Provo Canyon: Stewart Falls

In mid-April we drove about 30 minutes South of SLC to Provo Canyon to do the Stewart Falls hike, near the Sundance Ski Resort and Mt. Timpanogos.  The hike is 3.5 miles roundtrip.  It is a pretty moderate hike through some beautiful terrain.  When we went, there was still a lot of snow on the ground which made the going a little tricky.  The falls is about 200 feet tall and quite lovely.

Beginning of the hike.  Mt. Timpanogos view.

View along the hike.

Hiking through snow!

Us. View.

Stewart Falls.

It's essential to pose this way by important landmarks (hi, Betts!).

Afterward, we went to the BYU Creamery which has fantastic ice cream.  We walked around BYU for a while, and then went to JCW's for dinner.  We decided to hit this place up because Jeff's initials are JCW.  The food was fine, but certainly not befitting Jeff's awesomeness.  But we did get the cheesy tourist pic, which is all that's really important.

Moab

In late March, we took a weekend trip down to Moab, a funky little town in Southern/Mid Utah, about 3 1/2-4 hours from SLC.  We left on a Saturday morning and arrived at a perfect time to eat our packed lunch in Arches National Park.  Moab is in close proximity to two National Parks, one state park, and a variety of public lands full of interesting things to see and do.

Devon.  In Arches NP.

Jeff.  In Arches NP.

Jeff chased this bird around going "When, when will you be still so I can take your picture?  Quoth the raven 'Nevermore!'"  True story.

After lunch, we hiked to Delicate Arch.  Though we'd seen it from a distance on a previous trip, this is the first time we saw it up close.  The hike is 3 miles roundtrip, but it mostly straight uphill/downhill.  Delicate Arch is one of Utah's more recognizable landmarks (it's even on our license plate), so the area was a bit crowded, but it was still a great site.

Delicate Arch

Troop of Boy Scouts Tebowing under Delicate Arch.

We then hiked to Landscape Arch and Navajo Arch, a little over 2 1/2 miles roundtrip.  We've done this hike before, but it's a fun one, and we wanted to find spot where we'd taken our picture in a heart-shaped indentation in the rock in 2009.  Success!  

2012

2009.  Please refrain from commenting on Devon's visible weight gain between 2009 and 2012.

Landscape Arch

This trail can be made into a long loop, but we decided to just come back the way we came to save some time as it was getting late.  Our last hike of the day was a short one to Broken Arch and Sand Dune Arch.

Broken Arch.  See at the top?  It's broken.

For dinner, we went to the Moab Brewery, which had great food and beer.  There was a huge line, but we were seated immediately in the bar area, which seems to be a not uncommon occurrence in Utah.  We were both big fans of their Rocket Bike American Lager.  They give you a discount on gelato, but Devon thought it was just mediocre.  At least there was a discount.


Sunday, we started out with a hike to Corona Arch, which is 3 mile in-and-out on BLM land.  The hike was moderate.  The only challenges were the steep switchback section at the beginning and the steep scramble up slickrock near the end, but there they have chains, ladders, and toeholds in the rock to assist you.  The arch itself was spectacular!  Also very cool was getting to watch the people rappelling from the top of the arch.  Definitely worth the trip.

Corona Arch from a distance.

Admiring desert landscape.  Thinkin' deep thoughts.

Rappellers on Corona Arch. 

Bonus Arch!  (Not actual name.)

Cacti all up in your face!

We then did the Negro Bill Canyon hike, which gets its rather unfortunate name because there was an African-American pioneer that settled there named William Granstaff.  We think maybe a change to "Granstaff Canyon" might be in order.  It was also the site of the Sagebrush Rebellion.  We hiked a total of 5 miles roundtrip to Morning Glory Arch.  The hike was relatively flat but crossed the river a number of times.  The Arch was quite long, but not as spectacular as others around.  Even in March, the afternoon in the canyon got quite hot, and we were pretty exhausted by the time we finished.

Jeff on the trail.

Canyon.

Morning Glory Arch.

Trail shot.

  
We drove into town and had an early dinner at the Wake & Bake Cafe and Moab Creamery.  The food and ice cream here were both excellent.  We then headed back to Salt Lake, tired but happy from a fun weekend.
  

Where the Heart Is

We're talking about our current digs in this post.  We live about a mile from our respective workplaces, near downtown Salt Lake City.  SLC is set up like a grid, with the streets numbered going north, east, south, and west of Temple Square at the northern end of the city.  So if someone tells you her address is 820 South 700 East, she lives 8.2 blocks south and 7 blocks east of the Temple.  It's actually a quite logical way to do things, but it caused some confusion when we first arrived ("We want 400 Street....but there are four 400 Streets!?!").  

We live on the west side of town, which has the reputation for being the "bad" side.  As we've found out, "bad" is a highly relative term in Utah.  Apparently no one here has ever been to Avondale or Newark*.  We've never felt unsafe in any way. We do live near some industrial buildings, but we also live across the street from a hipster bake shop that sells $3 delicious cookies, and we are walking distance from the SLC Farmer's Market, facts that bring much joy to Devon.  We are definitely pleased with our choice for our first home in Utah.

We're also the first tenants to live in our unit, so everything is new and doesn't break.  Win.  Here's the tour, in photos.

Living room.  We spend more time on the couch than we should.  Also note the throw pillows that appear to only be good for throwing.

Living room, part deux.

Kitchen and dining area

Blurryish kitchen close up.  Yea, those are homemade cookies.  Mmm.

Guest bedroom.

Guest bath.

Devon's life motto (she really likes bears).

Our bedroom, office/lounging area.

Our bedroom, bed.

Devon's favorite part of the apartment, the ginormous closet.

Our bathroom.  Note the monogrammed towels proving you can totally be "that couple" even without a name change.

Our bath/shower area.

Laundry room (in the unit).

The kicker:  our apartment has one of the best views in the city for a residential unit, and we have a great balcony to enjoy those views.  Want proof?

BAM!  That view just punched you in the face with its awesomeness.

We definitely haven't tired of looking out our window or sitting out on our balcony yet, especially when wine, cheese, and fresh bread are involved. 

We also get killer sunrises.

So that's our place.  Please note there is an extra bed and bath just waiting for you to come visit.

*Note: this is not to hate on either Avondale or Newark.  Just saying that for a number of reasons, they have worse living conditions and higher crime rates.  Liberal guilt: assuaged by a footnote.

Hola!

Hi everyone, it's Devon and Jeff.  We started this blog so that we can share with family and friends details and photos from the various adventures we have here in Utah and beyond.  We hope you enjoy it.