I don't think that pig lizard was Gorignak

OMG Joshua Tree. Stop it. It's too much.

Apparently, Dan loves the desert. It calls to him. I'm more of a forest/mountain girl, myself, but I will say, this place killed me. The night skies. There is no comparison. They were amazing.

I may even get Dan (man who hates camping) to go back so long as we have a telescope in tow. The man is also really into stars and planets. It really hurt him that I didn't know all the planets and their order until I was 22. Leave me alone, I went to private bible school. I learned the books of the bible in order by song. Old Testament and New Testament.

I digress.

Joshua Tree was amazing. And I got my dad and baby sister to join us. Dad and I (the more adventurous of the four of us) decided to hike Ryan Mountain in the wee hours of the morning to watch the sunrise at the summit. About 2,000 vertical feet and a mile and a half later - and a couple disagreements on who was the speedracer of the two of us - we made it to the top in time to watch the sky change color and the sun come over the horizon.

We brought the little stove and french press and had ourselves a little father-daughter moment.

I can't say enough good things. Though I am exhausted and a red-eye the same day as you come back from camping is ill-advised. Pro-tip.

When we went camping {Memorial Day Weekend}

Boone, NC, Appalachian Mountains, Blue Ridge Parkway, 

Great friends, Fires and marshmallows 

I love camping. 

Happy Campers

We almost didn't go. The forecast said major rain was coming this weekend and to be honest, I am not a hard-core camper. I am a set-up-your-tent-make-a-fire-and-eat-a-s'more camper. Rain does not sound appealing to my demographic. After a little convincing we ended up going and I am so glad we did. We had a blast. The lake was beautiful (I even got a little tan!), the food was great, and the company was fabulous. It did rain a little but it ended up being a bonding experience, so take that mother nature! And even after all that eating Dan and I still managed to work up an appetite for our favorite local burrito joint on the drive back to Wilmington. Weekend well spent. 

photophuntwentysix

Day Twenty-Six:
A Photo of Your Favorite Weekend

I don't even know what it means to have a "favorite weekend." There are plenty of awesome recent ones: the wedding, the honeymoon, or my parents trip to NY. Alas, I have used all of those at least once in this little challenge so I did some photo research to remember a weekend I loved. Voila! Yosemite trip. I had such a blast with these people, and what better place can you visit than Yosemite? We rock climbed (you read that right: we climbed rocks) and we hiked, if I remember correctly, the Panorama trail. I love being outdoors and I love camping. It'll take a while for me to convince Dan to go camping since the last time he went he was 2 1/2 feet deep in snow! We'll get there though, I'm sure of it. I love good memories and this one I am quite fond of.