Founder's Circle: Hiking and Cupcakes

On Day 2 of the Stampin’ Up! Founder’s Circle Retreat, we decided to start off with a hiking trip at Cedar Breaks National Monument, near Cedar City.

I learned (gotta love wikipedia) that the amphitheater canyon is about 3 miles across and 2000 feet deep, and that the rim we hiked started at about 10,000 feet above sea level.

For a girl from the midwest, where the elevation is 764 feet, or 770 feet with corn, this was a pretty high altitude. The views were breathtaking though, and well worth the several hours of hiking today.

You’ll notice how far back from the edge I’m standing though… I didn’t think I needed to get any closer to the drop!

We also hiked to nearby Alpine Lake, an incredibly gorgeous spring lake with the clearest water I’ve ever seen for a small lake. You could see right down to the bottom. The aspen trees were beginning to turn yellow and some of the foliage near the ground had already turned. The combination of greens and yellows seems like it would make a fabulous inspiration for a stamped card!

Back at the Stampin’ Up! retreat headquarters, a few of us headed off for a yummy dinner. We were fortunate to have Shelli Gardner (CEO of Stampin’ Up!) and two of her daughters, Sara and Shalae, join us for the meal. Founder’s Circle is a great opportunity to spend time with our demonstrator friends, but it’s also a great chance to get to know some of the Stampin’ Up! staff family, too.

When we finally got back to our rooms for the night, there was a fabulous gift waiting for us on our pillows — a gorgeous hand-stamped Simply Adorned necklace, complete with a bauble (check out the Holiday Mini Catalog!) and charm.