Donut Falls - August 28, 2010

It took 22 minutes to hike from the car to the falls - less than a mile.  And then we spent an hour climbing around the falls and exploring inside the cave the falls made.  Forgot the camera, so all of these are cell phone photos.

These next two are James -  up above the actual falls, he got to where he could look down into the cave.

On the way back to the car, I told James about hiking to Donut Falls with Carlee (before she was a Simpson), Kim and tiny McKayla - and how it was cool enough in the spring that Carlee? tucked McKayla into her shirt to keep her warm.  They were two-headed cuteness (I have a picture, it is just pre-digital and I don't know exactly where it is). 

And about all the humming birds that I've seen flying around the bushes. 

And about hiking with my cousin Shawnell and John and kids - when their son Nathan was small enough that he kept begging to be carried, but he would walk to the next tree or the bridge.

James looked at all the bushes and said, "There should be a moose - right there."  And as we turned the corner...

Moose.  Right there.  Amazing.  She stopped in the bushes just off the trail and we watched her eat for a while before ending our hike and driving up the road to Brighton for a "look see".

Still no snow, but he checks anyway...

Adventures with Biking to Work - August 27, 2010

Composed poetry on the way to work... 

A Cloudy Day in August

A cloudy day in August
makes me think of Fall;
of comfortable days and cool,
crisp nights;
of golden aspens and crimson maples;
of future clouds and
silent, weightless snow.



Passing By

I passed by him,
he passed by me.
I nodded "hello".
He didn't see.
Dark sunglasses and
white ear buds
blasted him a jangling melody.



Made the pedalling a little bit more interesting.  Plus I had to remember my little poems long enough to get them written down!

Back to School - August 25, 2010

(James is not really a morning person - me either.  We barely talk while we're getting ready for the day.  That is one reason why he looks a bit grumpy in the photo.  Another reason, he was running a little late.  He's got his breakfast wrapped in a paper towel in his hand and his lunch cooler - hopefully enough food to to last until he gets home for dinner.  On flight days, he also has his flight bag with his headset and flight planning tools.  On classroom days he has another backpack with books and school supplies.)

Mon-Fri 5:40 a.m. leave the house for work
Mon-Fri 6:00 a.m. - 2:30ish p.m. Backcountry.com

Mon 4:00-4:50 p.m. Aviation Orientation Class
Mon 5:00-6:50 p.m. Private Pilot Ground School Class

Tues 3:00-5:00 p.m. Fly
Tues 5:30-8:15 p.m. Computer Essentials Class

Wed 5:00-6:50 p.m. Private Pilot Ground School Class

Thur 3:00-5:00 p.m. Fly

Fri 5:00-7:00 p.m. Fly

Sat time varies - Fly

Sun 8:00 a.m. help set up chairs
Sun 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. church

Squeeze in homework, EQ calling stuff and Home Teaching.

Proud of you James!

Bountiful Lake - August 21, 2010

James and I had a random Saturday of running errands and not much else.  So we turned it into date night and had dinner at IHOP and stopped at Bountiful Lake for a stroll.  Not a very big lake, we wandered all the way around.  Lots and lots of people fishing, ducks begging for bread, dragonflies, tall grasses over our heads and benches along the shore - all lost in the tall grasses.  A beautiful evening.

Big Cottonwood Canyon - August 20, 2010

My friend Diana is the ward Activities Committee chairperson and she is planning a ward cookout at a campground in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  She's already reserved the site and is planning the food and activities, but she's never been to the campground.  So we invited their family to come up Big Cottonwood Canyon with us tonight.  We toured the campground and checked out the group site, the softball field, the horseshoes pits and the volley ball courts.

Then we drove the rest of the way up to Brighton and had our own little cook out.  (I had to go over to the house where we house-sat earlier this spring and borrow a propane canister - I managed to bring an empty and leave a full one at home. Sigh. Who put me in charge of packing the supplies!?  Silver Lining - they asked us to house-sit again for a week in October.  Yay!)

Chris, Hudson and Diana Elexpuru

The Jessi James Gang (It was cold after the sun went down and we didn't remember to bring any long sleeve warmth - Silver Lining - snuggling in the car blanket!)

A video of Hudson jumping off the big granite rock where we took photos - Diana's reaction to the whole thing just makes me laugh!

Sunday Drive - Alta - August 15, 2010

The wildflowers are in bloom!

Lake Blanche - August 14, 2010

Today, we hiked the Lake Blanche Trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  The last time I hiked this trail, Kim hiked with me and carried McKayla - who was backpackable.  The last time James hiked this trail, there was still snow covering the last half mile of the trail.

The beginning starts out easy enough...

But it just keeps going, and going, and going, and going... (see the "v" where the two ridge lines meet - in front of the distant mountain?  That's where we left the car.)

It was worth the hike though - I got to use my new birthday hiking shoes.

And there are lakes to explore at the top.  Lake Blanche with Sundial Peak in the background.

Lake Lillian and Lake Florence (I think Lake Lillian is the more distant lake).

Plenty of rocks to skip.

These incredible old dams - that have since broken and are now just perfect for sitting and taking in the view.

On the way down, about 1 mile back down the trail, I discovered that I'd lost an earring somewhere in our exploration of the lakes.  So sad!  But we voted, unanimously, against hiking back up to the lakes!  I think I'll try to turn the remaining earring into a bookmark.

We ended our hike with dinner at Silver Fork Lodge - we had a $50 gift certificate from when we house-sat up at Brighton earlier this year.  We still ended up paying $8 and a tip.  Without a gift certificate this place is way, way out of our budget!  Beautiful view, ritzy patrons, food was just okay.

I expect to be sore, sore, sore after this one.