Zion: The Narrows (Bottom Up)

This is my first of three posts about hiking in Zion National Park. On the first day we decided to attempt The Narrows due to the fact that the chance of rain increased as the days wore on and that trail become very dangerous and even can be shut down in the event of heavy rainfall. 

 

The Narrows can be completed two ways. The first is the top-down route which is about 17 miles long and can be completed in a day or two. The second is the bottom-up route which begins and ends at the The Temple of Sinawava Trailhead. In a day you can hike as far (or farther) as Big Springs. This takes you past Orderville Canyon and Wall Street. Our group of friends hiked as far as within 20 minutes of Big Springs but decided to turn around due to time and daylight remaining. I would love to do it again, only this time I would explore as far as the end of Wall Street and then turn down Orderville Canyon and explore as far as I could that way. We were not able to explore Orderville on this hike. 

 

To begin, one starts at an outfitting store and rents some bitchin' boots, complete with Neoprene socks. Super sexy.  Not to worry though, as they will be hidden under the cold water almost the entire time. And that cold water is going to feel mighty refreshing. Also for rent are walking sticks which were are an absolute lifesaver. There is even a waterproof backpack bag (we passed, but they were available). Why all this water preparation? The Virgin River is your trail. You will be in water, and you will be in water a lot.

After entering the park it's a shuttle ride to the trailhead of about 40 minutes. 

The first mile of the hike from the Temple of Sinawava Trailhead is paved and this is when you look the most awesomely awkward in your booties.

The next section is just under two miles and will find you at Orderville Canyon.

Within two miles of Orderville you will come to Big Springs, passing through the popular Wall Street section of the Narrows. 

Since we didn't quite make it to Big Springs we can't say that we hiked ten miles...except that we did walk from our vacation rental to the park, a distance of one mile. A perfect 10! I'd like to think we could also garner some extra points from hiking against the flow of water for 4.5 miles and then trying not to be swept off of our feet by its rushing underneath us on the way back. ;)

More pictures below!

Hike details*:

Total Distance: About 10 miles

Total Time: It took us about 6 hours, I believe. 

Elevation Change: Unknown for our section of the hike.

Hiked on Saturday, September 8, 2012.

*Unfortunately due to the fact that I have not yet installed MyTracks on my new phone I do not have a normal printout like I usually do of all of our statistics. I wish I had. That being said, the battery most likely would not have lasted for the duration of the hike and I would have been surprised if the GPS/location services could have kept track of us in the canyon.

Second Wedding Anniversary: Napa Valley, CA

I loved the garden at our B&B.

Jeremy and I celebrated our second anniversary in Napa, CA enjoying the beautiful downtown and the surrounding wine country. First, we headed to Denver to visit friends, check out the rental market for our return in late September, and attended the wedding of two very great friends.

J and I at James and Kristy's wedding in Golden, CO.

Note on a tree across from where we spent some time at a coffee shop when we arrived in Napa.

J on the balcony of our B&B room, preparing the champagne and truffles. :)

Champagne from Napa Valley.

Port was set out in the living room of our B&B when we arrived back from our evening walk.

Fresh water spout...time to prepare for all the wine!

From the B&B garden.

From the garden again.

Grapes growing in the parking lot.

Baldacci Vineyards.

The grapes almost read for the crush at Baldacci.

Baldacci uses a cave system to maintain a constant temperature for the aging barrels of wine without using very much electricity.

Silenus Vintners, a collaboration of winemakers...we loved the wine here and bought two: Cielo Malibu NV Woodstock "Honey Pie" and Mario Bazan 2009 Sauvignon Blanc.

Our tasting at Silenus was to consist of 7 wines, but we had 10. :)

After Silenus we headed to lunch and then William Hill Winery.

William Hill had beautiful views.

Relaxing at William Hill.

One more winery to go for the day! Sing a long in the tour van!

Here we are: Black Stallion Winery.

Black Stallion Winery has an educational vineyard where visitors can taste several varietals of grape right off the vine. Here I am with a personal fav.

I forget which grape this is, but it's lovely. :)

The educational vineyard.

The Black Stallion Winery.

Dinner at Celadon.

Happy 2nd anniversary, babe!

Ras el Hanout

I've mentioned this spice before in the post for North African Fish Stew and wanted to provide the recipe for it. I'm finally finding my way around to it! Ras el Hanout is not so much a single spice as a blend of spices that is used in a lot of north African cooking. This particular recipe uses 8 different spices. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

 

Combine and store in an airtight container. 

Party at Coors Field!

Our company holds an annual party in a certain city every year that is a big celebration of our enthusiasm and attitude. This year that party was in Denver at Coors Field. There was free food and drinks, many friends, and a lot of time to explore Coors Field.

J walking on to the field.

Out on the field.

J making a very important call.

Later on in the pitching...J did well throwing lower 60s.

View looking into the dugout.

Chillin.

J even bought a Coors Field blanket! It's one he's looked at purchasing for a while and he just happened to ask about it tonight. Turns out they don't really sell them any more but they gave him the decoration one. :D

Baseball Games...finally!

With all the travels we've planned and all the crazy coincidences and fun life has thrown at us we haven't had the opportunity to go to many baseball games this year.
However this month provided us two chances! The first was earlier this month at Wrigley Field. We attended with a friend and his dad. It was windy but awesome. We were there to cheer on the Reds, who did win. :D
J and I are taking a lot of this month to be in Denver for appointments, weddings, games, etc. The Rockies were playing the Marlins when we were able to go and the Rox were at home, so we met up with our wonderful friend Jess and made it out to a game. It was great AND the Rox won (which is a big deal this year people!) 

My first time at Wrigley.

View from Wrigley.

Coors Field Celebration: Taken by our lovely friend, Jess. We came back to Denver and all the sudden the Rockies start winning...coincidence?!

Horsetooth Falls Hike

J, myself, and our friends Casey, Kristy, and James took a break from wedding chores and fun to hike in Horsetooth Mountain Open Space. Our goal was Horsetooth Falls. It was only a 3.4 mile trail if you completed the loop, or you could just hike to the falls and back for a mile or so less of a hike. The elevation gain is only about 1,000 ft. The trail was not busy on that day (though it was gray and sprinkling occasionally). It was a beautiful diversion! 

 

Park at the Horsetooth Mountain Open Space Trailhead. Take the Horsetooth Falls Trail to the falls themselves. There will be a sign mentioning the short trail that branches out from the main trail that takes you right to the falls just as you are about to climb up on the Falls Trail. When you are done playing in the water you can make your way back to the original trail and head upwards. At the top you can take another jaunt over to the top of the falls. To complete the loop from there, continue on Spring Creek Trail to Soderberg Trail to Horsetooth Rock Trail back to the trailhead. 

 

:)

J at the bottom of the falls, playing in the refreshing water.

The Horsetooth Falls. The sky was really gray so this is not a great picture as it makes them look like a trickle. And it was...but it was still enough to be soaked if you ended up underneath them. We want to go back in spring and really check them out!

Kristy, James, myself, and J

The view from the top of the falls. This is one of many little pools that trickle into other pools that eventually become Horsetooth Falls.

Meadow view from the west side of the loop (either the Soderberg trail or Horsetooth Rock Trail leg)

Berry Crisp

I love my blackberry cobbler but I think I love this crisp even more! I made it with blueberries and blackberries and it was wonderful with vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:    

1.5 lbs blackberries (give or take, you want to fill the pie dish comfortably)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 packets of instant oatmeal
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Drizzle of maple syrup


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Place berries in the baking dish.
Combine butter, sugar, flour, oatmeal, salt and syrup until crumbly. (Just use your hands!)
Bake until topping is golden (30-35 minutes).