Saturday, July 14, 2012

Honeymoon Road Trip: Day 1

Even though Vince and I got married almost a year ago in September, we are just now taking our honeymoon. Between school full time and work full time, it just hasn't been able to happen until now! To celebrate, we are taking a 15 day road trip from Flagstaff up to Seattle, then slowly down the coast. I will post about each day, though not necessarily on that day! I feel like breaking it up will be the only way I'll actually post about the trip because it's a lot less daunting. Some pictures are taken with the iPhone and the other with my Canon Rebel T2i.

Vince and I somehow survived NINETEEN HOURS together in a car and didn't get into a single fight. For real. That never happens on long drives! He usually tells me a wrong direction, I call him stupid, and we both panic because we're going 80 miles per hour and I'm yelling at him. This time I accepted the fact that I would get wrong directions but we would still arrive at our destination. I'm kind of turning into a grown-up. Unsurprisingly, it made the trip much more pleasant and easy.

On Thursday morning after I had my final for my statistics class, I came home to clean the house for the wonderful people watching the dog/fish/house (thanks Melissa and Zach!) and finish packing. I was running around all crazy but somehow managed to get everything we needed done. I even decorated the car with window crayons!
1-5

We left town around 2:30 and hit the road for what we thought was going to be our camp at Yuba Lake State Park. Shortly into the drive it started raining and was wonderful.
IMG_1131
IMG_1134
IMG_1137
I've driven through the reservation many times and while I think it's beautiful, it's only beautiful for so long. This time, though, it was breathtaking. I couldn't believe it could be so gorgeous. The clouds were so richly colored and there was lightning everywhere. The sand/dirt is usually a light pink, but since it was wet it was a deep rich red. Needless to say, I fell in love with rain in the desert. (Vince took these pictures on my phone, by the way, I was driving!)

I wanted to make the drive fun and relaxing, so we made frequent stops. The main exciting place was The Glen Canyon Dam, which made Vince nervous because of the height!
IMG_1567
IMG_1559

IMG_1568
We drove across the 'new' bridge for the first time as well. For those of you who don't know, you used to drive across the dam, but because of national security and the fear of someone blowing it up, they built a fancy new bridge. It's such an odd thing for me because I've always driven over the dam and it's sad to think my kids won't get that kind of experience!
IMG_1563
Since Vince had never been before, we also went in the visitors center.
IMG_1572
IMG_1570
IMG_1574
When we got to Zion National Park, which I thought our campground was close to, I told Vince I'd drive another 10 miles before I stopped at a gas station to ask if our camp was close because I felt like we should have been there by then. After not finding it, I asked a lady that worked at a gas station if Yuba Lake was close and she said, "If you think 3 hours is close, then yes." I almost started crying. Vince and I were both really hungry and expected our drive to only be 4 1/2 hours so we could set up camp before dark. We ended up calling my dad (instead of using our phones...doh!) and he said we were indeed 3 hours away from where we wanted to be. So instead of driving the 3 hours, we drove an hour to the next camp site in Panguitch, Utah.

We got to the Hitch & Post around 9 and set up camp in the dark and made some dinner of pork, bell peppers, onions, spinach and a salad.
IMG_1583
We were both so excited to be able to be out of the car! I was also extremely excited to use the lantern and stove that we had bought. I grew up using these exact styles when we camped, so it was crazy to see that the design hasn't changed in years. Needless to say, I love them and Vince does now, too. We also enjoyed some gin and tonics that I got for an early birthday present (thanks Lynn and Kyle!) before we got ready for bed.
2-4
As I was setting up the lantern mantles, I hit them which made parts of it fall apart, causing a creepy smiley face!

Shortly after eating,  we got ready for bed and it started pouring again, but luckily we were cozy and in sleeping bags! If you are ever driving through Utah and need to camp around Panguitch, I highly recommend this place! The owner, Randy, was extremely nice and accommodating for us to show up so late (it was 10pm Utah time) and at the last minute. It was a great and quiet little camp spot!

11 comments:

  1. Ah I love it!!! Sucks you didn't get to camp in Zion but glad it worked out for you any ways!
    And it's funny, Ryan's cousin told him a few weeks ago she realized she needed to break up with her boyfriend when they had a fight on vacation. He laughed so hard and said "that's what vacation IS! I don't remember the last time we spent that long in the car together without fighting. Probably never."
    But then the next weekend we did eight hours there and six hours back and didn't fight either time ha ha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oops. Yuba. Too bad you didn't get to camp at Yuba.

      Delete
    2. I think some fighting means you are passionate...right?! Hehe But yes, I agree, that IS what vacation is! Those super annoying and super great times. Maybe you are growing up as well, with the no-fighting thing? haha

      Delete
    3. Even as a kid I remember loving AND dreading vacation and fighting with my brother practically the whole time. I think it's the stress of being in a foreign place combined with the tension and anticipation. Growing up... ha! NEVER!

      Delete
  2. After a year is not so long time I guess! Moreover the pleasure is you've made it possible in a very cool way. The view from Zion National Park is so beautiful. Hope it was great journey with the specialty of honeymoon :). Good luck for you and Vince.
    used cars

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ya, i'm so happy that this is what we decided to do. We could have taken a short crappy honeymoon right after the wedding, but this was so much better and worth the wait! Thank you!

      Delete
  3. blaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhh! THESE PICS ARE SO BEAUTIFUL! And you're in my neck of the woods! (or were, if you've moved on by now) be safe and have fun!!! omg lol I'm so excited about this whole road trip and I'm not even on it. hahaha .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I posted on an old post about SLC so I'll repost it here too and I'm about to email you haha: "I tried to convince Vince to let us meet up, but he wasn't having it! the campsite we were supposed to stay at was like an hour away and he wouldn't let me stop so soon after we started driving. Shit got crazy though and we ended up being in SLC for dinner but had no way to let you know we were there! We got PF Changs to go though and we saw the Rue 21! If that was my option for a Rue 21 I'd never go there, parking was freaking stupid."

      We have moved on though, we are now in Hood River, OR! I'm happy to let you live vicariously through my stories/pictures hehe The clouds were definitely working in my favor!

      Delete
    2. Oh, and never mind about PF Changs in SLC, we actually went in Boise! We ate at In & Out in SLC!

      Delete
  4. I've been so outta the blog loop recently :( I wanted to be sure to stop by and say hello and that I was thinking of you! A honeymooners road trip, HOW EXCITING!! you guys have fun! and be safe! the pictures are beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agh, me too! I have 155 blogs posts in my reader, and I don't follow too many blogs...they've just all added up! Thank you!!! =D

      Delete