SD4U Week 2

Here is the challenge straight from the site-

Here is your challenge for this week.

We are going on VACATION....well you are on your layout anyway...I want to see a vacation layout with some serious journaling! Tell me the who what where and when of your vacation....tell me the sights the sounds the smells....tell me your feelings your emotions your whatever! This layout needs to be mostly journaling...it can be typed or handwritten but I want to feel like I have been on your vacation thru your page.

The sky is the limit for what you can use.....just make sure there is lots of journaling!

So from there I created this layout:



And here is my LLLLLOOOOOONNNNNNGGGGGG journaling:

Twelve years ago I was getting ready to leave on my second week of Geology 210 Geologic Field Studies. This was an intensive two week course at Brigham Young University that occurred the two weeks prior to fall semester. It was a requirement for my physical science composite major. I had already completed the first week. That took place in northern Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming (mostly Yellowstone). I was so excited, but very anxious. This week would be all camping in southern Utah. The week before was one night only of camping. The rest was in a cabin with bathrooms and running water! I could count on one had the times I had camped before this! We were about to go to several national and state parks to learn more about geology and camp EVERY night. These are my memories of this week 12 years after the trip.

Monday, August 26th
We met early in the morning to pack the big BYU owned vans. By this time we knew everyone and had already bonded together. The nervousness of meeting everyone was not there. We were all excited about the trip. We headed south from Provo to an outcropping near Seven Peaks and a quarry in Spanish Fork. Everyone piled out of the vans with our rock hammers, magnifiers, and field notebooks in hand. We walked up a small pile of rock and listened as Dr. Tom Morris gave us our first lesson. We vigorously took notes. I remember learning that loose piles of rock and sand cannot pile steeper than 45 degrees (maybe it was less, the actual number escapes me). We also talk about being on the edge of the Colorado Plateau to the east and the Basin and Range to the west. This is when the horsts and grabens (valleys and mountains) of the Great Basin were first pointed out to me. This point was pointed out again as we traveled home on the I-15. It’s been imprinted in me ever since. (Just ask Steve, I tell him about it every time we drive to Utah!)
After that first pile out, we all piled back in. This continued stop after stop until we got to our first overnight camping spot, Capitol Reef National Park. We set up our tents and got settled for the night.

Tuesday, August 27th
In the morning we took down the tents and rolled our sleeping bags. We got all our stuff to the vans and the guys packed everything back up. This would repeat every night of our trip. By the end I was an expert with my tent and the guys were expert van roof packers!
That morning was spent in Capitol Reef looking at waterfalls and rock. We saw the colorful Chinle, the red Wingate, the Morrison, and red Navajo sandstones. We would become very familiar with all of these names and the look of these rocks as the week went on.
From Capitol Reef we traveled east. We saw the Waterpocket fold (a beautiful example of a monocline) and wrote all about that. Then just outside of the national park we stopped at a place where Mancos shale was abundant and easy to get to from the highway. We piled out again, all tools in hand, crossed the road barrier, and looked for fossils. We saw cephalopods, brachiopods, fish scales, shark teeth, and worm burrows. It was hot, dusty, and I felt really dirty. It was all in the name of learning though, so I was having fun.
Later in the afternoon, we stopped and did a triangulation exercise that didn’t really work out. We had lunch and relaxed for a bit. Then we continued on, stopping, piling out, taking notes, and piling back in. Finally we ended up at Bryce Canyon National Park to stay the night.

Wednesday, August 28th
We woke early in the morning, broke down camp, and regrouped at the trailhead of Bryce Canyon. We started down the steep trail. It was one mile down and one mile straight back up. It was HARD! I wasn’t in super good shape, but it was harder than I thought. We took the Navajo loop, saw “Wall Street,” and tried to enjoy the beauty while I was seriously out of breath. At least now I can say I hiked Bryce Canyon.
After learning all we could at this park, we headed out to the Pink Coral Sand Dunes. That was a really cool place. I would love to go see it again. The sand looked just like the wind blown sand of the Sahara but with the reddish color typical of southern Utah. We got to run up and run back down them. It was a fun release from all the note taking. This was like class recess, lol!
From the sand dunes we traveled to Lake Powell on the Arizona side. This is my most favorite spot in Utah/Arizona! I love it. We got there at sunset and just got a quick swim in before nightfall.

Thursday August 29th
In the morning we woke early and took our time traveling from Page, Arizona to the Grand Canyon. We ended up at the north rim of the Grand Canyon. We saw all the layers we had been studying stacked neatly in the walls of the canyon. We saw wildlife and the Colorado Plateau. We saw a beautiful sunset as the sun dipped below the horizon.

Friday, August 30th
This day was more of the same loading in and out of the vans, learning about rock formations, fossils, and geologic structures. We started out at the Grand Canyon and traveled north to Zion National Park. Along the way we saw fossils, old river beds, and prehistoric ocean floors. Very interesting in the moment but the details are lost on me 12 years later. I know we saw dinosaur tracks in Hurricane on a super hot hike. We also saw Dead Horse Point sometime too. We ended up at Zion’s National Park.
Before we made camp for the night, we went to the Checkerboard Mesa. We hiked up the side of this mountain/rock and listen to Dr. Morris teach us more. Good thing he was a good teacher, we had to learn a lot.
That night we were camping at the Zion’s campground. A few of the guys headed over to the stream to slide down the slippery rocks. It was really unfortunate that some people had used the stream as a trash can. One of the guys slid his foot right into a piece of broken glass. A few minutes later, another one did the same thing. Dr. Morris made the stream off limits then. Even though everyone was having great fun sliding, it was too scary to think that someone else would get cut. I can’t remember what happened to the hurt students. I think they had to go back early and get medical help (stitches and such). By this time it was late and everyone was ready for bed anyway.

Saturday, August 31st
This was our last and my very favorite day. We woke early and first went to the Weeping Rocks. The Navajo sandstone was clearly seen resting above the Moenave rock. By now we were all experts in identifying the layers.
From these rocks we headed over to the Narrows. I had heard about this hike, had been told it was beautiful, but it was so much more spectacular than I had imagined! Walking through at least ankle deep water was so much fun. The best part was when it was actually deep enough to swim! Even though the water was cold, it was such a relief to be cool, walking at our own pace, and just enjoying the beauty the Heavenly Father had created for us! No hammers, no notes, no pens, just us hiking to hike! Simply beautiful!
And that was it, basically. We hiked back to vans and drove the rest of the way home. We stopped very little on this part of our trip. It was almost 4 hours to get home and it was already getting late. Anyway, we already had a notebook full of notes, brains full of information, and hearts full of memories to last a lifetime!