We're headed back to Yosemite!
We went on the most comical trip ever with AAU a few semesters ago, but only got one day in the park (and I think it was only like 7 hours). The cast of characters was AMAZING. Three Stripes, Squirrel Girl and the lot were far more entertaining that I could have asked for.
We're going to stay at the Yosemite Bug Hostel for two nights and camp in the park for two nights. I'm pretty excited. We can take Pi with us to both locations and they have kennels at the park in the event you want to hike a trail that doesn't allow dogs!
We were talking about Half Dome until we found out about the lottery for permit system. Every permit application requires a $4.50 "application" fee ($6.50 if you apply by phone), which is applied to your permit fee of $8 if you get chosen. If you don't get chosen, they keep your $4.50. Best scam ever. They only allow 300 permits per day but get like 3500 applicants for each day during the summer season. It's not like $4.50 is a lot of money but with that sort of volume, that's quite the haul.
I was eaten alive by bugs at work today (not exactly sure how, but hey, it happens). My arm is all itchy and swollen, which reminded me of something I need to pack for our trip.
In the last few years, I have been reacting terribly to bug bites to the point of having to go to urgent care because my leg was so swollen and red. It happens every 6 months or so. I'm not sure if they are some sort of mutant man eating bugs or what, but it's utterly miserable when it happens.
The first time it happened was at my brother's apartment. The second time, at Justin's. The third time, at Yosemite. The last couple of times it has happened, I thought to put Aztec Secret Healing Clay on it.
Night and day difference.
Before, I'd spend a week or two all puffy and itchy and burning. Using the Aztec Secret, the itching, swelling and burning went down in a matter of days.
I will definitely be taking some (along with apple cider vinegar) on our camping trip. As much as I loved an excuse to barefoot at Yosemite (my ankle was so swollen that I couldn't wear my boot or having my pant leg touch my skin), I've become a bit of a tenderfoot living in San Francisco. It's far too dirty to barefoot here.
Aside from wicked, nasty bug bites it's also great for a bunch of other uses as well. The first (and most obvious) is a facial mask (or any body part that needs a mask). It really draws out the impurities. The label exclaims "feel your face pulsate!" I'm not entirely sure that's how I want my face to feel, but my skin looks fantastic most of the time. It's also supposed to help tighten and tone your skin. It could be placebo effect, but my skin looks and feels tighter to me after using it.
Another use I found for it is making my own toothpaste or tooth powder. I stopped using commercial toothpaste quite some time ago. Even Tom's of Maine because it was too hard to find a fluoride free toothpaste (Check out FAN for information on the negative impact of fluoride). I originally started making my own toothpaste for my brother to try to help remineralize his teeth. My teeth felt pretty clean and I was happy not having to put more fluoride in my body.
The toothpaste recipe I was using was a bit weird tasting (it featured Dr. Bronner's castile soap), so I started making tooth powder using baking soda, cinnamon, ground sage and Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay. Sage has whitening properties and cinnamon just tastes good :)
It's a little weird brushing with a powder, but once you get used to it, it's not that bad. My teeth feel clean pretty much all of the time.
It's a little weird brushing with a powder, but once you get used to it, it's not that bad. My teeth feel clean pretty much all of the time.
Aztec Secret Healing Indian Healing clay is super economical and has a variety of uses. I purchased the 2 lb container more than a year ago and still have about half the container. I use it as a mask about once a week and on itchy scratchy skin when it's needed.
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