Did someone say Buckaroo?

Since we all had work off for Pioneer day, Angel, Luke, Liz, Travis, and I traveled down to Havasupai, AZ to finally complete the famous Havasu hike/camp. I have been wanting to go on the hike ever since my dad first told me about it from his mission. Back in March when Angel and I started to become great friends, we talked about going on a backpacking trip together so that I could show her my wilderness skills and she could become more nature-esk or outdoorsy. Somehow I mentioned Havasupai and the next thing I know we were planning the trip. We had hoped to go in June but it was booked clear to mid-July. Thanks to Utah and it's fake holiday, we were able to make this awesome hike happen for Pioneer Day weekend. Well, it was AWESOME. It was the longest and shortest vacation of my life, and quite the adventure!

We headed down on Wednesday night to stay at Planet Hollywood in Vegas. Viva las Vegas baby! Too bad we got a speeding ticket like 5 miles from our hotel, but you win some, you lost some. The next day we took our dear sweet time walking around the strip in the BLAZING heat and letting Angel soak in as much Vegas as she could stand. One of her life's ambition was to go to Vegas so I'm glad that we could make it happen for her. The dang fountain at the Bellagio was under repair but it was still a good time. We hit up good ole In-N-Out Burger before leaving town and it was as delicious as always. Seriously, I don't know how they make it better but it is so much better than regular fast food. We quickly headed to WallyWorld to get some last minute items and then headed out of town.

The drive from Vegas was about 3.5 hours and we were able to find a nice little campsite about 1 hour from the base of the hike. When we were at the campsite I was quoting Brian Reagen and said "hey there buckaroo!" The next thing I know this crazy cowboy pops out of nowhere and says "Did someone say Buckaroo?" Confused and a little dazed, I finally admitted to being the one to have said Buckaroo, so the guy hands me his business card. Apparently this cowboy-at-heart is named the Santa Fe Kid and goes around doing gun shows. Don't worry, the card assured me that he owns his own gun and will travel! Needless to say, we all got a good laugh and that became the theme for the rest of our trip: "Did someone say Buckaroo?"

The next morning we started the hike at 7 a.m. and made it to the campsite around 11 a.m. Not bad considering we took our dear sweet time and stopped at the village to sign in and look at the frozen gatorade and snowcones. YES! They sell snowcones in a freezer. I decided to not buy anything since it was extremely overpriced, but a nice frozen gatorade would have hit the spot. I could not believe the beauty of the waterfalls when we finally made it the 10 miles. Words can not describe how magnificant the place was. I've been on a lot of hikes in my time, and I would have to say that this is one of my favorite places on earth. The water was crystal blue and warm and so much fun to swim in. And of course there were water swings that we hit up that just added to the experience. We all loved the whole trip. The ony thing we didn't enjoy was the killer squirrels that tore apart our bags to get to the trail mix. Seriously, these animals were insane! Poor Liz also got an eye infection that was NOT fun but luckily everything was okay and she was able to make it out okay.
My favorite spot of the hike was Mooney Falls. The falls were about 200 feet tall and the mist coming off it was so gorgeous. To get to Mooney, you have to make this steep descent in the rocks that is way scary. Liz made it one-eyed and we were all impressed. If we could do the hike over again, we would have planned one more day so that we could explore more and swim longer. But it was perfect all the same.

We hiked out on Saturday around 5 p.m. and made it to our JEEP at 9 p.m. Poor Luke ended up carrying a girl about 1/2 mile up the steepest part of the hike because she was really hurt and couldnt walk anymore. I don't know how he did it, but he was apparently an answer to her prayers. It was a pretty neat experience. He is such a good guy. We packed up and headed to Kingman that night and stayed in a hotel because we were not about to camp again in the pain we were in. A bed has never felt so good in my entire life!

Sunday morning we drove back to St. George, got a litte Cafe Rio and then drove the rest of the way back to Salt Lake. The trip felt so long and yet so short. I had the best time of my life. And one day I will go back with my family and do that hike again. It was the best!