First Anniversary

We can't believe it's already been a whole year. And some people say its the hardest! Ha! Obviously they aren't nearly as in love as Tiffani and me. This past year has been, well, blissful.

So, to commemorate, we basically replayed our honeymoon. We drove down to Manti and stayed at the quaint little bed and breakfast we stayed at on our wedding night, the Yardley Inn & Spa. The mistress of the inn was so cute. She has her husband carry your bags up the stairs for you while she takes you on a tour of pioneer home that's been converted to a little hotel. She stopped us in one hall to point out a painting on the wall that symbolized our celestial journey and to make sure that was still our goal. The place is so rustic and homey, with pictures of the temple and Book of Mormons scattered throughout the home. They even habe a library with all sorts of novels, a grand piano, DVD's and romantic music that you can use during your stay (luckily the music collection didn't include the Osmond's). Before we left, she gave us both and hug and gave us a talk about being heart to heart. Legend has it that if you press your hearts together, eventually they will synchronize into a steady, unified rhythm. Isn't that dreamy...sigh.

Before we left town, we did a session at the Manti temple. It looked so majestic on top of the hill overlooking the valley and the spring flowers surrounding its base popped with a myriad of vibrant colors.

After we left Manti, we stopped in to visit Grandma and Grandpa Bridges in another town in central Utah, Monroe. It was fun to visit with them and hear some of the life history. They took us to lunch at a little diner in town, and Tiffani and I agreed it was perhaps the best meal we have ever had. Tiffani had to ask what a filet mignon was exactly. She knew how to pronounce it, but also knew it was something more expensive then we could ever pay. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Bridges! We enjoyed the visit and the tour of Monroe.

After that, it was time for more family history. When we arrived in Torrey, we stopped to check out the art gallery there. We also noticed that the old churchhouse in town had been torn down in order to make room for a newer chapel. While I'm sure the new technology will be great, we were sad to see the old redrock chapel gone, especially since Tiffani's pioneer ancestors had helped to construct it. We did take a picture of the very first chapel/schoolhouse that still sits along mainstreet, preserved by the DUP (Daughters of Utah Pioneers).


Our last stop was, of course, at the Cabin in Boulder, UT. Although I've only been in the family for little more than a year, it's already becoming one of my favorite destinations. The surrounding area is so amazing.

For our first adventure, we hiked along the Escalante River trail and up Phipps wash. We had to ford the river a couple of times, which wasn't too bad since the water was knee high at most.Our ultimate destinations included Maverick Natural Bridge... (seen below)


And Phipps arch, a little farther up the canyon.
It was a great day hike with a nice variety of terrain. We also took a few minutes just to take in the beautiful desert landscape. It also gave me the opportunity to try out my new Chaco's that Tiffani gave me for our anniversary. Thanks wife. I was a little worried at first because my feet have been sheltered in close-toed shoes for nearly 20 years. I was also a little embarrassed about my golf club toe (thanks for that one dad) and my black toe nails (they turned black and fell off after being squished inside bad-fitting shoes playing basketball). But, despite my self-consciousness, they Chaco's ending up being great.
The next day was more lazy. We were a little tired from our hike and possible rainclouds surrounding us, we decided to check out Hell's Backbone, accessible completely by car. It's a really cool little bridge, built during the Depression in the 1930's, that connects two mountain tops while spanning the deep canyon below. Tiffani still makes me nervous when she stands by the edge...
On the way home from our drive, we stopped along Highway 12 to take a nice shot of the little town of Boulder.

We love it there and will be headed back soon!