Friday, September 5, 2008
Seriously, So Blessed
I found this blog today as I was putzing around online reading people's blogs and jumping from one blog to the next. It is hilarious! My friend Brandi is from Utah, so she has tons of friends and family back in Utah and lots of fun blogs to link to (which is how I found this one). This blog pokes fun at Mormon Stay at Home Mom's, but I can tell you it's not just Mormon Stay at Home Mom's that it applies to, it applies to a much wider audience. Check it out if you haven't seen it before.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Iao Valley
This afternoon I went hiking in Iao Valley. I'd been up into the valley (past the paved visitor's trail) once before. Last time I was up there, Rudy was showing me the trail (the trail is not well marked and there are a lot of side trails) and it was pouring down rain. We couldn't go up the last part because of the rain and mud. Today it was not raining, but the it was pretty hot and really humid the first half.
West Maui Mountains:
I'm heading up this valley:
After hiking a ways you can see that the Iao needle is not really a spire like it appears from the first view.
The trail through a sea of ferns:
A view up further into the valley:
I'm headed towards the bowl you can see at the base of those cliffs. This photo makes it all look closer than it is. It's actually several miles as all of these cliffs mean that you have to walk way around.
Wild raspberries made an excellent snack about halfway up.
After climbing way up, there were awesome views of the mountains all around and the valley I hiked through.
At the base of this mountain, around the corner to the left (out of the picture), is where I started.
The trip up went fine, getting down from the ridge I had climbed up onto was rather interesting. It was an extremely steep, muddy slope. At one point I found myself hanging from a tree when I lost my footing, wondering if I would be taking the express way down! Luckily, I was able to swing back into the hill and get some leverage again. Exciting times! If Eleanor Roosevelt is right and a person should "Do one thing each that scares you," then I believe I have met my quota for the week, because I was terrified coming down that slope :)
West Maui Mountains:
The Iao Needle:
I'm heading up this valley:
Iao Needle again:
After hiking a ways you can see that the Iao needle is not really a spire like it appears from the first view.
The trail through a sea of ferns:
A view up further into the valley:
I'm headed towards the bowl you can see at the base of those cliffs. This photo makes it all look closer than it is. It's actually several miles as all of these cliffs mean that you have to walk way around.
Wild raspberries made an excellent snack about halfway up.
After climbing way up, there were awesome views of the mountains all around and the valley I hiked through.
At the base of this mountain, around the corner to the left (out of the picture), is where I started.
The trip up went fine, getting down from the ridge I had climbed up onto was rather interesting. It was an extremely steep, muddy slope. At one point I found myself hanging from a tree when I lost my footing, wondering if I would be taking the express way down! Luckily, I was able to swing back into the hill and get some leverage again. Exciting times! If Eleanor Roosevelt is right and a person should "Do one thing each that scares you," then I believe I have met my quota for the week, because I was terrified coming down that slope :)
The Pali Trail
A couple months ago I hiked the Pali trail, but I forgot to post the photos.
Here's the start of the trail, looking across Papalaua Beach with the island of Lanai in the distance.
Looking down into the water at the reef. It looked a lot better through my polarized sunglasses. Unfortunately, I do not have a polarized lens for my camera :(
Notice the grass and the rocks in the foreground? You'll see more in the next couple photos. People laugh at me when I tell them a lot of Maui looks like Nevada with an ocean, but seriously, don't you think all the brown grass and rock is reminiscent of Nevada?
I live in Kihei, which is on the far side of this bay.
My place is about an inch to the right of the marshland pond/lake you see on the edge of the bay.
Here's the start of the trail, looking across Papalaua Beach with the island of Lanai in the distance.
Looking down into the water at the reef. It looked a lot better through my polarized sunglasses. Unfortunately, I do not have a polarized lens for my camera :(
Notice the grass and the rocks in the foreground? You'll see more in the next couple photos. People laugh at me when I tell them a lot of Maui looks like Nevada with an ocean, but seriously, don't you think all the brown grass and rock is reminiscent of Nevada?
I live in Kihei, which is on the far side of this bay.
My place is about an inch to the right of the marshland pond/lake you see on the edge of the bay.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Man I Love the Olympics!
I love the Olympics and I look forward to it every other year when it comes around. These games are off to a great start. The opening ceremonies were something else- I especially loved the drummers at the beginning, the Taiji circles and the performers running around the globe. The events this weekend have been great too. Both the Men's and Women's Road Cycling were nail biters the last ten minutes even though the American's weren't in the running for medals at that point. The men's basketball game against China was awesome. Beach volleyball has been good, swimming has been great, synchronized diving was good even if the Americans just missed a medal, and of course, I always love the gymnastics. And I must mention the men's 4 x 100m relay- way to kick France's ass and make them eat their words!
Great job team USA! Keep up the great work, you make us proud!
Great job team USA! Keep up the great work, you make us proud!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Burn the House Down!
.
What would you do if you woke up and saw this above your bed?
Many of you are aware of my feelings about spiders. In fact, some of you have been around when I have found one (or you have come running thinking someone must surely be dead for there to be that loud of a scream). Although I believe Christy is the only one who has had the misfortune of being on the phone with me when I discovered a spider (sorry Christy!).
It's been a while since I first saw this photo (no, this did not come from my house- Thank the Lord!), but I think about it every so often. My thoughts revolve around one issue- what would I do if I found this in my house? I have not come up with a satisfactory answer yet. The most logical thing I can come up with would be Chemicals- LOTS of chemicals. But I can tell you burning down the house or simply abandoning it and all of it's contents are high on my list.
So- what would you do?
What would you do if you woke up and saw this above your bed?
Many of you are aware of my feelings about spiders. In fact, some of you have been around when I have found one (or you have come running thinking someone must surely be dead for there to be that loud of a scream). Although I believe Christy is the only one who has had the misfortune of being on the phone with me when I discovered a spider (sorry Christy!).
It's been a while since I first saw this photo (no, this did not come from my house- Thank the Lord!), but I think about it every so often. My thoughts revolve around one issue- what would I do if I found this in my house? I have not come up with a satisfactory answer yet. The most logical thing I can come up with would be Chemicals- LOTS of chemicals. But I can tell you burning down the house or simply abandoning it and all of it's contents are high on my list.
So- what would you do?
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