Saturday was our actual anniversary, but we spent the majority of the day driving home. After eating breakfast at the hotel and packing up Saturday morning, we headed out. However, we did take the opportunity to stop by Arches on our way back. We stopped at a couple pull outs in the park before making our way to the Windows and Double Arch area.
At Park Avenue Viewpoint
Nate on a rock at the Garden of Eden pullout
Double Arch
Since there were more people around at Arches, we were even able to find someone to take a couple pictures of us together.
Here we are in front of the South Window Arch
The Window Arches
For our anniversary this year, I made Nate a wooden puzzle. I figured it was appropriate since the traditional 5th year anniversary gift is "wood." It turned out to look pretty nice, and best of all, Nate really liked it.
Nate finished this cool pop-up picture he has been working on for awhile for me. It is a scene from the hike we took together a few years ago in Kolob Canyon. He also gave me a Christmas ornament from Mesa Verde. He is so thoughtful!
Friday we went back to the park only to realize that the Wetherill Mesa was closed until the end of May. Since we had already seen almost everything on the other Mesa, we opted instead to go on a couple short hikes closer to the park entrance.
First we hiked the Knife Edge Trail, which was originally a narrow road created in 1914 at the main access to the park at that time. However, it was abandoned after the the Morefield-Prater Tunnel was built in 1957, which provided easier and safer access to the park.
After that, we hiked to Point Lookout, which is actually a narrow mesa immediately visible to visitors entering the park. The views from the top were particularly nice.
That afternoon we decided to head over to Hovenweep National Monument, where we saw some different Indian ruins built on the edge of a canyon. We hiked along the Little Ruin Canyon Trail loop before returning to Cortez for a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant.
Wednesday last week Nate and I took off for an anniversary trip to see Mesa Verde. My parents generously agreed to watch Austin and Zipper while we were away.
We spent all of Thursday seeing everything we could in the park. After buying some tour tickets, we first headed out to see Cliff Palace.
Next we headed to the Balcony House for another tour. This ruin took more maneuvering to get to and to get out of. For example, we had to climb a 30 foot ladder up to it at one point, and we had to get down on our hands and knees to crawl through openings at other points.
We then hiked a short trail overlooking the Balcony House. Below is a video taken from the lookout that from which you can also see some of the ladders where we entered and left the Balcony House.
After that we headed back up to the Spruce Tree House. There we were able to climb down inside a Kiva. These are the circular rooms you can see in the pictures above. Originally, these rooms had roofs and were accessed by a ladder, but the vast majority of the roofs are missing now.
Inside of a Kiva
Next we hiked along the Petroglyph Point Trail, which turned out to be a really fun hike. It weaved through rock crevices, up and down narrow stairways, and past a number of interesting rock formations, some cliff house ruins, and other objects of interest before reaching the petroglyphs themselves.
Finally, we finished off the day by driving around the other loop on the Chaplin Mesa. We stopped at various points to view pithouses, stunning views, overlooks of some cliff dwellings, and the Sun Temple.
Square Tower House: tallest standing ruin in the park.
View of Cliff Palace from view point
Sun Temple: it is unclear what this unfinished structure was being built for.
I am simply fascinated by these ruins. So little is known about them, and the mystery surrounding them perhaps draws me to them all the more. Or perhaps it is because in some ways these dwellings remind me of the sort of place I was always seeking out as a child: unique tree houses, tents, caves, hideouts, and other private getaways. What could be more cool than houses built in the sides of cliffs? Especially when you are enjoying such places with your best friend?
It was mid-June 2006, and the summer months were going well. I was working full time at the bindery during the day. My weekends were
filled with horseback riding, hiking, and other adventures. My weeknight evenings were filled spending
time with friends, going to institute, playing pool soccer, and trying to learn
some Italian so I could go to Italy and study at the Florence Academy of Art.
My home teacher and friend Nate was teaching me Italian since he had served his
mission in Italy. In fact, many of my
activities seemed to put me in his company. He was always at pool soccer and institute,
and my roommates and I had set up a dinner group with Nate and his roommates. Others seem to notice the time Nate and I were
spending together and kept asking me if there was something going on between us. The questions were rather bothersome to
me; there was nothing going on between us. We were just friends!
That Thursday morning while I was at that bindery, I got an
email from Nate with some Italian lines to translate. The translation was an invitation to go out
with him that Saturday evening. Suddenly, I knew I liked him. I think the
feeling had been growing on me, though I don’t know when it started and I
certainly had not been willing to admit it to myself before that point. Yet even while denying to my friends and
roommates that anything could happen between us, some part of me had been
hoping and wondering if there could ever be anything else there. The rest of that day I was radiantly happy,
and my boss even wondered aloud about my sudden elated disposition.
That Saturday evening Nate and I went with a small group of
friends up to Salt Lake City to listen to a concert by the Orchestra at Temple
Square given in the Conference Center. I
was shocked by how at ease I felt, and even at how flirtatious I acted. This was all the more odd considering it was a
first date, and Nate and I were the only ones on a date amid our group of
mutual friends.
Before the next week had finished out we were officially
dating. It was so strange and wonderful
to me. Nate was the first guy I had been in a relationship with that I actually
felt completely comfortable with. Unlike times when I had been with other guys,
I was alright with people knowing that we were dating. I didn’t care when my friends, roommates, or
other ward members saw us holding hands. In fact, I wanted to be seen like that. I
wanted people to know we were together. I even told my family about Nate and had them
meet him just a couple weeks after we started dating. This was pretty radical considering my family
had never even heard about any of the other guys I was interested in or dating
until we broke up, if at all. I was absolutely
amazed at how right and good the whole thing felt.
That was probably the most blissful summer I have ever
experienced, and fortunately, that wonderful relationship continued on. I feel so blessed that we are still together. Our own symphony of sorts has never stopped
since that first date. And while at
times the sweet melody has been accompanied by rather bitter and sorrowful
notes, the song has just grown stronger and more beautiful with time. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Saturday was our actual anniversary, but we spent the majority of the day driving home. After eating breakfast at the hotel and packing up Saturday morning, we headed out. However, we did take the opportunity to stop by Arches on our way back. We stopped at a couple pull outs in the park before making our way to the Windows and Double Arch area.
For our anniversary this year, I made Nate a wooden puzzle. I figured it was appropriate since the traditional 5th year anniversary gift is "wood." It turned out to look pretty nice, and best of all, Nate really liked it.
