The highway looked clear...

...but snow packed on the highway midline had warmed and melted and the road was a bit damp during the day and while we played, the temperature dropped and the highway glazed over with black ice.

We slid a long way, gradually turning into the snow packed shoulder. Then we rolled 1 1/2 times and stopped,  upside down.  At the bottom of a steep hill. Out of sight of traffic. Right next to a big tree. 

I just rolled Little Blue!  She was 10 years old and just over 130K miles. She protected me and my hungry 2 1/2 year old, who was buckled in his carseat and asking for fruit snacks and cereal and a quesadilla for dinner.

I knew I wasn't hurt.  And I knew Lincoln wasn't hurt because he wasn't silent or crying hysterically. Instead, Linc was complain/crying because he was upside down. As soon as he was unbuckled and upright, he started asking to get out of the car. He had been playing a lego train app on my phone, so I had no idea where it was in the disorientation of sitting on the ceiling with a carseat above our heads.

Thankfully, the rear passenger door (on the treeside) was free of snow and opened easily. So I didn't bother to look for my phone.  I knew there would be traffic; a woman with a small child would surely be able to flag down some help.  I left everything but Lincoln and climbed up the steep, snowy bank to the highway.  

There was a wide turnout just across the highway, so we crossed the road to be a safe distance from traffic.  We had to wait a few minutes, but the very first truck to go by turned around and offered help. I used her phone to call the police and then James.  James had just clocked out, so he called Grandma (who was 1/2 a mile away) and she came to get Lincoln. 

The officer arrived just about the same time as Grandma and he and I skated across the highway and climbed down to the car to collect stuff.  He found my phone. It was underneath a floormat on the ceiling directly under Linc's carseat. James and Linc's other carseat arrived just after we got back up to the highway so Grandma took Linc home to feed him dinner while I finished up with the officer. James and the Branch President inspected the wreckage and collected more stuff.

The officer recommended leaving the car overnight and arranging for a 'boom' truck to haul it up in the daylight.  That's what we did.  All the pictures are from Saturday (Mar 1) and the big relocation.  Little Blue is currently at a branch member's property until the insurance company decides what to do next.

Lincoln has been telling me all day that ...Mommy's car is broken... and we need to ...fix Mommy's car... 

I have a few bruises and my seatbelt shoulder is pretty sore, but mostly I'm embarrassed and grateful and sad and mad at myself.  Lincoln seems uninjured and unemotional. :)  I think my Guardian Angel and Lincoln's have been working overtime lately.

RIP Little Blue (1/2004-2/28/2014)

Granddad Price - February 27, 2014

My Granddad Price passed away this week at age 88.  It is hard to be a part of the activities from a long distance.  They asked us to look for pictures of Granddad and that was something I was able to do to help.  These are some of the favorites I found.

August 1988 - My mom says this is one of her favorite photos from this age.  I don't remember anything about this adventure except for the photo. I was 10 years old.

1989 formal photo - Granddad still has dark hair!

2001 - Granddad refers to Grandma as his "bride". They reached 66 anniversaries and she is still his bride.

2010 - this was taken at the Idaho Falls temple after the wedding of my cousins Cody & Lisa Castellaw. G&G often held hands as they walked places.

September 11, 2011 - Granddad and his #66 great-grand child - Lincoln is 2 days old. I'm glad Lincoln and Granddad were able to spend a little time together on this side of the veil.

February 25, 2012 - 64th wedding anniversary. Lots of family gathered at a Chinese Restaurant for dinner to celebrate. (Lincoln is 5 months old)  Granddad preferred buffet style restaurants such as Golden Corral or Norths Chuckwagon. So the Chinese buffet was a little bit of variety.

August 5, 2012 - Price Family Reunion at Brighton Resort - couldn't tell you the names of the great-grandkids based on the back of their heads.  Granddad never hesitated to ask any question or share any advice.

August 13, 2012 - At the Wunderli Family Reunion in West Valley City. (Lincoln is 11 months old)  Granddad supported all family functions - this was a gathering of Grandma's extended family, but he made the effort to attend as many family events as possible.

September 2, 2013 - At G&G's home in Plain City. (Lincoln is two in a week.) This was on our way to Alaska. We stayed one night and borrowed tools to fix the wiring on our truck. Granddad had a garage full of tools and was generous in letting us use what we needed.

Published in the Deseret News:
Calvin George Price (12/05/1925 - 02/27/2014)

Plain City, UT-Calvin George Price, 88, passed away Thursday, February 27, 2014, of natural causes, surrounded by his loving family. Calvin was born December 5, 1925 in Union, UT, a son of Angus B. and Lucy W. Price. He was the youngest of ten children. He proudly his country served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. On February 25, 1948, Cal married his sweet little bride, Margaret Clark. They were blessed with nine children; Glen, Kathy, Arleen, Barbara, David, Janeal, Douglas, Karen and Lynnette.

Cal and Margaret worked and lived in Union and Sandy, UT, Bothell, WA, Portland and Irrigon, OR, and Plain City, UT. His greatest joy, besides his family, was his service in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in many callings, especially cherishing serving missions with Margaret in NZ/Cook Islands and No. Carolina. They also served as Temple workers. Cal's many interests included puttering on cars, general handyman,square dancing, singing, and videotaping his children and grandchildren at their various family activities.

Cal is survived by his wife, Margaret, his children and their spouses, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, presently numbering 180 and growing; one brother Eugene Price, and many nieces, nephews and loved ones.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 8th at 10 a.m. at the Plain City LDS Church. Graveside dedication will be at the Salt Lake City Cemetery, 4th Avenue N Street, at 3 p.m. The family will meet with friends Friday March 7th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lindquist's Roy Mortuary, 3333 West 5600 South and Saturday from 9 to 9:45 a.m. at the church.

James' Adventures - Feb 4-17, 2014

Feb 4, 2014 Sunset over Alaganik Slough

Feb 5, 2014 - Mountain Biking off the 'golf course'

Feb 5, 2014

Feb 5, 2014

Feb 17, 2014 - Hiking for turns on Mt.Eyak

Feb 17, 2014

 Feb 17, 2014

Feb 17, 2014

Feb 17, 2014

Feb 17, 2014

Sheridan Glacier - February 1, 2014

Another sunny Saturday... another adventure.  Lincoln was a bit cranky when we started.  I told him we were going on an adventure. Then we stopped at Grandma and Grandpa's to pick them up.  Lincoln cried the whole time we were there. "Adventure!"  No staying home for that kid. 

We decided to check out Sheridan Glacier.  This is a part of the lake that forms at the base of the glacier from the melting ice.  This boardwalk was built across for easier trail access.  When we visited the glacier last September with Oma, the boardwalk bridge was underwater and we took a longer trail around this part of the lake to get closer to the glacier.  Right around the boardwalk, the ice was smooth and slippery.  We didn't step out, but it would've been great for ice skating.

Grandma, Grandpa, Lincoln and Kinley.

This is the lake closer to the glacier.  The whole surface was uneven and had tiny ice crystals all over.  Not so slippery (unless you hit a clear shiny spot). Lincoln didn't have any trouble walking around - he wandered from white spot to white spot and tromped on all the heavy patches of ice crystals.

Grandpa and Lincoln checking out a rock.  The ice behind them is a floating iceberg, frozen in the lake. It calved off of the main glacier sometime and is freezing and melting out in the lake.  If you look close, you can see an 'arch' in the iceberg - a hole to look through and see the mountain behind it.

Another view of the Alaska-style arch, with blue sky behind it.  Made me think of Arches National park - those sandstone arches will last a lot longer than this iceberg arch.

A view of the lake and it's imperfect ice with glacier and distant mountains. On another adventure, we'll try to get closer to the blue ice - it really looked blue in the sunshine.

Same view, just including Lincoln and his mommy. I also wondered how long (with just face and hands exposed) you have to wander in the sunshine to get your daily vitamin D exposure?  Today was cold enough to want a hat and gloves while hiking in the shade, but the sunshine on the lake was delightful and warm.

Walking along the trail in the shade the bushes were covered with the ice crystals - so pretty!  I always thought they were dependent on inversion conditions - but here are frost covered bushes in the bright blue-sky day.  Being right on the ocean with different weather all the time has perks - fantastic air quality!

Nap time - Busy boy didn't make it back to the car before conking out.  His only nap today was half an hour in the backpack.

Driving back home we shared an orange.  He ate every bite of his orange slices, but only a couple bites of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Daddy had to work for the airline today, so he missed today's outdoor adventure.  We'll make up for it with after-work adventures when the summer daylight hours come around.

Haystack Trail - January 25, 2014

 The forecast for Saturday was irresistible - a high of 55-degrees and partly-cloudy (NOT RAIN!). So Lincoln and I went hiking with Grandma and Grandpa.  We took Grandma's car and lucky for Lincoln, she had an extra pair of sunglasses. The brightness from outside was overwhelming.

At the trail head for the Haystack Trail.  The hike is .8 miles one-way

This trail is an educational hike. There are signs along the way that teach you about the forest.  There is also a lovely bench. With all the moss, and no snow, the hike was super green and it doesn't feel much like winter.

At the lookout at the end of the trail.  The railings are a little too high for Lincoln to climb, so Grandpa helped him up.  (See Opa - Vitamin D in Alaska. We only need to stay in the sunshine for about 3 hours since only hands and faces are exposed in January.)

Lookout with a view - we didn't spot any moose today, but there were airplanes!

Binoculars. Lincoln 'borrowed' these from Grandpa and wore them around his neck all the way down the trail.

 w/Grandpa

Group Photo at the end of the trail.  Next we're going to the airport to say "Hi" to Daddy at work and tell him all about our hike.  Hopefully we can go hiking together soon.

Pipeline Lakes Loop - January 20, 2014

The forecast for Monday is overcast skies, but not rain! Mommy and Grandpa have the day off (Martin Luther King Jr Day), so let's get outside.  We decided on the Pipeline Lakes/McKinley Lake Loop.  Kid-friendly wander along a trail that is often flat logs with netting nailed down for traction. There are 5 pipeline lakes (named pipeline for the pipes that used to transport water to a small mining railroad) to see.  Then the trail connects with the McKinley Lake trail with a nice up-and-down wander back to the highway.  Almost 4 miles round-trip.

First signpost - 1.8 miles to the junction with McKinely Lake Trail. 2.8 miles to the McKinley Lake cabin. We're not going as far as the LAKE cabin this time.

I took about a million pictures - the terrain was beautiful and varied

in another meadow

steps and log bridges

snowy meadow (the trail was under the ice, Linc had to 'bush-wack' a bit for safety.  Lincoln wore mittens for quite awhile, but when I was comfortable hiking without mine (46-ish degrees and only cold in the wind), I let him take his mittens off too. 

mossy trees

and then the little lakes!  There was a layer of standing water on top of the ice from the recent rain. 

Nap time.  Lincoln must've hiked about a mile on his own.  Mr.Independent refused help - except on the icy patches, but he even picked his way across most of those.  Sometimes he'd accept a hand for balance when stepping down something steep; but if going up, he'd just put his hands down and climb up on his own.   He finally asked for the backpack after skating and falling on one of the lakes and getting his hands dirty. After that, he tucked his hands in his pockets and they stayed warm. Linc slept through some exploring and finally woke up when we were getting close to the junction with the McKinley Lake trail.

Grandpa at the trail junction.

The trail junction is on the hillside above a section of McKinley Lake. So we hiked down to the lake for lunch.  This lake had sheets of thick ice floating on the water.  So we could walk out on the ice, and even step over open water to another sheet and probably could have crossed over the lake that way, but we weren't prepared for any disastrous consequences.

James and Linc eating their sandwiches on McKinley Lake.  I only brought a half sandwich (peanut butter and jelly) for Lincoln and tuna fish for the rest of us.  Linc finished his sandwich, spit out his taste of tuna fish and settled for some apple slices. 

Daddy-powered transportation.

This section of trail (from the junction all the way to the highway) was really soggy.  Sometimes it was firm and great and the next step was two inches of mud.  46-ish degrees and a week of rain makes for some soggy hiking.

Mommy-powered transportation - James hiked him most of the way, that last 3/4 mile was to give James' shoulders a break and to up the intensity of my workout.

There are two cabins - McKinley LAKE cabin (which is at the lake end of the McKinley Lake trail) and McKinely TRAIL cabin (which is at the trailhead end of the trail).  We stopped in at the TRAIL cabin to take a look.  Lincoln found a deck of cards and wanted to play a game.  Which meant that he handed each of us a card, one at a time.

The sign at the end of the trail - or the beginning, if you're hiking the McKinley Lake Trail.  Linc finished strong by hiking from the cabin back down to the highway.  Then walking along the highway to our car - the two trailheads are only a quarter mile apart, but that's a long way when your legs are short and you've already hiked more than a mile.  We had warm apple cider in the car and then Lincoln napped all the way home.