Our Jeeping Trip

We had a great trip. The best part was that Keith let me drive an entire trail. I've never asked to drive before and never minded being the passenger, but I have to admit driving was a lot of fun. I drove a fairly difficult trail. I couldn't believe the obstacles Keith was letting me drive. I kept asking if he was sure I could do it and he said, "there is no one I would rather wreck my jeep than you". Ha ha. Did I just say that was sweet? Oh my. That is really sad, but it was nice. This was the first tough obstacle I got to drive. It's so crazy tipping the nose of your vehicle over the edge of this and driving almost straight down. Pictures never seem to make it looks as crazy as it really is. I'm really driving almost straight down.



Here is a video I found on YouTube that shows off the type of stuff we do on our trip a little better. I didn't take good pictures this year, but this video shows off what we do.The video is best from 0:15 to 3:45. The video picks up speed around 1:00. After about 3:45 it's just people I dont' know and lame bumper sticker pictures.

In case you are curious... we are very concerned about respecting the land. We never go off trail. Most people are really good about respecting the land and it's very rare that you see people go off the trail. The trails take you to the most amazing remote locations you could never see otherwise. The dark tire spots you see are unfortunate but they are only where the trails are, and are extremely minor compared to the incredible amount of miles of untouched areas you can see from each trail. Keith is really concerned with land rights and keeping things nice. I'm really impressed with his efforts over the last few years. The past three years he has raised money for dumpsters and port-a-poties for Potato Salad Hill which is a big party area during spring break. He also organizes groups to go clean up the area every morning during spring break. Part of me is annoyed that he is cleaning up after the partiers but the other part of me is really impressed with what he is doing. Because he keeps that party area nice, the area has never been closed down which leaves the partiers in one spot near town rather than out in the beautiful areas we like to be. Here is a picture of the area he cleans up:

Dumb partiers. Ugh. I was so mad watching them drop all of their cigarettes on the ground knowing Keith would have to pick them up. I don't understand why it's socially acceptable to leave your cigarette butts where ever you are. Oh well.Here are a couple pictures of an area we let the kids fly their kites. If only my family would pose for me. I could have got the most amazing pictures!

Here is a picture of our family at the Castle Valley Overlook on the Porcupine Rim trail. Beautiful scenery, but we look pretty rough don't we?

It was a great trip! We even got to spend some time with our friends Trevor and Mindee who went down that weekend too. Today is Mindee's birthday. Happy Birthday Mindee! We hung out with our friends Amy and Shane on one night trail too. I'm glad we saw them when we did, but I sure wish we could have met up with them more.

A couple more family shots :)