The Bucket List - Another one Bites the Dust

Hi Team,

Last Tuesday night I went to visit a friend that is going through a hard time right now.  I was talking to him about what I went through, relating on a few points of difficulty and comparing war stories.  One thing that came up is how difficult it is to keep mental sanity through a really hard time.  There is no straightforward or foolproof way.  Everyone has their own approach and some (myself included at times) feel like there is no good answer.  So, we were comparing notes on techniques that worked/didn't work.  One thing I did other than keeping this blog, was to write a list of things I wanted to do when I felt well enough to do them.  It was partially that I needed something to look forward to and partially just wanting to not forget about things I really want to do once life gets easier.  It's easy to just breeze through life and not make conscious decisions about how we spend our time.  That said, a bucket list is one of those ever changing 'works in progress.'  Before I get to sharing the bucket list item I got to check off my list this week, I wanted to add that it occurred to me before making a bucket list that maybe I shouldn't.  I might have regrets if I don't get to do everything on the list before I actually do die (you never know when that will be, cancer or not).  Well, I made one anyway and discovered that in reality, every time I check something off the list, I add another thing or two (or three).  This list will never be completed.  And I decided that is a really good thing - what would you do if you did finish your bucket list?  Just be done?  'Aaand, done! I win! Now what?'  Maybe a very good thing to die (eventually) with a long bucket list full of things you have checked off and added.  

Hiking Navajo Loop at Bryce Canyon

So, one of the things I added to my bucket list a few years ago was to go see Utah red canyons.  First, I'll be honest and tell you that it started by my watching the movie 127 hours - a guy goes hiking in Utah canyons and gets stuck, has to saw his own arm off to escape.  Now, I was not trying to recreate that by any means, but the landscape depicted in that movie made me interested enough to go watch another documentary on the area and add "visit Utah canyons" to my bucket list.

This past weekend, Monika and I drove 14 hours each way (more with stops, etc) to Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion Canyon.  It was beautiful and crazy, like nothing I've ever seen before.  We camped and hiked and got to see amazing rock formations and have fun adventures through mining towns and Saturday night speedway home-made stock car races.  It was truly beautiful and worth every minute, highly recommend.  My favorite hike (actually two favorites) was the 'Navajo Loop' at Bryce, which took you from the top of the canyon down to the bottom and through some massive rock formations (only about 1.5 miles but some steep climbs).  Second favorite hike of the weekend was the Canyon Overlook Trail at Zion National Park.  It's crazy how Zion and Bryce are about an hour and a half driving away from each other but the rock and formations are so totally different and both stunning.  The Zion Canyon overlook hike was also a little over a mile, but up to the top of the Canyon where you can see a few different mountains and rock formations in the distance.  The view really looked like a green screen backdrop to a movie - surreal.  If I hadn't actually been there myself I totally would have thought my pics were photoshopped (they are not).

The world is so beautiful! - Zion Canyon Overlook

Overall, this felt like a big win - doing something that while I was at my low point, I wrote down as something to look forward to doing when I was able physically and mentally.  Life is good, and even when it's really really crappy, there are things to look forward to - even if they take a while, it's so worth it.

Love,
Amy