Moab

Our adventure for this past weekend: 4-wheeling in Moab. We had some fabulous tour guides to show us around. Layne and Ilene have been to Moab several times. We asked them to show us some of the fun trails and they planned a perfect weekend. Here the dazzling duo is trying out the RZR. I think Layne might put that on his Christmas wish list this year.

Here we are just starting out for the day. Cory made this trail look like a cake-walk.

You can't really tell from this picture, but we are almost completely vertical. Ahg!!! As you can see, I was holding on for dear life.

We also took some time to visit Arches National Park, which is just outside of Moab. We hiked for a while to get to the Delicate Arch (this is the arch that is pictured on some of the Utah license plates). It was well worth the hike - the view was spectacular!

Layne and Ilene knew all of the fun detours so that we could play. Again, you can't really tell from this picture, but this hill is straight up. We went up and around and came down the hill (which was quite the rush) but then Layne challenged Cory to see how far he could make it up the hill in the RZR. Apparently no one ever makes it up the hill, but they have contests to see how far they can go. Here is Cory's attempt.

There were several moments throughout the trip where I thought that Cory was going to fall off a cliff. I think this particular hill is called "The Escalato" or "The Escalator." Either way, Cory was determined to make it down. And he did. Barely! We thought that once he made it down the hill, we would be able to take a trail and go out and around and meet up with Layne and Ilene. Not so. The bottom is just one giant bowl, so you have to come up the other side, which is just as dangerous!!! I really thought Cory was going to tip over backwards, but he made it out just fine. Thank you, Layne, for the good guidance!

This was such a fun weekend! We are grateful that we had the opportunity to go and can't express our appreciation enough to Layne and Ilene. Let's do it again next year!

Bear Hunting

What did the Johnson's do for Labor Day weekend? Well y'all, we went bear hunting! Cory sold the idea to me as an opportunity to go camping in the wilderness. We went into the Frank Church Wilderness area, which is just outside of Challis, Idaho. To get back into the wilderness area, we had to drive on a road that was just wide enough for one vehicle at a time. It was just like in the movies - one false move and you fall off the edge of the mountain. Here Cory and Brady are assessing the steep drop below. And take note of that peak in the distance that has a white speck on top; we'll come back to that later.
Here I am getting strapped into my pack. I about fell over backwards when I first put it on.

Our campsite was about a three-mile hike from the truck. On the way, we took a small detour to go up to the look-out. Remember that white speck I mentioned earlier? Well, this is it. The view from the top was amazing! All you could see were mountain-tops for as far as the eye could see. This look-out is used to keep an eye out for fires during the summer.

Amazing view from the top of the look-out.

If you look carefully in this picture, you can see the road that we drove in on along the ridge of the mountain.

We came down from the look-out and got our packs strapped on and were ready to start hiking again. And then Cory saw a bear across the valley. Those boys dropped their packs like they were on fire. It totally reminded me of the "stop, drop and roll" technique. Brady got a shot off but they missed the bear.

So we continued our hike into the wilderness. And just in case it wasn't already crystal clear, the forest service put up this nice sign that informed us that we were officially entering the "primitive area."

We camped near this beautiful lake.

At 5:00 a.m., the boys were up and ready to go bear hunting. I would have loved to stay at camp and sleep in, but I didn't have a gun and there were wolves everywhere. So I went on the bear hunt too...mostly to pack the food and take pictures.

The excitement was high and the boys had tons of energy early in the morning. They kept a steady eye out for any sign of wildlife.

And about three hours into the day, this is what they looked like. Apparently hunting bear is quite exhausting. So while they napped, I sat in the sun and read my book. After about four hours, Cory announced that he was bored and we went back to camp and took a nap.

We did see another bear by the side of the road on our drive back to Challis, but it was long gone by the time we got out of the truck and went back to find it. Final score at the end of this hunting excursion = Johnson's: 0, Bears: 2. I'm sure there will be a next time, though!

High Adventure Scout Trip

I've been delinquent in getting this post published. A few weeks ago, Cory went with the boy scouts on a high adventure trip. He is currently serving as the scout advisor for our ward (church). Cory planned a great adventure in the Frank Church Wilderness for the boys. Apparently the scouting program has been a little neglected for the past several years, so the boys were thrilled to have this trip planned for them.

I should note that it snowed on the boys, in August, almost the entire time they were there. But they kept themselves entertained by pushing down dead trees. Cory came home with a HUGE bruise on his shoulder from slamming into the tree. Boys will be boys (even when they are 30+ years old).

They did a little fishing, too. Take note of the awesome cut-off shorts that Cory is wearing. Apparently his pant legs got wet and he got tired of them so he cut off the legs. And then he threw them in the fire before he came home.

The day after Cory left, I received a package in the mail. Cory sent me a gift card for a hot rock massage. So I got to pamper myself at the spa while he was out trekking through the mud and snow. Thanks, babe!

Thanks Bernie & Diane!

When Cory and I first started 4-wheeling earlier this summer we didn't have a clue where to ride around here. Enter Bernie on center stage. Bernie has been 4-wheeling around here for years and he really helped us out. He took us out on our first ride of the year and he has given Cory tons of maps that provide details for good trails to ride. So yesterday we took Bernie and Diane on a trail that they had never been on before (over by Grey's River in Wyoming). We had a great time riding all day and ended the day with a yummy hamburger and huckleberry shake in Alpine.

I had to take this picture because under normal circumstances, Bernie wouldn't be caught dead riding in a Polaris. He's more of an Arctic Cat guy. He asked if this picture could stay in my camera. I decided to post it on the Internet instead. :-) Thanks for a great day!

And thanks to Grant for letting us borrow his GPS unit. Cory doesn't leave home without it. Are you ready to have it back??

If it wasn't for Texas...

...I would lose my mind living here in Idaho Falls. Thanks to Textron for flying me down to Dallas for a quick business trip. And thanks to Linda, too. She was supposed to go but she told my boss that she didn't want to travel and that she thought I could really use a break from Idaho Falls. Woo hoo!! The two highlights of my trip were shopping at the Grapevine Mills Mall (Cory saves a ton of money with me here in Idaho Falls since there is NO WHERE to shop here) and having dinner with some fabulous people. Isn't Elizabeth just darling?? I can't get enough of this kid.
We had dinner at Breadwinners, which is one of my favorite restaurants in Dallas. This is the buttermilk pan fried chicken breast. Absolutely melt-in-your-mouth-to-die for! That's one of the hardest things to do when I visit Dallas...trying to choose a restaurant. I miss all of the good food!!

I missed those of you who couldn't join us for dinner. Next time. I miss you all!

On Top of the World!

This weekend, I was told to pack my suitcase and to find a sub for church on Sunday. Cory took me on a surprise weekend get-away. I love surprise weekend get-aways!! I was only told to pack some warm clothes and that we would be camping on Saturday night. We left after work on Friday and stayed at a hotel in West Yellowstone. We got up early Saturday morning and drove into Yellowstone National Park where Cory had reserved a camp site. We unloaded our gear and headed off on the motorcycle.

On our way through the park we saw this black bear and a grizzly bear (not pictured). We did not, however, see President Obama (he was in the park this weekend).

We drove for about two hours to get to...The Top of the World (really, that's what it's called). On our way to The Top of the World, we saw this beautiful lake nestled high in between these two mountains. Keep in mind that this lake was at the top of two very tall mountains - and we were looking down on it from our view at the top of the world.

This is the view from The Top of the World. Elevation: 10,800 feet. It was an overcast day and we literally rode through the clouds. In fact, it snowed on us at one point. In case you're not doing the math in your head, that means it was only 32 degrees...on a motorcycle...on top of the world. We were freezing cold! But the view made it worthwhile. We stopped at The Top of the World Store and purchased a pin that declares that "We Survived Beartooth Highway." Barely.

This is one of the beautiful mountain lakes that we saw on our drive. I can't remember if this was in Wyoming or Montana. We kept bouncing back and forth between the two state lines. We stopped in Red Lodge for lunch. I wish that we could have spent more time there because it is such a cute little town (it kind of reminded me of Jackson Hole).

We went back to Yellowstone a different way - we took the Joseph Scenic Highway. The views there were breathtaking too. As we approached Cody, WY, it started to rain. And we were still 40 miles outside of Yellowstone by the time it got dark. So we strained our eyes to look carefully for critters on the side of the road. The ride took a wee bit longer than planned due to inclement weather. But nice weather would have made for a boring story... And Cory never does anything boring. Go big or go home.

We stopped in Jackson Hole on our way back to Idaho Falls and ate at one of our favorite restaurants: Merry Piglets. It's the closest thing to Tex-Mex this side of the Rockies (or the Tetons at that point). Thanks for a great weekend, Mr. Johnson!

That Famous Preston Night Rodeo

It's the last weekend in July, which, of course, means it's time for That Famous Preston Night Rodeo. The reason it's famous: because it was the first rodeo in the U.S. to be held at night with lights (or so I've been told). And it's really not all about the rodeo. EVERYONE comes home for rodeo. All of the high school class reunions are held at rodeo time and many family reunions happen then as well. It is so much fun to bump into people that I haven't seen in years. The Hollingsworth family has a few traditions for rodeo weekend. We always go to the lake on Saturday. The best part about the lake: the food. Notice that everyone is gathered around the food table...

There is a parade all three nights (Thursday, Friday and Saturday). We used to have to park a trailer at "our spot" at least one week before the rodeo so that we could make sure and have a place to watch the parade. But my cousin, Courtney, bought a house on the parade route so now we just gather in front of her house. Thanks, Court!!

I missed the "outhouse on a trailer" float, but I did catch this nice float with some deer on it...

Saturday is the best night to watch the parade. Why? Well, it's because the Cream of Weber truck comes and they hand out chocolate milk chugs. This year we scored a whole crate. Nice work, Laken!

It's tradition to go to the rodeo on Friday night. I think my family takes up about three rows in the bleachers. It's so nice to have everyone there! We had a great clown this year. I always came home for rodeo when I was living in Texas. No one there could understand why I would come to Idaho to see a rodeo when there was a rodeo every night of the week in Texas!

And we watched the PRCA cowgirls and cowboys show us their stuff. Here is a sample of the bronc riding and bull riding (yikes!). See you next year!