Ackerson Family Reunion 2024

After we scattered Mom's ashes on Timp, we headed back to Midway to officially kick off the family reunion.  We stayed at the same Harvest group site and it was as good as ever.  Green grass, apple trees, and lots of amazing food.  

Friday was officially "lake day" and we mixed it up by spending the day at Jordanelle instead of Deer Creek.  It was pretty great.  Lots of parking, sandy beaches, and no afternoon wind.  We were next to a great little cove that was buoyed off from motor boats.  It was perfect for kayaking and paddleboarding.  My gracious friend, Cristi, and her fiancé, Brent, stayed busy taking the teenagers out on their boat and tube.  We have so many teenagers now, we really needed a second boat, but there was still plenty to do.  It is unfortunate I hardly got any pictures.

On Saturday, we drove over the mountains to Timpanogos Cave.  Not many people in our family have seen the cave, so it was fun for them to experience a HARD 1.5 mile hike.  They were all sweating by the top.  Fortunately we made our tour time and had a great time in the cave again.  No wag bags needed this time!  After lunch in the park we headed back to camp to chill, eat, and play a fun family trivia game.  It's amazing how much I DON'T remember about my childhood.

We stretched the reunion into Sunday a little.  After church, we headed to a local park in Midway to eat all the leftovers and procrastinate going home and starting laundry.  Luckily, we had the shortest drive.

Mom's Final Wish: Timpanogos

A year or two before Mom died, she arranged with her mortuary to be cremated.  This didn't feel right at first.  Mostly because I didn't know many people who were cremated, it was still kinda new to me.  But as her health got worse and worse, I came to peace with it.  She also wanted her ashes to be split between her burial plot in West Valley and the rest to be scattered over Timpanogos and Brighton.  I was totally on board with this idea!  I love any reason to hike Timp, especially if a lot of family is involved.  We arranged for it to be done in conjunction with the family reunion, so max people could hike to the top to be there.  John, being the meticulous planner that he is, came up with:

Plan A:  John dumps the ashes from his glider on Timp, with all of us being on the top to witness it.

Plan B:  Dad follows in a real engine plan to dump her ashes on Timp if John can't make it to the top.

Plan C:  The rest of us hikers scatter her ashes at the summit if neither John or Dad can make it.

He divided her ashes and poured our share into a section of capped pvc pipe.  Dad got his share and John got his share.  

We started nice and early with our large group!  Luckily, it was only Thursday and the crowds were minimal.  We took our time and stopped frequently to take pictures of the wildflowers.  They were peaking!  Mom would have liked that.  We could feel her with us.  She also sent us some clouds and rain to keep us cool.  Thanks, Mom.  Those clouds also meant that John's glider would definitely not be making it to the summit.  Dad's plane could still fly, but would also not make it to the summit.  Good thing we had "Plan C" in my pack.  We had a little moment and scattered the ashes at the summit.  I tried to be reverent and respectful... but we were all so high on endorphins and lack of oxygen, the whole thing seemed kinda funny.  The ashes also did NOT magically scatter and fly away into the wind, some of them landed in a pile on the cliff edge.  Oops.  It took a minute to get the hang of it.  I'm sure the other hikers at the summit thought we were nuts.  In a minute, it was over and we headed back down.  The sun came out and it turned out to be a very pleasant day.  I'm glad we could send mom off in style!

Mirror Lake

I love this Mirror Lake tradition for the middle of July! We've been coming for what 5 or 6 years now? Who can keep track! It was extra motivating that there were record-breaking temperatures down the valley. We didn't come from the 100's, but it was nice to see the thermometer in our car drop the higher we climbed. It finally bottomed out at 72 degrees when we pulled in around 4pm. My only real mistake was not bringing enough warm bedding for the kids at night. It got pretty chilly! 

We spent the next two days hiking, paddle boarding and kayaking on the lake, and just laying around playing in hammocks. We did get a random afternoon thunderstorm on Saturday, but it's the Uintas! They come out of nowhere! It cleared a lot of people off the lake and left it very peaceful that evening. It was a stark change from the massive crowds that were there earlier. This place is getting more and more popular every year. The bugs were pretty bad, but not as bad as last year. Too bad we can't have fewer people and fewer bugs. But this is the price you pay for perfect temperatures, amazing camp food, and a weekend with cousins!

4th of July in Pocatello

For the last several years, Vanessa has been trying to get us up to her annual 4th of July / Trent's birthday party.  It finally worked out this year!  We were not disappointed.  Endless food and treats, lawn games, swimming, endless Cokes for Dallin, and even a birthday song serenade by Trent's neighbors.  We stuffed ourselves until it got dark.  Then we headed over to the college stadium parking lot to light off fireworks.  I was slightly surprised that aerials are not allowed in Idaho yet, but there were several others parties in the parking lot, shooting off contraband.  Between that, our assortment of fountains and jumbo sparklers, it was a good time.  We all went to bed thoroughly exhausted. 

Since the next day was Friday, we weren't in a huge hurry to get home.  I wanted to check out Lava Hot Springs, but Vanessa warned us it would be craaaazy!  She was right.  Rather than doing the Lava pool, we opted to float tubes on the Portneuf River through the middle of town.  The line for the shuttle was at least 30 minutes.  But, if you have working legs, it's easier to just walk the paved river trail for 9 minutes and put your own tubes in.  We had such a blast!  Seriously, I could be in an advertisement for these guys.  The river is full of short rapids that constantly keep you moving and spinning.  It's also a thing for the locals to picnic along the shady edges and squirt you with hot-spring water.  When you get to the end, you pull your tube out, walk the trail, and do it again!  I can see how this is a thing.  We are definitely coming back.... with our own squirt guns to fire back at the locals.