July 31, 2023

Closed out an amazing July with Handel’s and some peach ice cream. 

July 29, 2023

Highlights of our trip - Eating at the cute little deli in Helper. Seeing Brandy and chatting with her at dinner. Rafting Westwater Canyon (my favorite thing). Swimming in the Colorado River after the rapids were done (glad Patty insisted on this). Playing in and around Faux Falls on a hot afternoon. A little Main Street Moab exploring. Seeing all the slick rock on the east side of town. Watching a movie (80 for Brady) while playing SkyJo (even though they don’t play Draper rules). Making friends on our raft with a couple from Virginia. Being with my friends and enjoying their company while making more memories. 

 

 

July 28, 2023

Ride the Razor, Faux Falls, dinner, Moab Main Street, ice cream (language barrier in getting our banana split order right), movie, games. Why not by matching sweatshirts when it's 105 degrees?

July 27, 2023

Today was raft Westwater Canyon.  So much fun and my favorite thing we did.

July 26, 2023

It was time to play our Snow getaway with Patty, Mary Ellen, and Tara.  This year we went bigger and  played in Moab to initiate us all into the 50 year old club. It has also been 30 years since we graduated from Snow College and 32 years since we met. 

Mary Ellen, Brandy, me, Patty, Tara

July 24, 2023

With a day off and my dad’s birthday tomorrow I visited my parents. My dad said his birthday is next year. :). Drove through the grasshoppers. It wouldn’t be a trip to Richfield in the summer without coming home with grasshoppers on the car.

Darren set off on his backpacking trip and the girls are living it up in NYC. Baylie and I are hanging out in the heat. 

July 19, 2023

Fly home day.  Calculated that we hiked just over 50 miles and 11,000 feet elevation gain.  What an amazing vacation!  We saw lots of cool stuff and yet have so much more to explore.

July 18, 2023

Our earliest wake up morning yet for our hike to Cascade Pass.  This was the perfect way to end our Washington trip.  The mountains at the trailhead greet you in full display.  Then you hike so many switchbacks (like so many) until you get even closer to the mountains.  Then it's over to the pass to see more mountains.  Darren hiked up the Sahale Arm while I hung out at the pass.  While hanging out I watched a herd of goats come closer and closer until they came to the pass where I was hanging out.  They grazed and walked around so close to me for about 20 minutes.  It was such an amazing experience.  At one point they were within about 25 feet of me.  So cool!  It was just me and a random old birder man.  After the goats moved on up the hill other people came and I chatted with a few of them until Darren came back. Amazing ending to an amazing trip.

We drove to Arlington for one last night where Darren grabbed us some seafood from Ivar's.  

July 17, 2023

Today we drove Highway 20 from Winthrop to Concrete. First stop was Blue Lake.  I thought for a minute of maybe skipping this hike but I'm so glad I didn't.  It was an overcast day and a good little hike to a beautiful lake with goats.  A mama and 2 baby goats hung out at the lake the entire time we were there.  They were so fun to watch! And they were definitely people tame. 

Out next stop was near a campground by Diablo Lake.  We needed some lunch so we found a picnic table until a tree since it was sprinkling a little.  Our food supply was dwindling but we still had some chips and salsa. Then on to the Visitor Center where I bought a sticker and some postcards.  

We had dinner at Birdsong Cafe where I got a blackberry burger (yummy) and Darren got a mac and cheese burger (he also said yummy).  There were not many food options near the little town of Concrete but this ended up being delicious.

July 16, 2023

Today was our first relax morning.  Our little lodge room in Winthrop had a balcony and I enjoyed watching a marmot for some of the morning.  Then we headed to North Cascades. (Well almost the North Cascades.  It felt like the North Cascades but was technically just outside the park.)  We stopped at Washington Overlook with a cool view of Liberty Bell Mountain. Then we hiked Maple Pass from the Rainy Lakes Trailhead.  We hiked counter clockwise which I would definitely suggest.  While my knees hurt like crazy going down the steep side, I think the views were better and we were able to add on Ann Lake which we never would have done had it been at the end. 

Maple Pass was amazing.  Mountain views for days! I loved this place so much.  Our lunch spot just before Maple Pass was incredible and is now one of my happy places. There were larches (don't get me going about coming back during the fall), lots of heather plant, mountains everywhere you looked, a lake, gray rocks, and the alpine environment I love.  Pictures did not do this place justice. Such a great hike!

July 15, 2023

Another early hiking morning.  Today we went to Colchuk Lake.  It was long and very up, but the destination was gorgeous!  We got to the lake around 8:30, found us an awesome spot, and proceeded to be awed.  We were very happy we got there when we did because we were treated to some amazing light and reflections that went away as soon as the sun came over the mountain about 30 minutes later.  Hanging out at our spot for 90 minutes or so was fabulous.  We had breakfast, took some pictures, relaxed, and enjoyed another beautiful Washington spot.  

As we headed down we could not believe the amount of people coming up the trail.  I thought I knew what a busy trail was, but this was beyond anything I had every seen.  Hundreds of people hiking up.  We had to step aside constantly to let people go up.  Definitely not enjoyable.  We decided to head over to Stuart Lake to hopefully get away from the crowds.  We lost the crowds but we found the mosquitoes.  While I regretted the decision to add on Stuart Lake every 5 minutes hiking down, I'm didn't regret it at the end of the trip as those extra miles put me over 50 for the week.  But that hike down felt never ending.  It was rough.  I did feel better about things after a hamburger and fries at Gustov's in Leavenworth.  

July 14, 2023

Last night we stayed in the small town of Packwood.  The Cowlitz hotel was quite old but it was clean and I would stay there again.  We woke up early again and had a bit longer drive to get to the Sunrise area of Mount Rainier.  It was pretty cool to see the mountain from a different side.  We hiked to the Mt Fremont Fire Tower Lookout.  Good hike with tons of marmots.  I would end the day with a new daily marmot record of 11.  The layers of mountains you could see on this hike were awesome - layers and layers and layers.  We decided to add on The First Burroughs hike to get a little closer view of the mountain.  We had a snack up there.  Yesterday was eating with goats and today was eating with mosquitoes.  We hiked the longer way back to the trailhead and had a trunk lunch sitting in the parking lot on our backpacking chairs we brought.  Lunch tastes better in a parking lot after a hike.  We drove to Leavenworth which was a bit of a drive.  Leavenworth is a little German themed town.  We stayed in a Hampton Inn and had disappointing pizza.  We also watched a little Titanic for evening relaxing entertainment.  Darren and I often tend to watch older movies when staying in hotels and it makes me smile.

July 13, 2023

Mount Rainier!  We visited the Paradise area and it was amazing!  This place blew me away.  Pictures do not do the mountain justice - the texture and the size and the beauty were more than I imagined.  It was so cool! We hiked the Skyline Trail and it quickly moved to one of my top hikes ever.  The views!  They were everywhere! And we got up early enough to have the trail to ourselves for about 40 minutes.  We saw Myrtle Falls on the way and learned what a grouse looks and sounds like.  We also saw a few goats.  My favorite though were the marmots that I watched for quite awhile playing and chasing. We did a few other things around this part of the park but I wished we could have explored even more.  I loved every minute on the trail and up by the Visitor's Center. Plus we got this picture that I love.

July 12, 2023

Washington birthday trip!  We flew from Salt Lake to Seattle and drove to Ashford for the night.

July 9, 2023

Kelly reminded me of a good quote by president Howard W Hunter. Ensign April 1992.

Not all of us are going to be like Moroni, catching the acclaim of our colleagues all day every day. Most of us will be quiet, relatively unknown folks who come and go and do our work without fanfare. To those of you who may find that lonely or frightening or just unspectacular, I say, you are “no less serviceable” than the most spectacular of your associates. You, too, are part of God’s army.

July 7, 2023

I have no idea how 50 years passed so quickly, but happy my birthday.  Woke up to the kids camping in tents. Good morning to me. I love that they would indulge me and camp for a night. Everyone went home early in the am and D and I went for a hike. Julie Andrews meadow was all green. A Red Tailed Hawk screeched happy birthday to me.

Home for a shower and breakfast which were PB balls made by R and C. I got to play some Dr Mario and Rayman. Wahoo! Then it was party time with some pickleball. The Kynastons joined us and I had so much fun! Dinner at Clayton and Sandee’s rounded out the birthday. 50 it is. 

 

 

July 6, 2023

Came up to Timpooneke yesterday for some birthday celebrating camping style. (D, me, Mason and Rachael.)  Site 18 for the second year.

Delicious breakfast this morning made by Rachael. Good day relaxing, finding flowers, hearing birds, and hiking to Scout Falls. There were 3 water falls and it was so pretty there. The rest of the kids came and it was a great evening. Dinner, games, chatting, laughing, roasted mallows, and campfireing. I loved our campfire chatting. 

July 4, 2023

Quite the family reunion in Richfield for Independence Day this year. 

July 2, 2023

Great Sabbath. Sunday school went well and we got to talk about Jesus and His resurrection which is way cool. “Let us resolve never to forget what Christ endured to redeem us. And let us never lose the overwhelming joy we will feel once again on Easter as we contemplate His victory over the grave and the gift of universal resurrection.” Elder Christofferson 4/23 GC.

Dinner was a BBQ at the Randalls. Best of all was homemade nectarine ice cream. Mmm. 

 

 

 

July 1, 2023

Started July with a hike with Darren and Baylie.  We hit the Summit up AF Canyon and the little baby ferns were awesome.