The Blog: March 2016

I've occasionally been asked how I spend my weekends out here, and because Green River, Utah is FULL of riveting excitement, I'll tell you a bit about them.

I've been here for almost 7 months now, most of which were fall/winter. Now, thankfully the winter here wasn't too bad at all, not compared to the polar vortexes experienced in recent Indiana winters, but it did limit the amount of outdoor fun that one can have in the middle of nowhere Utah. Unless, of course, you're a super hard-core hiker, which I cannot claim to be.

So, winter weekends usually contained things like reading books, watching movies, and hanging out. I've managed to make it through the entire Harry Potter series. On the surface, it's so that I can better relate with Hope (lover of all things Harry Potter), but really I'm also glad I had an excuse to finish all of them. There's also no shortage of time to pick up those personal projects laid by the wayside in college- music, pictures, crocheting, etc.- and make food.

Sometimes the weekend includes going to the BIG CITY (Grand Junction, town of 60,000). I've come to experience abnormal excitement over things like Target, B-dubs, haircuts, and Taco bell. In general, I am not a supporter of chain restaurants, but when you can't get a crunch wrap supreme whenever you want you just start to crave that toasty, crunchy, creamy goodness. I've found that most people in Green River experience this phenomenon to some degree. For Hope, I think it's Pizza Hut, book stores, and cats. There's a robust yippy dog population here, but alas, few cats.

Inevitably, when I go anywhere on the weekend with a real grocery store, I feel pressured to go in. Even if I don't know of anything I need, I'm wracking my brain for anything that might come up in the near future (or like, a month). After being in Green River for so long, I find the shopping experience to be totally overwhelming. It's something like the Beverly Hillbillies going to the city for the first time. I think my heart rate increases as soon as I step in the door at the panic of navigating all the aisles. Finding what I need requires so much concentration that the other shoppers probably think I'm suffering from severe constipation. I stand and stare at the options in a shell-shocked trance (seriously, there are so many types of crackers...), and I totally can't handle the number of people I have to maneuver around. The Melon Vine may not have like half of the things I used to eat- things like tofu, gouda, and sea salt (really)- but man, it's so easy to shop there.

When it's not cold, you can usually find me doing something outdoors at least one day of the weekend. Middle-of-nowhere Green River may not be conducive for social plans, but it's certainly good for exploration. Around 70% of Utah is public land... there are literally limitless options of places to hike, climb, bike, camp, etc. Hence, I've gone to a number of cool places, and I hope to continue doing so. There's a lot of fun things right around Green River, including Swasey's Beach (a truly lovely beach), the San Rafael Swell, and the Blue Castle butte (pronounced byoot, for all you immature people) area. Arches and Canyonlands national parks are both less than an hour away.

These adventures are hard to describe without pictures. So, it's a little crazy... prepare yourself... I will now inundate you. Stay tuned, I'm sure there will be many more this summer.

- Arches & Canyonlands -