Friday, October 23, 2015

The Great Outdoors

Last weekend Fiance experienced an important rite of passage -- he went deer hunting with my dad. Hunting in my family (I know this is weird on a veg blog, so let's skip over that. K?) is not like normal hunting.

My great-grandpa started going to the La Sal mountains roughly sixty years ago, since then this tradition has continued to grow. My dad has been hunting in the same spot since he was eight. His friends from high school come and bring their kids. His sister and her family come. Sometimes, family from New Mexico comes in.

Last year, I went up hunting as a bystander, and it was more of a family event. However this year, my mom and I opted out and decided to go on our own trip -- leaving Fiance alone with my dad, his friends and my younger brother -- some of the craziest people I know.

OK. So I'm going to start by saying, he survived. But barely. First, he might have crashed my dad's four-wheeler. Apparently it looked pretty bad, but he was lucky enough to escape with a few scrapes on his hands and a sore neck.

Secondly, he gorged himself on so much fried pork, chicken wings, cheese burgers and bratwursts that (in one meal) that he woke up in the middle of the night to puke. Twice.

Finally! While Fiance survived, so did the deer that he saw! Huzzah!

I knew it was a success because a couple days after the hunt, my brother Nick called. When I asked how things went, he said, "Is Zach around?" And then said, he'd tell me later, when he wasn't around. I called him when I was walking over to the gym and said, "What did you want to talk about that you wouldn't say in front of Zach?" He replied, "Oh, just that we had a good time and it was a lot fun," followed by a lot of laughing (he's a weird kid). This is a glorious compliment, considering he hasn't liked anyone else I've been in a serious relationship with.

So, win for everyone! Hopefully, Fiance will go back next year and continue his survival streak, for both himself and the deer.

Posted by Whitney Sanchez at 10:08 PM No comments: Fall is HERE!

Fall is here and fall is the greatest time ever!!!
There are so many things to love about fall!

This is my Top Ten list: 1. It is no longer as hot as balls!
2. The leaves are changing to fabulous colors.
3. Everything smells like cinnamon and spiced lattes!
4. Crisp morning air.
5. If I ever decide to stop wearing jeans and a t-shirt everyday -- fall fashions are the best fashions
6. Pumpkins! -- pie, jack-o-lanterns!
7. Soup weather
8. Soft, glowy light that's makes the world look like Rivendale
9. Sweaters that look like blankets!!!
10. Gorgeous hiking! It  has been pretty busy lately, but not in a bad way. I finished my MBA seminar so I've had a little, three week break from school. Fiance and I went to New Hampshire so he could interview at Darmouth's MBA program. I fell in love with the town and the school! Hanover was small and quite, just my kind of place. I could imagine running around for hours and not worrying about going into a bad part of town. I know it is small-minded, but a lot of the schools Zach is applying too are in big cities. As a small, Utah girl, I don't know if I could be comfortable living in one.  But, New England is beautiful, hopefully soon we will have a reason to go back. I've also taken advantage of the hiking weather. This Saturday, Kevin and I hiked Mount Ogden. It was about 10 miles round trip and we crushed it, finishing in less than three and a half hours (3:25). The ascent was about 3,200 ft.  Overall, it was a great hike. Pretty quick and not to difficult with the exceptions of some steep ascents at the summit. It didn't rain on us, but at some points became incredibly foggy! We were walking in the clouds. I am surprised that I've spent my whole life in Utah and have never gotten around to doing some of the major peak hikes in the area. Especially since I try to hike as often as I can. Luckily, when we did Mount Ogden we got a pretty early start, so we were already making our way back down the mountain when others were heading up. Finally, in true October fashion (stole the idea!!) Fiance and I are going to start watching scary movies in the evenings this month. I'm open to suggestions if you have any good ones you want to share or any Netflix-bad ones.
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