Our Fishing Expedition

First I have to start with a few photos that my brother and sister-in-law took on their super duper fancy camera. They took awesome photos! And they let me keep the ones I wanted. How great are they! And the best part was I didn't have to lug the heavy camera around. Because I would be highly likely to break it. I usually break my camera every year or two, and in fact both my cameras are cracked, one from a caving trip and another from photographing calves. But I digress.


Here are my brother and niece Maria clearly enjoying our gorge adventure.

A little assistance now and then made it possible for the little ones to do most of the trip on their own. Desert Boy's cowboy boots perhaps weren't the best choice for climbing footwear, but he managed. I have a feeling he would have done most of the hike wearing just about anything.

Oh my goodness, I look pregnant again! That's just Desert Girl tucked away next to me. She was a happy camper. And now we're ready to start the next adventure, the adventure that got Desert Boy into the van. We were going to go fishing.

We went to the rocky shore of the nearby lake. After we all piled out of the van, the two guys who had been camping there left. I guess we were making a little too much noise for them! Usually no one is at this lake, so we were surprised to see them.

Desert Boy loves to go fishing, even though he's never caught a fish. We knew he wouldn't catch anything here, even though there were Sacramento perch and catfish in the lake. How did we know? Because we took off the barbed hook to avoid painful injuries and replaced it with
a sinker.
Maria's approach to fishing was using the net in the puddles. You might be able to tell that her pants are soaked from the knees down. She was so happy to do fishing her way.

The pole was a little long and heavy for Desert Boy, but he didn't let that stop him.

It was a perfect day for a fishing excursion, with the rocks blocking the wind, the warm sun keeping us comfortable, and nothing else on the agenda. We would have stayed longer, but somehow two little kids managed to get very wet in a short amount of time. Desert Boy was already in his second outfit of the day and didn't have any other dry clothes in the vehicle, so he got to go home wrapped in blankets.

Mirror Lake Scenic Drive

On the weekend my husband and I visited Midway, Utah and Homestead Crater, we also took a scenic drive to Mirror Lake, located in the Uinta Mountains. To get there, we headed north from Midway and then east along the south edge of Jordanelle Reservoir. This huge reservoir is relatively new, from the 1990s. There have been many water projects in central Utah to transport water from the mountainous areas that receive lots of snow each winter to the Wasatch Front, where the majority of Utah's population lives.

Along the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway, which starts in Kamas, UT, we stopped at a sign denoting the Duchesne Tunnel. This six-mile long tunnel can carry up to 600 cfs of water, although late in the fall it was running less than 20 cfs.

We could just barely see the tunnel from the end of the little walk.

As we traveled further up the road, we passed beautiful meadows, lots of ATV trails, and many campsites with hunters. By late October most of the leaves had fallen off the trees, but we did see a bit of color in the coniferous forest due to insect kill.

We stopped at the overlook for the Provo River Falls, finding an ice-covered cascade. We were the only vehicle in the parking lot, and it was obvious that on a hot summer afternoon, this place would be packed and a lot of fun.

We wandered down the trail and then back up the river to enjoy the many waterfalls.

Needless to say, it was cold!

As we went further up the road, my husband started getting worried because we hadn't seen any other vehicles in a long time. Now out where we live, we take this for granted. And usually we're on valley bottoms. But this time we were up in the mountains, and we started thinking of had all the tales of people getting stranded in similar situations and trying to dig their way out of snow and walking 36 miles in circles and cutting off their big toes to have something to eat.

We knew that even though it was a beautiful day, there was a big storm coming. And so my husband imagined even worse scenarios.

Fortunately, before too long we got to Mirror Lake, a scenic lake with tall Uinta Mountains in the background. A bit of trivia: the Uintas are one of only three east-west trending mountain ranges in the U.S., and they are the longest of the three.

Here we were again the only vehicle in the parking lot. The campground, with over 75 sites, were closed. Ice was building along the shoreline. The lakeside trail was covered with snow. And a cold breeze kept us from venturing too far. But we figured we had come this far, we had better get out and see a little of it.

I'm trying to keep my hair out of my face in this photo. This would be a fun place to go back to and spend a couple nights camping. There are some great mountains nearby that wouldn't be too hard to climb, along with fishing, hiking, and just generally enjoying the outdoors.

But for now, the Mirror Lake area is coated in deep snow. The storm that arrived not too long after our visit dumped many feet of snow. I'm sure the lakes have nearly frozen over as the cold chill takes hold on the high terrain. But next spring, as the days get longer and the sun warms the mountain air, it will all reawaken. And fortunately we won't be trapped in our vehicle, waiting.

Homestead Crater

Okay, I thought I was done with caves for the winter, but I couldn't resist going to another, and this time I dragged my dear husband with me. Fortunately this cave was warm and we were able to walk into it.

This is Homestead Crater, located in Midway, Utah, and it's a tourist attraction with a pleasant resort built next to it.

I liked how the light made my husband seem to glow. He didn't manage to levitate, though.

The real attraction in the crater is the 95-96 degree water. It is used for soaking, swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving. In fact, this is the only year-round scuba diving destination in the continental U.S.

Here's a soaking section, watched over by an alligator.

The tunnel into the crater was built in 1996.

The water in the crater is over 60 feet deep, but divers are advised to dive no deeper than 35 feet for 35 minutes due to the altitude and sediments at the bottom.

The tunnel is filled with tanks, regulators, buoyancy aids, and more.
The outside of the crater isn't so remarkable. A mound of tufa rises slightly from the surrounding terrain. This is the largest of about 35 "hot pots" that are found in the area. Originally 20 of them had water in them--I'm not sure if that many still do. The water comes from the Wasatch Mountains and then is heated deep in the earth. Apparently the hot pots are only about 10,000 years old--quite young by geologic standards.

We hiked up the stairs to the top of the crater. From above we could look down at the steamy water and see the scuba divers.

The views from the top of the mound are really nice, with mountains in all directions. Although we missed most of the fall colors, we enjoyed seeing the snow at the higher elevations.

In the resort, there's a display about the history of the area.

We found that the ducks like the warm water.

And the pool and hot tub were exquisite. There are also outdoor versions, although the outdoor pool was closed for the season.

To get ready for Halloween, there was a scarecrow convention on the front lawn with many creative entries.

Homestead made for a slightly different getaway, and I'm looking forward to going back someday.

Thanks so much to the cousins and aunt and uncle who watched Desert Boy so we could have a getaway weekend!

Goin' Fishin'

I needed to do some work next to a stream one day, so I took Desert Boy and Henry with me, knowing how much they like water. We had to walk across the stream, so I had Desert Boy dressed in irrigating boots. He decided he wanted to keep playing by the stream and use a little white bucket to catch some fish.

So, me being a mother who wants to encourage her son to be creative and not really caring how dirty he gets, hatched a plan. I took off his pants and socks, thinking that he would surely flood his boots, and this way he would stay dry. And I had neglected to bring a change of clothes for him with me (although we did have a coat in the truck). 

I watched Desert Boy's first attempt at catching fish. He scooped the bucket through the water, being fairly careful where he was walking.

And then he poured the bucket out. I'm not quite sure what he would have done if he had actually caught a fish in the bucket, but I figured the chances of that were extremely slim. 

Seeing his first attempt wasn't too successful, he headed back to shore to regroup. This is where the fun really began. And I didn't manage to get photos of any of it.

He did a few more scoops with the bucket, flooded his boots, and then wanted the water out of his boots. Then he headed back into the water--and you've probably guessed it--fell in, soaking his only dry shirt. He decided at this point he didn't want to fish anymore. So it was time to get him to the truck, put on his dry pants and his coat, and let him warm up. 

So his first fishing expedition didn't go too well, but he did have a lot of fun playing in the water until he got soaked and cold. Almost anytime we go near a stream he wants to get in, but he knows he's not supposed to get his shoes wet. So he sits down on the ground and starts tugging on his shoes and socks. If he won't get his shoes wet, surely he can go in?

Let It Rain

On Monday we had some wonderful rain. It brought the temperatures down considerably. It's been weeks and weeks since we've had rain, so it was great to hear the pitter-patter against the window panes.

But then we got some hail--that wasn't quite such a nice sound.

The little dandelion managed to survive the hail.

We had storms throughout the day, with lots of lightning and thunder. 

Late in the afternoon, Desert Boy got suited up with his irrigating boots and we went out to splash in puddles.

He particularly wanted to jump in the puddles.

It didn't take him long to get wet. Very wet. Especially when he fell down.

He would have played a lot longer, but it was a bit chilly and he eventually decided he wanted to go in and get warm. 

What? A toddler with a modicum of common sense? What is this world coming to?

Here's a video of Desert Boy in action:

Water Boy

On our recent trip to the Midwest to visit family and friends, we also had several opportunities to play in water. And Desert Boy loves water. I think that might even be an understatement. Most kids like water, but I think kids that grow up in the desert see so little of it get extra excited because they know water's a scarce resource.

One of our stops was the Face Fountain at Millenium Park in Chicago, an interactive place that was attracting large crowds. The water isn't deep, no more than an inch or two, but it feels oh so cool.

Desert Boy was lucky to have a couple of young ladies willing to accompany him around the fountain. That was great for me because I didn't have to keep a constant eye on him.

Instead I could watch the man-made waterfalls and occasional spurting of water. Desert Boy wasn't too sure about the spouting water, but some of the other kids got right in the spray.

Despite the shallow water, Desert Boy found a way to get wet--just get down and splash!

This fountain was at Lincoln Park zoo, and water squirted out of various spots in a random pattern, so it was a challenge to run through it and not get wet.

Of course, Desert Boy sort of wanted to get wet, so he inched his way closer to the water spray,.

The most water we encountered was at the hotel pool. Desert Boy jumped in by himself, was toted around the pool, and practiced swimming. But his favorite activity was to be thrown into the pool. We quickly learned that he just sank to the bottom, so the catcher had to be quick to pull him up. He wiped his face off, scrunched up his nose, and then said, "Do it again, do it again."

So he got thrown in again...

...and again...

...and again. Oops, something didn't go quite right with this entry. That didn't faze Desert Boy, though. He still wanted to do it again. 

Notice how so many different people are throwing him in? His aunts, uncles, and grandpa definitely wanted to have their turn!

Now every time we go to a hotel, Desert Boy wants to go swimming. And jumping. And go flying through the air. I think he's turning into an adventure junkie.