MikeSandy.net

2013 News Archive

Zion National Park

Dan, Wiebke, Mindy and I traveled to Southern Utah to spend the weekend exploring Zion National Park. Zion had been the park that I had actually visited the least during my time in Utah, so this trip was a long time coming.

On Saturday, we hiked to the Emerald Pools, which were cool, but not quite as good as the photos had suggested. From there, we continued on to Angels Landing. Dan and Wiebke made the 0.5 mile trip along the knife-edge ridge to Angels Landing. Mindy and I stayed back at Scout Lookout.

The highlight of the weekend for me, however, was our foray into The Narrows on Sunday. Mindy and I had walked a small section of The Narrows six years ago, but not enough to make it feel like an adventure. This time, we didn't go too much farther, but far enough that The Narrows took on that otherworldly feel that makes hiking it such a special experience. We'll definitely be back to hike even more of The Narrows.

Although Zion was overwhelmingly crowded, we still had a great time exploring this unique park. I'm not sure if I've ever been to another place that so perfectly combines the green of the canyon bottom with the red of the surrounding cliffs and monoliths. Zion really made a great impression on me this weekend.

Great Seats to an NBA Game

Tonight, I decided to take advantage of the poor weather and the poor opponent to get a good value on some great seats to a Utah Jazz game. So, for about 50% off the face value of the tickets, I was able to cross "great seats to an NBA game" off my bucket list. We sat in row "4", right behind the New Orleans Hornets' bench. (Row "4" is actually seven rows from the floor.) It was simply awesome to watch an NBA game from that close.