Mostly about Utah
On New Years Day Jill went with some of her family to Mantua to snowmobile. She knows Mantua well for it is only four miles from Brigham City where she grew up. Her father still lives in Brigham City. The few times that I have been snowmobiling I usually manage to get my rickety snowmobile stuck. Which is just what Jill did this time out. Susan (her sister) and Byron (her nephew) had to come and pull her snowmobile free as you can see in the video.
Rick riding a Jet Ski on Bear Lake
On this trip we had Rick (me), Jill, Paul, Daniel, Derek, and Sarah in our van. In the Excursion hauling the jet skis were Kent, Susan, Byron, Shauna, Melissa, and Miguel. Connie and Mark will arrive tomorrow after work as will Scott, Conner, and Ashley. From Kaysville we slipped onto northbound I-15 to Brigham City to pick up the keys to the cabin. We then headed through Sardine Canyon to Logan. Then Logan Canyon took us to Bear Lake. The forecast for tomorrow is 100 degrees in the valley so this is a perfect time to go to higher elevations.
While Jill drives I am putting my new Eee PC to the test, typing this report as I ride. Before leaving I synced my Google Docs using Google Gears so I can work off-line. Then when I get home I will sync back to my online Google Docs. The keyboard is surprisingly easy to type with and the screen is easy to see. There are four modes to help with battery life. Power Saving, High Performance, and Super Performance which I surmise will really crank up the CPU speed. For laggards just slip into Auto. On a trip there is always some dead time so I purchased this little Eee to write my blogs. The battery looks like it will last at least six hours. After an hour of driving we stopped at a Wendys to eat. One can get a little peckish after an hour on the freeway. Bear Lake is two hours away so why not break at the half-way point? Let’s not overdo it. At the cabin the light was beginning to fade so we hung around playing games like Rumba Cube and I gave Frozen Bubbles and Crack Attack a spin on the Eee. Paul and Daniel always beat me at Frozen Bubbles. Jill and I shared a room with Derek and Sarah and once she stopped giggling we were all able to get to sleep.
Bear Lake is a natural freshwater lake with a unique turquoise-blue color, the result of suspended limestone deposits in the water. It is the second largest natural freshwater lake in Utah and has been called the “Caribbean of the Rockies”. Bear Lake was formed at least 150,000 years ago by fault subsidence that continues today, slowly deepening the lake along the eastern side. The lake was discovered in 1819 by Donald Mackenzie, an explorer for the North West Fur Company who discovered the lake in 1819, and named it Black Bear Lake.
After a pleasant night’s sleep Shauna took off at 7:30am to the beach to throw down some blankets to reserve a spot. We launched the jet skis and each of us took a turn riding them. I decided to have Derek drive a jet ski and I be a passenger and take some pictures. As I was climbing on Daniel wanted me to leave the camera. I kept it, but being my usual rickety self, could not keep my balance. As I fell off backwards into the water I stuck my hand in the air holding the camera. As I went under Daniel grabbed the camera out of my hand.
We had lunch at the beach and when Scott arrived with the boat we went tubing. This was the first time I had rode a tube. I just had to hang on. I tried leaning to each side as the boat turned and I leaned the wrong way and fell off. I got back on and Daniel drove the boat faster. I was doing very well until Jill told Daniel, “Sharp turns! Sharp turns!” She caught me on video rolling over — it looked quite spectacular. I will mention here that it is advisable to let go once you are in the water. It is a little hard to hold on and to breath. After a few seconds I figured this out and let go. The water was warm and clear blue. Byron, Daniel, and Miguel made sand castles and Ashley threw buckets of water at a dog for it to catch. The dumb dog thought the water was a ball. It chased the waves that were breaking and tried to catch them. In the afternoon the beach got busier. It is a private beach so that we didn’t have to mix with the peasantry. However, it didn’t seem that private with all the people arriving. Derek had to wrestle the beach umbrella back to land when a breeze blew it away. Scott also had to chase after his boat when his it lost its moorings and was floating away.
The next day five of us left for home after a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Scott is a very good host, letting us use his cabin and boat. He let us use his bedroom while he slept in his truck. In the morning he asked if I had slept well and when I was leaving he told me to get a bottle of cold water from the fridge for the ride home. We enjoyed our time here and will be returning soon to eat our bear lake raspberry shakes which we missed out on this time around.
Today at 8 am was the Kaysville South Stake 8th Annual 5K “Family Run/Walk”, or sometimes referred to as The Dork Walk. My wife and I participated along with my brother Mike. Here we are before the race.
Brian used a computer to register everyone and to record their times at the finish. Last year I ran in 32 minutes so I was trying to beat that time. As my brother registered the lady asked him what age category he was in, 50+ or 60+. Mike got his tag with his name on it and said, “Can I start running now?” It seemed like levity was the order of the day and when I asked her if she would watch my glasses for me she offered to also look after my wallet. Any sort of transportation was allowed so long as it wasn’t motorized.
Beginning Zions Vacation
We took a lot of photographs but here are just a few so you get a flavor of what we did.
On our trip down at Scipio it started to snow so those motel rooms were looking very desirable. The snow cleared by the time we got to Zion.
Here are some of the peaks that we were running all over for a few days. Here is a video of the trail to Angels Landing. Jill led the way to the Emerald Pools (video).
Taking our own picture ready for an assault on the nearest peak. Left to right: Paul, Mike, Jill, Adelaide, Steven, and Rick.
Steven is about to ascent the final leg of Angels Landing. The wind was up and that added to the experience.
Unfortunately some of us drew the short straws and were forced to check out the facilities at Camp Comfort.