I love Slot Canyons

My favorite hike of the Utah trip was one recomended by my Brother-in-law. We got up early and headed out to Kanarra Creek Slot Canyon. You might be asking, what's a slot canyon? You'll get the idea in the pictures to come, but it is just that, a canyon carved (usually by water) out of stone which is steep on both sides leaving just a slot. I love hiking in or near water and the shade the canyon provided kept us out of the hot July sun.

This is a slot canyon.

David carried Renae (my niece's daughter) the entire trip. Here they are playing in one of the waterfalls.

J-me and me.
We had several waterfalls to climb...with an infant and toddler in packs. I think we saw it as a challenge we couldn't pass up even if better judgement might say to turn back. The kids didn't seem to mind at all. I'm not sure we were thinking that what ever we climb up, we have to climb back down to get out.

Above is Peggy (Sis), Jaime (Sis), Melissa (niece), McKay, Me, Bryson, Renae, David, Gary (Bro-in-law), and Kaylie.

If you're headed to Southern Utah, don't miss this hike.

I do have to mention that we traversed all kinds of terrain and David did a stellar job with Renae on his back...until we hit the flat part of the trail when we were almost back to the cars and David tripped stepping over a tree when his toe caught a branch. He fell into the tree and sacrificed himself to make sure Renae was safe. He got several scratches and pokes from tree branches, but Renae was entirely uneffected; not even scared. David claims it was Renae that tripped and took him down with her.

Finally...to the Family Reunion

OK, so it's been several blogs talking about getting to the Family Reunion and it is finally happening. We met my Sister, Peggy, her husband, Gary, their Daughter Melissa, and her two children and headed out to the house we rented. It was in the mountains 15 miles West of Cedar City. We assigned rooms and headed out for dinner and a play at the Utah Shakespearean Festival at Southern Utah University, courtesy of the President of the University. We were also introduced to the man who started the Utah Shakespearean Festival who also knew David's Dad, Walt. We saw the play "As you like it" and we all thoroughly enjoyed the humor.

The next morning, we headed off for the Twisted Forest and Cedar Breaks. The Twisted Forest Trail is a little known trail that leads through a Bristle Cone Pine forest. Some of the trees are between a thousand and two thousand years old. It's a strange place because all around this small forest is a normal aspen and pine forest, then you walk out into this area that is mostly covered with small rocks and sparse vegetation that happens to be the ideal place for bristle cone pines to grow. You can look around and see the clearly defined edge of the forest. It's not like anything I've seen before.

David carried Renae (my niece's daughter) on this trip and found her to be a really good hiker. For such an active girl, she is content to sit still in the backpack and enjoy the ride.

In the picture above there are two things to make note of - besides Bryson and McKay. It's hard to see, but Bryson has a yo-yo in his hand. He spent a lot of this trip getting really good at the yo-yo. He often had it with him on the hikes. Also a little hard to see is Bryson's "powder bag" that his friend's mom made him. It carries all his survival supplies. He had it well stocked and it came in handy on numerous occasions throughout the trip. It was almost comical. If you needed something, Bryson had it. Bandaid for McKay; of course. String to tie Kaylie's pacifier to the carrier so she wouldn't lose it; which kind, kite string or twine? Knives at the rental house were dull; no problem, Bryson has a knife sharpener. Renae's backpack needed an emergency repair on the trail; Bryson had an awl on his pocket knife to drill through plastic and string to tie it all together. Those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head. Any time we needed something, we knew Bryson would have something that would work. He'll make a great scout someday.

The picture below is at the top of the Twisted Forest which happens to be on the backside of Cedar Breaks (which you can see in the background of this picture). Truly stunning.

Then we headed off for a picnic lunch at Cedar Breaks and a hike down to a pond along the edge of Cedar Breaks and up to a scenic overlook.

By the end of the hikes we were ready for dinner and bed. My Dad and Step Mom, Nell, arrived at the house while we were out and my "little" sister, Jaime arrived that evening. That made for a full day, but we were up early the next day for more hiking.

Fishing with Uncle Tom

Our last stop before the family reunion was to stop and visit David's Aunt Beth and Uncle Tom (Aunt Beth is Walt's Sister). Beth fixed us a delicious breakfast at their cabin.

Then Tom took us out to experience his favorite past time, fishing! We got geared up and headed to Navajo Lake. David was the only one that caught anything. It was great to be fishing the waters that David's Dad and Grandfather before him fished.

Bryson found a rock that made a perfect fishing pole holder.

We went back to the cabin for lunch and McKay gutted the fish. We really enjoyed the trip and need to try to make time to fish more in NY. The problem is, I grew up trout fishing in Utah. I know several ways to cook trout. I haven't even heard of the fish in NY. I wouldn't know what to do with them if we caught them.

Goblin Valley

On our way to our Family Reunion in Southern Utah, we detoured off the beaten path to Goblin Valley State Park. It was named for the resemblance of the rock features to Goblins. What do you think?

Isn't it amazing?

If you noticed the absence of Parker, it's because he had some educational responsibilities (summer school) so he had to stay home.

On the way to a hotel for the evening, we stopped by a gas station whose convenience store was hollowed out of the mountain. It goes way back in.

Since their wasn't a really defined closet at the hotel for Bryson to sleep in, he had to improvise.

This is how we found him in the morning. He's so strange.

5 Years!?!

Where did all the time go...and yet it seems like we've been married much longer. We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary while we were in Utah and returned to the spot where we were married, the top of Hidden Peak at Snowbird Ski resort. I surprised David with the short side trip and we were able to take the tram to the peak. It's just as breathtaking as when we were married and so is David. It's been quite an adventure and we're looking forward to so much more.

Top 10 things I love about David:

10. We think alike so much, we are actually perplexed when we don't immediately come to the same conclusion and agree on topics.

9. He's a hopeless romantic. Far more than I am.

8. He'll drop anything to stop and help the kids with something or answer a question.

7. He's really good at giving a presentation and getting people excited. He was designed to address a crowd.

6. He is so much like his Dad in a lot of ways. One endearing trait they both share is they both love to sing out loud and strong at church, even if they weren't blessed with angel voices.

5. He's incredibly smart. One of the smartest people I know (another thing he gets from his Dad).

4. He is devoted to his Faith, his family, and his work and takes all of these responsibilities very seriously.

3. A little known fact...he's really cuddly.

2. Quoting a country song, "I hope [my boys are] at least half the dad, that he didn't have to be".

1. He loves me more than I deserve sometimes.

What a difference an "a" can make

We got a good laugh out of David misreading a caption on a newspaper. He read:

"Join the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society

for a Feline Feast to assist in reducing the excess cat population"

What it actually said was,

"Join the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society

for a Feline Fest to assist in reducing the excess cat population"

The extra a David added to fest really changed the way we could help control the cat population! Yikes! Haven't laughed that hard for a while.

Hangin' with d'Niece and d'Nephew

My sister, Peggy, and I have been plotting a get together with my brothers and sisters for 2 years, now, and we were finally able to put the plan in motion. So we rented a vacation home in Southern Utah, near some of our family history sites, and sent out the notifications. The only problem was that my brothers couldn't make it. Luckily in planning to be in Utah, I added a little extra time to the trip to visit some other family. So I visited Scott in Salt Lake before the reunion and we chilled for a day.

So what do you do on a Saturday when your favorite Aunt's in town? Laser Tag! Danielle (d'Niece) and I made a great team, but Scott and Ethan (d'Nephew) dominated. Scott is remarkably good at laser tag. Probably the best player that didn't cheat. Here is a picture of Danielle ready for battle-that's not her battle face, though. Trust me she can be fierce.

We played a lot of air hockey, which is good for me because it's something I can beat my big Bro at after he cleaned my clock at Laser Tag - several times.

After dropping Danielle off at her friend's house, Scott, Ethan, and I went out for pizza then to an arcade. I'll let you in on a secret...I love skee ball! I'm not very good at it, but I can't walk past a machine with out dropping some quarters.It was great to see my big Brother and his kids. It's been too long...come and visit me in New York!

An "Enriching" Evening with a Few Friends

I had the chance to host an Enrichment Activity for the ladies at church. My friend Stephanie thought it would be fun to have a bonfire. I thought, maybe we could cook over the bonfire. So we decided to cook tinfoil chicken dinners, s'mores, and a dutch oven cobbler. It attracted more than a couple of ladies from church even though we're on the far end of the ward.

Since I don't get to spend a lot of time with the adults (I'm always in with the Young Women), it was fun to spend time with some old and new friends.