These posts will be out of order until I’m all caught up with my stories. For now, I’ll just write about what I feel like sharing in that moment. And right now, I would love to share with you the magical day I spent with Paul in Zion!

So who is Paul? Like a lot of my travel buddies, we met on Tinder. I was sitting in my van at Mystic Hot Springs one night in March when I got a message from him. I don’t think I even responded, my thought was, What’s the point? So many people just travel through here, I doubt anything will come of this. 

But the next morning he sent another message, I’m very grateful that he did. He mentioned he wanted to go to Zion, somewhere I wanted to go badly! So of course I said I would join him! I told him to meet me at Mystic and he could camp there and we’d head out the next morning.

I believe it was a Thursday at about 10am. It was around the time I fed the animals every morning so right when he got out of his car I brought him with me to meet the babes. I knew right away he was a kind soul who I could feel safe with because the goat, Mr. Tibbs, came right up to him and sniffed his hand. That was really sweet to see because Mr. Tibbs is usually very timid around new people! If he approved of my new adventure partner, I knew I would be okay :)

That first day we didn’t spend much time together because I had to work in the office, but at one point I looked out the window and saw him coming down from the tubs so I knew he was enjoying his time. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, those tubs are magic. 

Later that evening there was another incident that made me feel safe around him. He might kill me for sharing, but I walked passed his car where he was watching something on his phone…I don’t remember what it was, but he was crying! Not a full on cry fest, just a little teary, but it was so adorable my heart melted.

So a little more about him, at least what his Tinder profile said, was that he’s a travelling photographer. VERY COOL BECAUSE SO AM I. I also creeped his Instagram and saw that he’s a social media marketer. I dabble in that as well for Mystic! That’s why I swiped right :)

Now it’s Friday morning and we left around 4 a.m. That’s my go-to adventure time because sunrise light is amazing to shoot in and I like to avoid crowds. I was in desperate need of an adventure at that time so Paul could not have came at a better time. When I’m at Mystic, I live, work, and play there so getting out once in a while is really good for my sanity! 

We hit the road, stopping to get some snacks eventually at a gas station. I don’t know what was wrong with me but I was literally laughing hysterically at everything Paul said….He wasn’t even making jokes. At first I thought it was from sleep deprivation but I still found him funny throughout the whole day which was incredible. I had never laughed so hard in my life and it felt really good to have a whole day of it! It probably annoyed him but oh well :) 

Angel’s Landing was what we were heading for. After researching some Zion spots, that’s the one we decided we needed to see. I’m not exactly sure what time we got there, even after going to the wrong entrance and feeling a bit lost, we started to head down the road to the hike and saw that the road was closed…they only allow shuttles down that road and the shuttles don’t start until 8 a.m. WHAT?! That completely ruined my get there early and hike before anyone was there idea. It was also still dark at this point so we just pulled over for a quick nap before we could start taking pictures. I can’t speak for Paul, but I slept like a baby.

When it was light enough to enjoy our surroundings we decided to continue onward! Not far down the road we hit the most magical winter wonderland. Photos NEEDED to happen. Paul is pretty much my perfect adventure partner because he is down to stop for photos whenever and wherever and he doesn’t mind helping me get the shots that I want. As with every adventure, I came prepared with dresses. This beautiful gown made by my talented friend Mieka May was perfect for a snowy setting! I felt like a beautiful snow goddess :) 

A bit further down the road we found this awesome spot! I love middle of the road photos. We climbed up some rocks to get a different point of view :)

Another stop, another dress! This is one of my faves from Urban Outfitters :) I appreciate Paul for putting up with all of my photo demands. Zion has so many gorgeous sights to stop and see! We went through all seasons in one day, from snow to sunshine.

After this stop, we made our way to the shuttle. At this point there were already hundreds of people and the sun was out so we were in no hurry to get the top for photos, so we stopped and ate lunch at the Castle Dome Cafe. Mostly just sat and people watched while eating our food, giving us energy for the hike ahead!

Cell phone shot of us in the parking lot. I wish I took more pictures of the whole journey! I didn’t have a blog then though, now I know to take pictures of the whole adventure to share with you :)

Angel’s Landing is 5 miles round trip. There are many switchbacks but some nice breaks going through some cool canyons. Cool in temperature. Luckily it was a pretty overcast day so I didn’t die. Among the thousands of people hiking with us, there were people of all ages. One couple in particular looked to have been at least 80…maybe. I’m bad at guessing, but they were up there. We kept saying we admired them and hope to be doing that when we’re they’re age.  But every time we saw them creepin’ up on us we had to get moving. No way we were going to let grandma and grandpa pass us. 

The hike honestly was not bad at all. It didn’t take us long to get up there. We had to scale the side of the mountain at the top, holding onto a chain so we didn’t fall. With the insane amount of people, we had to wait our turn most of the time, making small talk with strangers. They’d ask where we were from and we’d both say “Washington.”….Which was true, but State for me and D.C for him. We found that epic spot in the picture above and decided to call it. No way were we going to continue on with the line of people. It was crazy, I really wish I had a picture of all the people on this mountain to show you. While we were going back down he asked me if he was what I expected, if his profile was a good representation of himself. I said I didn’t have any expectations going into it, which is how I love to live! I asked him the same question and he answered with, “I guess I didn’t expect you to be so dorky.” Yes, I am a huge dork. It definitely does not come through my photos, but that’s okay! I want to surprise people in person with my dorkiness :)

I told Paul to look natural and this is how he sat….this picture had me dying for two days straight. I had an amazing day with him! It was one of those times where you meet someone and feel like you’ve always known them. We had so much in common, pretty much everything besides our food preference…I’m sweet, he’s savory. 

We ended the day taking some photos back at Mystic and then went out for pizza :) and when I woke up, he was gone. Just like that! On to his next adventure. I am so so grateful for this day spent with him, I have a strong feeling it won’t be the last :)

You can see his work on Instagram at @paulcorgan.