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Take away from this trip, high elevation and thin air does NOT play around. Started the weekend with a quick and easy 6 mile hike but even that was pretty serious going from 9000ft to about 12000ft. Pikes Peak was next and it was a monster, it was 7 miles and 4400ft of elevation gain one way. The summit was at 14115ft and it was a crazy hike. Started the hike around 10 in shorts and a T-shirt, hours later I was bundled up in a coat, pants, and had to strap on the snowshoes. The hike itself was steep and it kicked my butt. I had to use the help at the very end to get up the final push to the summit but I count it as my first 14er even though I needed a bit of assistance. Saw a handful of creek crossings, beautiful peaks a few waterfalls and so much incredible scenery, it was a solid weekend and my calves and lungs hurt equally as much.

For the 4th of July this year, we decided to do an early morning hike to the hot springs in Spanish Fork Canyon. It was an easy 5 Mile hike round trip but it was a beautiful hike all around. Hiking along the river the whole time was pretty and it was cool as the sun finished rising. Once we got to the springs they looked packed at first but we kept up the trail and found a few more that we ended up getting all to ourselves for the better part of an hour. The pools, though a bit smelly were a great time, genuinely hot and comfy it made for a great time. The cool creek ran right beside the pools too and made for a perfect spot to cool off! It was an awesome little hike and the springs were great.

Did a quick and easy 6 mile hike throughout the mountains and lakes in the Uinta Mountains, there were so many lake that were named and unnamed. I probably walked past 20 lakes and ponds, some bigger than others but they were all beautiful especially with the mountain peaks in the background. In Clyde Lake I saw probably 25 or so brook trout that were surfacing for the mosquitos. Unfortunately the only rod I brought was for spinning and they couldn't care less for any of the lures I tried. No bites even and I lost 2 lures on the rocky bottom - not a good day for fishing. The hike was great thought and the drive up was pretty, always good to get out there.

After being a swifty for over 10 years I finally had the chance to go see her on tour. Allie and I bought tickets right when they came out and didn't sell them even though they were going for 5x what we paid. It was all it was hyped up to be and more, over 3 hours of her singing and performing. It was the Eras Tour and she played a few songs from all of her albums up to this point. Unreal experience and would 10/10 go again and plan to eventually.

The group finally decided to just do it and hike Mount Timp. I knew it was not going to be the easiest hike I have ever done but I was not expecting an 11 hour adventure. The scenery was fantastic, all the way up it was beautiful. We got to Emerald lake that was in a little bowl and that was amazing, a herd of mountain gots got less than 25 feet from us and one goat was hanging around with us while we ate a snack. The push up to the top was no joke and both sides of the trail were treacherous and deadly. We did a total of 16 miles and over 5000 feet of elevation gain, the way up was harder but the way down is where I really felt it. Haven't been this tired or sore in a while and my feet were wrecked. Would absolutely recommend to anyone who is wanting do do it though, I think you have to do it. The views, sheep, waterfalls and everything in between were worth it.

Yellowstone was the 5th national park I have been to in the States and it was amazing. We only got to do the western half of the park as we were only there for a weekend. Overall the park was absolutely amazing and was extremely unique. We stayed in an overpriced but fun lodge the first night we got there and then set up camp for the next 2 nights in our tent. The camping was so fun and it was a great site. DAY 1 On the first day we were there we hiked about 10-15 miles in and through some really impressive geyser basins. We started first thing on the West Thumb of the park. It was not something that was on the top of our list but we are 100% glad we stopped. The pools and springs were really cool and it was our first taste of the geothermal hotspots. Where we spent most of our first day was in the Upper Geyser Basin. We saw so many different geysers and were supper lucky to have seen a couple of them. Of course we saw Old Faithful and so many of the impressive pools in the area. We saw Beehive Geyser that only goes off every 36 hours or more, Castle Geyser that is every 14 hours, Sawmill Geyser that is quite irregular with a few hours between shows, Grand Geyser that erupts every 7 hours and Fountain Geyser we walked right into which has about a 7 hour delay. It would be impossible to name all the colored pools and springs that we saw but our favorites on day 1 were: Abyss Pool, Morning Glory Pool, Black Pool, Bluebell Pool, Doublet Pool, Chromatic Pool. We finished off day 1 with an evening drive through the grasslands to see a massive herd of buffalo, including a few that came right up to the car. DAY 2 Our second day was a full one as well. We woke up after a brisk but good night sleep in the tent, whipped up a quick breky of eggs and bacon and headed out. We started out the day with an easy 5 mile hike up to Mystic Falls. The trailhead started at another really cool section with a few more spectacular pools and small geysers, The falls themselves were very cool as well. Second thing we did which ended up being one of the best parts to the trip was hike up to the overlook to Grand Prismatic Spring which was worth all the hype. Amazing view. After lunch, we went up to the Norris Geyser Basin which was also fantastic, this one had fewer of the blue pools but had so many different steam vents and it looked completely different, the vents sounded like the earth breathing. Right before heading back to the tent we stopped by Gibbon Falls and looked at those for a bit, also really really impressive. Our favorite pools from day 2 were: Black Diamond Pool, Sapphire Pool, Silex Spring, Cistern Spring. DAY 3 Our last day here was a little short but still very worth it, we went up to Mammoth Hot Springs. Again, it had some similarities to the things we saw day 1 and 2 but was also extremely unique to that section of the park. As the name suggests, this spot had some massive springs and pools that have built up over a pile of years. We then ate a quick lunch, took a pic by the sign and drove home.

Was able to do one last hike in the Utah mountains before the snow came. Made it just by a day. The hike was about 8 miles and just under 3000 ft of elevation gain. It wasn't easy but I cranked it out in just 3 hours of moving time. Spent about a half flying the drone around which is always fun to do! There was snow on the peaks and in some patches and the fall colors were in full force and it was a really pretty trail.

Took one of the last chances of the year to do a hike without snow gear. After an hour of driving through the fall colors we stopped and did a short but great hike. What started in a forest of yellowed aspens shortly turned into evergreens, because of the shade, the recent snowfall hadn't melted, so the last mile was icy snowpack. The way up was tricky but it was fun sliding on the way down.

For our 5th anniversary we did a weekend trip through Las Vegas to Death Valley. Las Vegas was a blast, we were only there long enough for a nice dinner and a bit of time to chill. We went to a new place called Din Tai Fung and it was really good. The dumplings were steamed in bamboo bins and were fresh and delicious. We stayed at a new Marriott hotel by the strip and it was great too! Death Valley National Park was the next park on our list to check off. We were only there for a couple days but got to see a lot. After arriving in the park we went straight into a 7 mile hike down a canyon and up another. There were a lot of cool things to see and it was a bit challenging. Crazy that the weather was above 20C/68F degrees the entire time. We then went and checked into our sweet hotel. We got to stay in a really nice cottage that was right in the park and after an overpriced dinner and quick swim in the outdoor pool we headed back to the hotel and watched 3 hours worth of Diners Drive-Ins and Dives. In the morning we went and hiked through some sand dunes, not much to say about this except they were really cool! Lake Manly was the last stop on our trip before heading home. This was actually really cool to see because it rarely happens and the last time it was there was in 2005. Usually there is no water here making it a huge salt flat but there was over a foot of water in some places.

Though our trip to LA was brief, we got to experience the food scene pretty well. We went to a couple street food markets, ate at some fancier places and had a great time trying different styles of food. Holbox made our top 5 as a Michelin star (Bib Gourmand) place with unbelievable food taste and quality. We went to a seafood place in a market that appeared on triple D that was also amazing. For dinner the one night in Hollywood was a swank Italian place that was also phenomenal. The rest of the trip was fun but I am not the biggest fan of LA. The traffic was awful, homeless people abounded and it was overall a bit of a dump. Hotel was super nice and the area we were staying was nice. Fun place to visit with the some of the cool visitor things to do but would not be able to be there long.

This was the first of hopefully many winter campouts in the Bookcliffs with the boys. We did a quick 1 night trip out to the dessert late Friday night. After setting up camp (A fire and a tarp) we hung out around the fire, gathered enough wood for the night, filled up on some hot chocolate and went to bed. I kept very warm and comfy all night even though it got down to about -8C (18F) but could only sleep for a couple hours. I think we got about 8 hours of sleep total between the 4 of us. We spend probably 10 hours total of driving around and looking for animals and we saw about everything there was to see. Over 300 head of deer with about 30 bucks total, a bunch of shooters and a couple no brainers. Saw a herd of about 30 Bison, a couple Elk and then a herd of about 20 Big Horn Sheep. We also spent a lot of time sending hot lead down the range, cant have a Bookcliff trip without some time set aside for shooting.

What started out as a fishing trip turned quickly turned into a casting trip. The Green River was gorgeous but the fish were not biting on anything. Might have to use a boat next time because where we were was fished pretty hard. It was great using my new fly rod for the first time and was just great to get in the water, just wish I would have brought in a trout. Got to do a little bit of exploring at Flaming Gorge too, sitting on hundred foot cliffs and climbing through deep narrow canyons was a blast. The campsite was also great aside from the $8 firewood.