A new hike

A month and a half ago I lead the Likin' Hikin' Ladies on a hike I'd never been on and we kinda got lost.  I vowed to never take them on a hike I'd never been on again.  That means, if I want to learn a new hike, I need to take another strong hiker with me and we can explore the trail together.  If it's a good hike I'll take the Likin' Hikin' Ladies on it another time.

Today, my strong hiker was Lee.  She is a good friend and in great shape.  I knew that if we got lost she'd be okay to hike around with me until we found our way.

The  new trail?  Blind Hollow to Tony Grove.  Am I going to take the Likin' Hikin' Ladies on it?  YOU BET!  We absolutely loved this trail.  It had a lot of shade. We walked through meadows filled with wild flowers, Aspen Groves, along a ridge with canyon views and mountain vistas, past a small stream, and through a conifer forest.  We even saw a Golden Eagle fly by.

As we were hiking along we followed the directions from my Cache Trails book and also a map I had.  At one point, we had to take a turn.  We were pretty sure we were on the right trail but not positive.  We were thrilled, a mile or so later, to come upon the sign, pictured below, that pointed to Tony Grove, which is where we had parked our car and wanted to go.  Success!

In the picture below we are nearly to the end of the trail.  We had just come through the forest behind us on the mountain side.

Thanks to Lee for a fun hike.  We did about 8 miles in 4 hours.  Likin' Hikin' Ladies-we'll do this trail some time in the future.  It would be gorgeous in the fall.

Little man Big man

Cash and his daddy Jake at our recent family reunion.  I love these guys, as well as the photographer, my son Mark.

About Havasupai

Last week we had a fun family vacation.  I posted few pics on facebook and have had a lot of people ask me for details so I guess I'll share them here.  

I've wanted to see the Havasu Falls for years and so finally, this year, I did something about it.  In February I called the Supai Indian Reservation and reserved the camp site.  http://www.havasupaitribe.com/  

There are no online reservations, only phone.

Spring is the most popular time to go because it gets so hot in the summer.  Havasupai is a side canyon off the Grand Canyon so you can imagine how the mercury rises in July.

The Supai Indian Reservation is arguably the most remote village in the continental US.  For us we drove for 12 hours.  At one point we saw a sign that said,  "No Services Next 68 Miles."  We drove those 68 miles to the end of this desolate desert and there, at the end of the road, was a parking lot with 100 cars.  We parked there and began our 10 mile hike to the falls and campground. 

Here is Karen with 2 of the 3 stray dogs that followed us all the way to the village.

 Megan, my daughter in law of less than 1 month, got a quick breaking into our family with this backpacking trip.  She is a trooper and did great.

The village is so remote they use pack horses to get a lot of their supplies.  We saw a lot of pack horses and even saw the US mail pack horse train bringing the mail to the Supai village.

This is a cute little guy from the village that was on some kind of an errand in the canyon.

It was a long and tiring hike but, for me, the reward was well worth it.  

Before I saw the falls in person I thought the pictures must be doctored to enhance the color.   No, the water really is that blue.

These pictures are at the Havasu falls.

The pictures below are from the New Rock Falls.  These are new falls, created after the flash flood in 2008 changed the course of the river.

It's hard to see when the picture is so small, but Karen is giving a double peace sign as she jumps. 

And this is proof that even an old lady like me can take the plunge.

We loved these falls.  We all jumped at least once and had a great time.

The other falls we saw were the Mooney Falls. 

My family was not frightened by the steep descent to the base of the falls but I sure was.  I did it anyway and was glad I did.

The falls were like a natural water park.  We had a great time.  I would recommend this trip to everyone.  It's strenuous getting there and even more strenuous getting out but so worth it.  Some people, who don't want to hike, take a helicopter ride in for $89.00/person/each way.  One can also hire a pack horse for $94.00 each way to help carry some of the gear.  How ever you do it, the views are amazing and the fun? What can I say?  We loved it.

I hope I can return some day. 

Fun LOTOJA training

In September of 2008, as I was riding LOTOJA, a 200 mile bike race from Logan to Jackson, I was feeling miserable.  I'd ridden over 100 miles and still had 100 to go.  I thought,  "Why am I doing this?  I'm exhausted and in pain.  I don't need to put myself through this.  I can enjoy riding as much as I want without training for LOTOJA."  I didn't think I'd ever ride the race again.  I was wrong.  Dan has wanted to do it for years and this is his year.  He convinced me to ride it with him, to be his riding partner.

Yesterday we did a ride together.  I was reminded that Cache Valley is cyclist heaven.

We headed north on 1600 east

and enjoyed the views riding into Hyde Park.

The sunshine was nice after a stormy morning.

We rode up Smithfield Canyon.

Here, with the canyon behind us, we looked to the valley where we headed next.

This bird posed for us on the West Valley highway.

The valley was beautiful as we headed towards Mendon.

I love taking in the views and riding with my man.

We rode 47 miles and had a great time.  I'm not sure how I'm going to feel as I ride LOTOJA in September but I know I'm going to love riding and training with Dan all summer.

A taste of Heaven

I have to admit,  I was feeling stressed.  All the wedding plans had taken a toll.  Even though the open house was over I still had worries about  money, jobs, children's jobs, children's schooling, feeling inadequate and on and on.  And then I went to the temple.  Tom and Megan were sealed for time and eternity. 

President Bachman performed the sealing.  He talked about all the blessings and promises with covenants.  It gave me pause.  All my worries, the knots in my stomach, were insignificant.  Sealing, family, eternity, exaltation-that is all that matters. What a joyous day.  I truly had a taste of heaven.

Tom and Megan are so happy and so in love.

 Mark and Jenn were there.  They were sealed 7/7/07

                          Mindy and Jake were there.  They were sealed 9/1/07.  

Cash is 8 months old.

                     Jim and Sarah were there.  They were sealed 7/17/07.  

Grace is one month old.

I'm going to enjoy my time with these three, Karen, John and Dan, the only ones left at home with me.

I am blessed with 2 wonderful parents and I love them.

 I love Dan's parents. ( The man on the left is Megan's grand pa.  He's wonderful too)

So, when all is said and done, yes, I have worries and stress, but, yes, I have it all- a blessed eternal family.  I tasted Heaven and I'm going to remember the flavor and keep it with me.

Grace and miracles

Birth is a miracle and part of God's plan.  Two people love each.  As they express their love they are blessed with conception.  The mother lovingly carries that child, sometimes sacrificing much and giving so much of herself, for 9 months.  Labor is painful but when the baby is born the pain and sacrifice are forgotten.  Love envelops the mother and father.  All of the sudden the parents understand a love that they knew not before. They love that child more than life itself.  They will do anything, sacrifice anything... anything for that child.  Because of that love they are ready to raise the child and give the child the love that she needs.

That is God's plan.  He loves us the way we love our children.  He wants to send His children into this life to people who will love and protect them.  It's a miracle and it's beautiful.

If Sarah sees this photo she will not be happy with me.  This was taken an hour after a long and difficult labor.  I think she is beautiful.  So is my son, Jimmy, and their baby Grace.

I am amazed how I can instantly love this child.  I really do.  I LOVE her.

 I have a feeling Dan loves her, too.

 Shell shocked but in love.  Grace is 4 days old and Jim and Sarah are oh, so happy.

Grandma Betty loves holding her great grand daughter.  Grace seems to like Grandma Betty, too.

 Gracie is blowing us all kisses.  I think she is happy to be in this world.  She should be. She has two amazing parents.