Well my bags are packed, I'm ready to go....

we leave at 4 a.m. for our annual huge Beatty family trip! this year we are going to the wilds of southern utah...from snow canyon to bryce to zion to grand escalante, for red rock and hoodoos, the narrows and petroglyphs, sand dunes and waterfalls and swimming holes. 

with a few photo shoots and film shots tucked in there as well, and hopefully some family games of trivia (i've created a wild west themed trivia game), songs and stories.

i have been packed for a few days! what a nerd! i chose my "color scheme" over a week ago, deciding on cool blues and greens with hints of earth tones to compliment the desert landscapes. everyone makes so much fun of me but i have been like this since i was little. not only do i love to pack, i love every aspect of planning trips and my journal is full of lists. i asked darin what kinds of clothes he is bringing (thinking photos and such) and he was like, i am not talking about this.

 some books i was considering bringing. decided War and Peace is going to be home-reading; it's just too heavy. this list has already been altered considerably since now I have started Ivan Doig's This House of Sky and loving it. and as much as i crave my beloved Sierra Nevada guidebook, that's just not going to apply in desert plateau country. i just liked its color in my stack.

we will be gone a little over a week. no internets, no facebook, quite possibly no beer, no beds! instead we will have the joys of 105 degree heat in the desert, hiking and camping every day, and my personal request that we discover at least one body of water, river or waterfall or secret swimming hole, to dip each day!

here are the august summery things we'll miss round here:

nights at Marco's down by the river, live music by jacob's band Flannel, pitchers of hemp ale and delicious homemade salads and pesto-potato pizza:

 

 i saw my old friend nate! it had been a couple years since i last saw him, and even that was fleeting. we were best friends right after high school. he taught me about the grateful dead, right before jerry died; we hiked through the backwaters of this county, went on long drives, talked about everything, were silly together, went swinging at night with all our friends and played tag like little kids. it was really good to see him happy, smiley and heartfelt as ever.

all the little babies of our town are blossoming; here's zillion with adorable mama elsie.

and of course, oliver with stylin mama becky! he is a great audience. he appreciates art, music, and theater.

chelsea grew up here, in riverland. she has the best stories and knows everyone, like the main character of the documentary i posted about.

best kind of night!

it is pretty obvious who i will miss most while we're gone though! these little troublemakers. my momma will be taking care of them, and they have all sorts of elaborate treat-routines and so forth that she'll be keeping up with while i'm gone. at least they will be staying indoors, and thereby avoiding these horrific stickers they've been covered in lately from their roamings.

here's what happens to me the minute i bend over to pick beanie up: a braid full of burrs.

our rose-of-sharon is in full pink gloried bloom.

really brightens up the dry backyard!

a mountainous sunset drive with my honey.

i found a little feather for my cap.

well...away we go. wishing you all well while i'm gone!