Goblin Valley camping trip!

So Harry and Sarah and I went on a camping trip to Goblin Valley. It was pretty sweet. We first went to Wild Horse Canyon, and then to the famous Goblin Valley.Heres some pictures and videos to give you a taste of our experience

Intrepid packer Harrison

our trusty steed - the Tacoma

Nothing better eating breakfast in victory stance

(Japan)

posing trying to block out the ugly camper behind me

Here is looking back at the beginning of the Canyon hike - it was about an 8 mile loop

Me having fun just "a randin' around!"

this was a natural desire for everyone with all of the cool rock formations

this was one of the more narrow parts - this was a pretty neat part of the hike

we went to the right

When i put the camera on timer it fell over and it took the picture before i could set it back up and get back to the group, but i like this picture anyways!

Men climb rock

me testing to see if this hole in the rock wall was a good place to set it for a timer... but i like this shot too!

Sarah is just awe-inspired by Harrison's agility

The one thing deserts have that is pretty is how many different colors the rocks and dirt can be. here it may be hard to make out, but this rock shelf was very purple

Now this is our first look at Goblin Valley, peppered with lots of these odd rock formations and tons of people just "a randin' around!" (inside joke of the trip)

I decided to shimmy down a different way here

well, there it is! it was another very fun trip. I'm pretty sure we would all go to the same area again. see you next time!

Lasik eye surgery

So this last week i got Lasik eye surgery. It was pretty interesting. it only took a few minutes to do. the part where they actually laser'd my eye to adjust the "prescription" only took 15 seconds for each eye. That thursday i pretty much slept and listened to John Bytheway. Heres a picture of me and the goggles they gave me on the day of my surgery

Because my eyes are small and deep set, they had a hard time getting suction for a certain part of the surgery (i think to cut a flap of the cornea), they bruised my eyes and so i have (still) red spots around my eyes. It looks pretty freaky actually - like a zombie or a mad scientist. I am hoping to do a prank or two with them before they heal

If i do a scary face it is pretty frightening.
and i'll find out Thursday my actual eye quality. but i'm pretty sure i have at least 20/20. I can see better right now than i used to be able to with my contacts in.

Skiing in The Canyons

This last Thursday was the first "reading day" where there was no finals or classes scheduled so that students could study. We decided to use this first one to relax a little bit and so we went skiing! It was Harry Douglass, Sarah Whittier, and Phil Gulbrandsen, and I, and we sure had a blast.

It certainly was a beautiful day to be skiing

All set and pumped!

well today i just got my dry-top in the mail (my blue "shirt" that i'm wearing below), and i was so excited when i put it on (to make sure it fit) that i just continued until i had on all of my gear and was sitting in my kayak

. Pretty sad when i can get excited about just sitting in my living room in kayaking gear, but whatever. (this is also a good answer to Karene's comment asking if i could fit my legs in my kayak. Yes! and very comfortably

see you on the river!

My New Kayak!

So this Wednesday i went and picked up my new Riot Astro 54 Kayak in SLC, and it makes me happy just to see it in the corner. Heres a picture of it

yeah it is pretty sweet - it is a playboat, in that it is designed to be able to do tricks. I hope to be able to do some in the not too distant future. If you want to see this boat in action, i have a link here with an awesome video with whitewater professional Steve Fisher.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lez9LNNQWC4&feature=related

the best parts to see him putting the Astro to good use are 5:16 and 6:30. (4:30 is good too, as well as 3:43)

Hope to post some pictures with me doing stuff in a river too! just gotta wait for my drytop to come in the mail so i don't freeze my butt off... :)

I Love Kayaking

This is not my new Kayak (I should have it Wednesday), nor is it on a river but in the pool... but it still makes me excited so i thought i'd post the pictures

I'm about to launch into the pool - one of the guys in the club was nice enough to let me borrow his boat and gear for a bit. This boat was too small and i liked my paddle better...

heres me (with my paddle) trying to do a stern squirt  (where my boat is vertical).
As soon as i get my new boat i'll post pictures and then more when i get to go for the first time!