It may be time to put on the snow tires!

I can't believe I've gone this long without a post! Here's a summary of our lives in the last month and a half:

After 6 weeks of unemployment, I was finally able to join my husband at our winter job at Deer Valley. I have a newer pair of telemark skis that are really giving me a workout, as if shoveling snow wasn't enough!

My landscape architecture license is STILL not here! It got lost in the mail 3 times! I do know that it's been approved (back in Sept), but I also know that someone out there may be illegally designing retention basins. It is a possibility! (please note the sarcasm)

Bevan's parents are out of town for a month and we agreed to watch their cat, Simba. The first day was filled with excitement, not knowing what the cat was going to do next! The food bowl, the litter box, self-grooming, etc. was all very new to us! We soon discovered that cats don't do much so we make it stay out in the greenhouse.

The highlight of the winter so far is the incredible amount of snow we've received in the past 3 days. For all of you down in the soggy valley, this will give you an idea of what we've been going through up here.

It's a good thing we don't need to go anywhere!

This is a yardstick!

Bevan was the biggest help. He has such a good, strong back!

We're making progress!

Simba wasn't much help, as you can see.

Zion, Kanab, and the Rim

Bevan cleaned his chainsaw for the last time this summer. I'm so glad he was kept safe and never got hurt this season. You never know what could happen when you cut down extremely large trees. I went with him once and it was the coolest thing I've ever seen! Unfortunately I left my camera in the car. He then got a whole week off before he went back to start his winter job. What to do, what to do.

Earlier, I was brainstorming ideas of how we can get the most of our parks pass before it expires. Glacier never happened, but southern Utah is always a possibility, especially in the fall! It turned out to be a very interesting trip. We left Sunday afternoon and spent the night camping outside Toquerville. It reminded me of camping outside Price, in the hills: broken bottles and washing machines covered with shotgun holes.

Monday morning, we drove into a very chilly Zion National Park. We got our permit to hike the Subway on Tuesday and checked on the weather. According to the predictions, Monday was to be the last warm day for a while. I was really hoping that would change! We hiked to the top of Observation Point. I thought it was prettier than Angel's Landing, but that's just me. That night we camped outside Zion, down by the river. What a nice day.

Tuesday came with cooler temperatures, but nothing to worry about. We got a leisurely start up the Left Fork and made it to the Subway around noon. It was such a pretty place, well worth the 5 miles of bushwhacking it took to get there. We ate lunch and played around a little bit, although the water was freezing and I could only dream what it would be like to hike it 90 degree temps. That weather forecast was starting to become a reality.

Wednesday came with snow on our tent and Bevan with a cold. Snow? Sickness? Our southern Utah adventure wasn't turning out how I would've hoped. We did a few short hikes on the east side of Zion and headed towards Kanab. I had to cancel our overnighter in Kolob Canyon because Bevan was getting worse. I didn't think that backpacking in the snow and sleeping in 20 degree temps would've been good for him. We checked into a motel where he slept for 2 days and waited out the cold weather. I was able to drag him out to Pipe Springs for an hour, but after that, he crashed again. How did I occupy myself during this time??? I toured the western movie sets and hit up the local thrift store. That pretty much sums up our time in Kanab.

Friday morning came with Bevan feeling a little better, so we packed up the car and headed out to the North Rim. This was the highlight of the trip for me. I haven't been back to the Rim since I worked there during the summers of '01 and '02. Everything looked pretty much the same, except the Kaibab plateau looked a little more burnt, but that's normal. The Grand Canyon was beautiful and it was a lot warmer (of course, it was the last day of our trip!) Bevan got tired listening to all my stories of adventures in that place, but there was so much to talk about! Everywhere I looked started me on another memory. The lodge was closed but an old friend, Mike Hobbs, was still running the gift shop. He first asked how Neil was. Oops, wrong sister! Just like old times.

We started back towards home along old highway 89. I drove while Bevan was doped up on cough medicine. I got thinking how different this trip turned out. The weather was cold, my man was sick, but there was nowhere else I'd rather be! I can never get tired or red rock, desert canyons, or eating campstove-made instant oatmeal in gloves, hat, and a puffy coat!

Fall is Here!

A whole lot has happened these last few weeks, but I have little evidence due to my camera being out of commision. Labor Day is my official start of fall. The leaves up here were already changing and the nights were getting cold. We had many great plans for Labor Day weekend, but for some reason every great plan was was fogotten or cancelled, so we spend a nice, chill weekend at home, except for an incredible hike we went on. It was to the top of Bald Mountain up by Mirror Lake. I've forgotten what it's like to hike a popular trail. It reminded me of hiking Timp on Labor Day 2 years ago, along with about 200 BYU students! My mom went with us and kept a good pace the whole time. We made it to the top (almost 12,ooo') and the views were well worth it. Bevan was eager to learn what all the lakes were and why we had not visited them all. He's such a passionate fisherman.

The weeks after were nothing but talks of football and more football. We went to 2 parties and managed to bring the old "game day" crockpot filled with artichoke dip. Luckily BYU won those first 2 games. It makes watching the games more enjoyable. Imagine that. The third game, we weren't so lucky. First, I was caught smuggling candy into the stadium (good grief!) and second, our team lost... horribly. Bevan gets bummed by those games, but gets over it quickly. I'm very glad of this.

The best part of the last 2 weeks is having Sharon, Seth, and their boys in town! They managed to spend a day with us at the cabin and we had the full "cabin experience". We stayed up late to play games, we hiked the loop, swam at the fitness center, and went shopping at the outlets in Park City. We had a big family party last Thursday where we ate MORE food and played MORE games. Does the fun ever stop? Lately, I've been fortunate (in a way) to have extra time off work. Luckily, this hasn't hurt us too bad. There are many, many other people in Summit County who this is affecting more, considering new construction in Park City has come to a screeching hault. It was going to happen sooner or later. There's bound to be times of slow in the development of land... right in time for me to get my lisense. Humm.

Naturalist Basin

We may not make it to Glacier this year, but we've sure made the most of the mountains near our house! Last weekend we backpacked out to a nice area called naturalist basin. The tough, manly Hawkins men have their annual fishing trip and I talked them into going to a place that the author of my "Utah Hiking" book gave 5 stars! I had to see what this was all about. I totally recommend this hike. It's only 5.1 miles into the basin, but it's relatively flat through a pine forest.

Unfortunately, the men hiked in Thursday, and I had to work Friday. I still wanted to meet up with them because I hate being left out. I'm not a big advocate of solo hiking, it's far too boring, but then I thought of listening to an audio book while I hiked. It's amazing how fast the time went! It's also amazing how many other soloists I passed... that weren't listening to audio books.

The basin was beautiful and do to the abnormal snow last weekend, there were hardly any mosquitoes!!! It was perfect! The boys fished for a while on Saturday morning while I poked around the basin a little more and took heaps of pictures. Lloyd, Bryan, and Bryson all took off around noon, but we bushwhacked a little more and found some random lake that had a ton of fish in it! I used to love desert backpacking more than mountain, but now they're about even. There's nothing like blue sky, green trees, and turquoise lakes that makes you feel like you can stay there forever!

I PASSED!!!

For all of you who have been with me every step of the way, and those who I never talked about it with because it was too embarrassing saying how many times I failed, I finally the passed final section of the National Landscape Architect Registration Examination (LARE). It's taken 2 years and about $2000 in exam and review fees to get to this point. Now I just have to wait a little longer and pay a little MORE money while I submit stuff to the state, like a college transcript and a seal I can stamp construction documents with. I don't know what documents I'll stamp. I've never done anything big enough to require a legal stamp. Any ideas? For now, I'll continue to figure out sprinkler systems and top soil quantities.

Cousins and Fishing

We were so excited to have my cousin Charles, his wife, Julie, and their boy, Sammy with us this last weekend. It seems like the cabin is the place to be these days, at least while the weather is nice. We had a barbecue, ate some ice cream & cupcakes, and played endless rounds of Ticket to Ride -Europe (the better one)! We were sad when we couldn't go outside to have the traditional hike and roasted marshmallows in the fire pit. The weather started to turn nasty!

The next morning it cleared up enough for a short hike, but then the temperature dropped and it started hailing! I guess that we fared better than others. For lunch we went to the Rhode Island Diner in Oakley. It's famous for it's "50's diner" atmosphere and pretty decent food. The best part was being crammed in there with a bunch of refugees from the High Unitas. We heard stories of cars with several inches of SNOW on them at Trial Lake! And backpackers hiking through the snow in shorts! Some freak August weather.

After we said goodbye to Charles, Julie, and my parents, we decided to go fishing and catch some dinner. Mill Hollow Reservoir was just barely repaired, filled, and stocked with thousands of trout! By this time the sun came out and and it had warmed up nicely. I brought a comfy chair and a road atlas to study . I'm planning our next adventure to Glacier. Bevan had tremendous success and caught his limit within the hour!

Afterwards, we wandered up to the Mill Hollow camp, where I went 3 times while in Elementary school. Growing up in the city, it was the closest thing I had to "the great outdoors". It's still run by Granite School District and they're actually celebrating it's 45th year! An old maintenance guy showed us around and told us endless stories. Of course, it looked smaller than I remember, but it still had those same smells! I loved that place. It was a great way to end a Saturday!

Julie, Charles, and little Sammy

Looks who's happy!

Dreaming of Glacier

Mill Hollow Reservior


The endless trail...

Why I Love Small Towns...

Reason # 13: Rodeo Zambonies!

Bevan won free tickets to the Summit County Fair Rodeo in Coalville! You'd think we won the lottery, I was so excited! That's how desperate we are for entertainment on a Saturday night. We decided to go 2 hours early to scope out the action!

My anticipations got mixed results. For a "county fair" it was no bigger than West Fest... actually West Fest had more rides! This had just a bunch of blow-up slides and jumping things. They had the North Summit High School organizations doing the food stands and the cheerleaders were in charge of the funnel cakes. Needless to say, they were tiny and overpriced. We looked at all 8 booths, watched the band for a little bit, saw what was left of the animal judging... and we still had an hour left until the rodeo!

It was well worth the wait! I actually rate this rodeo better than the one in Oakley. The clown was funny, the contestants stayed on their animals, and there were plenty of rodeo royalty with their pink Wrangler jeans and poofy hair. One thing I'm glad we anticipated was what the weather was going to do. The day was pretty nice, but we knew it would get cold. Our friends in back of us chuckled when we pulled out our down coats. By the end, they wanted our coats! It dipped well into the 40's and continued to fall as we drove home. Who ever heard of near-freezing temps at the beginning of August?! Only in Summit County!

Ackerson Reunion '09

Only in Utah can you attend 3 family reunions within 3 weeks. There's definitely a "season" for it. I figured I'd better do my part and blog about our own 2nd annual Ackerson family reunion... before Nora beats me to it. It was held in Woodland/ Park City/ Kamas at it was heaps of fun! Friday night, the whole gang brought their tents and we all camped out behind the cabin. I realized that maybe Bevan and I shouldn't have waited to be the last ones to pitch our tent. We got snickers and comments from just about everyone. There's no shame in owning a tent that's smaller than the size of our bedroom. Good thing we didn't pull out our "small" tent.

Saturday morning, we drove into Park City to ride the alpine slide. It sure is different riding ski lifts during the summer. They go so slow, but the weather is so nice, you don't worry about it! Afterwards, we went to reminisce at our old Sweetwater Condos. The pool was smaller than I remembered. Probably because I haven't seen it since I was 8.

After lunch in the park, we headed back to Kamas for swimming. When you're there with family and having a good time, you don't realize that 2 1/2 hours have passed. There were plenty of pruney fingers to prove it. It was wonderful to see everyone, but we missed Sharon and Paul. Hopefully next year!

Why I Love Small Towns...

... reason #36: Demolition Derbies!

Kamas has a pretty popular derby every year. The tickets are always sold out, usually by the time you get the flyer in the mail a month before. But, it pays to know people... like our Primary secretary (former rodeo queen). She bought extras just in case, and offered some to us the morning of. Around here, if you say you've never been to the derby, they look at you like you're from outer space! We just had to go see what all the fuss was about.

What an experience!!! The cars and the noise and the crowd and dirt was just overwhelming! It was so much fun! We got so engrossed that when driving home, Bevan almost rammed our gate instead opening it first. It's a good thing they only do this once a year. We'll be back, except next time, we'll bring ear plugs.

Real Women Gut Fish!

Last weekend, Bevan and I backpacked up in the "high" Unitas (I really don't know the difference between the Unitas and the high Unitas, but that's just what Bevan calls it, I guess it sounds cooler). This has been the first summer in several years where there's been significant rainfall beforehand. All I can say is... holy mosquitoes! We went diving for the bug repellent within a minute of arriving at the trailhead! I guess I did a good job coating myself because the only place they got me was a few times on my scalp and once on my pinkie finger. Huh.
We decided to try our bushwhacking skills and went to find Hidden Lake. We found it... along with many other people. I guess that when the backcountry is only accessible for 3 months out of the year and there's only so many lakes with fish in them, you have to get friendly. We camped that night next to the lake.
Bevan was up at the crack of dawn with his flies. He came back an hour later for the worms. When the going gets tough... you know. There's a fine line with fishermen between making something a sport and just being able to catch something. I'm still trying to figure it out.
We hit up a few more lakes before hiking back to the car. Bevan felt that I was ready to learn how to gut a fish. The gutting part wasn't bad, it was killing it first! Bevan likes to whack their heads against rocks, but I prefer the more humane way... of leaving it on the shore until it just dies!
It was a fun trip and it makes me appreciate more and more the fact that we live so close to all these beautiful areas. I really love the mountains and all the majestic creatures that make it their home. Fish tacos anyone?

So Pretty!

Bugs! In the wilderness?!

Bevan in his element.

Nice One!

Does this need explanation?

Good Times on the 4th!

For some reason, I didn't expect to have the 3rd of July off of work. I mean, it's not the official holiday and my boss doesn't seem to recognize the 24th of July (few people in Park City do) so I thought there was no way he'd let me go. I was wrong! 3-day weekends are the best. I was able to do all the house work I was planning on, one day early. That meant we had the real holiday to do whatever. We went down to American Fork and hung out with our nephews who are in town from Phoenix. We went to "slide rock", a natural water slide up Alpine Canyon, for a couple hours, went back to the house for a barbeque, played croquet, and ended with some cool fireworks in Pleasant Grove. What a day!


Bevan and the "T's" :Tanner, Ty, Trey, and Tate

Tanner on Slide Rock

Bevan made sure to make a big splash... that got the camera wet.

Could he save me money on car insurance?

As most of you are aware of, it's been raining non-stop for the last 3 weeks or so. It's been bringing out many sorts of plants and flowers that just lay dormant in other, drier years. It also brought out this little guy. I accidentally stepped on him in some soft mud but he didn't look too hurt. I was just so shocked that there was an AMPHIBIAN at the cabin! I googled him and found out he was a tiger salamander. The only salamander species to inhabit Utah! I set him down next to the fence hoping he'll find his way to our neighbor's pond. Good Luck! I hope he makes it before it stops raining.

"Five Guys Burgers and Fries" in Woodland!

Well, not really. At least not the actual restaurant. I tried to recreate them for our memorial day barbecue. I made a list of all the toppings on their menu, minus the hot sauce and jalapeno peppers. They turned out pretty well... looking like they'd clog an artery or two. Gotta love the sauteed mushrooms, onions and bacon!

The Miracle at Home Depot

I sometimes dread going to Home Depot to get supplies for work. Half the time I don't know exactly what it is I need. I just have a list. Today, I had to get a 9x9 drain box, 3-10' segments of 4" solid ADS pipe, a coupler, a cap, some silicone, and a roll of 1" Teflon tape.
Sigh.
I can usually figure it out, eventually. If I'm lucky, a salesman will "point out" the aisle to head towards.
But today...
A cheerful man came bounding up to me the second I got my cart and asked, "What can I help you find?" I almost fell over. He TOOK me to the aisle, showed me what I needed, put stuff in my cart, took me to another aisle, put MORE stuff in my cart, AND let me borrow his cell phone to call my boss. I was just dumbfounded that someone at this store would be so helpful! Lastly, he gave me his card and introduced himself as the district manager of all Home Depots in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. That was it. He said they wanted to try something new in having associates stay with the customer throughout the project. I thought that having someone help you in the first place was brilliant enough. I was impressed. The Park City Home Depot is usually lacking in quality customer service, but thanks to this guy, I don't have to act especially distraught to get noticed.

Last one out, fill in the hole!

Last Saturday, Bevan and I had some time to kill out in W. Jordan/ Copperton area, so we decided to go to the copper mine! How many years did I live in West Valley and I'd never seen the copper mine? It's just one of those things you don't get around to doing, I guess. I recommend it to everybody! It was totally worth the $5 per car admission. I have never seen anything so massive in my life! It's like the Grand Canyon, only it's just a big hole and not a canyon. The visitors center was fascinating and big. They have a nice overlook where you can see all the huge trucks carrying rock. The trucks are the size of a 2-story house. I wish they had one on display you could climb on, but we had to settle for the tire. Looking at that massive hole, it made me wonder if they ever had problems with environmentalists?