Rowley's Adventure Diaries: Goodbye 2019. Hello 2020. A Year in Review

What’s up everybody?

Well the New Year is upon us and for many of us it is a time to look back and reflect on the past year. We are no different, so I thought we would take a moment to say goodbye to 2019 and share some of our highlights.

Before I get to the nuts and bolts of this post I do have to apologize. 2019 has been a crazy year for us here at the Adventure Diaries. Due to this craziness we haven’t been able to keep up with our posts. Its sad to be honest. I really enjoy sharing our adventures with you and it will be something I’ll have to work on in the future. Its strange how life seems to find away to…well get in the way but enough of that lets get to it.

Moab Easter Jeep Safari

The Easter Jeep Safari (EJS) has been a tradition for our family since I was about 8 years old and I haven’t been able to participate in the event for the past 4 years. It was something that I really missed doing while we were living in Illinois. When we finally moved back to Utah I couldn’t wait to pull my Jeep out of storage and get it ready to go. It was definitely worth the wait.

For those who have no idea of what I’m talking about, let me explain. The EJS is a week long event where Jeepers and other off-road enthusiasts come together to test their mettle on guide trails. The event is hosted by the Red Rock 4 Wheelers, who have hosted ever since its conception over 50 years ago. People from all over the word, and I really mean from around the world, come to attend this event.

We were only able to spend four days at the EJS but we made the most of the time that we had. It was a lot of fun and I can’t wait to get back.

2. Magnolia Farms, Waco Texas

This was one of Erin’s favorite trips of the year. I wasn’t part of this excursion since it was a ladies only trip, so I’ll let her tell you about it.

In August my mom, aunt Sheri, sister in law Kayla and baby niece Edith went to visit my aunt Michele’s family in Texas. During our trip we visited San Antonio, enjoyed the historic Alamo. We did a tour of the grounds and watched a film about the battle and 13 day siege of the fortress. From there we headed down to San Antonio’s famous Riverwalk and took a boat tour the river.

The next day we took a couple hour drive out to Waco. Enjoying the Magnolia Experience that is the Silos. We enjoyed the beautiful grounds, market and bakery. Shopping was so much fun, we all took a piece of Magnolia home with us. The cupcakes were a huge highlight with so many flavors and delicious combinations.

Afterward we had lunch at the Magnolia Table. We had earlier put our names on the list, as it was over a 3 hour wait. The food was incredible and I’ve since replicated some of the recipes from the Magnolia cookbook. We then drove around to see some of the Fixer Upper houses in the local area before heading back to the house.

On our way we stopped at Sam Moon, a fun discount accessory and clothing store. Adding to our Magnolia spoils. It was a trip of a lifetime with so many memories made. Including Edith’s first trip away from home and also where she learned to crawl up stairs. Going to Bucky’s with my cousin Lance was a major highlight in addition to baking Joanna Gaines chocolate chip cookies with my cousin Makayla. My uncle Preston even cooked fresh meat from a hunt with Lance and smoked it for us to enjoy. Going for a late night drive to see the local deer in the park was the perfect end to a perfect trip.

3. Utah’s National Parks

Earlier in 2019 I wrote a post about the places that we want to try to visit. One of those was to visit Utah’s National Parks. Unfortunately we were not able to cross that one off…….come to think of it we really didn’t cross very many of them off our list. Oh well. Any way, we did get to visit three of them: Arches, Bryce Canyon and Canyonlands. Zion and Capital Reef, I’ll get you next time.

I’m not going to go to in-depth right now on them. I plan on doing a more detail post on them individually here in the near future. Arches is one of favorite National Park and I always enjoy going there. We usual head to the same place but this year we finally decide to go to a different part of the park. It made me fall in love with it all over again.

Erin had never been to Canyonlands and I haven’t been there in a very long time.

There is no doubt why they call this place Canyonlands. Canyon stretch as far as the eyes can see, cut by the might Colorado and Green Rivers. Canyonlands is Utah’s largest park. It is separated into three districts: Island in the Sky, the Needles, and the Maze. Each district is different and offer plenty of opportunity for adventure. Be prepared if you do plan on going. The desert can be unforgiving for even those that know what is in store for them.

I made the trip to Bryce Canyon by myself. I hadn’t been there in about 12 years and really didn’t remember much about it. It is not a very large park but that doesn’t diminish the beauty that it holds. Bryce Canyon is known for a rock formation called a Hoodoo. A hoodoo is formed in arid regions when rock layers erode at different speeds cause strange and wondrous shapes. Hoodoo form throughout the world but nowhere else has the concentration of them like Bryce. It was definitely worth the trip to see these spectacular views.

These were just a few of our adventures that we took in 2019. There are plenty of others I could tell you about but these are the ones that stick out to us the most. I know it that time to make a New Years Resolution but I’m not going to do that. Most of us don’t keep it anyway, but I will continue to do the best that I can and to bring you the best content that I can. We have some adventures in works and can’t wait to share them.

Here’s to 2020 and the next adventure!

As always thanks for stoping by, until next time.

Josh and Erin

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