Great Basin Day 2

We woke up early on the morning of Day 2 in Great Basin. That's because the kids don't sleep past sunup in the tent. We loaded into the car and went for a drive up Wheeler Peak so that we wouldn't wake up those late sleepers in the motorhome.

The drive was amazing. As we watched the signs tick up from elevation 7000 feet to elevation 10000 feet we passed some really cool sights. First we saw a mother deer and her two fawns crossing the road. The fawns were so tiny that there were still spots on their coats. We stopped and watched for several minutes and Natalie took some great pictures. A little farther up we saw two wild turkeys cross the road. The ranger told us later that turkeys are not native to the area, but were brought in about 15 years ago and they've been really thriving. As we neared the top of the mountain, we saw four trophy bucks running down a side hill. We only got a picture of the last one, but they all had huge racks with massive spreads. The boys were really excited, because we don't see bucks very often.

We see turkeys here in Utah, but these two crossed the road right in front of us. 

The baby deer were just adorable.

The bucks were amazing.

We got to the top of the mountain by quarter after 7 and started our hike to Lake Stella and Lake Teresa. The area was beautiful, and we saw several more deer along the way. Seth walked much of the way to the first lake, and of course, Mark and Dax did great. As we left the first lake it started to rain. It reached a steady drizzle as we continued around to the second lake and back to the car. Mom and Dad kept their attitudes sunny, though, which helped the boys enjoy the hike through the rain. After all, we haven't taken too many hikes in that kind of condition.

It is gorgeous at the top of Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive.

Dax found this chair! He always spots unique tree features.

Seth found one too.

Here is Dax again ... a chair in the tree this time.

These two are great hikers.

Lake Stella was perfect.

So of course we had to throw rocks.

Seth kept trying to catch raindrops on our hike, so mom joined in, too.

We stopped for this picture at Lake Teresa and then hurried down the trail. 

We dried off in the car and headed down to breakfast, which Laurie had made in the dutch ovens. We hung out in the motorhome for the rest of the morning while it drizzled a bit. Our long cave tour started at 2pm. Laurie stayed behind with Seth while the rest of us ventured to the cave. We really enjoyed our walk through the cave. Dad crawled through the faux-opening to prove he could, and our tour guide was full of information. He stretched the tour out extra long with stories and information. Our boys especially liked the lantern part, when Dax got to hold the old tin can lantern which held a candle. The boys weren't scared a bit, even though they seemed a bit cold.

Later that night we enjoyed hanging out around the campfire. We made s'mores, told stories, and looked at the stars again. The Milky Way was beautiful and Mark was excited because we let him stay up late with us, and it was his first time seeing the Milky Way.

Seth crashed on my cot for a little while.

Randy made it through!

This is the crew that went on the long tour (minus Glen who is taking the picture).

Dax was chosen to hold the lantern.

The cave was amazing!

The features inside are so cool.

Lehman Caves is famous because it has so many shields.

It was chilly in the cave!

Seth, Mark and Mom went on a little hike later.
Mark is always exploring.

Brothers

Great Basin Day 1

We arrived at Great Basin National Park in the early afternoon. The kids were great on the drive as always, but we had the unsavory task of finding a campsite. This wouldn't have been so bad, but we needed to find a site that would accommodate a 27 foot RV, and we had no idea how to do that. Luckily, there were only 2 such sites left, so we had a 50-50 chance of choosing the right one. We set up the tent on the road in the pull-in because it was the only place large enough for our 10-man circus tent. This turned out to be a blessing, as the rain would've washed us out if we'd been in the bowl where tents were supposed to sit.

This was a beautiful campsite, but any guesses on why we didn't pick it?

Seth is so cute right now.

And these two are such great boys! They love playing Big Fish, Little Fish.

Our tent in the middle of the road.

After we got camp set up, we went on a hike around Visitor's Center nature trail and worked on our Junior Ranger stuff. Laurie, Glen, Nate, and Grandpa showed up around the time we were cooking up our tinfoil dinners and approved the campsite (not that they had much choice!) The site was nice and shady-- and rainy. We were lucky to have the motorhome to spend a little time in during the intermittent storms.

On the first night we went to the Night Sky Program because Great Basin is a Dark Park. The skies were beautiful, if a bit cloudy. The boys really enjoyed the program, which include a slideshow projected onto a white trailer and two huge telescopes. In addition, they got to earn a bonus Junior Ranger badge called the Night Sky badge. We love the Junior Ranger program and what it teaches.

Our boys did great in the tent, and it didn't rain during any of the nights we were there, just sprinkles every few hours during the day. We also enjoyed seeing a lot of animals on our trip this time. We saw deer, rabbits, squirrels, and a 4 foot long snake crawling right on the road. It was another great start to a great trip.

Seth really wanted to be a Junior Ranger, too!

See those big telescopes in the background? Our neighbor's is better.
We're so glad he lets us use it! :)

Jack rabbit 

Seth loved staying up late.

Pioneer Day 2014

We decided to celebrate Pioneer Day with a hike this year. We wanted to do something hard to help us appreciate the Pioneers, so we chose a summit. At the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon, right at Guardsman Pass, we found Peak 10,420. I don't know who gave the peak such a crummy name, but the hike is beautiful. Seth rode in the backpack, but Mark and Dax walked the entire way. It's about a half mile straight up, and the view is gorgeous. You can see into both Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, and from Park City all the way around to the east. The boys really liked this hike. We could see 7 lakes from the top and that made their day.

Dax loved the beautiful wildflowers.

This hike even wore Mark out, which I thought was impossible.

But he was the first one to the top!

It was a beautiful view from the top!

One of the 7 lakes we saw. 

Seth even hiked on his own for a little bit.

We absolutely loved this hike because of the views.

It was really windy on top.

These boys are the best hikers!

Later, we went to an Orem Owls game with Grandpa Ockey. The game was really fun, even though the Owls lost. We were especially happy because they had live owls to look at as you walked in the gate. That made us birders happy! Afterward they had fireworks, which were set off from the field. They were so close that a few of the boys decided maybe they didn't like fireworks as much as they had on the 4th!

We were so glad that Grandpa Ockey could come to the game with us.

Seth LOVES popcorn. Mark won't touch it! 

Randy looks just like his dad!

They set the fireworks off right in Right Center Field.

A Burrowing Owl.

Family Pic

Seth fell asleep in the 9th inning and slept right through the fireworks.

Neighborhood Campout

We had an amazing time at a neighborhood campout this weekend. There were 45 good friends in tents and trailers. It was so much fun that we vowed to do it again next year! Here are a few, okay a TON, of pictures: (You can also read about this trip here and here.)

Everyone gathering for dinner!

Graham chillin'!

Some boys are serious camping chefs.

Maya loves her Oreos!

Mexican S'mores!

Some people may have had too much fun....

Cheese (-y)!

Maggie decorated everyone with glow sticks!

Thanks Russ for bringing the telescope.

The sidewalk chalk was great for the little ones--good idea Ellis family.

The Kings taught us how to color on cattails.

The kids loved making patterns on the cattails.

It was a sweet project!

The kids worked on these for over an hour.

It was great to get together with friends. 

This is the group picture taken at the Grotto Falls trailhead.

We missed the Kings and the Ellises on this hike.

Everyone liked crossing the bridges at Grotto Falls.

All the kids had fun in the water.

It was like Grand-Central Station.

The water is just the right depth.

I love that Nixon was so easy going. Time to eat right now? Okay!