Summer: A Portrait

Once your life has revolved around a college-semester calendar, May is the new June, August is the new September, and that means four months of summer instead of three. I win! But, I'm not a student right now and I work full time - so I lose. However, I have managed to do some really great stuff anyway. Some of the highlights of this summer have been:

Zion National Park/Kannarraville Canyon

Some friends and I decided to do a quick trip to Zion and then on our way back, hit a canyon in Kannarraville that we had heard was pretty. My favorite parts were Angel's Landing (not NEARLY as difficult as I had heard/was expecting) and hiking through the narrows in Kannarraville. Next year, I want to take some climbing gear and try to go further than we were able to in the canyon- I'm already excited.

On my leisurely stroll up to Angel's Landing, there was an owl. Pretty cute, right?

In order to get to the Narrows, we had to hike for a couple of miles along the river and through all sorts of trees, there really wasn't an established trail.

Somewhere along the way, my leg got scratched and I looked like a wannabe "X-Men" for a few weeks afterward. This didn't look so great with my summer uniform of skirts and flip flops...

This is Emily. She is pretty short but you can still tell how impressive the trailhead of the Narrows is; just as beautiful as the Zion Narrows and a lot less crowded. I would definitely recommend this area to anyone who wants to avoid the crowds and fees at Zion but still catch some river hiking, definitely a good time had by all.