Chasing Waterfalls

Remember when i said Mr B was a waterfall chaser?

Last week we went on an 17-18 mile hike in the back country of Yellowstone National Park to find a few more.

Our hike took us across the Bechler Meadows.

We walked in fields of gold

i had such a great view :)

We crossed forested areas. We stopped and identified all of the wildflowers...and they were bounteous. 

i may or may not have squealed out of pure joy here

We forded a couple of rivers.

Serenity

Every hour we doused ourselves with mosquito repellent. Those bugs were RELENTLESS. Besides the bugs, we saw a fox, a couple of cranes, many chipmunks and we were cussed out by a couple of ground squirrels who wanted our lunch. Other than the wildlife, we saw very few people on the trails, and were completely alone at each of the waterfalls.

In order to get to two of the waterfalls, we left the trail and bushwhacked for a bit. 

Small but beautiful

Silver scarf cascade went on forever

Most of the hike was relatively flat, but there was a very steep scramble up the side of the canyon at one point. The view was worth it:

But the best part, by far was Dunanda Falls. The waterfall itself was breathtaking.

The falls alone would have been worth the hike and if that isn't good enough...there are hot spring fed pools at its base. Which meant that we brought swimming gear and were able to sit and soak in the gorgeous natural warm springs with the mist of the waterfall cooling our faces. We soaked it all in for a good couple of hours--just the two of us, lunch, the waterfall, the sun and the gorgeous landscape.

Sitting in a hot pot

One of the pools looking downstream from the falls

Between running and hiking, these legs of mine are taking me many many miles. And i don't think i've enjoyed a summer this much in quite a while.

Me and Mr B

PS: He's getting a haircut and losing the curls this week. Although i understand that it needs to be done, i'm already in mourning until they grow back out :-(

Fantasia

Recently, Mr B and i took a trip down to Park City for good food, good company, and good music. i discovered the Utah symphony in the winter of 2012. Since then, i have been down to see them play in Salt Lake City at least once every season. When i heard of this concert at the Deer Valley Music Festival, i bought tickets right away. The symphony playing the music from Fantasia and Fantasia 2000? Yes, please!

Ian loved the idea too, and got himself a date and came in from Logan. We met up at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City. Ian had planned a lovely picnic with steak salads, fun sodas, brownies and fresh fruit. i felt a tad outsmarted with these three (Mr B has a masters in Mechanical Engineering and Ian and his date are studying Bio Engineering right now) when they started discussing a physics class, but it kept the conversation interesting and the picnic portion was over all too soon.

When the music started, i felt goosebumps from head to toe. We had an amazing view of the orchestra. Along either side of the stage were huge screens with the animation from the movies. i was enthralled. i mostly watched the conductor and the orchestra, but also kept an eye on the screens and enjoyed how spot on the music was with the animation.

Here was the musical program:

Beethoven "Symphony No. 5"
Beethoven "Symphony No. 6"
Tchaikovsky "Suite from The Nutcracker"
Debussy "Clair de Lune"
Stravinsky "Firebird"
Ponchielli "Dance of the Hours"
Dukas "Sorcerer’s Apprentice"
Elgar "Pomp and Circumstance"
Respighi "Pines of Rome"

i got chocked up during Clair de Lune and sobbed unabashedly through Stravinsky's "Firebird." i can't help it...not only is the music so moving, but the animation of that one reminds me of my life. It speaks deeply to me. Mr B teased me a bit about getting so emotional, but Ian said he got choked up during that piece as well, so i felt rather validated :)

We had great seats

As the audience cheered the end of the show, i leaned over to Mr B to say that only one thing could have made the concert better. Before i could finish, the conductor said, "We have one more piece for you. It's my favorite piece of music from Fantasia." i started jumping up and down--i knew they were going to play the one thing that would have made it better for me. Sure enough, i guessed right at what was coming. It always brings me to giggles and is my favorite as well.

Carnival of the Animals

It was such a perfect evening. And i'm so glad that i got to share it with this man who has become one of my best friends!

oh, those curls!

Sidenote: the weekend was made complete with a long 18 mile run up Provo Canyon. Mr B did 12 of them with me :)

Happy Trails

At the beginning of last month i took a trip down to Logan for a 10 mile trail run with my girlfriends. i don't get to run trails often and even though it is TOUGH compared to road running, i have a blast. It had been super rainy all through May, so everything up Logan Canyon was green, green, green.

Love that skinny flower strewn trail

Such good running buddies

About three months after Mr B and i started dating, i ran my first half marathon of the season. When i came back from Moab with a medal and on a racing high, he expressed interest in training for a half marathon. He ran track (and a little cross country) in high school, but it had been a long time since he had run more than a couple of miles. So i built up a running plan for him and since then we have put in a lot of miles together. Mr B still doesn't run as many miles as me (nor does he intend to) but he usually schedules himself to run part of my long Saturday runs with me. The Saturday after my Ragnar Ultra, i wasn't scheduled to run as many miles (muscle recovery) so it was a perfect opportunity for us to do a destination trail run.

We woke up early Saturday morning and headed up to Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park. There we did an 11 mile run all the way around Jenny and String Lake. It was beyond breathtaking.

Water so calm

Skinny shaded trail

Through the marshes around String Lake

The run was very diverse--running right along the lake, running through a swampy area on board walks, crossing the river to get to the other side of the lakes and climbing up into flowery meadows with views from above.

About half way through the run

Can't get much prettier than that

 There was a trail that we veered onto in order to run up to a waterfall called "Hidden Falls." It added more miles (and they were steeper and more populated) but we (aka: Mr B) couldn't resist not stopping at the waterfall.

At the end of the road we were hot, tired and hungry--so we went for a refreshing swim and enjoyed a delicious picnic at the edge of the lake.

It turns out that my love of running and Mr B's love of hiking/being in the mountains make an EXCELLENT combination. It seems we compliment each other rather well.

Heavenly

Oh hi, Mr B!

i have been reluctant to introduce Mr B to the blog. Perhaps because in the dating phase, relationships have a tendency to be a bit transitive.

However, it's time for several reasons:
1- We have been dating for over 6 months now.
2- i want to share about my summer adventures and many of them are with him.
3- Those of you who keep in touch with me in ways other than this blog (which are many, if not most of you) already are aware of his existence anyway.
4- Even if our togetherness is temporary, it is still pushing me to grow and improve. He affects my life for the better and i would love to share how.


In my first relationship after my divorce i had honesty and openness. i thought "i didn't know that this was possible in a relationship! It can't get any better than this!" Then, as time wore on, i realized that honesty and openness (although necessary) just weren't enough. It was time to move ahead, even if it meant being alone.

In this relationship, there is honesty and openness. But there is more. There is understanding and communication. There is vulnerability. There is connection--emotionally, mentally and spiritually. There is trust. There is peace. There are healthy emotional and physical boundaries. We are building a solid foundation.

And more than anything else, there is SAFETY. Oh my word...i did NOT know that this was possible in a relationship! i don't know how to describe the way it feels. It cannot be faked. i feel emotionally safe with him--i know how he will show up, he doesn't easily go into shame, he holds what is his and let's me hold what is mine, he doesn't play a victim and he doesn't try to rescue me. It is healthy. i don't think i have ever had a really healthy relationship before.

i like him.

Besides...he is a legitimate waterfall chaser.

Here are a couple of the many waterfalls that we have already seen together.

We went kayaking together during the fourth of July weekend. It was a lovely morning with beautiful weather, a calm river and a picnic on the kayak. We even spotted two moose! i love the country in which i live and i love having someone to explore with!

There are so many more adventures and pictures to come. Stay tuned...