First Snow!

 Last week on the first day of fall, we had a storm, the first storm in a long time (the monsoons kind of skipped us this year). I was doing a kid exchange and was up in Great Basin National Park when we saw a truck stopped at the bottom of the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive with snow on it. I pointed it out to the kids and asked if they wanted to go check out the snow. Desert Boy wasn't too enthusiastic, but Desert Girl thought it was a great idea. So we headed uphill and drove up to about 9,000 feet and started seeing snow on the trees above us. Fortunately not many other people wanted to drive up into the storm, so we could stop frequently and take lots of photos.

The fall colors were glorious, with many hues of yellows and oranges, and reds.

A little past 9,200 feet we reached our first snow. It was obvious that it had come down with some wind. Desert Girl put on a sweatshirt and went out to experience it.

Then she came after me with a snowball!

We kept going up, and the sun peeked out, showing snow-dusted mountains and limber pine silhouettes. I'm sure my pulse rate was up, I was so excited to be there, seeing this gorgeous scenery right in the moment.

I had thought that the wind might have knocked down many of the leaves, but they held on, now coated with a layer of white that made the fall colors even more vibrant.

The road was wet, but not slick. And I kept stopping to take more photos! The one below was one of my favorites.

At one stop, I caught Desert Girl eating some snow.

The snow balanced precariously on the leaves, some of it falling with each wind gust.

The fast moving clouds revealed some blue sky from time to time.

And I couldn't help but try for some artsy photos.

The scene at the Wheeler Peak summit trailhead was dramatic, with the trees drooping from the snow. No one was hiking the trail.

We could barely even see the mountains from there due to the clouds. It probably wouldn't have been that scenic of a hike, as you would be in the clouds most of the time.

We drove on to the Wheeler Peak campground, which was also coated in snow. We drove through to see if there were any campers.

We stopped at a campsite I've been wanting to camp at and found that the wind had knocked off more of the leaves here. As for campers? We didn't see any.

Heading back down, I still wasn't tired of taking photos. The mix of colors was entrancing.

And then we had some frosted vegetation and late afternoon shadows.

The view from Mather Overlook was a bit muted.

That spur-of-the-moment drive has to be one of the most beautiful drives I've ever taken. It was just magical. And the photos will let me remember it even longer. I sure was glad I had my good camera with me!

Hope you've enjoyed this eye candy. There are still lots of great fall colors and photogenic moments out there!

A Memorable Trip to Ibex, Millard County, Utah

 We wanted to do a family camping trip, so we headed to the Ibex cliffs and hard pan about 50 miles west of Delta, Utah. This is a well-known climbing area, and Desert Girl couldn't resist climbing up one of the boulders. There were some neat arches on the underside.

Then she told me to climb up so she could take my photo.

We found a fun camping spot near one of the big boulders. We hung out a bit in the shade.

Desert Boy was eager to use his new stove. We also had the tire-rim fire pit my husband made.

Then it was time to go for a hike. We drove south across the playa and to some neat looking cliffs. The kids weren't too excited to go hiking, but we made them go anyway. Desert Girl was not shy about letting her feelings known.

The hike involved some scrambling, which made it extra fun.

Desert Girl was happy she did the little hike.

A bit farther south was Ibex well, where we found an old trough.

There's a big water tank next to the well. It's definitely a landmark.

The pump looked really big, so that well must be deep.

The wind was coming from the south, which meant we would have a nice tailwind riding back to camp. The playa was so flat I could ride with no hands, something that impressed the kids.

And why not take a selfie while bike riding?

We found a little motocross track and made a few laps.

Desert Girl started doing some tricks.

After dinner we went out for a walk on the playa, where we found someone had left a lot of trash.

As we continued walking, we found some fun short cliffs to scramble up and some beautiful light.

The kids were in a good mood and ready to pose.

 We kept going up the cliffs for awhile just because it was fun.

Hurray, some smiles!

The kids are getting more into taking photos.

When we got back, we made a fire, but it was windy and embers were flying everywhere, so we didn't keep it going for long.

We entertained ourselves with some light painting. The kids tried to write their names. The first attempts looked kind of like a heartbeat.

The star and heart turned out well.

Then I cloned myself.

And look at how many kids!

We set up our tent in the shelter of the big boulder. But then the wind turned and blew so hard that it broke the tent and we got very little sleep.

It was still a fun trip, and I look forward to going back. But I think I'll check the wind forecast!

The Twisted Forest, Dixie National Forest, Utah

While I was looking through tourist information on our trip to Cedar Breaks, I found a reference to the Twisted Forest, a grove of bristlecone pines, and some general directions to it in the Dixie National Forest. I was intrigued--I love bristlecones. So we braved a Forest Service road that started near Brian Head with the van. The road was in great shape, and I hooted with excitement as we drove across the slopes at Brian Head ski resort. We wound our way around the mountain, through beautiful aspen groves, past empty campsites, over a big, muddy puddle, and arrived at the Twisted Grove trailhead 3.5 miles after leaving the pavement. A sign, overhung by a bristlecone pine, greeted us.

As soon as left the trailhead, we entered Ashdown Gorge Wilderness. We also had stunning views of what awaited us: old growth bristlecone pine on orange and white substrate. How cool was that!

Some of the bristlecone pines looked very strange, and not that healthy. I'm not sure what's going on with them.

Many showed stripbarking, or only a small strip of bark alive keeping part of the tree alive, while the rest was dead. This is a common strategy for bristlecone pines to live longer. The sign said that at least one tree in this grove was over 2,000 years old.

We did find some younger ones. We'll have to revisit this tree in a few years and see who is taller. (Note what Desert Boy is carrying. He read so much this summer!)

We kept going until we reached the ridge (this brought some tears from Desert Girl, who really didn't want to hike the half-mile trail). I left the kids with water and snacks and walked the ridge to explore some more. I found all kinds of neat trees.

This one was barely hanging on. Brian Head Peak is in the background.

This one was dead but had such an interesting shape.

I must love the neat twists, as I took a lot of photos of them!

The lighting wasn't what I considered ideal, but I tried to work with it.

A storm was moving in from the east and we could hear some distant thunder, so we couldn't stay much longer.

 This sure is a place I'd like to return to. You can find more info about the Twisted Forest here.

On the way back we walked up to the top of the chair lift at Brian Head.

It was crazy seeing the slopes without snow. Hopefully we'll be back this winter!