June 6, 2026

Relaxing camping day. Since we had Clayton and Sandee, we decided to forgo a hike and instead hang out with them. Lots of games played and treats eaten. I love playing games (especially Hearts which we played) at a campground and eating treats so it was a good time. We did sneak over to Cascade Springs with Clayton (which is not a 15 minute drive).

I like that campground, even though there is traffic noise during the day. The river white noise was great last night as were the temps. Not too cold and a night to sleep with the rain fly off. Thinking of all the places our $100 Coleman tent we bought at Walmart has been the past two years. Whitney Portal, Kings canyon, Rocky Mountain, arches.  Wrote them on the tent.

 

June 5, 2026

It was a good AF Canyon day.  It started with one of my favorite canyon hikes - Pine Hollow Overlook.  Or pineapple overlook.  Ha ha.  I like that hike, especially the view of the mountains from the overlook plus the amount of aspens along the trail (so very many).

Now it's time to camp at Granite Flat.  Site 51 is a good double site (would stay here again).  Clayton and Sandee are staying with us, as are Rylie and Cole.  The rest of the family came to visit and hang out.

I especially enjoyed eating a delicious hot dog roasted over the fire.  That would usually seem like an oxymoron - delicious and hot dog, but it was really good.  (Thanks to Mason for roasting it for me.)  We also played games (lots of Rookish). Clayton said he once scored 715 in that game even though you only score by 10s.  I called him on it and we all laughed.  Later, Cole couldn't stop giggling after Clayton did something funny.

June 4, 2026

It’s been an awesome first bit of summer. We’ve had lots of fam time. I’ve done puzzles (with Rylie), games with some kids, Dr Mario, froyo, dinner at the Randalls, our hike and lunch, and a bit of “Do Nothing Day”. The only downside is poor Cam’s wisdom teeth recovery. It’s been rough but after a week she’s finally feeling OK. Not great, but OK. 

June 2, 2026

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - I love June!

We had a fabulous summer Tuesday. We started off with a hike - me, Kenz, and Rylie. We actually met up with D and Baylie. 

After our hike we grabbed Sadie for lunch at Kneader’s. It felt like we were on a vacation eating out for lunch and chatting on their patio. 

May 31, 2026

We had a good afternoon with family and Bridger’s farewell. Bridger said a few things that were wise beyond his years. “Jesus changes hearts that turn toward Him.” “The Lord doesn’t need more talented people. The Lord needs more willing people.”

May 28, 2026

Wisdom teeth removal day for Cam. Rylie was a big help. It was a tough one and the first thing she wanted was a Wendy’s frosty. I got to see all my kids today with Kenzie bringing Zupas for Cam plus Ry and Sadie here, and Mason came over for some games. 

I got in a quick morning hike since Cam's appointment wasn't until the afternoon.  Scout Shelf had some pretty flowers.

May 27, 2026

What an enjoyable evening. Ry and I did a puzzle, Mason came over and we played Dr Mario, the 3 girls laughed and chatted, and Darren pranked them by fake calling Chris Price for Cam’s wisdom teeth removal tomorrow. He pranked them good. 

May 26, 2026

Such a good hike this morning to start off the day. The rain made primrose overlook so pretty. There were clouds hugging the mountains, the green was extra green, and there was a crazy, too aggressive grouse. 

May 25, 2026

Woke up early, packed up, and hiked the 3 miles out getting to the car at 7:45. We thanked our past selves for the hike yesterday to get us closer.

A stop at the BLM office for a bathroom, McDonald’s for food, Beaver for gas ($5.00 a gallon - eek), and JCW’s for a late post backpacking burger and we made it home. It’s crazy to think this morning we were hiking out of Paria Wash and this evening we’re home mowing the lawn.

What a great backpack! We were able to make it a relaxing, beautiful adventure while covering 30 miles.

May 24, 2026

Guess who was up and at it about 6:30 this morning? The ravens. It’s awesome. 

I love a warm night in the tent. We were way off in our guessing of temps but I’ll take the warmth. We both slept quite well for backpacking. And the stars last night were cool as they shone bright in the sky above the two towering orange cliffs. I like our campsite we’re close to water, there’s some privacy, we’re above the trail, we have orange cliffs surrounding us, but it’s wide enough that it’s not claustrophobic.

Spent a little of the morning finding some desert scriptures (Isaiah 40:3 and Numbers 22:24) and finding an arch thanks to the sun on the side wall. I named it Raven Arch because, well, the yelling ravens. We added “we’re running with the shadows on the night so baby take my hand we’ll be alright” to our Anne Murray “Shadows in the Moonlight” song.

This place! WOW! We hiked to Big Spring (about 4.5 miles) and the whole way was spectacular! The walls, the meandering, the alcoves, the river, and just all of it was so beautiful. Around every bend my jaw would drop. At one point I got a little teary as I was overcome with the beauty and I thought how blessed I am to see this place.

After a good rest and lunch at the spring plus hiking a bit farther to another huge alcove, we hiked back to camp with shoes full of sand and water and camera roll full of pictures.

We decided to hike out some and camp under the cottonwood we saw coming in so we don’t have so many miles in the heat tomorrow. It was a good campsite and we enjoyed the evening eating dinner and relaxing.

May 23, 2026

Kanab put us in a great spot to pick up our permit and hit the White House Trailhead.

The 4.5 miles in the sand was tiring but the seeing the canyon walls get higher was cool. The confluence was also cool. This place is awesome. Even the boring part had some windows and flowers. 

Slide Rock Arch WAS cool. Thought it might not be as cool as pictures looked but it was - even without water around it. Also loved the peregrine falcons chasing each other and talking. 

Stopped after 8.5 miles. Ate lunch and listened the ravens yell, watched the frog, and filtered the water. Sigh. I love this part of backpacking. 

After resting we headed up Buckskin for a bit. It was typical Buckskin - some green and some skinny and amazing. We didn’t go very far before coming back to camp. But while we were in a narrow part of Buckskin, a raven flew through the narrow part of the canyon not far above our heads and we could hear its wings flap. It was amazing! I also watched some canyon wrens. I am digging the birds here. 

We had dinner at a really cool spot. Just eating between towering canyon walls. The ravens are still going strong. Yappity yap yapping. 

I like our camp.  Chilling at the low flowing river, the view of the stars between the tall walls, and even the loud ravens were enjoyable.  Packing our chairs was a good choice.

May 22, 2026

I’ve been cautiously optimistic that the weather would cooperate and we could do our Paria Canyon backpack. The time came and it is happening! We stayed in Kanab which is always good. We like K-town. We ate at Rooster’s which was good. I didn’t see me ordering chicken fried chicken but I did and it was delicious. Would order again. Then we walked past some shops and stopped at an art gallery before going back to our hotel. 

May 21, 2026

I went on one of my favorite late spring hikes. Pine Hollow to Willow to Ridge to Pine Hollow. No traffic, the green (many shades of green) , plus 3 deer and only 1 person made for a good morning. 

May 20, 2026

Handed in my work stuff for the school year. It’s kind of hard when you’re good at something and you only get to do it some of the time. Got to see Darren there and then I got to see Sadie at work - both good things. And Darren and I survived valiant activity. Yes, it’s feels like a survival thing. 

May 17, 2026

Met little tiny kitten Mango. 

May 16, 2026

I've been thinking about the Richfield house a lot this week. Oh how I love that house. I hated to give it up and yet it was definitely the right thing to do. Mostly because the cute little family is going to take such good care of it and make good memories themselves. In a text to her I said that it has been a beautiful closure to some place that has my heart. So many little miracles seen along the way which added to the peace. But I’ll still miss that place! And its location. I’m pretty sure our Capitol Reef visits will go down. Found a few pictures to help me remember.

This first one is our wedding reception in the backyard.  1994.  The next few are from the 70s, with the last one in 1981.

May 15, 2026

We had makeups today for work just like the last two days. I told them I had an appointment but could change it. They said - no need to change your appointment. 

Good, cause this was my appointment. 

Birds, blue bells, green, mountain air, and a lake. 

The rest of the day was good as well - 

Finishing Zootopia 2 with Cam, Lunch at Costco with C and S, and a drop in to say hi to Kenz after Darren and I ate at Chubby’s. 

May 14, 2026

Making jam and eating it with homemade rolls thanks to Kelly. 

May 13, 2026

The song “Road Less Traveled” by Lauren Alaina comes on and 6 years later it still reminds me of the drive to Big Sandy for my first Wind Rivers backpacking trip 6 years ago. 

May 12, 2026

It was a good audiobook and a new puzzle kind of evening.

May 10, 2026

Great weather for a Mother’s Day BBQ in SJ. Good food plus eating and chatting and playing a card game outside. 

Thinking about this last week:

Morning run clouds. Dr Mario. Richfield house. Neighbor chatting at Pettingill reception. Mason laughing. M and R Richfield trip. Telling my Messi joke at testing (Why doesn’t Ronaldo have to clean his room? Because he’s not Messi). Baby sheep and their cute little hopping run. Darren’s talk. Still thinking about Salt Creek. “Have a day to be proud of.”