Momma Don't Take My Kodachrome Away

Recently me and a few friends went on an adventure to southern Utah. Lindsey had the brilliant idea to get away for a bit of a red rock vacation the weekend before Memorial Day when everything gets crazy. I think we all needed a break from our lives in the SLC, would hopefully have a bit of sun, and I had been having a hiking craving something fierce.

After the most amazing game of trunk tetris I have ever seen, we set out on our little adventure. As we got further and further south, the more happy I was to get off the grid. Seriously the level of connectivity that we have in these modern times is great, but it can also be oppressive. Sometimes it is nice to just focus on your friends and your connectivity to them.

That first day we encountered a few problems. After a heart pounding ride on the beautiful, yet slightly terrifying Route 12, we arrived at Calf's Creek. It looked like the perfect place for our adventure and the hiking looked very
promising. Unfortunately, all of the camping grounds were full :( We had planned for this a bit. We headed towards Escalante where the next closest campgrounds were.

We checked the first. It was a bit of a dirt pit, next to a construction area and pretty crowded. There were a few spot available, but we decided to go to some spots further up a canyon for more of a true camping experience. The drive went on a bit longer than we expected and the outside temperature gauge kept dropping. Finally we reach the campground for which we were headed. It was beautiful with a lake. However, the temp had dropped 10 degrees, there were bear boxes, and SNOW! We moved back down the canyon to another site we were considering and the story was the same, but with the addition of a creepy middle aged single camper guy. In the interest of preserving our lives and virtue, we headed back to the construction pit... which was now FULL. We got a tip from the ranger and headed towards Escalante Outfitters which we were told had cabins and tent spots.

When we arrived at Escalante Outfitters, it looked very promising. The cabins has nice little porches, and the proprietors were already drinking by the counter (which is where they also sold liquor... in Utah). All I wanted was a cabin and to relax with a cocktail. No cabins available, but they did have tent spots. Now all I wanted was to get my tent set up, and then to relax with a cocktail. We got a nice little spot next to the chicken coup (no rooster though so we could sleep late), and got to the much needed drink (I declared tonight's cocktail hour started at 8).

While hanging out on the grounds we befriended a great couple from the Chicago area, and a young doctor from New York. We began by making fun of them (our international sign of friendship) and then offering them a drink (our international sign of friendship). I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that when asked what we had, we responded,"Beer, wine, gin, vodka, and whiskey." We totally forgot about the rum in the car. We drank, discussed the secret that is Utah (Shhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!), Sammi had stumble #1, and we went to sleep.

I the morning we decided to head to Kodachrome Basin, which had been our original destination until they did not have any spots on Friday. We had been told when we were making our ressie that there were spots on Saturday, and we were hoping that was still the case. If not, on to Bryce Canyon. After avoiding an old Datamark coworker (I was dirty and hungover. People ask me why I always try to look good, and it's because I run into people everywhere), and a great breakfast from the EO cafe, we were off.

We arrived at Kodachrome and were in luck for once. There was a campsite! We got our tents up despite the wind that had been plaguing us all weekend, decided on a hike, and packed our lunches. The hike that we decided on was probably about a 5 mile loop. The hike was extremely beautiful (as you can see from the pictures), and it was exactly what we needed... until Lindsey rolled her ankle jumping of a rock... 10 feet before the point where we had to turn around and go back.

If you know Lindsey's trick ankle, it's no joke. We could be in trouble. Luckily one of us had some hangover remedy pills, i.e. ibuprofen. Lindsey had some and elevated her ankle while the rest of us ate lunch and let everything kick in. Amanda and I found her a walking stick and Sammi acted as the human crutch. We took a nice leisurely pace back which was actually great. Amanda and I got to drink our post lunch beers and I think it was a bit easier to take in all of the beautiful scenery as compared to our brisk early pace. We made it back, got some ice and chewy lemonheads (which are weird), and all was well.

You know what happens next... cocktail hour I declared started at 6 and went until whenever we felt the need to cook something. The wind and and were not really conducive to the relaxing atmosphere that we needed at this time. We noticed that there was a grass patch by the bathrooms and showers that were seemed to not be as windy, and what wind was there was not full of sand. We bought our box of wine and our cocktails over and had the best conversations.

We were feeling much better around dinner time. It was getting chilly so I slipped into my Ace and Gary AGD long johns (and of course took pictures). We had some ridiculously delicious shrimp gumbo. Sammi was the bartender and was whipping up some mighty tasty cocktails (even when it came down to water mixer for me). She also fell two more times. After the final fall it was time to go to sleep. One issue I forgot to mention was that our air mattress had been deflating all trip during the night even though mine was only being used for the second time. That and the cold made the sleep a little rough, but I only woke up once, threw my coat over my head, and went back to sleep.

We went home the next day after a great trip. Amanda and I were super gross and I think only changed once as we really tried to embrace the gross tragedy. We had gained numerous inside jokes, a new understanding of each other, some Facebook friends, and a much needed break from the city. Also, apparently it was rainy up in the SLC that weekend and then we had a late snow storm that week. My forehead and nose were just starting to peel from the long hike. Only in Utah.