Over the weekend a few of my closest friends and I headed south to Moab, Utah, to explore Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. These places are quickly becoming a couple of my favorite spots on God's
green brownish-redish Earth.
This was the first time I've gone down there without Daniel, who doesn't live close enough right now to join the weekend getaways. Coincidentally, this was also the first time I've gone to Moab without having someone meow songs into our ears for the entire three-hour drive.
Below, pictures courtesy of Maggie Liveri.
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| Unintentional modeling with Anna and Kurt in front of Delicate Arch. |
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| With Anna Swayne. The one and only. |
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| Midnight-hiking Delicate Arch. |
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| Maggie overlooking Canyonlands mere moments before she fell to her death. Fortunately we had her camera. |
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| Apparently this was too "dangerous" and I was kept on a pretty short leash for the rest of the day. |
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| Anna Swayne: supermodel, business-woman, never returns texts or phone calls. |
~It Just Gets Stranger
I want to go to there.
ReplyDeletePlease tell me that SOMEONE was meowing songs. At least one song!
ReplyDeleteFINALLY. Some girls in your photos us men can drool over. Anna is pretty hot.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see some Kurt-equivalent comments for Anna. "Anna could nurse me back to health any day of the week."
DeleteWhatever kind of business Anna does, I volunteer to be a client. She doesn't have to return my calls or texts or anything, especially if she has a business card with her picture on it. I just need to be able to show it to people and say "She's my accountant." Or even better, "She's my masseuse."
DeleteAnna, you can have all my DNA. ;)
DeleteDoes Anna have a library card? Cause I'm checking her out.
DeleteApart from being sexy, what does Anna do for a living?
I was just out there a couple of weeks ago - Absolutely gorgeous place, and the people are so nice (although you Utah folks have a distinctly different definition of "easy hike" than we do in New Jersey). I'm terrified of heights so I took note of the frequent absence of railings and/or guardrails near sheer drops, which, admittedly, would totally spoil the view. My 73-year old father kept dangling off ledges to "get the perfect shot" - I closed my eyes to avoid witnessing what I was sure would be his inevitable plummet over the edge. I'm starting to think the National Park Service must be hiding the statistics on how many visitors drop to their death on an annual basis. Panic attacks aside, it was a fantastic trip and I hope to get back out there again soon!
ReplyDeleteThat place looks rad. Are there a lot of those arches or just one or two?
ReplyDeleteLots.
DeleteOff topic a little...I got a birthday present from my parents in the mail yesterday. It was a t-shirt from the sea turtle conservation center near their house. Like a child I clapped my hands, bounced on my toes and said "yay sea turtles". I imagian you might have a similar reaction.
ReplyDeleteYou mean to tell us you went on a NON-meowing trip?! I have a lot of issues with that...
ReplyDeleteI went to Arches for my first time last year about this same time of year. We hiked Delicate Arch and then the next day hiked Devil's Garden, which is one of the coolest hikes I've ever done - such amazing scenery. It was perfect weather throughout (a little chilly early Saturday morning and after the sun went down) and even better, not very crowded - very much like your experience seems to have been. I can't imagine hiking delicate arch in 100+ degree weather with no shade anywhere. Let's not tell too many people, though, so that we don't have to start fighting the late-October crowds.
ReplyDeleteNext time you go to Moab, you should stop at Goblin Valley "on the way". It's great for games of hide and seek and laser tag. One of my favorite places (until idiots knock over all the rocks).
ReplyDeleteI second that. Goblin Valley is one of my favorite "secret" places in UT (although the idiots who knocked over the rocks... too bad the rocks didn't fall on them!). Hopefully the latest rock incident won't stop the park folks from letting us play around the rocks. It's a great place to hide behind a rock and meow at other hikers.
DeleteWoohoo! I'm going to Moab in a week and a half, and I'm so excited! A bit nervous, because me and Moab, we have a somewhat pathetic history, but mostly I'm excited. I sure hope it warms up in the next 10 days...
ReplyDeleteEli, I'm depressed and would love to see you mention something about Daniel. Like, what he's up to currently and all. And didn't you two get together again after the move?
ReplyDeleteDon't know why, but I was missing the Daniel and you pair and you suddenly mention him, and now I miss him more.
I love Arches. It's so gorgeous down there!
ReplyDeleteEli McCann-- NEVER skips pectoral day at the gym.
ReplyDeleteHa ha! Or hair jell.
DeleteYou need to photoshop out the rock foreground in that one picture of you jumping!
ReplyDeleteWhat is with Moab in the news right now, when I read this... I was glad to see it wasn't you.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=27443964&nid=148&title=man-captures-base-jumping-disaster-aftermath-on-video&fm=home_page&s_cid=featured-4
I moved my in-laws back to Salt Lake over the summer. Then my daughter and I did a long road trip, starting with Moab and Arches. Those 5 days in Utah made me want to move back. My daughter absolutely fell in love with Utah (again), and we're planning another road trip back for next year. This time we're planning to spend more time in the Moab area to hike the hikes and drive the drives more thoroughly.
ReplyDeleteFinally some babes!! I see some Anna comments but let's focus on the Maggie girl for a second....
ReplyDeleteI, too, have had the pleasure of traveling with the one and only Anna. She's awesome. (That's an understatement!)
ReplyDelete