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!



Comments

ashley said…
Sticker-puss be damned! We are going camping for a few nights as well, and we are leaving the kits indoors. Can't wait to be able to snuggle Jules again after a few days of being stuck inside, cleaning himself out of boredom!

Oh, I can't wait to hear about your adventures when you all get back. Best wishes for a magical water source out there, and for an incredible time through and through!

xoxo
Joseph Beatty said…
i have on bone to pick with this blog: we WILL have beer. not the other way around.
NO BEER! this is unacceptable. have so much fun! i think the blues with the desert background will be stunning.
Amy Beatty said…
ooooo i love those colors..... you have inspired me to start packing... at least for the kids. So can't wait to meet up down south. Dusty sunshine and sea green waterholes, river, waterfalls we are yours. love the photo of your braid!!! and you are stunning in the last photo as always xoxo those kittys - I'm sure will give you a proper homecoming.
Teeny said…
Have a glorious time! A Family holiday? That sounds like the best idea! I think I'm going to suggest that to my own big fams. Much love.
x
Amanda said…
Have a wonderful, wonderful time! We'll mis syou but look forward to the stories you will have when you get back.
Cel said…
My boyfriend loooves his cats and while we were away at the festival, he kept talking about them and hoping they were alright without him hah. And one of his silly ways of trying to cheer me up when I was sad about leaving was telling me I could go see my own kitty again, heh. We are cat people!

I hope you all have an absolutely fantastic trip! And take lots of amazing photos and have stellar times and find gorgeous swimming holes a plenty.
Tina Dawn said…
Bummer, I feel for you, no beer. No kitties. I think you will have fun anyway, hopefully! Aren't those little burrs irritating? I call them velcro stickers. I am not going to let Ishi out for months because I know he will be all stuck, he has longer hair. Have a wonderful trip! Love T
Missa said…
Sounds like an amazing trip, hope you're off to a fun start! We've been talking about trying to do a Zion trip this fall. Can't wait to hear all about it and I hope there are many secret enchanted swimming holes awaiting your arrival!
Susan Spring said…
I"ll miss you darlin' girl. I always get a teensy bit jealous of the wonderful trips you go with Dad. But this year I have my sweet wonderful new hubby and precious girls. Don't worry about your babies, they will be fine. Give those grandbabies of mine big hugs and kisses, I miss them so. Be so, so safe all of you. All five of my kids together. Take a picture of all five of you together for me. The last one I had was from Powells!! Love you darlin' Marmy
Milla said…
Oh, I know about missing your kitties the most! One of the high points of our biiig road trip this year was when there was a message from Callie saying that our Kissa was doing well and happy. I missed her so. (I even contemplated bringing her with us.) I'm an expert packer too though I always back too much stuff and way too many books! I've gotten better about that over the years, but consequently C. has then gotten worse and so we still have an obscene amount of books with us when we travel. Nature abhors a vacuum apparently. War And Peace, eh? Quite undertaking and the perfect summer book. It'll be exciting to hear your thoughts on it. I hope you're having the best of time. I can't wait to "hear" of all the Beatty adventures when you get back!

Safe travels and Merry Journeys! And lots of love.
Geny said…
Hope you are having a wonderful trip! So happy to see a picture of Nate and that he's doing good, I have seen him in a zillion years!!
Anonymous said…
GAH! I know this is sooo late, but I hope you're having the greatest of fun! You are such a beautiful desert damsel. I hope it doesn't seem strange, but you seem to be such a natural for that environment. A lovely sand sister, red rock maiden, gravel grrl.

SO much love! xoxo

P.S. Lily, Alice, and Lupin *always* have little stickers all over their butts and tails, so they (and I) understand your kitties' (and your) pain.

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