TaylorHaps

Southwest Road Trip

10-18 January

After the insanity of the Capitol riot, I needed out. So I hit the road without much warning

Pipe Springs National Monument. Didn’t get to really see it…closed

Toadstool hoodoos hike at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Steve got me a thermal camera attachment for my phone

Painted Desert Inn at Petrified Forest National Park

The temperature of the log is the same as the surrounding rocks and much cooler than wood

Yay! A pool! I stayed at this rental so that I could swim laps

Boo! the “heated” pool is 11 degrees Celsius. I was lied too 😦

Arizona state Capitol. All barricaded up after the Capitol riot aftermath. I had dinner with Davon and Mikaylee (cherish didn’t feel well) which was fun. Didn’t take a photo 😦

Saguaro National Park. Amazingly monotonous

Dipped down into Texas to see Big Bend National Park

I was a little underwhelmed by the “mighty” Rio Grande

Could never have had this experience outside a pandemic

Saw exactly 2 other visitors in the whole huge cavern

Also has a fun kitschy store. Found this alarmingly timely 🙂

New Mexico State Capitol. Also fenced off. But besides the closed streets and the alert police all was normal. No insanity

The artifacts are scattered around this beautiful park

Great Sand Dunes National Park. If I can’t go to the beach at least I can have sand 🙂

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

The drive through Colorado National Monument was terrifying, dizzying heights abound

Southern Utah has actual winter!

10-13 December 2020

Never seen a half-frozen river at Capitol Reef

Woke up to this stunning skyline after a cold night in my car at a completely empty campground at Hite (Lake Powell)

Bridge over the Colorado River at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Enjoyed sitting solo at the edge of the river

Couldn’t drive up to Bears Ears because of impassible roads

Stupendous

Monument Valley was closed along with all other Navajo nation territory so I took a few photos from a distance

Crazy drive through an intense storm getting to Mesa Verde. The statue at the closed visitor center is all I got to see because of snowy roads 😦

Didn’t hike out to Delicate Arch. Parking lot was crammed. 😦

Hiked to the lesser-known arches instead

Cali Top to Bottom

31 Oct-8 Nov

When the fires were no longer a danger I decided to visit Northern California and then continue on south.

Made good use of my loungy chair when I needed a break from driving

Sacramento temple…incredibly beautiful on the most amazing wild grounds. I went early in the morning and it was so peaceful 🙂

I love my car. I love sleeping in my car. I love relaxing and putting my feet up in the middle of a long stretch in the back of my car

Cool bubbly mud pots

This huge rock came from the mountain in the distance!

Yay! The beach! woke up early to this amazing sight. The long drive down a bumpy dirt road in the total darkness the night before did not give me a sneak peak

Camped at Gold Beach so named for the soil color

The early morning gave me a peaceful grove almost to myself

The drive that morning was misty and surreal

Visited some of the crazy exhibits while at Confusion Hill

The Gravity House…queasy and strange. I made videos of the things I saw there for my nephews who love Gravity Falls and wanted me to visit for them

Glass Beach…collected some sea glass to take back. It was much sparser and smaller than the last time I was here.

Solvang, fun Danish town that my family visited when I was little.

Driving down through Los Padres National Forest at sunset. Gorgeous

Yay! windy boat ride out to the Channel Islands National Park

The dry bag I bought was pretty terrible so this is the best photo I got. Rowing through that arch with the waves swelling took timing and courage.

Chillin’ on the beach afterward. I opted not to go hiking because I was wet and sticky from the kayaking abs there is no fresh water on the island in which to clean off

Saw pods of dolphins in the ship’s wake on the way back! Loved it 🙂

Cute vacation rental in Long Beach was home sweet home for a few nights

Disney did a great job with distancing and requiring everyone to wear a mask

They also kept the numbers low and stopped people who were walking and eating.

Downtown Disney is fine and I got to shop and eat good food but it was really sad being right here and not being able to go inside the park 😦

Belmont Shore Beach plus new Mickey mask 🙂

Drive down the coast to San Diego and back for the day. Black’s Beach. Humidity plus my already curly hair…yikes!

San Diego Castle, I mean temple. I still remember how awed I was the first time I ever saw this temple. Dreamed of getting married there for most of my young life

La Jolla Cove was so neat! so many sea lions!

It’s on the very tip of the peninsula affording the most striking views of the pacific

Bye bye ocean! It rained the morning I left Long Beach

Cool random Route 66 historic hotel that I didn’t even know was there!

Just missed the sunset. Dam. Hoover Dam in the dark…freaking scary. Would not recommend

Las Vegas temple in the dark. Not scary. Extra cool. 🙂

Visited Ada in Cedar City and then home again, home again. What an amazing trip!

Northwest Trip

4-15 September 2020

Delicious food from The Celt Pub & Grill in Idaho Falls

So crowded! I circled the parking lot for like 20 minutes.

Inexplicable miniature Lady Liberty on a short pier at the beach. I was amazed at how many people were at the park and I think I saw only 2 people in masks.

Spokane temple. The temple president was there working on the grounds and he let me wander them even though they were closed

The wind kicked up as I was at the falls in Spokane on the morning I left.

Just got worse and worse as I drive through Eastern Washington. Plus the smoke from the fires burning all over the western states.

Leavenworth was smoke-free and gorgeous!

The shops were fun. Fudge for Teri (and of course some for me as well!)…

…and incredible chocolates including fresh mint that actually tastes like the plant. Amazing! I ordered some a month later when I was stuck at home in face pain

I sat here next to the river and ate veggie brats, San pelligrino, fudge, and yummy gelato

Got in the water, even took a spin on the paddle board I borrowed from Anne

The campground was so peaceful that I stayed for hours in my comfy chair watching Gravity Falls

Hiked up and around a random little waterfall near Ross Lake

Darling bookstore named for Ada Lovela…I mean Taylor 🙂

Emptiest Pike Place market you ever did see…but still scored crack berries, some of those yummy mini donuts, and the amazing chowder.

Took the ferry across to Poulsbo where I visited Jim, Julia, and Anneke before continuing on to Olympic

Drove through this cute little town on the Olympic peninsula. A lady at the general store gave me a free “I 💚 Joyce” bumper sticker when I told her it was my mom’s name and that she had died

Stayed at this cute little loft for a couple of nights

This is what runs right past the backyard 🙂

Hurricane Ridge…the mountainous part of Olympic National Park

Kalaloch Beach…the beach part of the park

Washington State Capitol building through the haze. I couldn’t go on to Mount Rainier because of fire danger 😦

The beach house ended up being a huge disappointment

Zero visibility and smoke inhalation danger can sure put a damper on a trip to the beach

I felt extra bad because Alex drove all the way out to spend a few days with me at the beach

We made the best of our beach house quarantine. Baked cookies, got Tillamook ice cream, built a puzzle, and streamed Timpanogos Storytelling events.

Yaquina Head lighthouse. From your nightmares.

Newport. Went to Oregon Coast Aquarium for an otter stuffed animal for Spencer and Westin and some incredible cobbler at Georgie’s for Jul

Decided to brave more possible fire issues and continue down through Oregon into California instead of going home through the Columbia River gorge and Idaho. First stop…my favorite temple. Portland.

Crater Lake. You may have to take my word for it. 🙂

Medford temple. Hey maybe the mask helps with particulates too! 🙂

Here is where the extremely disappointing and abrupt end to this trip occurs. I drove 2 hours from Medford toward the redwoods only to be turned around by closed roads. Had to drive all the way back to Medford and then back to Utah and cancel all of my Northern California plans. I was so bummed.

California with Alex and Ada

2-8 August 2020

We just hung out in the valley since all the parking lots at trailheads were packed

Nevada’s state Capitol building is really cool!

Weekday Road Trips 2020

Weekends bring lots of people out plus my schedule is flexible plus I’m totally stir-crazy being at home all the time equals Weekday Road Trips 2020!

Jenny Lake 🙂 I found exactly one quiet spot in the whole park. Didn’t hike anywhere…too crowded!

Camping with Taylor’s in the Uintah’s 29-31 July

Krispy Kreme cake to celebrate Ada’s birthday

Southern Idaho 16-17 Feb 2021 Breathtaking Meridian temple

Minidoka, the site of a Japanese interment camp was particular poignant in the biting wind. Must have been so miserable 😦

Last Disney trip for a while

6-8 March 2020

I flew by myself to Disneyland for a long weekend. Gary, Emily, Ada, and I planned a trip for later in March but I has already bought a plane ticket and reserved a hotel so I decided to go. And now I’m super glad I did because Disneyland closed on the 14th because of the coronavirus pandemic and we didn’t get to do our trip…also missed the one I had planned on my birthday weekend. 😦 As of today it’s still not open (17 May) and probably won’t be for at least a couple more months.

Pommes Frites, beignets, and Mint
Julep…doesn’t get better than this

Haunted Mansion being refurbished…unusual to see scaffolding at Disneyland

It was much colder than usual so
I treated myself to a warm fuzzy hoodie 🙂

Did a lot of pin trading…completed 3 sets!

Finally got in a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance! Flight and travel put me there mid-morning on Thursday, got a backup boarding group on Friday that never got called 😦

Rise of the Resistance…even the line was cool! Freaking long though…about 2 hours!

I was totally floored by this amazing ride!

Earned several new achievements on the Data Pad 🙂

The Food and Wine Festival at DCA was excellent as always…plant-based meatball sub complete with adorable Mickey baked into the bun 🙂

I didn’t buy this sweatshirt just to match this Rollicking Roadster…but honestly I should have!

I went on this ride a lot. And I really mean a lot.

Freakiest thing. Got off Rise of the Resistance and the entire land was dark! Heard that maybe it was because of daylight savings and they hadn’t set the lights correctly yet? Not sure but it was surreal…especially after that ride which is just such an experience anyway.

COVID Survival

March-May 2020

So the world is a very strange place right now. A worldwide pandemic has sent everyone to their homes except for essential errands. People keep a 6-foot distance from each other, wear masks, do lots of video calls, and wash their hands religiously. I have missed human contact so much, especially hugs. I have been doing lots of things to try to compensate for the loss in myself and hopefully in others.

Empty toilet paper aisles. People stocked up in anticipation of hunkering down for extended periods.

Also gobbled up…cleaners, hand sanitizer, soap, gloves, medical masks, distilled water

Boggle works really well over video chat. My kids and some of the Taylors and I play each week.

I text out puzzles each day (well, most days) for people to figure out.

Sun Art Paper is one of the things in the Aunt Jen Adventures surprise boxes I made for all of my nieces and nephews. I do a weekly video call with Christensens and with Taylors and we do an activity together.

Thermoplastic polymer is super fun to play with

Hand lenses give you a different view of the world

Roasted marshmallows with my heat gun…perfect!

Playgrounds, tennis courts, fitness centers … all closed, but lots of people out on bike trails and walking dogs

Easter was super strange. We decorated eggs like usual but no family gatherings. We did a virtual Egg Hunt where families hid their own eggs and then others in the video call told them where to look. Slightly better than nothing I guess 🙂

I prepared a Breakout Box for each family where I helped them on a video call as they solved puzzles to open locks to get at the s’mores makings inside.

Online tutorials for drawing Disney characters are fun 🙂

I made lots of masks and gave them to people

It’s a good thing that these PJs were too big…used the excess for a couple of cute masks

Steve and I climbed on the roof to watch a flyover that the Air Force did to thanks health care workers all over the state. I admit that I was a bit freaked out

Drive-up COVID testing. Totally a thing. Mine came back negative. Teo and I also got walk-up tests another time and those were negative too

Steve bought me a pool for my birthday. Took forever to set up, we had to install a temporary fence (land order a permanent one), and it took a couple of weeks and a solar cover to get it warm enough…but now it’s lovely. With pools being closed, swimming with my swim tether in the back yard has helped keep me sane.

Sweet birthday wishes really made my day. Jennifer sent me a skillet cookie from Chili’s 🙂

Teri and the Freelands Heart Attacked my house and got me an inflatable lobster for my new pool and nummy chocolate 💚

Robin brought me sunflowers and a sneak hug

Jul brought me the sweetest picture frame and a Me Minifig with a sweet card

Ada did lots of cool art on her new iPad

Face shields, masks, and keeping 6’ from people is how stores roll now

Went camping at Palisade Lake by myself a couple of times. Easy to social distance and super good for my psyche being out in nature

The second time they had Stand-up Paddleboards for rent. Loved it! 🙂

Planted a garden in the front planter area

Also planted more vines along the front porch railing. In the back…tomatoes, peppers, squash, and cucumbers

Ada and I went camping at Snow Canyon. We hiked when there were very few people around

Bought a shade canopy in St George (and spent a few hours chilling on a church lawn) because it was so hot

Despite the incessant wind flapping our tent and keeping us up forcing us to sleep in the car the second night, we had a great time together and really enjoyed this beautiful place

Oh and we totally saved this cute turtle from being road kill 🙂

Enjoyed Disney clothing in lieu of Disneyland 😦

Drive-by celebration for Emily’s graduation

Played taskmaster by zoom. This is Isaiah’s longest chain (jackets tied together)

Hugs through a giant sheet of plastic! Teri built an airtight pod to visit through 🙂

Distanced picnic and outdoor movie nights at HQ

Escape boxes by zoom call (love the treats at the end!)

So bored I spent over a week time-lapsing gel beads dehydrating

Built lots of puzzles including these crazy ones that move around and have a secret piece in the middle

even time-lapsed a few

First New Year’s Eve with just us and no big party at our house. We did play Zoom Concept with Taylor’s.

Played lots of Shapsu while listening to audiobooks

Disney Family Vacation

24-27 January 2020

For Christmas this year I got everyone a trip to Disneyland. Steve opted out but we were joined by Gary so that was fun. Gary and Ada drove down on Thursday and stayed a night at the garden inn before me and the boys flew in on Friday morning. We Ubered to the hotel, put luggage in Ada’s car, and parked at the Mickey structure. After a few hours in the park we drove to the condo we rented where we got settled and had naps. It wasn’t a very nice place and the pool was way to freezing to venture into but it was a very short walk to the park. 🙂

We were all together until Gary left us on Sunday morning and Ada on Sunday evening (they both needed to get home for stuff on Monday). We flew out Monday morning.

What an amazing time we had!

Enjoyed drinks at Oga’s Cantina, eating at Docking Bay…

…building droids for the first time (what a cool thing!)…

…watching the fireworks over Star Wars land, and riding Smugglers Run with a really short line 🙂

First time for the boys at Lamplight Lounge! All enjoyed The big comfy couch, the Pixar decor, the cool drink, the delicious food, and mostly the most delicious donuts in the world!

New experience for me…watching World of Color from the restaurant. What a cool experience!

The mornings were INSANE! The new ride Rise if the Resistance requires joining a boarding group as soon as you enter the park so we didn’t get to ride it either day because it took so long to get into the park and they were all gone 😦

I had these made for us. We brought Steve in spirit

Matching Shirts! They’re pretty cute though. You have to admit. The shirts are nice too 🙂

It was way too cold to ride this ride but Teo really wanted to. No line at all…got the log to ourselves…hardly got wet at all.

By Sunday night the park was super empty 🙂

Christmas 2019

Keflings tree!

The Singalong was so fun this year! We sat in the floor 🙂

We ran into Allie and Mike and kids and Lori!

A bunch of Taylors went to Luminaria at Thanksgiving Point

Eileen (Scott’s mom), Scotty, Corwin, Julia, Jeanne (her sister), Anneke, Micah, Alex, Teo, the Japanese exchange student staying with Jim’s family, Jim. Isaiah, Asher, Ada, Thom, Robin. Anne, Jonah, and me.

Making sugar cookies is one of our more delicious traditions

We recreated the human pyramid that the Taylor kids made so many years ago 🙂

The cousins exchange gifts…matchy chicken shirts for Orion and Asher 🙂

The whole crew! FR Isaiah,Susie, Juni, Asher, David, Anne. 2R Julia, Anneke, Jonah and Orion, Gabe, Julie, Deanne, Echo. 3R Robin, Nora, Micah, Jim, Ada, Teo, Emily, Benji. 4R Ken, Alex, Corwin, Teri, me, Ethan, Steve, McKay, Scott. TR Scotty, Kai, Sawyer, Thom