#mrsvasandanis

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Highlights from our Wedding

Photos by: http://hardyklaholdphotography.com/

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Highlights from our Reception

Photos by: http://hardyklaholdphotography.com/

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Angel’s Landing

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Highlights from our Sangeet

Photos by: http://hardyklaholdphotography.com/

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Day three: Yesterday was a difficult day. We covered 500 miles, 200 of which were through burning forests in Montana. We passed by Seeley Lake where over 55,000 acres have already burned, that's about 10x the size of the La Tuna fire in California. Seeing the beautiful landscape shrouded in smoke was disheartening and it was clear the community and the fire crews were working together to do what they could but there are 1090 homes in immediate danger. There is another wildfire burning in west Glacier and going to the sun road is closed. We'll be going to the east side for day four unless the entire park is smoked out. With wildfires burning all over the western US, we hope everyone stays safe.

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Days 15, 16, & 17: Spent three days in Las Vegas lounging by the pool, eating expensive meals, walking the strip, playing Craps (and winning), and drinking a bunch of delicious drinks. Albertine played Craps and got a blow out for the first time. We stayed in a beautiful room in the Cosmopolitan with a view of the Bellagio fountain and saw La Reve which was a water and gymnastics show (or as Monica’s likes to call it, a classic story of a pretty enough straight white blonde girl who doesn’t know what she wants.) 

Overall we had an amazing Honeymoon, thank you to everyone who helped make it happen by giving us money, watching our dogs, or helping us when we ran into trouble; and thank you all for following along.  We’ve decided to keep the blog up as we go on adventures pretty often and blogging is kind of fun!

Now to cuddle the dogs, rest, and heal Monica’s bronchitis. Until next time!

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Morning Glory Pool

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Day 1: We caught the sunrise in scenic Barstow, California, then had some breakfast Del Taco that we regretted almost immediately. We made a quick stop at the Seven Magic Mountains before cruising through Nevada, a tiny corner of Arizona, and into Utah. Also, pizza.

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Days 13 & 14: Went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon which is at a higher elevation than the South Rim and therefore much colder (in case you're wondering why we're wearing jackets in all these pictures.) Our campsite was just a short walk away from the canyon rim so we took advantage and went out to watch the sunset the second night. Monica made amazing salmon for dinner and huge warm fires. We received our Muleteer certificates for riding mules into the canyon. Monica's mule was named Ruthie and she was sassy and Albertine's was named Jenn and she was lazy. After two days camping we decided to leave a day early and head to Vegas for some much needed pampering, showers, and clean sheets. 

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Days 11 & 12: Arrived in Zion National Park after a quick drive over from Bryce. Although there’s been lightening, thunder, and rain we got lucky and didn’t run into any on our hikes. We spent the first day hiking into the Narrows which was extremely fun and wet. We went to bed early so we could wake up and hit Angel’s Landing before the crowd and the heat. It was a strenuous 5.4 mile hike with the last half mile being a steep climb along a narrow ridge with 1000 foot drop-offs on either side. There were also a set of switchbacks called “Walter’s Wiggles”. The view was indescribable (pictures to follow in the next post) and we met some chipmunk and French friends. When we got back to camp it was really hot so we walked down to the Virgin River to cool off and swim. On a separate note, a swarm of bees has found a home on the grill of our van.

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Days eight and nine: Since we arrived in Yellowstone a day early we decided to take advantage of our bonus day and drive a couple hours south to Grand Teton National Park. We found a campsite in Colter Bay and hiked by Jackson Lake. Even though the view of the Tetons was a bit cloudy, it was definitely better than smoke. The next day we made our way down to SLC. Monica got the flu so she slept while Albertine got to drive through Wyoming and admire its beautiful clouds (much better than the LA clouds), its winding streams through lush mountains and quaint little ghost towns. Albertine also finally saw a Moose so you can add that to the list of animals we now know exist. (Excuse the dirty lens in the clouds picture)

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Day seven: Spent the entire day in Yellowstone where we walked around the Midway and Upper Geyser basins. We saw a lot of cool pools, hot springs, geysers, and we watched Old Faithful erupt from behind a line of very patient tourists. Our camping neighbors may have been sister wives. There was also a bison so now we know they exist. 

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Day four & five: We drove from Hungry Horse to Two Medicine campground in East Glacier. We planned to go to Many Glacier this morning but the smoke from the Sprague Fire would have made any sort of hiking impossible plus there may have been a giant bulge in one of our tires (see Monica's Instagram). We made the most of our night in Two Medicine, had the van towed out, and are now safely in a hotel in Helena. We'll be going to Yellowstone a day early and are bummed we won't be able to experience Glacier but we're sure we'll be back. On a lighter note the drive through Montana was beautiful and full of deer, stallions, and lil thirsties, which is what Monica calls cows that are drinking water.