Goal ##: Go camping in a yurt

Although not included in my original 99 goals list (I didn't know what a yurt was then), I made a goal and made this happen...10 months ago (yikes--how did I get so behind?!).

Anyway, yurts are AWESOME! They originated with Genghis Khan, traveling with his fighters over mountain passes. They would need a warm place to stay for the night and wah-lah! The yurt was born. (or at least that's the story I liked best)

Who would have thought that this central asian dwelling for nomads would have made it to Utah? But it did. There are dozens of yurts all over the state. They range from being a camping experience (snow shoe or cross country ski in, build a fire, stay the night) to a 5-star dining experience (travel to the yurt in a a horse-drawn sleigh, be served gourmet meal by waiters, etc.), and cost adjust accordingly.

We were able to stay really economically:

Lodging:

Sun-Thurs: $50/night + BRORA membership=$65

1 night/8 people: $8.125

Gas:

130 miles, 2.5 hours away, at the end of HWY 150

30 mpg = 8.66 gallons of gas

x $3.30 = $28.60

/4 people = $7.15/person (2 cars, 8 people)

$6 Forest Service user fee/car = $1.25/person

Gear:

snow shoes $9/day from BYU Outdoors Unlimited or $10 in Evanston

Total per person cost: $16.52 w/o rental

Not bad, right?

If you get a little cabin fever in the winter and need your fix of the outdoors, this is a GREAT way to do it! Cheap (if you do it right), warm (in fact it got too warm!), beautiful, and fun. See?


We stayed in the Lily Lake yurt system, owned and operated by Evanston, WY Parks and Rec (if you're interested, call them at (307) 789-1770.

And if you do, here are some tips:

• bring chips and salsa. Seriously--it tastes so good after snowshoeing!
• bring "dinner in a bag" (aka freeze dried meals)
• start hiking in with plenty of daylight
• sleep on the bottom bunks (the top bunks get ridiculously hot at night)
• bring games to play at night
• go when there's a full moon--it's really cool to get out of the yurt and hike in the moonlight
• go when there's snow, but it currently isn't snowing...it obscures the path

My dollar for completing this goal goes to Mrs. Sanchez. A little 70-year old lady from Mexico that sells tomales in my city. I've seen her and wished I carried cash. This GoFundMe account was a way that I could still support her.

Goal #44 Missionary work: post 20 Mormon-themed things on Facebook, Twitter, or my blog

This "goal" may seem a little strange, so I want to explain it first. I made this goal because I want to be more transparent about my beliefs.  I know that in person it is obvious that I am a person of faith, but my online presence is a little more guarded.  And I want my online self to be an accurate reflection who I am and what I think about.

Without further ado, here are my 20 "things:"

1. Invitation to listen to October 2013 general conference (where the leaders of our church give timely messages to the whole world, broadcast online and on tv).

2. Quoted one of the twelve apostles on Twitter

3. Posted a blog post explaining general conference on Facebook. I think it's a really well-written post, if you wanna read the real thing.

4. Wrote in my thought blog (this blog is what I'm doing, the other--updated less frequently--is what I'm thinking about) about trials and suffering, and the how the purposes of God in my life are accomplished by them. Here's an excerpt:

5. Posted a quote from a prophet

6. Shared a resource I found for studying the scriptures. It has commentary about each chapter!

7. Tweeted in Portuguese and English during the Christmas devotional...just noticed that I got the hashtag wrong on the Portuguese one--dang! (The 2014 Christmas Devotional is Sunday, Dec 7th at 6pm MST)

8. Asked for prayers, and definitely got some!

9. Shared a video that explains what we think about the purpose of life. Watch the video here.

10. Invited people to hear me speak in church.

11. Tweeted/Instagrammed a picture of the view from the Provo Temple

12. Shared a quote I loved from church. The sister who taught the lesson is so wise!

13. Shared a video the Church produced during Easter. To this day I think it is one of the most powerful testimonies of Christ I have seen. Watch it here!

14. Changed my cover pic to the general conference announcement

15. Tweeted during the April general conference. Read the original talk here.

16. Shared a new way to be grateful (not an explicitly Mormon post, but it's part of what we believe)

17. Shared how to stand up against indecent broadcast material (also not explicitly Mormon, but something we believe).

18. Tweeted during the general women's meeting

19. Tweeted during the October 2014 general conference. The three talks I mention are here, here, and here. :)

20. Shared a website from a Baptist minister who tells why he loves the Book of Mormon and why everyone should read it. So interesting!

And, as a bonus, I'm posting this new Christmas video today! As with many other goals, I hope the practice won't stop with completing the goal, but become a habit (remember my budgeting goal? I budget faithfully every month now, and LOVE it).

It was really fun to go back through Facebook, Twitter, and my other blog to write this post. I found little gems of my faith sprinkles throughout my posts about grad school, fun things with friends, current events, life hacks, products and services I love, and things that make me laugh. I think I got the mixture just right. This is me. This is my life.

As with every goal I complete, I'm donating a dollar to charity. The dollar for this goal went to Typhoon Hayan relief.