Zion National Park!

Ohmygosh. I went to Zion National Park for the first time this last weekend, and it was AMAZING! It's like a desert version of Yosemite. My roommate Lexy and I took off Friday after work and drove 3.5 hours south to Zion. The weather was perfect at 80 degrees and sunny, with a cool breeze that was quite a friend during our hikes. The first day (Saturday) we did a couple hikes, but it was really crowded. Definitely Spring Break for a lot of people this weekend.

The next day, being Sunday, had far less people. It was really nice. We hiked Angel's Landing, one of the highest mountains of Zion National Park. It ascends 1,500 feet over a distance of 2.5 miles to the summit, and has amazing views on all sides of the canyon. This is generally considered "the best high elevation viewpoint in the park". People afraid of heights are warned (me being one of those people), but as long as I didn't look down, it was fine! It started with switchbacks ascending up the side of the mountain, then curved along behind deep in the canyon where it was much cooler. Then more switchbacks till reaching the top of the lowest end of the mountain. From there there are chains to help guide you up the mountain, and a lot of boulder-hopping and scrambling. There were parts of the trail with drop-offs on either side, about 1,000 feet to the bottom (sorry Mom...). An amazing climb, leading to an even more amazing view. I would do it again in a heartbeat! This was the ridge we hiked along to get to the summit:





We plan on going back pretty often this spring and summer. Hopefully next time with the boys. When it gets hot we will definitely be hiking the Narrows, one of the most popular photography hot spots in the park!

More pictures to be added to http://www.hollandbanksphotography.blogspot.com/ :)

Happy Easter!

Last night my roommate Lexy and I painted eggs together... something I haven't done since I was 12 years old! We invited our friend Audrey over and had a lot of fun. My fingers are still pink from the dye.

This weekend is going to be really great. Our church has General Conference all weekend (3 sessions tomorrow and 2 on Sunday), which is broad casted around the world. The prophet speaks, along with the Quorum of the Twelve apostles. My bishop gave me two tickets to go to the Sunday morning session in Salt Lake at the conference center, so I will be in the audience. I'm taking my friend Norma who is so happy to go. Then I'll be having Easter dinner at a friend's house for those of us who aren't going home for the holiday.

I hope people remember why we really celebrate this day.... :)

New Crazy Happenings in Life

I don't even know where to start, so much has gone on in my life since my last post.

So let's see.... I recently got a new job working for AMP Security doing data entry for calls that come in from the reps. It's super easy, and yes, sounds boring, but it's full-time, which is something I really need right now. I put my two-weeks in at Inkley's Camera last week, and my last day is this coming Saturday. I made some great friends at Inkley's and will continue to see them and go there to print pictures and camera supplies!

I have had two "callings" now in my ward at the church. I am now the ward photographer, and one of two leaders of the Activities Committee! Both super fun, and we get to plan all these amazing events to do with our ward. I'm excited for this summer!

Chrissie and I have a new roommate, Lexy, who was my good friend before she moved in, whom I met through Jake and Jared. She rocks. I love her. This is us dressed as hippies for a Decades Night at the church.

Last weekend I went to the Holi Krishna Festival of Colors in Spanish Fork, UT. SO much fun. I went with my close friends Josh, Jake, Jared, Lexy, and our new friend Alanna. Nearly 20,000 people attended this event, and for those of you that don't know what it is, it's an Indian (as in the country India) celebration of spring coming. There is music, and food, and the most traditional part, colored chalk that is thrown in the air so everyone gets covered in color. I have a mixture of pictures in here taken by different people (I wasn't about to bring my nice camera to this event to get chalk dust in it--I took a little $3.50 disposable camera ;) ). Enjoy! (Oh, and check out this video of the countdown: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH5xlZHNm20

Photos by Gordon Galbraith: The throwing of the colored chalk



Photo by Alanna Skrypek

Me after the throwing, with Jake in the background

Photo by Alanna Skrypek: Jared. ha!

group photos...


Lexy and me back at the house