Hell Hole Canyon Trail

Braving the stormy sky that has been keeping us away from the great outdoors for several weeks, we finally gave up on hoping for nice sunny weather and explored the "Hell Hole Canyon Trail" (hey I didn't name it!) behind Kayenta this weekend. Saturday Kyle, Kalin and I hiked up a couple of miles but had to turn around so I could be back for work on time. On the way back down we ran into a man with a backpack that told us if we had continued up further, the cliffs come together and turn into some really neat "narrows." We were disappointed that we didn't make it up that far, but we decided to come back the next day. On Sunday, us three plus my Mom and her friend Janelle went back up but it was much cloudier and even rained a little bit. We made it a couple miles further up the canyon but were still unable to find the "narrows" the man had told us about. We did find some neat little waterfalls and cool rock formations though. Since Mom had to be back for work this time, we returned again without exploring the entire trail. In a few weeks when it warms up a bit more we want to take some backpacks and tents up the trail and make it an overnighter to see if we can find these "narrows."

Kyle spotted a few quail running around under the bushes.

I only fell down a few times...

Whoa its a cliff. Whoa its a tree. Whoa its a tree next to a cliff.
Cute toosh.

About where we stopped. Wished we coulda continued.

How about you put the camera down and come help me? Monkey see, monkey do

Found a bit of rabbit fur. *sniff sniff* Guess a coyote ate him.

I knew we shoulda' taken that left turn at Albuquerque...

Misty and Kalin.

Yes my shirt does say "Save a Tree." Unfortunately it looks like the tree is already dead.

A Hard Farewell

The night before Trenton was scheduled to leave on his mission was definately a family night. Everyone made sure they had work off - and all other dates and appointments were cancelled. After he finished running around getting last minute things done (like um packing), we all went over to Grandma and Grandpa Talbots house before dinner, so that he could say goodbye.



After we left Grandma and Grandpa's we ate at the favorite Texas Roadhouse for a "last supper." The eight St George officers sitting at the booths behind us (who were celebrating a deployment), sure didn't appreciate the loud peanut fights going on between us.

After eating some of us were pretty drowsy and lounged around the house.

The other half of us must have had something special in our food because we were a bit over-energetic and started trying to take pictures of each other mid-air doing stupid things.




After our extra energy wore off, we went home and to bed, knowing it was going to be an early morning. Trenton stayed up late finishing packing and visiting Dad. At 7:30 the next morning, we were up and packed into Misty's car, ready for the 4 hour drive to Provo ahead of us. We weren't sure what the roads were going to be like - patchy rain and snow were forcasted.



Thankfully the roads were nice and clear, we arrived in Provo at 11:00 and it was lightly snowing - the mountains looked beautiful! We killed some time walking around the mall before making to our destination - the MTC! Once we reached the MTC, it finally really hit us that Trenton was leaving. We had to wrench his cell phone away from him (not really, he forgot it was in his pocket). He began to look pretty nervous as we parked the car and began walking him toward the building, luggage in tow.




Trents badge and "dork dot" being applied by his beautiful and tough-as-nails Mom.



Once we got inside the building and dropped off his luggage, the tears started. Me and Kyle were able to hold them back until the final goodbye and "parting of the ways" but it wasn't easy.


We made a quick stop at the Post Office in Provo and dropped a bunch of Valentines off for him from extended family, and another stop for Kyle to pick up two dozen Krispy Kreme's, and then hit the road again. The trip home was much harder than the trip up. I couldn't help thinking how sad it was that we wouldn't be seeing him again for 2 years. I broke down crying again as we passed Spanish Fork when I started wondering who was going to go hiking with me this summer. Even though it is sad to be parted from Trent, we realize it is an important sacrifice. We are so proud of him and the decisions he has made. I know at the end of two years it will seem like the time has flown by, but right now it seems so far away.

Mine Exploring Mayhem

A couple of years ago while we were out "Eastering" on Utah Hill, riding four-wheelers around in the toolies, we noticed what looked like an old abandoned mine high up on a hillside. All we could see at first was a small opening in the rocks, but then we noticed that there was a lot of yellow and red dirt coming out of an otherwise-gray mountain. We really wanted to hike up to it and check it out, but it was a looong way up the mountain and we didn't have time, so we decided we'd go back another day and check it out. Yesterday was a perfect 70-degree day, and since we were itching to get outside, we finally decided to make the trek up to see what was inside. I wasn't hopeful that we'd find much; most of the mines we've tried to enter in the past have been blocked off or dead end a short distance inside. Once we entered this one though, we found something much different than I was expecting....