Zion 2022 Pt. 1

Zion had been on my bucket list for a few years, so I was excited when we booked lodging in 2021. We almost canceled this trip entirely when Tino quit his job but decided to go anyway for a little retreat treat.

What's pretty neat about this road trip is that you drive through 3 states from California. Our Friday drive was about 10 hours long - we made several stops, and traffic was pretty bad through Nevada. We arrived at the lodge close to midnight, and it was dark! We live in DTLA, close to Staples Center (Crypto.com Arena, lol), so it's pretty jarring adjusting to a night without light pollution.

We woke up early the next morning to avoid the afternoon heat and hiked the Sand Beach trail along the canyon. As the name states, this trail was 90% deep sand, but you don't find this out until you reach the loop. Hiking Tip: Go clockwise around the loop. There are concrete patches to help walking uphill, and you can walk downhill in the sandy section.

We flipped a coin, went counterclockwise, and hiked uphill, ankle-deep in sand. I would describe it as walking near an ocean while going up a mountain. It's a workout. The views were spectacular, I definitely would recommend if you want to see the canyon at a higher elevation and the Court of Patriarchs, named after Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. The trail also has a variation of plants and wildlife - we ran into a lot of squirrels and deer.

Being more attentive in choosing film stocks was my lesson for this trip. I don't know why I decided to take my half-frame camera and load it with Fuji 400h, but I did. I love 400h, but I don't think it did Zion justice. The background in most of the shots came out with cooler tones than I expected. What I was most disappointed about was that the film stock muted the red Navajo sandstone Zion is known for, so my scans didn't seem true to life to me.

On the Road

I love road trips - I think it's my favorite way to travel (& that's coming from someone who works on airports for a living).

There's nothing quite like a night drive with a playlist, coffee, and a destination in mind. I love how quiet the world gets the farther you get away from a city. I have many fond memories of family trips around California, and once I had my license, solo trips to different cities were my favorite way to spend the weekend. Since I've been married, I can count the number of solo trips with two hands, but having someone to join in on my spontaneous adventures is great.

Roads were made for journeys, not destinations.

We drove through Nevada on our way to Utah in 2022 and made one planned stop that turned into two. I had been working long nights redesigning the runways and taxiways at Jean Airport, and I wanted to make a quick stop to see it before we went into construction. Coincidentally, the art installation 7 Magic Mountains was right next door.

I had seen the exhibition on social media a few years back, but it never piqued my interest to go out of my way and visit whenever I went to Vegas. Ugo Rondinone had chosen the location to express the mid-point physically and symbolically between the natural and the artificial: the surrounding mountain ranges and desert express nature, and the man-made highway and the constant traffic flow between Los Angeles and Las Vegas express the artificial.

I am planning for more trips in 2024, most likely road trips as a family of three (and three birds ˙ᵕ˙). We've actually been practicing short drives with the car seat, and it's been going well. For a while, I know our trips will be slower getting to the destination. Stops will be of a different nature - spontaneous feedings and diaper changes. I know the one thing I won't change is my favorite part of a road trip - stopping to catch the last light of a sunset or a moment of peace at dawn watching the sunrise.

'22 in Review

Ah, what a whirlwind the end of 2022 was for me. A pity the deadlines trickled into 2023, but ...ok.(lol idk wut to say cuz meh)

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This post was scheduled for December, but it wasn't quite finished until now. Honestly, I just wasn't ready to share.

2022 felt like a desert to me. The world opened its doors, and I was going to get my whole life back; instead, it overwhelmed me. Opportunities that I thought were ripe for picking dried up in my anticipation of something better. Career, personal goals, hobbies - mirages in a desolate wasteland, like I was aimlessly walking with no sense of direction. Barren from a season of waiting, I was dry and thirsty from carrying all my burdens.

The amazing thing about deserts is the oasis you find in desperate moments. In the quiet, I learned to seek the soft voice in all my head noise. The peace in the reminder that the God that placed my feet on mountains is the same one that walks with me through the lowest of my valleys.

In the desert, I was reminded that the burdens of my heart are welcomed to be laid at His feet.

A few battles this year & the Word I choose to place my foundation on:

• I prayed for a change in circumstance, and the answer received was to change our character and outlook on life. We had to check who we looked to for strength and security. This one hit hard when we decided for Tino to quit, rest and refocus.

  • James 1:2-3 - 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

  • Jeremiah 49:11 - For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

• Discontentment & wrestling with the fact that a Christian life deviates from worldly expectations, comforts, and recognition. How often is this verse misquoted to frame God within our own will and plans? This verse isn’t a promise that things will go our way. The truth of Paul's words from a prison cell was that God was still with him though his circumstances were bleak. It's a reminder to keep my eyes on Jesus.

  • Philippians 4:11-13 - 11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, there with to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.

• People's opinions of me weighed heavily on my mind & heart, especially those who willfully tried to misunderstand my character without even trying to get to know me. But why trouble my heart with those thoughts when I am already known? Not only am I fully known by God, I am deeply loved by Him as well. Humbly reminded that He is the God that pursues and changes hearts, even mine.

  • Psalm 139:1 - You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.

We are looking toward the Promise Land this year. New year, same God.