecca, Jen, and Micah.

Collin and I chose to hike to an area known as "Ten Lakes", named for obvious reasons. The Yosemite website wasn't much help in figuring how long of a hike it would be so we guessed it would be about 4 miles from the satellite images. As we prepared for the hike we kept hearing different distances from different people, some as many as ten miles. So we started the hike not knowing exactly how long it would be. But what we really underestimated was the vertical climb that was involved. So at an elevation of 7300 feet, we happily start packing our things into portable bear canisters and set off on the hike.

5 miles later and at an elevation of 9400 feet, we finally hit the summit and can see four of the ten lakes down in a valley. This was a tiring hike since we were carrying about 30 pounds each on our backs.

From the summit, we descended 600 feet or so to the first of the lakes and due to exhaustion, promptly set up camp in the first acceptable spot. We were not completely isolated as there were a few other campers in the area, but it was isolated enough.

The weather was much colder than we anticipated and all I had on me were a pair of shorts, 2 t-shirts, and some long johns. Everyone else had pants, sweaters, and jackets. So the name of the game was survival. We kept a constant fire going whenever we weren't exploring. If we had to do our "business", it had to be done in a hole in the ground with toilet paper packed out. Three of us
managed to hold out the entire time.

In order to pull off this type of camping, you absolutely need a water filter, which Ellie provided for us. The water was nice and cold and tasted great.

The other challenge was wildlife, bears in particular. By the way, don't ever type in "bear attacks" when doing a Google image search. In Yosemite you are required to keep all food and toiletries in portable bear canisters which are kept at a safe distance from camp at night. We had air horns and Mary kept a whistle constantly around her neck. Unfortunately, only one bear was sighted, a juvenile on the hike in. And only 4 of us saw it, myself excluded. A weak picture was taken of it. Can you spot the bear in the picture below? However, we did see plenty of squirrels, deer, and marmots.

At one point we thought we found bear tracks but I think it was a pair of side by side deer tracks. What do you think?

When we weren't eating or staying by the warm fire, we were exploring. We hiked to and explored all four lakes that we could see from the summit and that involved plenty of rock climbing, tree climbing, and very scenic shots.

Cruising to Mexico June 2010

2010-06-21T12:32:00.011-06:00

The cast of this entry are myself, David Lew, Jake Brown, Eric Lopez, Julane Ward, Meghan Dixon, and Amanda Schauerhamer and her family. A few words come to mind when describing this trip. In no particular order, they are:

1. GLUTTONY: We were fed, fed, and then fed some more and I was shocked to see I had gained 8 pounds on the trip. All meals were buffet style except dinner which was in a the Gold Pearl Restaurant each night and in case that wasn't enough, room service was free 24 hours a day. My biggest vice was the all you can eat soft serve station which was conveniently placed in a high traffic area. The food was amazing and plentiful and all included. Those who wanted soda had to pay and I was surprised that they charged $1.50 for a bag of popcorn when they showed movies on the big screen outside. So forget that and go with the free filet mignon. One of the conditions for getting me on this trip was that Amanda had to feed me lobster, literally.

RELAXATION: While at sea, we had some time to kill and playing cards was one option. But the favorite time killer for the group was laying out and catching some rays. Well, the sun and I don't exactly get along so once I had my fill I spent plenty of time reading and I was perfectly content with that.

PAIN: Everyone experienced some sort of pain on this trip but then, without pain we would not know pleasure. David was throwing up when the sea finally got to him. Penny (Amanda's mom) sprained her knee on a mule and was in a wheel chair for half the cruise. Sam (Amanda's brother) twisted his ankle jumping around like a wild animal. And we all got burned to the point where it was a nightly ritual to lather up in aloe.

MEXICANS: We had three days at port in three different cities in Mexico: Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. What was common to each port was the persistent nature of the Mexican people to solicit for your business and I have never felt like such a tourist. They were persistent to the point where I could have filed assault charges. And there are some things that can only be seen in Mexico.

FUN: We had a great time on and off the boat. There was karaoke, comedy acts, musical performances, the dating game, and movies and the NBA playoffs on the big screen top side. I even danced, albeit just a couple of times and no more than a few seconds each time. Two of our sit down dinners were formal nights where we dressed our best. I discovered this after we put to sea and so did the best I could with what I brought, which didn't include a tie.

6. ADVENTURE: There's something exciting about getting on a boat and leaving port to head for the open ocean. The boat was massive and had about 5000 people on it. We were able to see dolphins swimming along side us as we cruised slowly but steadily through the Pacific Ocean. Off the boat I enjoying clambering around the rocks and among the crabs. And probably the best part was the snorkeling in Cabo which put to shame all the snorkeling I've done thus far in my life including places such as San Diego, Fiji, and the Mediterranean. The water was cold but clear and you could swim among thousands of fish of many varieties. We even managed to find a place to do some cliff jumping into the fish infested ocean.

A look at Timpanogos Gateway 108

2010-06-14T14:00:00.036-06:00

Start with some exterior shots...

The living, dining, and kitchen spaces...

The bathrooms...

The front bedroom...

The back bedroom...

The master bedroom...

Snow Mobiling February 2010

2010-02-25T22:52:00.007-07:00

I spent one of the most fun weekends up in the Wasatch Mountains with two students of mine who decided to show me their version of paradise and I have to admit it was quite cool. We drove to the middle of nowhere near Park City as far as the roads were cleared. From there we got on some snow mobiles and finished the last 8 miles of the trip to the Millburn Mountain home. Their place is tight, Jame's and Jake's version of Neverland.

There we enjoyed some great food, ping pong, Seinfled, and of course, snow mobiling. It is a lot harder than I anticipated to manage the sled in the rolling hills of fresh powder. You really have to throw your weight around to get the snow mobile to carve and turn sharply. You'll see how it's done in the video below of James ripping it up. I pulled with all my might but just didn't have the know-how like James and Jake did. It was a ton a fun though and I would love to give it another shot.

Christmas in Phoenix and San Diego 2009

2010-02-11T22:01:00.005-07:00

So my roommate Sam and I flew to Phoenix to see Jeremy for Christmas. We were joined by mom, dad, Brett, Andrew, and Emma. After Christmas we drove to San Diego to see my Aunt Celia. The weather was great and we were able to do some climbing on the rocks, frisbee, golf, and some sightseeing. In San Diego we visited friends and family and took like a 3 mile walk on the beach. I think I gained around 10 pounds on this trip.

Jackson Hole January 2010

2010-01-26T23:50:00.004-07:00

A few friends and I spent a weekend in Jackson Wyoming. The snow was pure powder and very deep. Had myself a taste of elk and bison while up there too.

Here's a clip of me taking a spill!

Home Improvement

2009-10-31T17:20:00.008-06:00

Using some paint and lighting, I've managed to spruce up the place a little bit. I put up a string of Christmas lights that my dad got me above the cabinets in the kitchen to enhance the color that is there. I also went with a blue and yellow color scheme for my bedroom. My friend Lacey says it looks like pee yellow but I disagree. With the bathroom, I also went blue and yellow scheme but in with reversed emphasis. I don't know yet if I like the bathroom but I'll give it some time to see if it grows on me.

Virginia July 2009

2009-10-13T11:46:00.003-06:00

Melanie told us that she and her family would be going to Virginia for the 4th of July and before you know it, the whole family is on board. I still don't know how we fit 20 people in the house.

Costa Rica July 2009

2009-07-26T19:40:00.051-06:00

Well it's been a little over a year since I published something on my blog. I need to stop letting the fact that I don't yet own a digital camera stop me from being more proactive about keeping it up to speed. So I'll be a little more thorough with this post to make up for being so lazy the past year.

So a couple of months ago my friend Eric says to me "Hey do you wanna go to Costa Rica in July?" I say "Why not?" So he starts planning with his sister and brother all the things they want to do; scuba diving, surfing, swimming with sharks, deep sea fishing, scoping wildlife, etc... There were plenty of things about this trip that were going to be "firsts" for me so I was getting pretty excited about it. Plus I didn't have to do much to get ready. I felt like I was working with a tourist agency because Eric and his family took care of everything and all I had to do was renew an expired passport, buy a plane ticket, and contemplate getting scuba certified. In the end I decided not to get certified and just take my chances.
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"Firsts" for me:

1. This was my first time to either Central or South America and my Spanish is practically non-existent. Fortunately, a lot of people down there spoke English and for those who didn't, Eric could manage enough Spanish to get by. I didn't even know what currency they used (Colones by the way), although many places preferred to take dollars. I wrongly thought that everything would be cheaper there since it's a less-developed country but everything was pretty much the same price as here, if not more expensive in the tourist areas. Everything and everyone from books, fellow tourists, and Costa Ricans repeatedly warned us to be careful of our belongings and keep things locked up at all times. So my trip starts with an uneasiness piercing like a splinter in the back of my mind. It will turn out that the only theft we encountered would take place in broad daylight right in front of our eyes. Our beach cabin (I say cabin because that's how "cabinas" translates and because there was no AC) was right on the Pacific Ocean and the sunsets were spectacular.

2. I surfed. The waves just outside our cabin were just like you see whenever you happen to catch some professional surfing on television. These waves turned out to be well beyond what any first-timer should be attempting but I didn't know that because what you see on TV is what you expect when you surf. Well it took a lot of effort just to get past the 6 foot waves and I was pooped. My ribs were already sore and rubbed raw from trying to paddle while laying on my stomach and I had more salt water in my orifices than I was comfortable with. Time to surf. I felt the wave come and was toppled, hitting my back on the ocean floor and washing up completely demoralized. I was ready to give it up when our cabin manager told us about another beach in Jaco, a few kilometers away, where beginners can learn. There, I was able to get up and ride small waves in and it was a ton of fun.

3. I ate some things I've never had before. Empanadas are meat filled pastries. Ceviche is a sea bass based salsa with cilantro that you eat on Saltines. There was lots of weird tropical fruit such as jocotes which are sold by the bag full everywhere you go, which makes you think they are incredibly delicious and/or popular. But I never saw anyone buy any and the few I sampled I had to spit out.

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Funnest experiences:

1. We decided to take a canopy tour of the mountainous rain forest via zip line. It was not so fun sitting through the boring safety demonstration but is was a thrill zipping through forest tops at 30 plus mph. We didn't see any animals like they led us to believe but we did catch some good views.

2. One day, looking for something to do, we saw some hand painted signs of a frog indicating where we could see butterflies, snakes, and frogs so we followed them down some dirt road for a few kilometers to a house off in the jungle. In the backyard was a mini interactive tour of some cool native animals in captivity. We saw dozens of poison dart frogs (which are only poisonous if on their natural diet of fire ants), vipers, boas, fighting toothless bird snakes, beautiful tree frogs, hundreds of butterflies, a parrot, and a caged monkey. I had the most fun with the monkey which was so energetic and playful, happy to have people to be social with.

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Top 10 animals from least to most interesting:

10. Toucan

We saw lots of tropical birds but catching a glimpse of the toucan felt like the prize to be won. By the end of the trip we had seen about 3 in the wild.

9. Iguana

The first sighting felt special but then they were just everywhere. The coolest iguana was one that was foraging and getting closer and closer to where we were sitting. As it got closer we noticed that it wasn't eating the insects that were all around it, but instead seemed to be eating only bits of trash and junk. It took a few tries but it even managed to pick up a rusty washer with its tongue and swallow it. The iguana got close enough that I managed to touch its tail before it sprinted off into the grass.

8. Peccary

I thought this was a boar but we looked it up and it's called a peccary. This one was just lazying around the beach and let anyone come up and pet it. It's hairs reminded me more of porcupine quills that anything else. It would lie down and let us bury it in sand and just when we finally decided to bust out the camera, the peccary took off only showing its rear for the shot.

7. Leaf-Cutting Ants

We visited two national parks. The first one was the only one open on Mondays so we went there. It was practically void of tourists and unfortunately of interesting wildlife too. However we did see several straight lines of marching leaf-cutting ants with their cargo. I seemed to be the one most intrigued by them but probably because I had never seen them before. I spent so much time looking at one chain of them that when I looked up, I noticed I had been deserted by my friends.

6. Coati

Yeah I didn't know what that is either. I called them R.O.U.S until I learned how to say their real name. We saw several of these the first of which was the best part of an otherwise disappointing trip to a volcano summit. The signs clearly indicated that they should not be fed but some locals were feeding them potato chips to lure them in close for pictures. Obeying signs seemed to not be a major concern in this country in general.

5. Sloth

We were looking for sloths the whole time since Eric, Katie, and especially Jeremy all seemed to know which trees they preferred the most. We didn't see our first sloth, however, until we entered the second national park of our trip at Manuel Antonio. We wound up seeing about five of them including one in motion, albeit slow motion.

4. Sea Turtles

I am under the impression that sea turtles are not very abundant so catching them in the wild is a lucky thing in and of itself. But we happened to not only cruise by one sea turtle while on our way to go scuba diving but we cruised right by two sea turtles caught mating ..... even rarer to find I am guessing.

3. Deer

I was not all that excited to see deer in the rain forest since we see them in abundance all over the U.S. But the two deer we saw in Costa Rica were different. There must be totally accustomed to humans because as we approached they trotted right up to us and wanted to be pet. One deer was trying to push me over and kept ramming its head between my legs. This made me a little nervous but I sensed it just wanted to play.

2. Monkeys

We all wanted to see the monkeys. The first one we saw was in captivity and was so energetic and excited to see us when we came to visit. It was grabbing through the bars for anything to play with and managed to rip a rubber band off my wrist which it promptly started to chew on. I had a moment of concern when I realized this may not be good for it but we were able to get most of the rubber band back from it. We saw dozens of wild monkeys in the Manuel Antonio national park and they had no reservations bringing the action to the trees right by us. We saw white faced capuchin monkeys mostly but also a family of the "vunerable" (just a hair above being endangered) squirrel monkeys, and some saw a howler monkey off in a distant tree.

1. Crocodiles

And the winner is the crocodile. We were driving along not even looking for them when we decided we'd stop at a bridge on the off chance we may see something interesting. As for me, it seemed like a long shot but as we were walking across the bridge I noticed that there was not just a few, but dozens of large crocodiles in the waters below. It wasn't long before lots of people were stopped to catch some pictures. One crocodile was just chilling with its mouth wide open and someone decided to throw a piece of raw chicken and it was a money shot..... landed right in the open mouth. A few more pieces of raw chicken got the otherwise lazy lizards into a frenzy. It was quite the sight.

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Biggest Disappointments:

1. Scuba diving required the most preparation (for those who got certified) and the most money to do but sadly it was the most disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it was an experience but it just didn't live up to our hopes when we set out. Visibility was no more than 15 or 20 feet, just slightly better than when I scuba dived in the English Channel. We all imagined clear waters beaming with life and hopefully white tip sharks but, unfortunately, I only glimpsed a few fish and some star fish. The Japanese mafia and others have practically obliterated the shark population in these waters, taking only the fins for the prestige of shark fin soup. It's sad. One perk was that in order to meet up with the dive master, we got to take a small cruise liner to Tortuga Island. There was live music and plenty of festive tourists to keep us entertained during the 90 minute boat ride. Another perk was that it was during this boat ride that we saw the sea turtles doing their thing.

2. Our first day in Costa Rica we decided to kill some time near the capital San Jose, which is next to the airport. We had a few hours while we waited for Eric's cousin Krissy to arrive. So we drove up to a nearby volcano. It happened to be the highest volcano in the country and was blanketed in a thick cloud. We paid our national park entrance fee and stepped out of the car and it felt freezing. None of us were prepared for even chilly weather and so it wasn't exactly pleasant to be in the windy wet cloud which also prevented us from being able to see the volcano's crater. I may just as well have paid to be put in a refrigerator for half an hour wearing nothing but wet underwear. However on the plus side, we did see some large leafed fauna that made me feel like I was in Jurassic Park and it was here that we had our first encounter with an R.O.U.S. The saddest part of it all is when we got word that Eric's cousin, who we were waiting on, would not be arriving since she accidentally bought a plane ticket to San Jose, CA. Oops!

3. Whenever exposed to new environments I run the risk of allergic reactions. Shortly into the trip, I started developing a rash on my left hand that reminded me a lot of my horrific childhood experiences with poison ivy. I was concerned as the rash spread across all my fingers and knuckles and then to my right hand. I also started to feel its presence around my mouth, nose, and eyes. I prayed that it would stop there and fortunately it did but it was still uncomfortable. I also burned my back our first day surfing which was painful for most of the trip. I also had some scraps along my back when my first attempt at surfing ended with me being slammed to the ocean floor. And to top it off, my top bunk was near the ceiling fan and I managed to stupidly put my hand up once and my right pinkie took a shot which I am glad only took off skin, but could easily have broken it. The sun set at 7:00 pm every night so after dinner we would take cold showers and I would lie in bed in our humid room with no AC with a burned back and an irritating rash that I feared would spread to my face overnight. It was only at these times that I wished for the comforts of home.

4. We were careful to always hide valuables and lock our rental car and cabin door. And nothing was ever taken from us without our knowing it. The only true robbery can be attributed to those whom we should be trusting the most, the Costa Rican police. On our last day Eric was pulled over for speeding, which is debatable. We had seen the police pulling over tourists all week and I guess it was only a matter of time. They pretended to not speak any English and Eric had to fumble his way through an explanation. In the end, the told us that if we paid them $40 now in cash, then we would not need to pay a larger fee later and would avoid any trouble with the law. Of course that's what we did, but it certainly felt like we were robbed right before our eyes.
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Just so I don't end on a negative note, let me just remind all who read this that I had a great time with great friends and I'm glad I went. Matt Weber signing off. Until I blog again......

Snowshoeing

2008-07-04T11:22:00.008-06:00

I had some fun towards the end of winter with the gang. We went snowshoeing up behind Timp, built a snow cave, pushed some suckers into it, and collapsed it. Oh, and we also went cliff jumping into big snow drifts. Good times.

Snow Ultimate!

2008-01-29T11:57:00.001-07:00

I wanted to play ultimate at least one more time before the snow hit and so we set a date. That morning we wake up to a good 8 or 9 inches of powder. But instead of canceling we say "Why not?" By the time we were done, we had a 10 foot tall snowman standing watch over the frisbee fields.We had so much fun that day, we decided to do it again next chance we got.

Angel's Landing October 2007

2007-10-29T23:21:00.002-06:00

October brought another trip to Zions, this time to hike Angel's Landing. We stayed a couple of nights at my friend Anthony's condo in Saint George and then made a day trip to Zions. The hike was not as tough as I thought it would be and I enjoyed spending time with my friends climbing and exploring.

This is a wonderful image to have in your head just before climbing up steep rocks. Like watching airplanes crash just before your seat is called for boarding.

Finally at the top, we were able to rest and enjoy the warm sun and cool breeze. The chipmunks were everywhere waiting to grab what they could from the trail snacks.

Grand Canyon July 2007

2007-08-14T17:12:00.003-06:00

Several friends from my ward and I made a trip to the Havasupai Indian Reservation in the Grand Canyon this summer. It was an awesome trip. You hike 10 miles in and 10 miles out carrying everything you need for camping.

The morning of the second day we were awakened by local Indians warning us of an incoming flash flood which would wipe out our camp site so we quickly moved all our tents and stuff up onto the rocks at the base of the canyon walls. The floods came, slowly but surely and turned our gorgeous blue water to an opaque liquid chocolate for the rest of the trip.

Here is a before and after shot of some of the falls near our campsite.

The second night the rains came and some of us had to abandon our wet tents for a dry cave that was just near our camp, about 30 feet up the canyon wall face. We took refuge there for the night and the next day when the blistering heat rolled in.

Despite all the "Man vs Wild" experiences, we still found plenty of time to climb, explore caves, and swim, even in the chocolate water.

Family Trip to Chicago July 2007

2007-08-14T16:58:00.000-06:00

It all started with Melanie's family going and before long it ballooned into all the siblings going to see my sister Nadine in Chicago. We did all sorts of things ranging from bike rides, zoo trips, ferris wheels, mini golf, crashing the new batman movie set, hailing cabs, boat rides, going to a Cubs game, and lots of walking! We all made the trip except for Curtis' family and my parents. since my mom is recovering from a hip replacement.Since I was in charge of steering one of these things, I found a way to make it more like a bumper car experience, not to everyone's amusement.

This is everyone who made the trip, standing in front of the famous metallic bean near Millennium Park.

Ward BBQ and Frisbee April 2007

2007-05-09T12:58:00.002-06:00

This is Nate, Joe, and me after an intense game of frisbee just before our ward closing social BBQ. I am in such a good ward, why move?

After eating, we took flight off the swings.

Quick Trip to Portland March 2007

2007-04-11T08:05:00.000-06:00

I managed to join the family for a little less than 48 hours at my sister Melanie's place in Tualatin. We played pong, 4-square, jump rope, catch, and had great fun in that little space of time. In the shot on the left, we have pulled up chairs in the garage with juice boxes in hand to watch Brett and Jason go at it in pong.

My First Car

2007-02-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

While Brett was in Taiwan for 7 months I was able to look after and use his Acura. For the first time I decided to cover a car with liability insurance only and for the first time in 14 years, I had an accident on some black ice coming back from snowboarding. What a coincidence! A month after paying a pretty penny to fix his car, Brett returns and reclaims it.

So finally I am in a position where I both need and can afford a car for myself. After a few weeks of research and test driving I settled on a charcoal '03 Accord EX with all the trimmings. It's a nice ride and I've finally moved up on the social ladder and have joined the world of car owners!

San Diego December 2006

2007-02-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

Nothing like a 70 degree Christmas holiday! My parents, Nadine, Jeremy, Andrew and I were able to go to San Diego to visit my Aunt Celia in her new house in Bonita, just outside of downtown San Diego. Her house is beautifully decorated and furnished. Celia had her piano tuned and the boys gave their all singing 'O Holy Night.' It was quite the performance! We ate well and I was surprised that her cats didn't cause my allergies to act up.

We were able to play frisbee at the beach and visit the harbor, the famous Hotel Del Coronado, and Cape Cabrillo. We also stopped by the house where I was raised and the hospital where I was born.

Elevation!!

2006-12-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

We finished out the hockey season 12-0 winning our last game 17-3. It was such a fun season but not too challenging so next month we move up and play in the top division.

Thanksgiving in Chicago

2006-12-04T08:04:00.000-07:00

This year, Jeremy, Andrew, and I were able to join my sister Nadine in her downtown apartment in Chicago for Thanksgiving. We had a relaxing time cooking, eating, playing games, watching football, and visting the Windy City.

Roller Hockey League

2006-09-30T10:13:00.000-06:00

This is Team Elevation! We are 3-0 to start off the season and play every Wednesday night. Don't worry mom, you can see I am holding a helmet with a face cage.

Watch out for that number 10! All the guys on the team are people I know from either the Business College or from playing roller hockey in Alpine all these years. We decided it would be fun to get matching jerseys with our names and numbers on it and I went with my birth month. This Fall I am also doing BYU intramural frisbee and flag football and we are undefeated in those as well. It's going to be a fun Fall!

Hike to Desolation Lake Sep 2006

2006-09-03T17:45:00.000-06:00

Here I am hiking up a trail with Bridget and Ellie (Brad took the picture) that leads to Lake Desolation in the Big Cottonwood Canyon. Fall colors can now be seen and everything was covered in frost when we woke up. Summer is coming to an end.

Friends Together

2006-09-02T20:14:00.002-06:00

We got together for my friend Rachel's last night with us and went to town with a polaroid camera. These are some of my closest friends here in my ward. Starting with me going clockwise is Brad, Rachel, Chas, Anthony, Bridget, JC, and Ellie.

Broken Knee Mended

2006-08-24T11:05:00.000-06:00

In late 2004, I had a collision while playing ultimate frisbee which broke the top of my tibia midair. The break was nasty because of its proximity to the joint. I was taken directly to the hospital where a plate and six screws were inserted to hold my knee together. In July of 2006, I finally had the surgery to remove the hardware putting an end to the two year ordeal.

The Narrows of Zions National Park August 2006

2006-08-15T12:30:00.002-06:00

Left to right is Bridget, me, Ellie, Mike, Rachel, and Chas. Zions offers free shuttle rides up and down the canyon to its 3 million visitors each year. Right after this shot I realized I didn't have my keys on me so we had to get off and backtrack, finding them in the grass near where we parked, phew!

The most famous hike in Zions, the Narrows is a trail mostly in the water fighting a current as you make your way through the spectacular canyon full of photo opportunities. Blisters soon set in and the sun was scarce due to the depth of the canyon.

We found several opportunities to play in the water. Just before turning around we found a place where we could jump off a rock into a deep pool. We got quite chilly because the sun had no chance of reaching us.

Hike to Red Pine Lakes and White Baldy Mountain July 2006

2006-08-15T12:02:00.000-06:00

This is yet another hike this summer up the Little Cottonwood Canyon. I set off with Mike, this time with no water filter and a little later than planned. We planned on getting to the lakes and then possible going to the summit of the mountain that overlooks them.

Once you reach the first lake, the trail disappears and the rest of the hike mostly consists of scrambling up large chunks of granite.

It was getting late in the day and we were quickly running out of water but we were determined to make it to the summit, so we did.

A nice view of the Red Pine Lakes from the summit of White Baldy. With the sun getting low in the sky and only half a liter of water we started the hike back down. It was completely dark by the time we reached the car. We had a real sense of overcoming as we made our own trail to the summit and survived despite the lack of water and light.

Mount Timpanogos July 2006

2006-08-15T10:33:00.000-06:00

This hike up Mount Timpanogos was a bigger undertaking because we planned to camp near the summit. We packed food, wood (they told us we wouldn't find any), and sleeping gear and set out to conquer the famous mountain. Our packs weighed about 30 lbs each. On this trip were me, Mike, and his friend Josh.

Half way up, we got off the trail and had to try to find it again. We wound up at the edge of a rock that dropped straight down to a subglacial river. You can see the waterfall and pool behind the wall of ice.

With the summit in sight, we found a quiet spot by Hidden Lake, a lake that can't be seen from the trail until it is passed. We knew about it and knew most didn't so this was our destination. The lake is fed by a glacier that dips down into it and slowly melts. It turns out there was plenty of wood at this spot so we carried extra weight for nothing. I didn't sleep very well because I was borderline chilled and didn't have a good mat. But we made it through the night.

The next day, we stashed our things and made the trek up to the summit. To get down you can slide down a glacier which feeds into the more well known Emerald Lake. From the summit both Emerald Lake and Hidden Lake are easily seen, as is the whole of Utah Valley.

On the highest parts of the mountain we spotted several mountain sheep. This was a mother with a kid nearby and this was as close as we could get to any of them. They make confident leaps from cliff to cliff that would stop humans in their tracks. A simple slip up would be a long painful fall.

Hike up Big Cottonwood Canyon July 2006

2006-08-15T09:50:00.000-06:00

I've done a lot of hiking this summer mostly with my friend Mike whom I met at the LDS Business College and with whom I play hockey. On this trip up the canyon my friend Ellie joined us. When you do a day hike in the dry heat of the Wasatch Front water is an issue because you don't want to run out deep in the mountains. Fortunately Mike had a portable water filter which allowed us to have drinkable water whenever we found a stream.

This particular hike didn't lead to anything spectacular. After half a day, we sat down, enjoyed a few MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) which we heated with Mike's portable stove and then doctored some blisters before heading back down the trail. I'm wiping sweat off my face and Ellie is doctoring her foot. It was so hot that I was determined that the next hike would at least end with a lake.