Kristin and Adam spent the night in the hotel with me. When we stepped outside the next morning, Adam said, "Your front tire is flat."
I didn't think that was funny.
It wasn't a joke.
Adam put the spare on, and I chose to look on the bright side- I now feel pretty confident that I could change a tire myself.
We headed to camp, and this is where things started to fall apart. Everyone was mad at each other, and Brian had shown up unexpectedly. (This wasn't actually a bad thing, just funny on top of everything else.) I was SO angry at someone in our group, but was determined not to let that ruin the day. All 7 of us did Morocco, a short, fun, pretty canyon. It was so great because Kristin hung out towards the back of the group with me (which is unusual because she is usually full speed ahead), and I think both of us were just really in the moment, so happy to be together in this beautiful canyon. It was the perfect way to start off a new year.
The funniest part of this canyon was yet another pothole. After my fall in East Leprechaun a few days before, my friends decided it wasn't even worth me trying. The plan was for Kristin and Bernie to grab my wrist and just pull me across. I couldn't believe it, but it worked! The only casualty was my left foot. We all landed in a laughing pile with my face right in Kristin's crotch. Canyoneering leads to so many intimate moments. Anyway, this scene was captured in pictures 3, 4, and 5 below. (I can't post pictures normally since I'm using the Blogger app on my iPad.) My other favorite picture is the last one. We're standing under a gorgeous arch having a hilarious conversation that is not appropriate for this public forum.
We hung out for a little while after the canyon, and then it was time to say our goodbyes. Based on a conversation the night before, I wanted to give Kristin my Fearless necklace. When she refused to accept, Adam held her down while I fastened it around her neck. This was hilarious for reasons I won't go into here. Adam, Kristin, and Marie left for Phoenix, leaving me, Jason and Bernie trying to decide what to do next. We'd talked about going to Marble Canyon, but it was still pretty cold there, so we decided to go back to Phoenix, too.
Jason and Brian decided to run one more canyon. Bernie hung out with his friend, and I slept in my car. I was starting to feel really sick with a sore throat and fever. I was not excited to drive 8 hours feeling that way.
We finally left at 5:30. I noticed that I drove about 100 miles without seeing another car. I just about had a nervous breakdown driving the Moki Dugway. (Ice! Dark! Dirt road! Switchbacks!)
Bernie gave me a long hug when we got to Mexican Hat. I was trying not to cry. "I hate myself right now! I am acting like every negative female stereotype: irrationally angry, emotional, not driving well at night..." Bernie just kept hugging me.
We finally arrived back in Phoenix around 1:30 a.m. Our adventure was officially over. I spent the next few days being lazy at Rachel's and hanging out with friends before heading back to Chicago on Saturday.
In conclusion, I think this experience is best summed up by a conversation I had
with my mom:
"So, you've had two flat tires, you're sick, you're not happy with one of your
friends... Was this trip a mistake? Did you even have fun??"
"Mom, I can't wait to go back next year."
*All photos courtesy of the amazing Jason Marshall at inthecanyons.com
I didn't think that was funny.
It wasn't a joke.
Adam put the spare on, and I chose to look on the bright side- I now feel pretty confident that I could change a tire myself.
We headed to camp, and this is where things started to fall apart. Everyone was mad at each other, and Brian had shown up unexpectedly. (This wasn't actually a bad thing, just funny on top of everything else.) I was SO angry at someone in our group, but was determined not to let that ruin the day. All 7 of us did Morocco, a short, fun, pretty canyon. It was so great because Kristin hung out towards the back of the group with me (which is unusual because she is usually full speed ahead), and I think both of us were just really in the moment, so happy to be together in this beautiful canyon. It was the perfect way to start off a new year.
The funniest part of this canyon was yet another pothole. After my fall in East Leprechaun a few days before, my friends decided it wasn't even worth me trying. The plan was for Kristin and Bernie to grab my wrist and just pull me across. I couldn't believe it, but it worked! The only casualty was my left foot. We all landed in a laughing pile with my face right in Kristin's crotch. Canyoneering leads to so many intimate moments. Anyway, this scene was captured in pictures 3, 4, and 5 below. (I can't post pictures normally since I'm using the Blogger app on my iPad.) My other favorite picture is the last one. We're standing under a gorgeous arch having a hilarious conversation that is not appropriate for this public forum.
We hung out for a little while after the canyon, and then it was time to say our goodbyes. Based on a conversation the night before, I wanted to give Kristin my Fearless necklace. When she refused to accept, Adam held her down while I fastened it around her neck. This was hilarious for reasons I won't go into here. Adam, Kristin, and Marie left for Phoenix, leaving me, Jason and Bernie trying to decide what to do next. We'd talked about going to Marble Canyon, but it was still pretty cold there, so we decided to go back to Phoenix, too.
Jason and Brian decided to run one more canyon. Bernie hung out with his friend, and I slept in my car. I was starting to feel really sick with a sore throat and fever. I was not excited to drive 8 hours feeling that way.
We finally left at 5:30. I noticed that I drove about 100 miles without seeing another car. I just about had a nervous breakdown driving the Moki Dugway. (Ice! Dark! Dirt road! Switchbacks!)
Bernie gave me a long hug when we got to Mexican Hat. I was trying not to cry. "I hate myself right now! I am acting like every negative female stereotype: irrationally angry, emotional, not driving well at night..." Bernie just kept hugging me.
We finally arrived back in Phoenix around 1:30 a.m. Our adventure was officially over. I spent the next few days being lazy at Rachel's and hanging out with friends before heading back to Chicago on Saturday.
In conclusion, I think this experience is best summed up by a conversation I had
with my mom:
"So, you've had two flat tires, you're sick, you're not happy with one of your
friends... Was this trip a mistake? Did you even have fun??"
"Mom, I can't wait to go back next year."
*All photos courtesy of the amazing Jason Marshall at inthecanyons.com
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