The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

I skipped some stuff between Phoenix and now, but... I’ll get back to that later. Yesterday I got in the car and headed north for a three week road trip. First stop: Ousel Falls in Big Sky. This was a nice hike because the entire walk to the falls was scenic. However, it was super crowded, and I learned that I do not enjoy hiking with a mask.  Next up was a hike that’s supposed to be haunted by the ghost of a little girl who lures women off the trail and then disappears in the woods. There has also been numerous Sasquatch sightings in this area. Unfortunately, I did not experience any supernatural activity on this hike. When I got back to cell service, I discovered that I didn’t actually hike the correct trail; I hiked the trail next to it instead. But wouldn’t they both experience paranormal phenomenon? And from the trail descriptions, it sounds like I chose the better hike. It was really pretty and easy and I did not want to turn around. My mom thinks this is Hollyhock. Whatever it i

When I found out I had to have another hip surgery, I decided to fit in a little trip beforehand in case I couldn’t hike for the rest of the summer. I wanted to see my friends in Phoenix. My dad was like, “Why on earth would you go to a hotspot during a pandemic?” But I think I managed to do it safely. I only saw people early in the morning or after the sun went down so that way we could just visit outside. I did not hug any of my friends. The only person I hugged was Brian and Denise’s next-door neighbor who seemed to think we were on a date and hugged me twice. Not cool! But that’s another story. For some reason, I did not take pictures with any of my friends. The only pictures I have are from the hike Jesse and I did. I appreciate that he is always down for whatever adventure I concoct. On this trip, it was a hike up Grapevine Creek near Prescott. It ended up being a little more work than I had expected because my car couldn’t make it all the way to the trail head, so that added 3 m

I spend a lot of time looking at maps, and recently I noticed a mountain range that was pretty close to SLC, but I’d never heard any of my friends mention it. I asked around, and no one had heard of it. So I decided to go check it out.  This place was amazing. After cross the national forest boundary, I did not see any other people. None of the trails were on All Trails, so I just looked at the topo map, picked out a trail that looked pretty easy, and started walking.  I love hiking alone because I can just be weird. When I arrived at this meadow, I had a Julie Andrews moment and needed to twirl and sing.  And then I had the idea that I should make a music video. So this was a very slow hike because I stopped a lot to sing and take pictures.  A few days later, I went back and explored the other side of this mountain range. This area was a bit more populated, and this trail in particular was crowded, but that’s because there’s a cold water geyser coming out of this mountain! Also, the t

I took a little day trip down by Bryce to look at some property and do some sight seeing.  My first stop was this short trail to see some Bristlecone Pines. Bristlecone pines can live for 4500 years! One tree had a perfect little perch, so I sat in the tree and just closed my eyes and relaxed for a few minutes.  Then I hiked to Cascade Falls, which is a short and popular trail. The falls were really cool; they just burst out the this wall of rock, and they continue a long way down the hillside. But it’s hard to get good pictures from the viewing platform.  My last stop ended up being my favorite. It’s this place where you can find seven unique plants that don’t grow anywhere else in the world. They have brochures by the parking area with information about the plants, and there’s no trail; you just tiptoe around, trying not to step on anything.  This windy plateau looks barren, but the most beautiful, delicate plants somehow manage to grow. This is Widstoe Buckwheat- one of the totally

The weekend Ashley and I went on a wildflower quest is the same weekend the world went crazy.  On Saturday, we drove around the National Forest near Fairview. I had heard of a wildflower garden that was planted there in the 70’s. Unfortunately, we were just a little too early. Snow still covered the road, and the only thing blooming was avalanche lilies. But we still enjoyed exploring an unfamiliar area.  When I got home, I started hearing sirens. Constant sirens flying up my street. Finally I looked outside and noticed that military vehicles were among the cars passing my house. I turned on the news and discovered that the national guard had been deployed to downtown SLC due to looting and rioting. I was shocked that this was happening in SLC! I remained glued to the tv all evening, texting with friends about how the world had gone crazy. The mayor imposed a curfew on the city, and all of us were unsure of the exact parameters- did that mean Ashley and I couldn’t go see the poppy fiel