This week has been so much fun! Again, I can’t really remember the order that things happened in, but here is what we did:
We climbed Lone Peak with Donny and Alyssa. Well, sort of. Lone peak is considered by many to be the most difficult summit to reach in the Wasatch mountain range. This is due mostly to the grueling 8ish mile ascent that is pretty much non-stop switch backs up the side of the mountain. Our plan was to leave late afternoon and climb to the Cirque (area near the top of the mountain at the base of the cliffs that form the summit) and then spend the night. The next day Donny and I would climb the Open Book route to the summit (5.7) where our beautiful wives would meet us with lunch after having walked up the back. We would enjoy a leisurely lunch on top and then jaunt down the mountain to be back for dinner. Well, sometimes things just don’t work out the way we planned them.
We started hiking around 7:00 in the evening. The hiking was hard, but it was nice to be moving and to have time to talk to each other without interruptions. We hiked and we hiked...and we hiked. As it got dark we kept expecting to reach our destination, but there was always one more rise to climb over. Also, Rachel and I had somehow gotten pretty far ahead of Donny and Alyssa without realizing it. Around 10:30 at night Donny called and said that he and Alyssa were going to stop and camp. Rachel and I hiked about a half hour further and then decided to do the same after we came to a place where it was difficult to make out the trail. We had a fitful night’s sleep on the trail and woke up early to hike for just 20 more minutes until we reached a little cabin someone had made. There we made a fire and waited for Donny and Alyssa to arrive.
About an hour and a half later they made it in and we ate breakfast with them. They were pretty much done hiking for a while, so Rachel and I left our packs with them and hiked up to the cirque to check out the beautiful granite scenery. It was gorgeous and we had a nice hike together before heading back. We all made good time back to the car and got home just as a tremendous rain storm got underway. It turns out the whole area had been issued a “winter storm warning.” Looking back up the mountain we couldn’t even see the peak because of the rain clouds, and I think it is probably a good thing that we weren’t climbing at that time- so I guess it all worked out for the best in the end.
This week we also went to Thanksgiving point with Wendy. Evelyn loved the cool activities, and really liked the dinosaurs and the exhibits revolving around them.
Later, we went to Grandma Hill’s birthday party where we got to see a lot of cousins that we haven’t spoken to in a long time.
Finally, toward the end of the week after Marissa and Wesley returned from their honeymoon, we all went to the Desert Star Theatre where we watched “My Big Fat Utah Wedding.” This theatre is a place where Rachel and I would go when we were living in Provo and we can always count on them to put on a good show. It was fun being there with Rachel’s family to eat, watch the show, and laugh together.
It really has been a wonderful stay in Utah and we have gotten to see tons of family. I feel like it has been a good vacation.
Jack and Addy enjoyed the museum too- they had a little play area for kids and they had a lot of fun there.
Evelyn proudly displays the dinosaur bone she found.
A shark! She doesn't look too worried.
We also went to a classic car show. Here we see Rachel and Evelyn between our two favorites. Rachel would drive the red one- I'd take the yellow.
These are all from the Lone Peak trip.
It was great to see you and your whole family.
ReplyDeleteLogan thanks for the garden help. Brandon has gone over the wood a few more times and we laser-leveled the posts and squared them with the street.
I'm giving a big shout out to me for being awesome with the children all by myself while you were camping and in emergency. It was awesome fun. Kudos to you Rachel for doing it everyday.
I loved seeing you guys!!! Did you look for the little gnomes in Thanksgiving point? Someone went through and they are about 4" high and are red and green and are hidden all throughout the museum. The second picture from the top is where I got the scar on my knee. I found the gnome then turned and tried to run and fell on a dinosaur bone.
ReplyDeleteYeah I tried to talk to mom and she said she was taking care of all three kids alone and to call her back. You are amazing..