Bell Canyon

Over the fourth of July weekend I took Jessi and the boys hiking up Bell Canyon.  We had a really good time and the kids did a great job start to finish.

Obviously at the trailhead on the southeast bench in Sandy.

This was my view for most of the day as the kids took turns being the fearless leader.

We had Spencer take the larger pack in preparation for his overnight scout camp that was to follow this hike by two weeks.

Saw this guy when we finally met back up with the river after passing the reservoir.  He was a good 20 feet away from the trail.

Overlooking the South Salt Lake Valley a little over halfway to the falls.

Last big push before the falls.

Spencer at Bell's Canyon Falls

Salt Lake Valley in the distance.  Nader had just fallen and was doing his best to keep it together.

The two boys spent the majority of the hike with the mouthpiece in their mouths.  As a result we had to stop three times on the way down for Nader to relieve himself.  At least they didn't get dehydrated.

Climbing out of the falls

Better resolution would show the falls in this picture.   The falls are that white dot almost directly in the center of the picture.

Finished and Tired

Camping

We've spent a fair amount of time camping this summer.  Sometime back in June I spent a long weekend up at the ranch (that's what my Grandfather used to call my parents' property up by Navajo Lake on the North Fork road, it never caught on, but I remember him when I say/write it).  I took Jessi and the boys and a nephew and niece.  We hiked a bit, played a bit of ball, ate lots of junk food and even did some fishing.

 We rented a pontoon boat from the Navajo Lodge.  This turned out to be a blessing as it was so windy there is no way I would have felt safe on the lake in a rounded rowboat.  Most of the time we spent trolling along the north shore of the lake and that is where we caught all our fish.  As I recall Jessi and Ashlyn spent most of the time laying down in the front of the boat to stay out of the wind.

These next few pics are poor because of my camera, but the kids had a great time playing with glow sticks after it got dark.  Of course they got one stuck 20 feet up in a tree.

Melissa showed up after a day or two to make sure we were alive.  That's her on right.

Sports

What a great sporting weekend this has been.  The Utes win over UCLA was a great way to start the weekend, but the football games today were just wonderful.  First Peyton plays an awesome game against the evil empire and Tom Brady, who by the way scores at least a 9 on his contribution to the loss with the many overthrows he made, then the team that spurned Alex Smith got burned.

I couldn't be happier to see the 49ers lose  but the way they lost was just so sweet.  Seeing Kaep fumble then throw two interceptions to finish the game was just so enjoyable.  I'm not a big Seattle fan, but I might have even cheered for Tom Brady over the 49ers.

On that note why don't we question Crabtree's miraculous recovery from ACL surgery?  Is there any question these athletes are juicing?  I read an article the other day comparing Crabtree to Lindsay Vohn.  They are both world class athletes with all the latest technology to help in their recovery.  One is in the NFL that has shown over and over again that the number one priority is keep their stars on the field regardless of the risk, the other is in the olympics that has the most rigorous drug testing protocol anywhere.  One started playing 2 months ago, 10 months after the initial knee injury, the other just pulled out of the olympics 14 months after her initial injury.  Really?  The big question is how have the NFL and NBA escaped the PED controversy while MLB and cycling have gone down in flames?

I'm Back

My lack of blogging coincides with my aquisition of an ipad and frequent use of Facebook.  That changes now.  I recently purchased a keyboard for my Ipad (though it will take some time to get used to the small size and feel of this keyboard) and I made a resolution that I will not get on Facebook at home.  So I'm back.

I feel I've missed out on quite  bit of gloating what with the Utes beating that team down south some many times I've lost count.  I was happy that Jabari Parker didn't get the Chris Burgess treatment from the current Cougar coaching staff.

The older kids got new bikes for Christmas so we've been on a few cold rides over the past few weeks.  I'm excited to take Spencer out on some of the dirt roads when they dry out.

This is a somewhat pathetic post, but I'm hoping they'll get better.