Weekend in Park City

We have been really busy with renovations and chickens. All that staying home to babysit roofers and floor refinishers was really driving Mom crazy when she needs to be out in the Fall leaves, so we were glad to take a trip to stay in a nice house in Park City. This one sat right up on the mountainside and overlooked the entire valley. Best of all, the leaves were in full splendor, and the pictures really show it. 

We showed up Saturday night and mostly enjoyed checking out the house. We each staked out a bedroom (Dax and Seth went for the loft, and Mark for the basement bedroom with private bath. Then we played games and read scriptures until it was time for bed. The boys also checked out the hot tub!

This house was so lovely!

The views from the house were amazing!

We enjoyed sitting on the deck and the porch to enjoy the views.

Dax and Seth also loved the hot tub!

The next morning, Mom was really excited to go see the leaves, but first, we watched the BYU game and had lunch. Then we spent the day exploring a little bit. First we stopped at the McPolin Farm and the colors were bursting! We also stopped at the Olympic Park because we love this museum and watching the ski jumpers. Finally, we ended up doing a short hike along the Pioneer Trail. The leaves in this area were bright red and orange, and the boys took some pictures of their own for the Reflections contest. Mostly, we were just glad to be up in the mountains away from the 90 degree temperatures on the valley floor. It was also nice to be away from the house and the hundreds of things we have to do and let the new wood floor cure a bit.

Seth watched a movie upstairs while the rest of us watched the BYU game.

Mark has become a pretty serious fan.

McPolin Farm

Mom is always happy in the mountains in the Fall!

We also dragged the kids to a park for the website.

We love the olympic museum!

The curling stone is so heavy!

No one is allowed to do the luge or skeleton in our family.

We took a family pic with the green screen.

This trail was so nice!

Isn't Fall amazing?

One last Fall with Mark before he is gone for a few years.

Fall and Family--Mom's favorites!

So many pretty places. 

Cutest couple.

The mountains were just covered in color.

Back in the hot tub!

The next day, we said goodbye to the house and headed over to the Swaner Eco Preserve. This area has some wetlands and a few hikes to do, since Mom has to keep working even when we are on vacation! Then we went to the resort. We spent a good portion of the day riding the Alpine Slide and Mountain Coaster. Everyone had done this before except Dad, but it was still fun. We even saw a massive buck right under the chairlift on our way up the mountain.

We didn't see too many birds, but the area was pretty.

We did a short hike.

Dad's first time riding the coaster.

The ride was spectacular.

We couldn't have picked a better time.

Mom loved it!

Heading up to ride the Alpine Slide.

Just as fun and beautiful!

Park City was perfect this Weeknd.

We grabbed lunch in the village resort and then made the ride up over Guardsman Pass and onto the Alpine Loop. This was the most spectacular leaf display we'd ever seen. There was a sea of shimmering gold as the aspens had just turned. The pictures are good, but there is really no way to capture the vibrance and beauty of that valley! Further down, the reds, oranges and greens became more prominent, too. It really was a day to be grateful to live in Utah!

The sea of gold Aspens was breathtaking!

Mom was in heaven.

It was amazing driving through here!

So much beautiful yellow!

The van took this family picture.

There were some good reds, too!

We spotted a big horn sheep on the Alpine Loop.