Officially on the Road

So we have officially hit the road and are currently using the Wifi from a closed library. Sitting in a pavilion and using the outlets to charge our computers in Tremonton, Utah.

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We packed everything up and are now definitely on our road trip. We left the evening of the 13th after laying everything out in front of the car and seeing how much stuff we actually had. Which we
weren't actually sure if it was all going to fit but needless to say it fits fairly comfortably. After my mom gave us an unreal amount of food (amazing!) we were a little short on space but luckily overtime that stock pile will soon dwindle and everything will soon fit in its perfect place.

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So that evening we hit the road to my grandparents house in Twin Falls, Idaho. We arrived and was welcomed by wonderful smiling faces and hugs.  This was the first time my grandmother had gotten the chance to meet Joe and needless to say I think everyone is a fan:) We spent a wonderful evening catching up, laughing and eating some wonderful homemade cooking by
the best grandmother in the world. Got to sleep in a warm bed for the last time for who knows how long it will be. The next morning got the chance to eat some breakfast and said our goodbyes and went on our way.

Our first stop once we hit the road was Shoshone Falls on the Snake River. Which by the way is taller than Niagara Falls! I was initially worried that we would have to pay the $2 entry fee but once we arrived we quickly realized that it is so late in the season not only do you not have to pay but there is also barely a trickle of water going over the falls. But even so, was cool to see and show Joe!

So with that we headed on our way to City of Rocks. We took some back roads that drove along true farm country and was quite the sight. Fun to see what I feel like a lot of the world doesn't get to see anymore.

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As we were driving we passed a couple of historical sights and one that just so happened to be talking about City of Rocks. But the best thing about this historical sight is the fact that it was right on the
edge of a potato field that had already been harvested. The one thing about potato harvests is that when they pick up the potatoes they leave all the smaller ones behind. So we happened to pick up a few for future home fries that could be on the menu.

So we drove along and ended up going in the opposite way into City of Rocks than the previous time I had been there so I didn't actually recognize it at first but it was fun to see a completely different side of the City. From a distance I saw Jackson's Thumb and that was the direction we drove.

The smaller peak to the left is Jackson's Thumb
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Jackson's Thumb is a 5.7, 4 pitch, sport climb located in City of Rocks Idaho. I had climbed it before
but Joe had not. It was my first multi pitch climb and the only one I have done thus far. But needless to say it is perfect for your first multi-pitch climb and I was looking forward to climbing it with Joe.

So we arrived and chose not to take a designated camp spot and chose the free parking lot instead. We parked the car with a view of the climb. Weather wasn't ideal but we saw a break and decided to go hike up to the base of the climb. The hike is about 30-40 minutes long and a fairly good uphill climb. Still being slightly sore from Thompson it was good to get out and stretch our legs.You can only see about half of the first pitch from the base but was rewarded with a wonderful view of The City.

Once we got back to the car the predicted rain and wind started to roll in and we spent the rest of the afternoon listening to the first book of Harry Potter on tape and writing in our journals.

Since it was quite nasty outside we enjoyed our first real MRE (meal ready to eat) provided by my father who is in the military who donated 2 full boxes to the road trip. Pork sausage and gravy sounded better than it actually was but even so a semi warm meal and some toaster pastry for dessert wasn't the worst thing in the world for dinner. We ended our evening with Joe editing some photos and me coloring in my post card book.

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We woke up this morning to a fogged in valley but after a few hours we saw our weather window and headed up towards Jackson's Thumb. The weather wasn't ideal, mostly cloudy with some intermittent sprinkling but even so we took advantage and left the car around 9:45AM.

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The hike to the climb with all of the gear was much more difficult, and once we arrived to the base of the climb we were both breathing pretty heavily. Once we caught our breath we put on all of the gear, did our safety checks and I started to lead the first pitch.

Both Joe and I climbed really well but our calves were so sore after even the first pitch from our past excursion on Thompson. We leaped frog the pitches, meaning I led the first pitch, Joe led the second pitch, while I did the third and he finished on the last and hit the summit first.

The summit was windy and cold and with that we didn't get any actual summit pictures to commemorate the accomplishment but we were ready to get down. It was a two pitch rappel and once we had gotten it done and over with we were both pretty pooped. Not to mention we lost our trail and ended up breaking ground to the car.

We arrived back at the car around 2:00 PM and were both pretty stoked, We celebrated with some canned chili mixed with Annies Mac n' Cheese. Which I might add was incredibly delectable.

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After that we packed up the car and hit the road with not a real destination in mind. I did some research before we left and read that Logan Canyon offers over 400 sport climbs but the weather is not looking to great for the next few days. We pulled out the map and decided to stop in Tremonton Utah to fuel up and plan to head over to The Golden Spike National historic sight. Which happens to now be closed but the map is showing that we're not to far from The Great Salt Lake which I have never seen. So possibly camp there tonight and head over to The Golden Spike tomorrow.

If you have any recommendations of things to do in Northeast Utah until Tuesday we would love to hear them!:)