Two Houstonians in the Canyonlands

So recently, my friend Mo drove from Dallas all the way to Moab, Utah. I've known him for about two years now and he wanted to spend his Spring Break up here, taking in the sites. We've been on a lot of adventures so far, but the biggest journey we've embarked on was the Island in the Sky portion of the Canyonlands National Park.

Breakfast of champions...

Complete with a juice box!

We started out eating a 

VERY nutritional breakfast...
(...at McDonald's)

We stopped at a gas station and hit the road!

The were several ruin-looking sites at the gas station. I'm not sure how many of them are actually authentic, but there were these tepees, as well as these:

Pictographs

Once we got there, we made several stops. At some of the stops, we just looked around, at others we hiked. From the first turn off we made, there were some AWESOME views. Mo kept saying he was concerned that I was getting too close to the edge, but after having worked at a guide for a while, my fear of heights has lessened incredibly.

Climbing up

On the edge of a cliff

Scaling some rocks

We also saw lots of ancient cave dwellings. I was more used to the Anasazi and Moki dwellings, but while we were at Island in the Sky, we saw some old Aztec dwellings and ruins.

Ruin at Aztec Butte

We also saw some really awesome land features that had been formed through weathering of wind and rain. 

Weathering of the rocks

As our journey ended, we looked at one last place called the Grand View Point...

...and on the drive back, we watched the sun set.






All in all, it was an awesome, productive day full of beautiful views and good company. It was really nice to get some hiking in on my off shift, especially in such gorgeous country. I think the best part of it was being able to show a fellow flat-lander around some parts of the country that are most certainly not flat.

Lessons of the Desert

I'm back from the desert! This last shift was incredibly intense. I learned a lot about myself and my surroundings. I finally got my internship over with and I'm now an assistant instructor, so I'm really excited to step up to that new responsibility. 

We had a lot of pretty strenuous hikes, but awesome views...

 There were also some pretty scary views









One part of the program is being in or out of agreement. If  I'm following the rules, I'm in agreement. If I slip up and make a mistake, I'm out of agreement. I'm human and naturally I slip up from time to time, so I was out of agreement early in my shift for leaving something by the fire after I had gone to my sleeping bag. 

Unfortunately, once you're out of agreement, the group decides what you need to do to get back into agreement and it usually ranges from kung fu fighting, sumo wrestling, writing poems, or drawing faces on your chin upside down.

This was my back into agreement condition.

Needless to say, I had fun trying to put sunscreen on after I forgot the face was still there and ended up with ink and sunscreen all over my face.

Another part of the program is sometimes we do animal kills. It's done in a very therapeutic way and it's framed to show respect for the animal and learn about the difference between canned, processed, mass produced meat as opposed to an animal we treat with respect, kill ourselves, and then use every part of the animal.

In the middle of my shift, we did a sheep kill. We ate all of the meat, heart, lungs and liver. We learned how to use the brain to tan the hide and how to use the hide for clothing. We used the sinew for string and learned how to boil the hooves down for very strong glue. We cracked the bones for marrow and very little of the animal was unused. Any meat that was not part of a primitive rotisserie, Thai stir-fry (made by yours truly), steaks or stew was jerked and spiced and hung on a primitive jerky rack.

That was the majority of my shift. I spent time with people I appreciate and learned a lot about the kind of person that I want to be. The weather warmed up for the most part - there were some nights I was too hot in my sleeping bag, but I'd much rather be too hot than too cold.

Ultimately, it was a very productive shift. I got closer to a lot of the staff and had a lot of fun. I learned a lot about the wilderness and I learned a lot about myself. This off shift, I'm looking forward to hanging around Moab and working at my other job. I have plans to go to the Canyonlands sometime soon, so hopefully there will be some pictures about my adventures in Needles soon!

A Little Pre-Field Preview

I wasn't able to post this before I left for the field because I didn't have the right card reader for the pictures, but I thought I'd give a little show and tell about what it's like before we go into the field.

When we get to the office, the first thing we do is see what needs to be done. Usually, we'll end up helping with the resupply for the group - bringing out the weekly supply of food and anything else the group needed or called in.

 We have to get changed into our field gear...

Fortunately, we don't have to worry too much if we look ridiculous because we all do. No matter what. I've learned to embrace it. :)

Before Rolling

After Rolling

Roll our packs 

And then we take care of whatever else needs to be done and we head out to the field!

Settling Into the Desert

So yesterday, I told y'all about the beginning of my journey. Well, it's now the middle of February and I've had quite a few adventures since I've been out here, although most have been where I live in Moab.

After my first 3 week shift, I moved into a trailer (not as red-neck as it seems - it's a HUGE trailer) with a co-worker and his roommate. I've spent Thanksgiving and Christmas in the field working, but before I left for my Christmas shift, my roommate, his friends and myself went on an adventure...

We drove up a mountain...

...Cut down a Christmas tree for my roommate's mom....

...And I came to the realization that Utah snows!




I went back to the field for Christmas and New Years and it was pretty awesome. We brought out hamburger meat (meals usually consist of some kind of beans or noodles) and everyone made burgers for Christmas. And we got stockings! My next off-shift, the weather started getting good enough to go out hiking and exploring around where I live, so I was really glad to get a chance to do that!

We went up and down some slickrock...

...and got some nice views...
(those are my boots and the city of Moab below)

 ...Including the Colorado River





Right now I'm at the office where I work, getting ready to go in for another 3 week shift in the desert tomorrow. Hopefully, this blog will continue to stay alive and allow me to post some more of my adventures as they come along. I don't have a camera right now, so there probably won't be a post as soon as I get out, but I'm getting another camera ASAP and an ottorbox, because the desert keeps breaking my cameras!

So until then, don't miss me and go have some adventures!! Life wasn't meant to sit around and play Xbox and World of Warcraft all day (although it is nice sometimes, I'll admit), so go get some sunshine!!

A New Beginning

October 24, 2010 I embarked upon a journey. I went from Houston, TX to southeast Utah to take a job at a wilderness treatment program. I guess to give my move a little more justice, here's what I moved to after living in Houston for 19 years.

That's Houston. City-licious. I was born and raised by these towers and I've known them to be home for years.

And this is Moab, Utah: home to the hikers, climbers, mountain bikers, and outdoor enthusiasts alike. It's also where I live now.

Now I'd just like to start out by saying that when I left Houston, I hadn't done much "outdoor-enthusiast" type activities. But I did go on a backpacking trip in Oregon after I graduated high school and it changed my life for the better. Around August or September, a friend asked if I would ever thought about working for this outdoor, wilderness treatment program for people who struggle with alcohol and drug addiction.

I gave it some thought, but soon put it on the back burner. I was working two jobs in Houston - Quizno's and Spencer's. I wasn't really going anywhere with my life or doing. In October, I got an e-mail from the job asking if I was still interested. I took that as a sign of divine intervention and I told them I'd put in my two weeks here in Houston. 

Nine days after that e-mail, I was spending my last night in Houston eating at Niko Niko's with my brother and dad. I said my goodbyes to a few close friends and I was off to the Greyhound station.

From 12:30am Monday morning to 8am Tuesday morning, I was a prisoner of the Greyhound. But I made it and arrived safe and sound in Cortez, Colorado where I then caught a right from a transportation service to the office where my new job was in Southeast Utah. 

In the next 2 hours, I filled out paperwork and was on my way to the desert! I spent the next 3 weeks in the desert hiking, backpacking, camping, eating weird food (heart of sheep, anyone?), learning about land features, learning how to make fire with sticks and string, how to make string out of plants, etc. etc. But I also realized how much beauty there is when you're not surrounded my skyscrapers and towers in the city. I saw the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. I've seen how I've been living as a flat-lander my whole life and got to explore some canyons. It was incredible.

Of course, when you don't shower for 3 weeks you get to be a little dirty and stinky.                    
                            

End of my 2nd week

End of my 1st week