Cottonwood

Every summer Collin's family spends a few days in at their cabin by Cottonwood Lake in Star Valley, Wyoming.  We spend 3 days eating tons, sitting by the fire, playing games and occasionally hiking.  We were there just this last week enjoying all of the family time.  

This cabin has been in Collin's family for generations.  It's basically like a timeshare between the family.  Collin's aunts and uncles as well as many family members he hasn't met, are able to have a few days each summer to spend time together in this beautiful place.  I love the history surrounding the cabin.  There are many journals where family members can write about their experiences if they want to.    

We usually end up seeing deer, a moose if we are lucky, fish, chipmunks, birds and rabbits.  One year a family saw a bear on a hike! We did the same hike they had been on this year and I was hoping that we would see a bear too!  We ended up hiking to Dry Lake, which this year wasn't so dry.  The water was absolutely gorgeous!!  Since it's all run off from the mountains, it would have been freezing.  But the color made it so enticing and I just wanted to jump in. I didn't...but I wanted to! Everything surrounding Cottonwood is so beautiful.  It's nestled in the beginnings of the Teton mountain range.  There is so much wildlife and every year I am blown away with how beautiful it is! I can't wait for next years trip! 

Arches

Oh man am I behind on this blog...

Back in November of 2019, Collin and I took a trip down to Moab!  Neither of us had been to Arches and we needed a little vacation. We spent the weekend scrambling up and down rocks and looking at the gorgeous scenery.  We hiked to Delicate Arch, explored Devils Garden and saw all the arches we could in our short visit.  Although we saw most of the main attractions, if not all, we also felt like we could spend another week just exploring some of the trails.  We also were able to see some rock art, which I totally geeked out about.  My undergraduate degree was in Anthropology and it was so excited for me to see rock art.  Anytime I am able to see rock art I flip out!!! 

I had a bit of a struggle on some of the hikes...

I have a bad fear of heights and there were a couple moments were I locked up and almost freaked out.  Collin thankfully is patient and helped me through some of these moments.  For example, on the hike to Double-O Arch, you have to cross this 5-6 foot wide ridge that overlooks a huge valley complete with very large ominous drop off...I was doing ok until I got to the crack...I say crack and I literally mean crack...but in that moment it was 10 feet wide and I would have to jump over the gap and if I didn't make it I'd fall to my death....There was another man on the hike experiencing the same thing. I think seeing him sit down unable to move made my fear even worse.  Collin lifted/dragged me over the pit of doom and we eventually made it to the arches.  On the way back I had to keep telling myself that I wasn't going to die, the crack was just a crack and that I would make it.  The way back I did significantly better.  Collin spent all weekend scrambling up rocks and I usually made it maybe two feet up and had to turn around.  

While we were in Moab we stayed at The Moab Rustic Inn.  I'd highly recommend staying here.  Not only was it affordable, but it also included a kitchenette which came in handy.  The room was clean and spacious.  It was a great place to stay after hiking all day.  

On our last night we decided to try to find some Vegan eats.  We checked out Moab Kitchen a completely vegan food truck off the beaten path.  Little did we know, it was the last night that they were going to be open for the season.  To give back to the community that pushed them through the summer, the owner set up a pay what you want, all you can eat buffet.  The food was amazing and the atmosphere was really chill and pretty hippy! :) We will definitely be heading back there when we visit again!

 

El Nido

There is so much to say about El Nido. Yet at the same time I want to just say it was like a dream and leave it at that.  But really, it felt like a dream. Everything was beyond beautiful!! 

Our first full day in El Nido we went on island hoping tour A.  If anyone ends up going to El Nido make sure you book with a touring agency that takes you to the Big Lagoon. A bunch of tours will tell you that you’re going on tour A but instead take you to other places. That’s sadly what happened to us. Despite not seeing the big lagoon the sites we did see were absolutely beautiful. Collin and I were in awe at just how gorgeous one place could be! 

Our second day we decided to kayak.... oh man... be advised sea kayaking in a cheap kayak is not for the faint of heart. Looking out across the bay we decided we would easily be able to make it to the first secluded beach we could see in a very reasonable amount of time. All of the travel blogs I had read said how great kayaking was as a way to see a bunch of beaches. About halfway out of the bay the waves started picking up. My anxiety was threw the roof, the water was deep and dark and scary! With the waves and the wind it ended up taking us a longer time to get to the first beach then we would have liked. The beach only had one other couple on it and the water was crystal clear for snorkeling. (Snorkeling was by far my favorite thing to do on this vacation.) After about an hour on this little beach we decided to cross the deep dark sea yet again to kayak to seven commandos beach. This is a beach that you see on tour A. We loved it so much and wanted some rum and coconut so  we started the journey. It took forever. Whatever direction we seemed to go the wind was just trying to push us back. Finally at seven commandos we were able to relax and enjoy the views. 

I didn’t think we were going to survive the journey back to El Nido! The wind didn’t want us to make it home. We would paddle and paddle and paddle and not move a centimeter. So we stopped a few times along the way. I’m not going to lie I had a tiny melt down on the way back cause like I said I didn’t think we were going to make it. I’m grateful to Collin for being the strong man he is, and getting us back safely.  

The third day we spent relaxing. We both had got a bit of sunburn and I had a bunch of homework to do so we just ate food and enjoyed the peace of this beautiful place. 

We went on another tour on the 4th day! Tour C is AMAZING!! There were so many wonderful spots for snorkeling. We decided to book with Go Paradise Travel & Tours for this one and it was so much fun! When we go back we will only book with them. Tour C features choppy water, where yet again I thought we’d all go overboard, however, the spots you visit were so cool!! Hidden lagoons, a beautiful snorkeling spot and more crystal clear water. The snorkeling was so amazing. However, IT WAS JELLYFISH SEASON!! Even with the all the jellies, swimming through the water seeing a deep dark endless ocean on one side and a beautiful reef full of fish on the other was one of the coolest experiences. But make sure you have a shirt cause there were jellyfish literally everywhere, and I mean everywhere. 

The 5th day we decided to go to Las Canabas beach and do the zip line. The zip line wasn’t the longest, nor fastest, but you got some beautiful views of the ocean.   

The last day we went up to Nacpan beach. Nacpan is considered one of the 10 ten beaches in the world. The water was gorgeous and the beach had absolutely no shells or trash to step on and went on for miles.

We had some of the best food and drinks in El Nido. There are so many great cheap restaurants for meat eaters and vegans alike. I’m not going to lie I’m seriously craving some Pancit Bihon and a pina colada just thinking about it! 

I know El Nido really made an impression on both of us. We didn’t want to come home. I cried on the plane and in the airport because I didn’t want to leave that paradise. Hopefully one day we will make it back, but until then we’ll be dreaming of those beaches!! 

Nacpan beach 

View from the zip line 

The crew of the ships would be climbing all over these planks.

Tour A hidden lagoon 

All of the tours come with a full buffet style lunch. 

Nacpan beach 

Views from one of the restaurants 

The Helicopter island beach on tour C. 

Philippines

Our trip to the Philippines got off to a bit of a rough start. We woke up to the biggest snow storm of the year, my credit card had been stolen, and it took almost 2 hours to get to the airport. Because of the snow we missed our connecting flight in San Francisco.  Thankfully Orbitz was able to get us on the next flight out but we had to wait until just a few hours before our flight before we even knew if we would get on or not. Our anxiety and stress was at an all time high.  Needless to say it was a very long day. We both were able to sleep for the majority of the 15 hour plane ride. And finally after almost a full 2 days of traveling we made it to Manila! 

Our one main day to really explore Manila was the day that we missed! So we didn’t really get to have much time in the city. We did see the “small” mall of Asia. Which was definitely not small. Ate some great food, and got to stay in 3 different parts of the city over the period of our trip.  

After sleeping for the night we got on another plane to Puerto Princesa, where we then got on a bus to El Nido. The bus ride took about 5 hours. We left the airport drove around for an hour then came back to the airport because the driver refused to leave until every single seat was full. We were all in the van like a can of sardines and could not wait to get to El Nido! The drive was absolutely gorgeous, on coastal roads, through rice fields, and little villages. 

El Nido was an absolute dream. I’m going to do a separate post just for that beautiful paradise! We spent a full week soaking up the sun, drinking coconuts and cocktails, and eating delicious food. I think it’s safe to say that we will be back to El Nido! 

After our week in El Nido, we journied to the north of the main island to a little city called Alaminos. Collin had been told by a few people that The Hundred Islands Park was gorgeous so we decided to check it out. It definitely had its own type of beauty and for $20 we had a whole boat and tour to ourselves. There was some amazing snorkeling. We went “cave” jumping with probably 1000 bats, saw a sea snake, and I saw a puffer fish.  We stayed at a wonderful AirBnb in Alaminos called Traditional Filipino Home if anyone is heading that direction I’d highly recommend staying there. 

At times it was heart breaking and very humbling seeing a majority of these wonderful Filipinos living in third world conditions and terrible poverty. It definitely made both Collin and I very grateful for what we have. It also opened my eyes to being happy regardless of our circumstances. The Filipinos we met were the absolute most friendly people we have ever met, despite their living conditions. It was definitely a humbling experience. 

I think it’s safe to say that the Philippines left a wonderful mark on our hearts! We cannot wait to go back and explore more of those 7,000+ islands. 

The view from one of the Islands at Hundred Islands 

Top of the zip line at Las Cabanas beach

This was the best dish we came across and I miss it so much 😭 Pancit Bihon. All of this amazing food was only $5. 

Our cute little patio 

The boardwalk in Manila near the Mall of Asia 

We loved eating our meals by the ocean 😍

Yellowstone

A couple of weeks ago Collin had a 4 day weekend. We decided to take a spur of the moment trip up to Yellowstone National Park since neither of us have had a chance to visit there before. I was extremely excited!! We left later on Saturday night so, by the time we got up to West Yellowstone it was around 12 am. We decided to sleep in the trunk of my car since we knew there would be no camp sites open for the night. That was an experience! Collin is so tall I felt so bad he had to be squished in the trunk of my RAV so I kept trying to give him as much space as possible. Needless to say neither of us got much sleep last night. Not to mention we were parked right next to these crazy woods where bears and who knows what else were lurking in. 

When arriving at Yellowstone we quickly had to find a camping spot because the first come first serve spots are in such high demand. We had been waiting for almost two hours for one camp ground to be told we might not even get in. So we went up the road a little ways and found a less populated camp ground. However that campground filled up just an hour or two after we had gotten there. Moral of the story get to the campgrounds extremely early if you don’t have a reservation. 

Yellowstone itself was beautiful. We camped at the Indian Creek camp ground and spent a lot of our days there driving the loop. I wish we had more time to hike and slow down but it was a quick fun trip! I cannot believe the beautiful colors some of those hot springs were radiating!! 

Obviously we saw old faithful. She was not faithful and exploded a few minutes late. I was thinking that Old Faithful would be a bit more epic. It was cool to see one of the larger geysers explode. However, we were able to see the largest exploding geyser in the world smoking. It went off just a couple days before our visit and shoots over 300 ft in the air. So seeing old faithful and knowing that there is a geyser that explodes double the size was blowing my mind

We decided that Yellowstone is America’s most American National Park. People come from all over the world to see this beautiful place!! It’s amazing how Yellowstone is a volcano!! It literally has a certain area that is the crater of this super volcano!!! 

Collin and I both wish we had seen a bear or a wolf. But I guess we will just have to go again. 

I don’t know what it is about little old ladies always wanting to take our picture for us. 


The short hike to the overlook of lower falls was so worth it. It is so crazy how powerful water is! 

Grand prismatic spring had to be one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen!! 

Dublin

Truth is, I put off writing this post for the longest time because I don’t want to cope with reality of being home. Or technically, in the middle of homes. We’ve got a lot of changes going on and it’s a bit stressful at the moment, but we just keep moving along. I am also going through the withdrawals of not starting my day with a chocolate croissant and a coffee! 😫

Anyways, we spent the last few days of our trip in Dublin. I think our bodies were just tired of traveling every 2 days that we struggled to want to do much in Dublin. I was blessed to be able to see the Long Room at Trinity College, as well as the Book of Kels. I am planning on going back to school to get a masters in Library Science so seeing all of those old books, lined  floor to ceiling, took my breath away. We also went and saw the Temple Bar, and the spire. We really wanted to go into the Leprechaun museum but things in Dublin are ridiculously expensive. We ate some of the best pasta while we were there. To the point where we went back to the restaurant again the next night because it was so good. Just thinking about it is making me crave it. 🤤 

Obviously we had trouble with getting into our AirBnb...again... I don’t understand why these hosts don’t explain that you have to turn the key a certain way, push down with half your body weight, stand on your head while singing the abc’s to get into the apartment. Our last host didn’t explain the way the door worked even after I asked him if there was anything special we needed to know. So there we were stuck outside our place with no service...yet again. We had to go find WiFi so I could message him for him to tell us that you had to push down on the key in order for it to move. Why he couldn’t have just said that when I asked I have no idea. Regardless, the AirBnb was really nice. One day we will conquer all those doors. 

I’m so grateful we were able to spend all that time in Europe seeing so many different countries. We experienced so many different cultures. We loved our time away and can’t wait to pick our next destination! Until next time Europe!! 😘💕

The Next Chapter

Happy Summer time everyone! Collin and I decided to move down to Ogden for a few months! We are very excited to have a cute little apartment and to be in a new place for a bit. We are so excited to explore Ogden and all the different things we can do down here! It’s also nice knowing that we are that much closer to Salt Lake!! ☺️ We can’t wait to enjoy the summer together!! 

Happy Father’s Day to all those dads out there!!! 💕