It Felt Good >> To Be Out of the Rain

I almost didn't post these pics because I thought I might be boring you all to tears with all these desert trips. But then I looked through them again, and realized they were too pretty not to share. Besides, while it wasn't a new place, it was a new experience, because I went backpacking for the first time!

Here I am, strapping on the old hiking boots. Yes, that's a pink extension in my hair. A little camping is no reason to stop the jazz, amirite?

We got there right as the sun was about to set, so it was amazing and beautiful as we trudged along with our packs. We chose this place because a) it's warm there before the Western part of the state, and b) because we knew the hike to where we wanted to go was only a couple of miles. Perfect for a newbie like me. I've done tons of car camping, and tons of hiking, but I have never strapped on a backpack and walked until I felt like stopping to set up shop. I have to say, it was pretty amazing and I think I'm hooked.

One of the reasons why I had never done it before, was that it takes kind of a long time to acquire the right gear. That shizz is expensive! Sure, you can go out John Muir style with just a crust of bread and a wool blanket, but it's a lot more fun if you have things like a down sleeping bag to keep you warm and dry, and a tiny stove for a hot mug of tea in the morning. Finally, Andy and I have enough for the two of us to go out. We got all of our stuff slowly (4 years or so), through clearance racks, outlet stores, gifts, craigslist, and good ol' plunking cash down. Hopefully it's an investment that will last us for awhile!

This is in the morning, and you can see the waterfall in the background. This was Piko's first time camping, and the reason I know this is because she thought it was scary. She was SO confused when it got dark out and we were still outside. When we called her into the tent, she looked at us like we were insane. Poor lady. I'm not sure she slept too much! We're going to work with her on it though, because we have a lot of trips lined up that she's a part of! Other than that, she had a blast running around and scaring birds.

These are some of the aforementioned birds. They're ducks with little ducklings in tow, and as soon as Piko splashed down into the lake, they swam away. They found a pretty sweet spot though!

Oh, and we saw a rattlesnake. Actually, I heard it and then saw it. I think it was giving us a "hey, I'm here, don't mess with me" warning rattle. Eeeeee! We were in sight of the car though, so it wasn't too scary. Plus, it's already too hot out that way for any return trips until next winter probably.

Rattlesnakes aside, what was most exciting about this trip, was that it was a taste of the summer to come. In just about a month from now, we're setting off for three weeks of road tripping, camping, and hiking. Can't wait!

shanti >> sondra

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