Good Quote

"The joy of life comes from our encounters with new
experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an
endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new
and different sun." ~Christopher McCandless

Scary Story

So this last Wednsesay (two days ago) I took a walk on the Provo trail around 4:30pm. The Provo trail passes right by my apartment, and goes all the way from the canyon to the lake, through all of Provo, and it's a nice little path that people jog and walk and bike on all the time. It was a really nice day so I wanted to take a walk along the river on the trail and see all the baby ducklings (I counted 17!). I stopped in this one little clearing where I could go right up to the river between some bushes, and stayed there for about 30 minutes or so and watched the ducklings and mamas swim around. People rode their bikes by every so often and families walked by with fishing poles. Totally safe, right?

Well little did I know, the whole time I was down there, just less than a half-mile down that same trail, a 19-year-old girl was lying in the bushes, as just a half-hour to an hour earlier she had been pulled from the woods near the trail, raped, and left for dead since the guy smashed her face in with a rock and left her unconscious there. She left her apartment at Brandbury Apartments just right down the trail at 3:30pm, and wasn't found until 6:20pm when she managed to crawl up near the trail where someone could see her. So the whole time I was there at the river she was there as well, about 800 yards away, and the guy was still on the loose.

Crazy thing is, when I was standing down there, a little family walked by and a little girl said to her dad "Look dad, more ducklings!!" like there were even more up the river (toward Branbury Apartments where the girl was). I thought about walking further on down the trail to check them out cuz they are so stinkin' cute and I wanted to see how many more there were since I had already seen so many, but something told me not to go. I just decided to stay right there. Even though it was such a nice day and I would have loved to walk further down the trail, I followed my prompting to not. Heavenly Father maybe?

Oh, and apparently I have met this girl. She was at one of my best friend's Jared's apartment one day visiting his roommate. She is such a beautiful girl. Her name is Mika Scott and she was getting into modeling. Her face is now bashed in, and her jaw is broken, and she's missing several teeth. She can only answer questions with a nod yes or no, and by using some sign language. Doctors say they believe she will survive. Please keep Mika in your prayers.

Just comes to show you should always follow your promptings. I learned to not walk alone on the Provo trail anymore. To read more about this story:
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_15268960?source=most_viewed

Update: The man suspected of raping Mika has been caught, as this man robbed a boutique at the Riverwoods in Provo later that same evening and stole a girl's cell phone and car, and when he got as far as Mona, UT (40 miles south of Provo), the cell phone signal was discovered and the cops tracked him down and caught him. He matched all the same descriptions as Mika had given (tattoos on his neck and arms, stocky build), so hopefully this is really the guy. The same night our apartment complex had about 5 cars broken into as well, including my roommate Lexy's car, so hopefully they'll be able to get their stuff back if it's the same guy.

Mule Days!

This last weekend, my amazing friends Jake, Lexy and I road-tripped to Bishop, CA for a little thing called MULE DAYS!! The same weekend every year (Memorial Day weekend), people come from all over the nation to show their mules, and enter in to some of the funniest events there are. If you think rodeos are great, you aint seen nothin'.

Most of the entertainment came from my long-time friend and 'brother', Bryce Hathaway. He and White Trash (his big white mule) are so hilarious out there in the arena. Some events they did were the "Dolly Parton Race" (a race with grown men wearing big bras stuffed with water balloons), "Musical Tires" and "Bedroll Race" which Bryce and his brother Jared ROCKED!! It was great. I wish I had gotten these things on video because I can't describe them. But I got some pretty fun pictures.

Picture by unknown photographer... Bryce falling off White Trash during Dolly Parton Race!

Jared Hathaway and his ridonkulous moustache!
Bryce pulling Jared during Bedroll Race. They won!

When we weren't watching events, Jake, Lexy and I kept pretty busy. We went to the parade, explored and climbed the Buttermilks, and walked around the fairgrounds. After the parade we volunteered to ride the animals back to Bobby's house some 40 minutes away. That was the only riding we did all weekend, but it was fun as usual. I miss riding sooo much. I need to find someone out here in Utah with a horse!


Me and Bryce country dancin'

Handsomface Jake running Skippy!

Our last day before leaving the Sierras, Jake and I rode the gondola up to the top of Mammoth Mountain. It was so beautiful. The snow is still about 10 feet deep in some places, and people are still snowboarding and skiing down the whole mountain. I have never ridden the gondola to the top when there is still snow on the mountain! So worth the $22. The view from the top is spectacular, with my favorite little mountain range in the world, the Minarets.

I have to say, I got a little emotional the last night. Reds Meadow has been my second home the last 17 years of my life and my dad was not hired back on this year since Bob claims he "can't afford him". So now a couple of women who know nothing about running a business are going to take over his job. It will be interesting how that goes. But I just don't know what will happen with the place if it does fall apart this summer. What will happen with the animals, whom I have grown up with. And it will be hard to not be with my favorite people over the summer. At least we're all pretty good at keeping in touch...


For those of you that don't know, Reds Meadow is a resort and pack station in the heart of the Eastern Sierra, just outside Mammoth Lakes, CA. It's located in some of the most beautiful backcountry there is, with over 100 lakes in a day's walk/ride, huge waterfalls, and clean fresh mountain air. The 10-mile radius around the resort is my second home. I know it might be silly to get a little emotional over this, because really, Bob just needs to sell the place anyway and something better may come out of it... but I guess since I just don't know what's going to happen it's tough. Some of those trails I have been on literally thousands of times. The trails will always be there, yes, but the animals and the great people I have worked with all these years won't be. It's my home-away-from home! I'll continue to go back and hike and explore the area, every year if I can, but it would be hard if Reds Meadow was no longer there. We'll see after this summer I guess.

Oregon Trip

So sorry, it's been a while since my last post.... Just been so busy!!

Last month I took a trip to Oregon to visit the fam. I took a road trip out there by myself and driving in to Oregon from Idaho is such a great site!! Everything is so lush and green right now. First thing I had to do was stop at Multnomah Falls and take a couple shots. I love that waterfall.

I spent the weekend with my family, and throughout the week I visited with friends in Eugene, and Salem. I also took a day-trip to Newport to enjoy the ocean weather. It was a beautiful day. The drive over I spotted literally thousands of Canada Geese migrating through Oregon, grazing in the fields. I visited with my old roommate Cameron at the big beach house I used to live in with a view of the sea and Yaquina Head Lighthouse. We went tide pooling, and Cameron made this huge awesome seafood meal, with fried oysters, clams, shrimp, and much more! Amazing! While we ate we watched gray whales traveling North from the living room/dining room window. Good day.







Sometime the week my friend Danika asked me if I would be able to take her family pictures at the Woodburn Tulip Festival for her. She is a photographer herself, and I knew this would be a great opportunity for me to practice on PEOPLE! I have taken portraits before, but not of families. It's hard posing families. Can be awkward to tell the husband to at least LOOK like he loves his wife.... haha. Just kidding.... But not really.... Anyway, it was easy because Danika knew how to pose her family nicely (although they didn't need much help at all, they are naturals! Especially their son Asher, who, I must add, is the CUTEST LITTLE BUNDLE OF JOY ON THE PLANET!!

My little stepbrother's Prom was that week as well.... Congrats on graduating Tabor!!!

Other than that, it was a great week. Hung around the grandparents' place a lot, they always love my company... And of course lots of outings with my mom! I heart Oregon :)

If you'd like to see more pictures from this trip (better ones at that) check out my photography blog at http://www.hollandbanksphotography.blogspot.com/.

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