Snowshoeing Before Baby

This month has been a month of just getting ready for and waiting for baby.  But I won’t wait for baby laying down (at least not all the time :) ).  I was able to go snowshoeing a few times in the week and a half before my due date.

More Snow

The day after Christmas also yielded some great snowmobiling in more untouched powdery fields only 3 miles from our house!

Snowmobiling Our Backyard

Bade purchased our house because it was surrounded by his favorite things, fishing, dirt bike trails, and snowmobiling fields.  On Christmas Eve Bade and his brothers went out and enjoyed some untouched powdery snow up our canyon.

Crest Trail Mountain Biking

For those of you who like mountain biking, there are great places in Salt Lake to mountain bike, but with so many people in Salt Lake, the trails are often a bit busy.  Bade, his friends and a few siblings were able to go mountain biking on the Crest Trail up Millcreek.

Uintah’s Backpacking

The first rule about Uintahs backpacking is you don’t tell people where in the Uintahs to backpack.  The second rule about Uintahs backpacking is you DON’T TELL PEOPLE where in the Uintahs to backpack.  The best part about Uintahs backpacking is being able to go out in the woods without crowds.  You typically don’t even need to backpack very far in to find this restful seclusion and you don’t typically need to backpack very far to find your own personal lake.  So all I can tell you about this backpacking trip is that it is near many lakes in the Uintah’s, and was awesome!

Sadly, we only ended up staying for one night even though we planned on 2 nights, we had to head back early to rush to the hospital for, what turned out to be, a false alarm.  But we ate like kings for that 1 day.

Hole In The Rock Road

Bade, his sister, brother-in-law, niece, and myself took an early summer road trip down Hole In The Rock Road near Escalante, UT. We had great weather and enjoyable, summer-style hikes.  We even managed to have chocolate covered strawberries to celebrate Valentines Day while we were there.

We hiked to Zebra and Tunnel Canyon (about 5 miles), but weren’t able to go in them due to the amount of freezing cold water (Bade tested this for us).  But we were able to enjoy Peek-a-boo and Spooky canyon (about 2 miles).  We also drove all the way out to Broken Bow arch to enjoy that 5 mile hike in a stream bed and 94 foot arch.

I definitely recommend taking a road trip down Hole In The Rock Road if you get the chance.

Getting To Hole-In-The-Rock Road

If you are planning on making a trip out of hole in the rock road, here’s what you need to know.  Hole-in-the-Rock road is 5 miles East of Escalante, UT on UT-12 (it’s hard to miss since there really aren’t any other roads).  Getting to Escalante is really pretty, especially when you get to the ‘fin’ part of the freeway and you have to slow down to 20-35 miles per hour.  Enjoy the view at that point.  Make sure you travel in this area with a little bit of day light either going to, or coming from Escalante. Plan for 5-6 hours from Salt Lake City down to Escalante…it isn’t a short drive, but you drive through some really gorgeous country.

Points Of Interest

Hole-in-the-Rock Road is a long, long dirt road.  The road goes for around 60 miles.  Most people only go on the first 15 miles, so those miles of dirt road are well maintained (especially if you go early in the season, spring-ish, when the road is freshly graded). I would suggest that you go 26.5 miles in so that you can hit up Peek-A-Book and Spooky Canyons.  Before I get ahead of myself, here are my suggested stops.  Make sure you balance them out so that you hit some on the way out, and some on the way back (if you have time).

mile 0.0 Reset Odometer – you want to make sure you reset your odometer since most side roads aren’t labeled.

mile 8.0 Zebra & Tunnel Slots – Go 8 miles until just after a cattle guard. The trailhead is on the south side of the road. If you hit Halfway Hollow, you’ve gone about a 1/4 a mile too far. Zebra is a must see in the fall (too much water in the spring), but if you are pressed for time, you can skip Tunnel.  The hike out takes a while since it is around 2.5 miles out, then 2.5 miles straight back.  Zebra slot itself is really short but SO picturesque!  There is almost always some water to wade through, but you can just go out and back, so wade as far as you’d like.  If you want to go to Tunnel as well, it is about 1/4-1/2 a mile in a sandy wash away from Zebra.  Tunnel slot also often has water, but again, much less water if you go in the fall.  Here are the details you might want to print out, or at least look at the map since it gives you a much better sense of the route you will be taking.  The trail is very exposed so sunscreen up and bring plenty of water and snacks.
http://www.roadtripryan.com/go/t/utah/escalante/zebratunnel#overview

mile 12.0 Devils Garden – this is a picnic-style spot with rock formations to play on, as well as picnic tables, and the turn off is labeled so it is easy to find, or just reset your odometer if you hadn’t reset it when you started up the road.  It can get pretty windy here, but this is a great stop if you have kids.  No hiking needed, just walk around through this giant rock garden.  I like to hit this up for lunch, or hit it up on my way back from Peek-a-Book and Spooky since you can spend lots, or a little time here and be completely content.

mile 15-20 ish – this is where the dirt road starts getting less ‘nice’.  Most cars are still fine up until this point.

mile 26.5 Peek-A-Boo & Spooky – These are the best slot canyons for families with young kids.  They have enough technical aspects that they are fun, but they are short enough that they don’t tire kids out.  I last hiked these canyons (they are done as a loop) with my 2 year old niece who loved them. Two things to be aware of… first, the road after turning off the main Hole-in-the-Rock Road and heading towards these slots is really bad.  You ought to have a four-wheel drive vehicle and be comfortable in a really slant-y car in order to drive this. Second, the loop for Peek-A-Boo and Spooky is best if taken by starting at Peek-A-Boo even though the entrance to Pee-A-Boo looks daunting. You may have to just lift your kids up the first part. You will recognize the start of Peek-A-Boo by the ‘steps’ carved out in the rock for your feet and hands to scramble up. Here are the hiking details for Peek-A-Boo and Spooky.  Again, these are two of my favorite canyons and are great for families, as long as you don’t mind the long dirt road to get here.
http://www.roadtripryan.com/go/t/utah/escalante/peekaboospookbrimeston#overview

Oh, one other thing to note, about halfway through Spooky you will come to, what seems like, a dead-end of rocks.  Those rocks have been there a long time (at least a decade because they’ve been there ever time I’ve gone).  Just go to the left.  You will duck under/through the tiny gap (my pot-bellied dad fit through so it isn’t TOO bad) in the rocks, and you will be in a mini rock cave.  Once in the cave you will be helping each other get down a 5-6 foot slanted rock, then you are back to smooth sailing.  Kids think this part if fun, adults often think they won’t fit, but there is much more room than you think, and the ‘drop’ is much shorter than it looks.  Don’t try to go up and over, stay low and go through the ‘cave’.

Also at mile 26.5 is Brimstone Canyon.  You will only want to do this if you are an experienced canyoneer-er, and don’t mind freezing and being in a very tight slot.

After you hike Peek-A-Boo and Spooky, you can start heading back towards Escalante, and return down those 26.5 miles of dirt road.

If you haven’t had enough hiking and want some more, I would definitely recommend doing Lower Calf Creek Falls which is just on the South side of Escalante, UT. This hike is decently long, but is often shaded (especially if you go in the second half of the day), and is largely flat. Bring bug spray to the falls.  The hike should be fine, but certain times of year there are bugs galore at the base of the falls.  The coolest thing about the falls, other than the large height of the drop, is the color of the lichen behind the falls.  It creates this almost rainbow effect.  Checkout my blog post from last year when Bade and I did the Lower Calf Creek Falls hike.

Just as a time reference.  This spring when I did this route with my husband, sister-in-law, brother-in-law and niece, we drove to Escalante at night, went about 8.3 miles up the dirt road to a road a little past the Zebra parking area, and camped.  The next morning, we did Zebra (not Tunnel since Zebra had a lot of water, and Tunnel always has more water than Zebra), Devils Garden, Peek-A-Boo and Spooky all in 1 day.  We did take our time at each stop, allowing even the little 2 year old to hike at her own pace a lot of the way. We finished Spooky as the sun was getting ready to set (this was spring, Feb, so the days were shorter).  You can camp on Hole-in-the-Rock road, and we did, just a few miles beyond Peek-A-Boo & Spooky. You’ll want to save Lower Calf Creek for the day before or day after Hole-in-the-Rock road, since you likely won’t have time for both.  If you have older kids with you or you want to make a long weekend out of the road and have a good four-wheel-drive vehicle, you can continue up the road to a bunch of hikes to arches.  We ended up going up to Broken Bow arch, which is around 36 miles on Hole-in-the-Rock road. This guy’s website shows a map of the road, so you can see that there are lots of arches the further you get, but the road and hiking gets much more difficult.

Stewart Falls

This afternoon we hiked the 3-mile round-trip to Stewart Falls near Aspen Grove in Provo Canyon. This hike is a perfect hike for children (although we didn’t bring any with us), since it has a little bit of actual hiking at the beginning and end, then is comfortably flat throughout the entire middle section. Plus, you arrive at a great view and a fun play place for kids (in the summer).

Lava Hot Springs

Bade’s family LOVES to soak in hot springs and they make it a regular activity when traveling.  In the winter when we don’t travel as much, we take day trips up to Lava Hot Springs in Idaho and spend a day soaking in hot pools. We always pick a rainy or snowy day because it makes soaking that much more cozy.

Snow Days

Finally, we have a little bit of snow.  I think this is our second day of good snow this season (sadly the season is already mid-way)! We are making sure to take advantage of every bit of it!

Fall Dirt Bike Riding

The last two weekends have been great weather for fall dirt bike riding.  The colors have been gorgeous, especially the aspens this year. Bade and I went riding up the left fork of Hobble Creek last weekend, and did the right fork of Hobble Creek this weekend.

Columbia River Side

Bade and I traveled along the Columbia River on the Northern border of Oregon from Hood River to Astoria. We made this trip in just one day, so we didn’t make too many stops, but you can find our favorite stops listed below.

Bonneville Fish Hatchery

Bade LOVES fishing, so of course he wanted to stop at the Bonneville Fish Hatchery for salmon (just west as you are leaving Hood River, OR).  Again, a stop that I was not so excited about, but this stop was one I would certainly do again.  The fish hatchery itself was fun because you could see the fish eggs, if the salmon are spawning, you can view workers getting the eggs out of the fish (really gross, but cool).  You can feed the fish, see other species like Herman the 70 year old sturgeon I’m showing off in the picture above. We were there when the workers were feeding the baby fish which was way fun to watch.  You can also head over to the dam, and view the salmon ‘climbing’ the fish ladder.  You can look at the fish underwater through windows, or go on top and view the few fish who go over the ladder rungs instead of through them.

Multnomah Falls and Other Waterfalls
Multnomah Falls is definitely the most popular and well known of the waterfalls along the Columbia River in Oregon.  Part way up the falls you will see the iconic bridge that is just a short, but steep paved walk up. We got to the falls just before lunch time and it was packed. If you are going to visit these falls, you will probably want to get an early start so that you can beat some of the crowds.

There are plenty of other waterfalls up and down the river from Multnomah.  Bade and I think that some of the other falls are even more impressive and definitely more enjoyable than Multnomah Falls.  Latourell Falls was probably one of our favorites because it is a short walk, really tall waterfall, and far down the line so there were hardly any people at it.  It is also surrounded by really unique rock overhangs and of course, bright green moss.

Vista House at Crown PointJust keep following the road from Multnomah Falls west and you will arrive at Crown Point.  If there is an ultimate location for wind, so windy you need hand rails so you don’t blow away, this is the location. We stepped out of our car (knowing it was windy we were careful with the car doors), and instantly you feel like you need to hold onto something.  As we walked, I was thinking “surely this is just bad timing” thinking that we started just as a wind gust came.  10 minutes later when the wind had yet to even waiver, I just accepted that this is the windiest place I have ever been (and earlier this year I spent a week in the windy city itself, Chicago, which is actually only the 16th windiest city, or something like that). The whole time I had to keep my toes curled around my flip flops so that they wouldn’t fly off my feet.

Other than the amazing wind experience, Crown Point provides a great view up and down the Columbia River.

Maritime Museum in Astoria
The Maritime Museum in Astoria is a little more expensive than most of our stops in Oregon ($12 per person), but it was a fun family friendly stop.  There is an indoor portion and an outdoor bay portion.  The indoor portion is more fun for kids.  Bade enjoyed touring this lightboat in the bay.

Astoria Column
The Astoria Column was another family friendly stop.  To climb to the top is $2 per car, and about 440 steps per person (if my memory is serving me well). Make sure that you buy a $1 balsa wood airplane before you climb the tower; this is probably one of the few towers or tall view point attractions in the world that not only let you throw things off the top, but encourage that you throw one of the airplanes from the top and watch it glide and dodge trees as it makes its’ way to the ground.

 

Bagby Hot Springs

Bagby Hot Springs was one of my favorite little detours (or rather, kind of large detour) of our entire trip. These hot springs provided Bade and I our first shower of the trip, plus it was in the most beautiful and unique setting possible.

We started by hiking 40 or so minutes over 1.5 miles, with only about 200 feet of elevation gain through absolutely gorgeous Douglas firs and ceder trees towering hundreds (100-200) feet above, all completely coated in moss and other lush greenery.

The hike parallels a clear greenish-blue river the entire way.

You arrive at Bagby where you see many buildings with partial roofs, and a long trough bringing 135 degree water over to the buildings where you can take a private soak, nudity allowed, or a public soak, no nudity allowed. There is a cold water spring that you can use to mix with your hot water to achieve the perfect temperature.

The private soak was really cool because each room had a long hollowed out tree you soaked in while looking up at the towering trees above. To fill the tub you pulled a wooden cork from the wall, and put a wooden cork in the drain hole.

The public soak was fun because you were able to talk and mingle with other people.  There was only 1 couple in the public soak area and one couple in the private soak area when we were there (midday Friday).

It was SUCH a relaxing downhill walk through the trees after a long bath; we were nice and clean and in a peaceful environment. I would DEFINITELY recommend Bagby Hot Springs to anyone near the area.

Getting To The Coast

Bade and I had some unexpected changes in life which freed up nearly 2 weeks at the end of September.  We had to cancel 2 of our trips we planned in September and 1 trip in October so with these 2 weeks available, without any planning, we took off for the Oregon Coast.

Shoshone Falls, ID

We left Utah and headed north through Idaho cutting from the bottom middle of Idaho over to the middle left.  Shoshone Falls are normally VERY impressive falls however, during 2013 and 2014 Idaho has been working to beautify these falls by removing the water plants and other structures that are in the photo, so the falls have been being diverted.  If I remember correctly, the work should be done by the end of the year, so feel free to visit these amazing falls spring 2015.

Sumpter Valley, OR
In Sumpter Valley we made stops at the Sumpter Valley Railroad Museum and the Sumpter Valley Dredge Museum.  The railroad museum seemed like it would be fun when they take you on the train and have a ‘train robbing’.  If we went there again we would try to be there when they are having robbings.  The dredge museum was really cool.  I went there thinking “do we really have to stop here” but Bade was really excited about seeing/touring a dredge.  Turns out, it was way more interesting than I had anticipated. I would recommend this for anyone who finds themselves in this area.

Our Route Through Oregon
We choose our route through Oregon based on what is the prettiest to drive.  This route was long, but so enjoyable the entire way.

Uinta Backpacking

Bade and I went backpacking in the Uinta Mountain Range this weekend to Jewel Lake, past Ruth Lake. This gorgeous little spot in the mountains is surrounded by tons of small hidden lakes and grand rocky peaks. We had this area almost entirely to ourselves.

On Saturday we went on a hike to the top (almost) of one of the peaks surrounding us, and came across a few pretty lakes including this picturesque lake called Cutthroat Lake which had a fun assortment of trout such as…Cutthroat Trout…Brook Trout…… and Tiger Trout.

We had some yummy backpacking meals and even brought some Pillsbury Crescent Rolls to cook over the fire, which were Delicious, with a capital D.

This weekend was such a welcome and relaxing, fly fishing weekend.

 

Fall Colors Are Starting

This Labor Day weekend Bade and I took his sister and her family dirt bike riding in our canyon where the fall colors are already starting to make their appearance.

The boys were able to find some wild raspberries in our usual hunting ground, but their size and flavor were not ideal…we ate them anyway :).

Saints To Sinners Bike Relay

This last weekend myself and 9 of my teammates, #213 “Last Ones Chosen,” rode our bikes from Salt Lake City, UT (Bluffdale area) down to Las Vegas, NV (Lake Mead area), 516 miles in 30 hours.  We started Friday morning with clear skies and hot temperatures.  By Friday evening we had lightning and thunderstorms which caused flash flooding on the roads and new obstacles and worries for the riders like tree branches floating in foot deep rivers across the road, slick rain covered streets, and nearby lightning strikes.

The race goes through the night, so you need to get sleep when you can.

In the morning the weather was better than we could have asked for with temperatures only getting up to around 87-89 degrees and overcast skies.

The scenery was GORGEOUS!

Deadwood Weekend

After a 7 hour drive and one flat tire, we made it to Pine Flats Campground, in Idaho around 1:10am. We slept in the next morning, then went on an all day dirt bike ride, from 11:00 – 9:30. We did make some stops along the way, including stopping at Deadwood Reservoir to swim.

The next morning we woke up and walked over to the Pine Flats Hot Springs which are right next to the river, and are fed by a hot waterfall. However, you do have to wade through the river to get to these hot springs, but the location of the springs is worth it.

After dinner we made dutch oven peach cobbler.  I always have to look up the specifics of the cooking on this, so here it is for future reference…

Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler

Ingredients
2 cans peaches
1 box cake mix (yellow or white, I’ve used both before)
1 can 7up or Sprite
a few shavings of butter

1. Line dutch oven with tin foil, then add a few shavings of butter to the bottom.
2. Drain 1 can of peaches, then dump the drained can and the full can into the dutch oven.
3. Add your cake mix on top.
4. Pour your can of 7up in a spiral on top of the cake mix.
5. Lightly mix everything together, not fully, just a little.
6. 15 briquettes on top, 10 briquettes on the bottom, cook for 50 minutes, turn every 10-15 minutes. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

The next day we rode Warm Springs with our dirt bikes (18.5 miles). This trail was great for 95%, but had a rough, rocky and sandy climb out near the end that was exposed to the sun, and very difficult to ride. On the 95% that was awesome, we were riding among big tall pine trees with tons of wild flowers, and of course, following along and crossing Warm Springs.  The trail ends at Bull Trout Lake, and passes No Name Lake and a small pond with bright yellow blooming lily pads.

All the Idaho trails we rode on this trip were very well manicured, with many bridges, cleared out rocks, and were often comfortably wide single track.

Big Trout Fishing

Bade and I were invited to go fishing on some private property in Crandall Canyon. Bade was so excited about fishing up there because he heard how big the fish are, and his expectations were met as he caught many 4-5 lb rainbow trout.
I’ve got to admit, it is pretty fun seeing Bade so giddy about big fish :).

Snake River Rafting

Our Snake River rafting trip started with our car breaking down on I-15 about 15 miles into the trip.  Luckily, my dad and brother were able to come to our rescue and tow our car to my parents house, where we quickly moved our gear into my mom’s car, and took that up to Alpine, Wyoming.

We rafted the Snake River twice on Saturday.  The water is so high this time of year that Big Kahuna is small, practically nothing, and Lunch Counter is huge. On our second run we flipped at Lunch Counter, straight up the rapid, then turned and flipped sideways. Both Bade and I came up under the raft, so it took us a bit to get out in the open to get some air.  I took a little longer than Bade, because I was able to get my bearings in a pocket of air under the raft.  However, I knew that everyone would be worried about me since they couldn’t see me, so I tried to get out. It is surprisingly hard to get out from under a raft when the raft is surrounded by people holding onto the sides.

On Sunday we stopped in Kemmerer on our way home to do some fishing.  We fished up Ham’s Fork on the stretch of river between the 2 reservoirs. Bade used a yellow sally on his fly rod and it worked great.

4th of July Weekend

My 4th of July’s are typically the same.  I go to the Provo Hot Air Balloon launching in the morning, Provo’s Freedom Fest for lunch, float the Provo in a kayak in the afternoon, BBQ with family for dinner, and fireworks at the neighbors at night.  This year was VERY different, but still enjoyable.

It all started with a red, white and blue breakfast in bed.

Then, Bade and I spent the entire afternoon at his brother’s house helping him with his house addition.  There was lots of time-sensitive work that Bade and I offered to help with. Then in the evening, saw Peter Breinholt perform, then enjoyed a 25 minute firework show that was so close, we had some cardboard debris falling on us!

Saturday was an extension of the fourth for us.  We took my dad and uncle on a dirt bike ride up our canyon.  My uncle is only in town for a week, and dirt bike riding was one of his must-do activities.

After only 2.5 hours of riding, we came upon a truck, blocking the entire trail, that had high-centered itself AND jammed a fallen tree up under it, on our dirt-bikes-only trail.  This threw a major wrench into our day.  The two guys (and their dog) in the truck were really unprepared for getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere.  They didn’t have any food or water, there is no cell reception, and they are miles from the nearest road. We tried to help them move the truck, but it was hopeless.  So instead, we left them with some water bottles, Bade got our bikes under a fallen tree in a ravine so that we could bypass the truck, and I cut my ride short, and rode for an hour out of the canyon to call for help, while the boys continued on riding for another 3.5 hours until well after dark. By the end of their 6 hour ride, my dad and uncle were exhausted, to say the least :).