Jackson

By this time Rachel and I were pretty much officially dating. Like I mentioned before, we were both hesitant to let things go too far because at the end of the Summer I was going to go back to Rexburg. However, we found that we did have a lot of fun together and that we enjoyed spending time together.

Also, for me, one of the things that I really liked about Rachel was her “get-up-and-go.” When we said

“Let’s ________(fill in the blank),” it really happened. I can’t tell you how many people I have known where this was not the case. They have great plans that sound like they would be a lot of fun, but there is always a reason to keep putting them off to the point that they never actually come to fruition. Anyway, this great attitude of hers meant that we did a lot together, because we were always saying “Lets ________.”

We had a pretty interesting relationship.  We had been dancing and hanging out for a few months and we developed a really strong friendship.  Then, we started becoming a little bit more serious but there was no pressure because Logan was moving back to Rexburg at the end of the summer. In a way the depth of this relationship kind of snuck up on us. 

Most of what we did involved exploration around the beautiful mountains near Provo. We would frequently go on Sunday afternoon picnics at different parks, and Aspen Grove (near Sundance resort) became one of our favorite places to hike around. Rock climbing was pretty much out for a while because of Rachel’s ankle (and so was dancing), but she could still do a lot while wearing her giant boot. Once it came off, however, opportunities were endless and I could always count on her to be ready for a new adventure.

I am glad that Logan stuck around with me while I was a gimp.  We were a lot less active for a few weeks, but once that boot came off we were actively busy again.  Rock Canyon is such a fun place to visit now because I have vivid memories about every fifty feet all the way up the mountain!  We spent a lot of time there. 

One day we were at Bridal Veil Falls Park in Provo Canyon, sitting on a bridge and looking at the river. I, being a Hazard, couldn’t restrain myself any longer. I started talking about kayaking. This led to a discussion about the different features of whitewater, how to read a rapid, and how to plan a line of attack on that rapid. And then Rachel had a great idea: “Let’s go rafting!”

I also remember a discussion that we had about how much each of us enjoyed camping.  This is the discussion that I remember planning our trip to Jackson Hole.  In the middle of the discussion one of us brought up the idea for us to go camping.  We sat and figured out the details (like who would go with us so that it wasn’t just the two of us). 

Of course I was up for this. The question was where to go, who to bring, and how to get the gear for as little money as possible. The details soon worked themselves out and we soon had a plan: We would go to Rexburg where we could use my Dad’s stuff. We could do the Snake River down Alpine Canyon, a fun but relatively easy section of river. We would bring Rachel’s two sisters, Shannon and Marissa. After the river, we could stay and camp for a while in the nearby Teton Mountains to more fully take advantage of the area (Jackson Hole, Hiking, Climbing, etc.).

I love how everything we did and everything we talked about seemed so natural.  Of course we would go camping.  Of course we would go rock climbing in Jackson, and of course we would go rafting.  That is just how it was. And it was comfortable.

Before I met Logan I always considered myself an outdoorsy kind of girl.  I think many people do because that is the cool thing to be. This was before I met the Hazard family.  Getting to know Logan and becoming more and more of an ‘outdoorsy’ girl I came to realize that I really LOVE all things outdoor related.  This has become a large part of who I am. 

Logan’s adventurous outgoing ‘life is meant to be lived’ personality is one of my favorite things about him.  When he sets his sights on something it is done.  There are no questions asked. 

It was a good plan. By the time we left the park that day it was set in stone. The only question now was when to do it and how to get my family in on it.