Hiking Adventures in Cedar

I'm pretty sure I am such a slacker. This post should have been up here a month ago. But, alas, I am a college student...taking 18 credits, working 12-15 hours a week, volunteering some, and maintaining a healthy social life...thus, I hardly have time to blog. But this adventure really was pretty epic and I figure it's better late than never, yes?

Here's the story:

SUU used to have this lovely thing called a Fall Break. We would get a weekend off-usually Thursday and Friday-during October (yes, this break is specifically for all the hicks here in Southern Utah who count down the days before the deer hunt begins). That Fall Break is a much needed hiatus in the mass of drudgingly long and painful school days between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. However, SUU decided to hate us this year and take away our Fall Break.

Lame. Lame. Lame.

However (and this is a big however), my family is pure awesomeness. They figured that since I couldn't come to them, they would come to me. I know! They really do love me! They came on a Thursday and picked me right up from class to go eat at this Thai restaurant in town (yeah...I got a spiciness level of 4 out of 10 and I thought I was going to die-snot and tears were flowing, I tell you). I had to go to work after that, but I joined them that night for delish dutch oven. The next day, after I got out of my classes, we hiked Cascade Falls. It was super beautiful and fun (forgot the camera...sorry). More incredible dutch oven for dinner. Plus friends and family. It was so good.

Our Saturday hike was the truly epic part, so that's where I'll spend most of my time. We hiked Rattlesnake Creek/Ashdown Gorge, totaling around 11 miles. The hike was so pretty. I loved it.

Before I present the pictures I'll tell you the story of the hike. Trust me, you'll want to read this one:

I can't say it enough, the hike was really just breathtakingly gorgeous. My family usually hikes in the red rock area. And this one had red rock but it was mostly mountainous terrain (oh man, I sound so earth-y right now!). So we were about three miles into the hike when we crossed through a field and started descending the mountain through this woodsy-ish area. The trail was fairly narrow so we were going single file. I was second in line, with about7 or 8 people directly behind me.

Right before the trail made a sharp turn to the right, I glanced down at my feet and noticed a few bees swarming around a quarter sized hole opening in the dirt. Honestly, I should have said something. But, seriously, doesn't everybody hone in on potentially dangerous things no matter how obscure they might be??

Apparently not because a few steps down the trail my friend Mike started stringing together some Mormon swears.

"Dang it! Fetch! I just got freaking stung by a bee! Crap!" (yeah, I haven't heard "fetch" since 2002 either...but he said it).

Heather immediately assumed that Mike was lying. "Whatever," she insisted. I couldn't tell either way so I just kept on hiking. That is, until Heather started with the screaming. She ripped off her backpack and threw it at Mike. Then she started tearing at her clothes.

It was then that we all realized we had a swarm of bees after us. So we started sprinting down the trail, praying that we were somehow faster than our attackers. After running for a little bit, I stopped to make sure Heather was okay. Cause that's the kind of awesome sister that I am. But as we were looking at her back and Mike's knee (where they had been stung), I felt this forceful, stinging prick.

Right. On. My. Butt.

I don't think I've screamed as loud or danced as vigorously as I did then. My arms were flailing everywhere while I screamed and shouted at the top of my lungs. After calming down, I got the intruder out of the lining of my shorts. My lovely mother checked my behind for the stinger, but found nothing. It just hurt. A lot.

Luckily, Mike, Heather and I were the only ones to get stung. But we had to hike the remaining 8 miles of the hike with our stings pulsating with pain. And, because of the location of my sting, I was able to endure plenty of teasing about my rear end. Here's one of my favorites:

Pa: This trail is getting pretty narrow.
Me: Yeah. Good thing none of us are really fat.
Mike: Well, except for your left cheek.
Me: Oh my gosh. I hate you, Mike.
Pa: Kim, just turn the other cheek.

Despite the fact that they were referring to my butt, it was pretty funny. Anyway. On to the pictures!

This was at the first of the hike. The view was spectacular.

This is my roommate Amanda. I love her.
And also, this is my brother Eric. I love him too.
Eric, in true Eric-fashion, called Amanda "Amber"
or "Amy"
or "Ashley"
the entire hike.
I'm pretty sure he just wanted to get some.
He's pretty skillful at that.
Obviously.
I think it's true love.

See the old man in the rock?
I am totally kissing him...well, his chin.
You get the point.
Clearly, I'm very skilled at getting some as well.

This is my Cedar City family. Well, like a quarter of them
(the other ones are wimpy and wouldn't have made it on the hike).
But these ones are pretty rockin'. I love them.

These are members of my real family. I love them even more.
They are so incredibly awesome.

Sigh.

Family is the best.

And I get to see them this weekend too.
And it will probably take me a month to write about that trip as well.
Oh well.
Good story, right?

Oh, the Town of Cedar

A week or two ago I went on a date. As my date and I were talking he asked me a very interesting question.

"What's your favorite thing about Cedar?" he asked.

And he was serious.

Honestly, I didn't know what to say. At that moment I could only think of all the things I hate about Cedar. Like how there's only one and half decent radio stations. And how it's always outrageously windy here. And how the running here sucks (everywhere you run is uphill; there's no avoiding it). And how Lin's (the local grocery store) no longer gives SUU students the 10% off discount.

And to tell you the truth, I can't remember what I told him was my favorite thing. Because I could not for the life of me think of one.

However, I have since pondered this question and, as of today, I have a few things to add to my "Why I (for some weird reason) Really Do Love Cedar" List. Here they are:

This morning I woke up, threw on my running shoes and went running (yes, up several large hills today...no wonder my calves are so awesome). Now, on any given day I might see a tractor or two on my run. But today I saw like 15. I was a little surprised by this outrageous number until I got to main street and saw this:

Yes, in the hickishness that is Cedar they have an annual Livestock and Heritage Festival. As a part of the celebrations (?) they herd a mass of nearly 1,000 sheep more than two miles down main street. Sure, it creates hell for anyone wanting to drive somewhere, but who cares? At least we are all getting an opportunity to get "a glimpse into the Old West."

But seriously. A sheep parade? Who would've thought? It's so ridiculously random that it just works. Disclaimer: Cedar is nothing like Lehi. As many of you know, Lehi is overrun with sheep. This morning was my first time seeing a sheep in Cedar. So, really, Lehi is a way more hickish town than Cedar is by a long shot.

After my lovely sheep-filled run I showered and then my roomie, Amanda and I headed over to Lin's to purchase some items while not receiving a discount. After our groceries were in the car we started to drive home. But then we remembered the Ye Olde Catholic Thrift Shoppe.

We have been wanting to visit here for some time but they close at 4 so we never really had a good chance. But today we remembered and it was around noon, so we had plenty of time. Who knew what kind of wondrous things we'd find. I got two sweaters, two coats and a skirt. And all of that was only $5 total. (If I get bored I'll take pics of the finds and post them here.) Anyone who knows me knows that I love second hand stores (mostly because they are super cheap. Plus if you don't get anything good, at least you get a good laugh for the items that are there...meaning that at some point in time, someone actually wore it). But this one was pretty dang fantastic. And it is definitely on my favorites list. I would even go so far as to say that it's better than Cedar's DI. I know. Crazy. But true.

Another thing that Cedar does a pretty good job on, is it's sunsets. Seriously. Can't get better than this:

BYU vs. SUU: The Attack of the High Schoolers

I has been awhile since we compared our two lovely educational institutions: BYU and SUU. I figured that another comparison was loonnng overdue. So, here we are, examining yet again.

It is a common known fact that college campuses across the United States are used for a lot of things outside the realm of continued education and learning. Campuses are used by non-student/faculty people for forums, meetings, reunions, conventions, symposiums, parties, and concerts. These non-student/faculty people are more than welcome on campuses. I mean, heck, it's their tax dollars (or tithing money) that goes toward making campuses even better, right? However, I believe the majority of college students/faculty would agree when I say that there's one group of people we'd rather not see on campus.

And that group is high schoolers. (duhn Duhn DUHN!!!! *screams*)

And the thing is that I don't even have to explain. Just that title gives enough explanation as to why we don't really enjoy their company. But I will continue...because, after all, we are comparing here.

We'll start with BYU. The mass of high schoolers on BYU's campus can be seen from May through August. These kids run around shouting obnoxious songs and playing ridiculous games. They flirt unashamedly with each other. The boys escort. The girls primp and bat their eyes. It is customary to find a Crush of the Week (affectionately known as a COW), after all, this is where John Bytheway found his eternal companion. And who knows, maybe these 14 to 18 year old kids are finding their's too. This wonderful program is Especially For Youth.
As outrageously annoying these beaming youth are, the adolescents that plague SUU's campus are far worse. They are the High School Shakespeare Competition, which, I think, can be adequately portrayed in the accurate diagram below:
Basically, the horror of the second weekend in October on SUU's campus is created by a Shakespeare/Drama/Theater/Singing/Acting crowd. (oh, the horror!)

I know.

What could be worse?

I can't think of anything.

These kids run around campus screaming lines from Macbeth and Hamlet. They stand in front of the doors to the General Classrooms Building acting out scenes from Othello and As You Like It. They scream. They yell. They laugh far too boisterously. They swear, thinking they are so awesome. They wear these horrendous costumes that Shakespeare himself would scoff at. They walk in huge groups making it impossible to pass their slooooow gaits. They are the epitome of annoying. To them, the world is a stage and all the non-drama folks are clearly the audience, despite the dirty looks they are getting.

Yeah. It is painful. So this is one situation in which BYU wins. Hands down, BYU's experience of High Schoolers is much more pleasant and much more bearable.

My 13.319 Mile Run Down Cedar Canyon

You know, there are some wonderful and terrible things about blogging. One of those things is the brag factor. I mean, I wouldn't regularly go up to someone and start going off about how incredibly awesome I am...at least not seriously. But with blogging, it's almost like your blog is there to justify bragging. Like you can't go around tooting your own horn cause that's just impolite...but if you blog about your stunning qualities, it's okay cause all you are doing is trying to keep your fellow readers informed about your life...and I mean, you can't really help it if you just so happen to be doing some pretty cool stuff.

And with that introduction I would like to tell you about the half marathon I ran last weekend.

Actually, the story isn't that great. With most races I have a really awesome story to tell at the end. And while I could go off about the various breeds and species of roadkill I encountered, I won't. I'll just give you a run down of the race (ha ha...that was kind of pun-ny! run...get it? Okay, sorry).

In order to inform and educate I will tell you that a regular half marathon is 13.1 miles. But in Cedar City they like to make everything just a little bit better. So they threw on an extra .219 mile on at the end just to show you you could do it. Cause, I mean, I doubted.

And the race was basically completely downhill. That was one of the reasons it was so appealing to me. Downhill? Easy easy. FALSE. My calves were killing me by mile three. I still had 10+ miles to go! At mile 8 I walked. At mile 10 I actually stopped completely in order to stretch my calves that felt like they were falling off. I walked again at the start of mile 11. And again around mile 11.5. When I stopped that time this guy ran past me and said, "Keep going! You've only got a mile left!" Which, when I write it via blogging, it sounds like he was really upbeat and motivational. But he wasn't. If I had had enough energy in me, I would have kicked him in the shins! After I had tripped him, of course. He didn't know how my calves felt!

Overall, I walked a handful of times. Which doesn't make much sense because I beat my time from my last half marathon (which I didn't walk at all during). But I'm not going to complain (except for when my mom told me that they probably didn't time it right. Yeah, she thinks I'm fat).

The end of the race was pretty sweet, though. Like they actually called my name when I came running to the finish line. Plus they had these athletic trainers there who basically yanked and pulled my body for my own good. They called it "stretching." Plus they had RunnerCards, which are these awesome little cards that have your time, place, and pace on it (okay, I'm pretty sure only runners think they are way completely awesome. No one else really cares).

Shortly after the race I had the opportunity to sit in a car for 3 hours while my muscles stiffened. Which meant that the following day I had the opportunity of being told that I "walk like a woman who's pregnant,"(my pregnant cousin agreed...and she knows!) I look like I "just had hip replacement surgery," and I was reminiscent of "an old woman." Yes, I love to run.

The incredibly lame thing is that the camera guys drove past me while I was running and snapped at least 5 pictures...but the ones they decided to put on the web were not of me. I guess I am an ugly runner. Oh, well. So these are pictures of the race that aren't necessarily of me, but at least they give you a feel for the race.

This was the starting line. I know, the energy inside it is palpable.

I think this is when we were waiting for the kid with the cut foot to be towed down the mountain. We were all hypothesizing that the guy just decided he couldn't do the race so he grabbed a smashed beer bottle and...

P.S. You can actually see me in this one if you have ninja skills.
Instructions for seeing me: look at the left-most part of the picture. There's a dude with yellow shorts right on the edge of the pic. Then you see the guy with white shirt and blue shorts then you see the guy with an orange shirt and gray shorts.
Look between them.
You can see these insanely awesome calves that belong to me.
I'm wearing yellow shorts and a white shirt.
I mean, if the calves didn't give me away.

If this picture had been taken like 100 feet back, I would have been in the pic. I was right behind these people for the first half(ish) of the race.

So. All in all, it was a pretty great race. I finished in 1:35:10 (which means I maintained a 7:15 pace throughout the race). I was 5th overall for the women and 2nd in my age group (20-24). Yeah. So that is my bragging. And I was outrageously sore for like 4 days afterward, but I'm probably going to do it again. Cause I love running. Seriously. There's nothing like running down this gorgeous canyon appreciating the beauty of the earth as well as appreciating the fact that I can run.

Good story this guy told me at the beginning of the race:

The winner of some marathon finished the race in 2 hours and 20 minutes (marathons are 26.2 miles...so this guy was freaking hauling). This other guy finished in 5 hours. The slow dude went to the winner and said, "I think it is so amazing that you can run that far in such a short amount of time. It's incredible!" The winner then said to the slow guy, "I'm amazed that you can actually run for 5 hours straight!"

Regardless of my time or how I place I'm just glad that I can run.
Otherwise, I would have missed out on beautiful scenes like this.

THE END

Some Mucho Bueno Music For You!

At the beginning of this week my roomies told me about this concert that was coming up on Thursday (as in, yesterday). They told me about how they had gone last year and about how it was SOOOO good. I told them I'd come along with them...cause, you know, I am pretty pro at procrastinating my homework these days. However, yesterday I realized that the concert was FIVE DOLLARS. I mean, seriously: I am a college student. I am poor. I can't afford FIVE DOLLAR concerts to bands I have never heard of! Really! But as I contemplated my various options, I realized that going to a concert and procrastinating would be far more entertaining than being good and studious. So I went. And I will tell you what, it was AMAZING. Seriously-so so good. The first dude who played was kind of nasally, so I was skeptical, but the second and third bands got up there and I was blown away with their delicious tunes. I am such a kind soul that I have decided to share their deliciousness with you guys. You don't even have to pay me back.

The first (good/delicious) band was J.Wride. I know, what kind of name is that? But they rock. They've got a guy on the bass, a guy on the drums and a singer dude on the piano. The drummer was insane good. Like, I personally think that most drummers in most bands are just there because they are full of angst and drumming is a healthy way to release such angsty feelings. But this guy was incredible. I didn't know you could be so passionate about playing the drums, but he was. It was beautiful in a hard core way, you know (I don't know if rock bands use words like "beautiful"). Then there was the bassist. Ugh. This guy was super good too. I've never really thought about it, but I think that playing the bass would be outrageously difficult. It's so big. And long. And the strings are spread apart. But the guy last night made it look so easy peasy. And the singer/pianist. Oh my goodness, his fingers were working lightning speed. And when he opened his mouth, I fell in love. His voice was so...so...gorgeous and controlled (trust me, I sing and I know). Anyway. I could only find one really good video on the YouTube but it is a really good one, so I will share it with you. Plus it's short, which is always a bonus. (Sorry it is being cut off by my formatting...I am not skilled enough to know how to fix it.)



The next band that played was John Allred. Okay, so it's this guy who sings and plays the guitar and then I guess about year ago he thought it would be cool to find himself a band for a few of his songs. The band was super good (minus the guitarist who always stood with his back facing us as if he thought we all wanted to take a look at his not attractive rear end). But when John Allred played acoustic by himself without the band, that was where the magic was. He is so talented. It was super awesome. So he's got lots of original stuff but he did a couple of covers for us too and the one that you HAVE GOT TO see is his cover of U2's "With or Without You." It was insane. He does all the instrumentals himself by recording a bunch of stuff and in this movie you can see him do all of it. I know it is 5 minutes long, but it is worth it-really it is so awesome. If you are crunched for time, though, skip to 3:15 (ish) cause that is where he yells into his guitar and it is freaking rad. Trust me, totally worth it.



So that is the story of how I spent five dollars on something that was totally worth it. And you can all thank me later for sharing such beautiful talent with you.

You're very welcome.

24 Hours

Dear Thailand,

You have been graced by the presence of my lovely sister for 15 months now. Prior to visiting you, she spent another 3 months at the Missionary Training Camp in Provo. That means that I have not seen my best friend for 18 months now. THAT is a long time.

I'm sure you are pretty much in love with her because, honestly, she is just pretty darn fantastic (and then some). But you have to remember that she has a family back here who loves her. She has a sister who has been missing her for TOO long.

And she also stole my tweezers when she left and I have been missing those too.

Anyway, the point is that I am ready for her to come back. I have been extremely patient, but now it's time. So if you could kindly ensure that Heather returns home safely, I would be greatly appreciative.

Many thanks and best wishes,

Kim

Ode to the Wisdom That Hath Befallen Me

Last Saturday just so happened to be my birthday. Exciting? Yes. Disgusting? More so. "Why?" do you ask? It is because I am now officially an adult. I've passed successfully through my teenage years never to see them again. I've lived one fifth of a century. I've made my way through all good songs with reference to age. I will never again be able to sing along to "Dancing Queen" by ABBA. I know that it's "seventeen-" but, honestly, it is just so easy to substitute 18 and 19 too. But you can't go around belting "young and sweet only...twenty!" That sounds so dumb. Also, my body is definitely feeling the toll. They say your metabolism doesn't slow down until you're 35 or something. But I'm pretty sure that my body is not the same as it was when I was 18...of course, I was on cross country/track during that time...but...you get the picture.

Yes, life is changing. However, those people -the one's who said the thing about metabolism-I think they also said that with age come wisdom. And, obviously, this is true. I mean, how in the crap could I have come up with such an eloquent title if I was still 19? Yeah-that's right.

Okay. So, now I have to make this post have a point. And I have a good story to accentuate my gained knowledge. Here it is:

As you all know, I moved back to Cedar about a week and a half ago. It is pretty intense, I must say. Anywho...the single's ward that I am now in is pretty freaking rad. Really. It rocks. At our first FHE I was getting to know a couple new people-all of whom were quite awesome. There was this certain boy who I had met at church a day earlier. He's super cute and funny and fun to talk to. What's a girl suppose to do beside flirt? So we were busying ourselves flirting when he decided to ask the dreaded question.

"So, how old are you?" He asked. As this was before my birthday, I told him I was 19.

He seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "When's your birthday?" He continued. I told him that it is August, 28th, "so, I'm almost twenty," in case he couldn't do the math (I know, I'm so helpful).

"Oh," he said.

"How old are you?" I was just returning the favor.

He stammered around a bit before he answered, "I'm seventeen."

Yeah, and I later found out that his birthday is like July or something-so he's NEWLY seventeen.

Anyway, this experience has given me gobs of wisdom, obviously. Like how I shouldn't go and flirt with every cute boy who turns the corner.

But at least he is still able to sing that wonderful ABBA song.