MORE PICTURES TOMORROW
September 26, 2010
Dear Rosalynde, Gabrielle, Naomi, Brigham, Rachel, Benjamin, Abraham and Christian!
I had a wonderful time with Abraham this weekend. For the past four months, I had been planning a Zions Narrows hike for those of my soccer players who wanted to do it. When I sent out the invitations four months ago, and about monthly thereafter, I received about 10 “Yes” answers. When it got close, the number dwindled, and finally no one came. However, that left Abraham and me to go together, for which I am glad. We had a wonderful time together. On the drive to Zions, we talked a lot about his mission, as well as about his mission the next day. Since Abraham also stayed up most of the night before ready The Hunger Games, he also slept. He drove for a while during which I finished some legal work.
We drove up to Hurricane Thursday evening. We wanted to go to the permit window early Friday morning to get a permit for the Saturday hike through the Narrows. But then when we learned definitively that no one else was coming, we decided to see if there were any same-day walk through permits available for Friday, then we would do another hike on Saturday and leave Saturday afternoon for Provo. So we were fortunate to get the walk through permits and we were fortunate enough to call the shuttle operator late Thursday evening and arrange for transportation to Chamberlin Ranch. The hike was as spectacular this year as last year, but the weather was a little warmer. The water was just as cold. Perhaps the water was a bit lower, and we did not have to swim through any holes, and the deepest hole was only up to our waists. The foliage was bright green this year, compared to late October last year when many of the leaves had turned. We made the 16 mile hike in 8 hours. I only slipped twice in the river, but caught myself with gloved hands so my camera did not get wet. Abraham did not fall at all. Thank goodness for trekking poles to help keep balance on the slick unseen rocks in the bottom of the river!
We were thrashed when we arrived back at the Temple of Sinawa, and then back at the Visitors Center. We drove into Springdale and stopped to eat at Willies Café and Saloon. The place was quite full, so the hostess took us back to the saloon. We looked at the prices and left out the backdoor. We then drove to Hurricane and stopped at JBs. Should I confess that I did order a turkey dinner from the Seniors’ menu ($6.99)? But Abraham’s all-day omelet was only $7.99. We showered and cleaned up at the motel, finished watching the galaxy game (the Galaxy lost to the Red Bulls 0-2), then went to sleep. We awoke at 5:45 AM, to drive to the Park again to catch the shuttle. This time we decided to do the West Rim trail, which started in the high for north part of the lower portion of the Park. The map said it is a 14.5 mile hike, but my GPS said it was a 19.5 mile hike. We took a longer loop so perhaps the actual distance is between the two numbers. It was absolutely spectacular. There is a part of Zions that cannot be seen from any road. It is only visible by hiking the West Rim Trail. The scenery was stunning, as many breath-taking canyons drained out to the west side of the park. We also saw the amazing upper drainages of the canyons that drain into the main valley of the park. After hike the majority of the distance on a high plateau, starting at nearly 8,000 feet, we descended to the very rim of the main valley, with shear walls dropping off. Back in the 1930s (I assume), the NPS carved out (blasted, I am sure) a path right out of the sheer canyon walls. We carefully took this path, going back and forth, and somewhat up and down, and winding around and finally ascending the promontory from with Angels Landing juts out. Then we followed that trail down to the Grotto. After being beat up the day before by the narrows, my legs, especially the lower legs and feet, we crying out for rest.
We took our water purifier and got our water from springs and streams, and wonderful food mama put together for us. Abraham carried yoghurt, fruit, granola trail bars, fruit and a jar of nuts. I also realized again that on a strenuous hike, one should not worry about over-eating. One burns lots of calories on these hikes, and keeping a steady supply of calories is important. Occasionally, I felt hungry, but thought it was not time to eat. But I realized I did much better by eating. Fresh water from springs and streams is wonderful.
Please see the pictures on our blog. I hope that you all (together with your kids) can make these hikes with me sometime.
Wednesday Mama called me at my office and suggested that I just take Abraham straight to Provo this weekend – since any other time involved too difficult conflicts. I said fine. So Thursday, Abraham packed his school things and we put them in my truck and left Thursday afternoon. In my view, it is amazing how many few things and stuff Abraham took back with him than I remember hauling out of his Freshman dorm. He really learned how to live in a Spartan style no his mission. I had a lot of room left in the truck when we threw his gear in. We drove to Provo by going through the east entrance to Zions Park over to Carmel junction, and into Panguitch and then north through Centerfield to Provo. I love that trip. I think it is so scenic. If I were rich, I would buy a ranch in that area. In panguitch, we stopped at Henrie’s drive-in, and we each got a very delicious thick shake, the kind they used to make and still make in small towns – even much better than In’n’Out. As we drove through Centerfield, we missed grandpa and grandma, who were attending the BYU football game, the unfortunate result of which was a 27-13 loss to Nevada! (How can losing to Nevada even be in the realm of possibility in God’s eternal plan?)
W arrived in Provo just before 10 pm. Benjamin and Christian soon arrived, and with their help, Abraham’s gear was all moved in in two minutes. I then drove Christian back to his dorm and had a nice but short talk about school. I got gas then dropped by Smiths grocery store (about 11 pm at that time) to get some yoghurt and fruit for the drive back to California. I learned that the hottest date, the hottest place to be in Prove on a Saturday night is at Smith’s grocery store. It was teeming with students. I remarked on this to the cashier. She said oh, yes, Saturday night and Monday night are the busiest times at the store, and there are often lines of byu students just hanging out and talking in the stork. (Smith’s is a giant store, so I suppose it is a good place to hang out). Before we were married, Mama and I ended up a store late in the evening (probably even Saturday evening) buying ice cream.
I didn’t see much of Benjamin. When I returned, he was helping Shayla with computer stuff (that is the story I heard, anyway). Benjamin gave me his bed so I could sleep, since the rest of the apartment would be up later than I needed to go to bed. So I finally got in bed about midnight. I was up at 6:00 am and I was off 25 minutes later.
It was a beautiful drive down in the early dawn, except near Beaver, the smoke from the wild fire in the mountains northeast of Beaver really mucked up the air in the entire Beaver valley. Occasionally I struggled to stay awake. The Classical channel on Sirius radio had the most beautiful program on Baroque choral music. I loved it. However, the beautiful music did not keep me awake. I finally switched to the 60s station, and tried to follow the words to stay awake. Finally, when church started in La Canada, I had Eva call me, put her phone on speaker phone (I muted my phone), and I plugged my phone into my truck’s speaker system and listened to the farewell talks for Matt Van Slooten, Mike Gooch, and Mike Weston. The talks were very good, the congregation filled up the chapel and the cultural hall, and Eva’s YW-YM choir sang beautifully. I made it home a little after 2 pm, put things away, and took a short nap.
So that was my fun weekend. (My legs are sore today.)
Love Daddy
That’s all for now.
Love Daddy
Dear Rosalynde, Gabrielle, Naomi, Brigham, Rachel, Benjamin, Abraham and Christian!
I had a wonderful time with Abraham this weekend. For the past four months, I had been planning a Zions Narrows hike for those of my soccer players who wanted to do it. When I sent out the invitations four months ago, and about monthly thereafter, I received about 10 “Yes” answers. When it got close, the number dwindled, and finally no one came. However, that left Abraham and me to go together, for which I am glad. We had a wonderful time together. On the drive to Zions, we talked a lot about his mission, as well as about his mission the next day. Since Abraham also stayed up most of the night before ready The Hunger Games, he also slept. He drove for a while during which I finished some legal work.
We drove up to Hurricane Thursday evening. We wanted to go to the permit window early Friday morning to get a permit for the Saturday hike through the Narrows. But then when we learned definitively that no one else was coming, we decided to see if there were any same-day walk through permits available for Friday, then we would do another hike on Saturday and leave Saturday afternoon for Provo. So we were fortunate to get the walk through permits and we were fortunate enough to call the shuttle operator late Thursday evening and arrange for transportation to Chamberlin Ranch. The hike was as spectacular this year as last year, but the weather was a little warmer. The water was just as cold. Perhaps the water was a bit lower, and we did not have to swim through any holes, and the deepest hole was only up to our waists. The foliage was bright green this year, compared to late October last year when many of the leaves had turned. We made the 16 mile hike in 8 hours. I only slipped twice in the river, but caught myself with gloved hands so my camera did not get wet. Abraham did not fall at all. Thank goodness for trekking poles to help keep balance on the slick unseen rocks in the bottom of the river!
We were thrashed when we arrived back at the Temple of Sinawa, and then back at the Visitors Center. We drove into Springdale and stopped to eat at Willies Café and Saloon. The place was quite full, so the hostess took us back to the saloon. We looked at the prices and left out the backdoor. We then drove to Hurricane and stopped at JBs. Should I confess that I did order a turkey dinner from the Seniors’ menu ($6.99)? But Abraham’s all-day omelet was only $7.99. We showered and cleaned up at the motel, finished watching the galaxy game (the Galaxy lost to the Red Bulls 0-2), then went to sleep. We awoke at 5:45 AM, to drive to the Park again to catch the shuttle. This time we decided to do the West Rim trail, which started in the high for north part of the lower portion of the Park. The map said it is a 14.5 mile hike, but my GPS said it was a 19.5 mile hike. We took a longer loop so perhaps the actual distance is between the two numbers. It was absolutely spectacular. There is a part of Zions that cannot be seen from any road. It is only visible by hiking the West Rim Trail. The scenery was stunning, as many breath-taking canyons drained out to the west side of the park. We also saw the amazing upper drainages of the canyons that drain into the main valley of the park. After hike the majority of the distance on a high plateau, starting at nearly 8,000 feet, we descended to the very rim of the main valley, with shear walls dropping off. Back in the 1930s (I assume), the NPS carved out (blasted, I am sure) a path right out of the sheer canyon walls. We carefully took this path, going back and forth, and somewhat up and down, and winding around and finally ascending the promontory from with Angels Landing juts out. Then we followed that trail down to the Grotto. After being beat up the day before by the narrows, my legs, especially the lower legs and feet, we crying out for rest.
We took our water purifier and got our water from springs and streams, and wonderful food mama put together for us. Abraham carried yoghurt, fruit, granola trail bars, fruit and a jar of nuts. I also realized again that on a strenuous hike, one should not worry about over-eating. One burns lots of calories on these hikes, and keeping a steady supply of calories is important. Occasionally, I felt hungry, but thought it was not time to eat. But I realized I did much better by eating. Fresh water from springs and streams is wonderful.
Please see the pictures on our blog. I hope that you all (together with your kids) can make these hikes with me sometime.
Wednesday Mama called me at my office and suggested that I just take Abraham straight to Provo this weekend – since any other time involved too difficult conflicts. I said fine. So Thursday, Abraham packed his school things and we put them in my truck and left Thursday afternoon. In my view, it is amazing how many few things and stuff Abraham took back with him than I remember hauling out of his Freshman dorm. He really learned how to live in a Spartan style no his mission. I had a lot of room left in the truck when we threw his gear in. We drove to Provo by going through the east entrance to Zions Park over to Carmel junction, and into Panguitch and then north through Centerfield to Provo. I love that trip. I think it is so scenic. If I were rich, I would buy a ranch in that area. In panguitch, we stopped at Henrie’s drive-in, and we each got a very delicious thick shake, the kind they used to make and still make in small towns – even much better than In’n’Out. As we drove through Centerfield, we missed grandpa and grandma, who were attending the BYU football game, the unfortunate result of which was a 27-13 loss to Nevada! (How can losing to Nevada even be in the realm of possibility in God’s eternal plan?)
W arrived in Provo just before 10 pm. Benjamin and Christian soon arrived, and with their help, Abraham’s gear was all moved in in two minutes. I then drove Christian back to his dorm and had a nice but short talk about school. I got gas then dropped by Smiths grocery store (about 11 pm at that time) to get some yoghurt and fruit for the drive back to California. I learned that the hottest date, the hottest place to be in Prove on a Saturday night is at Smith’s grocery store. It was teeming with students. I remarked on this to the cashier. She said oh, yes, Saturday night and Monday night are the busiest times at the store, and there are often lines of byu students just hanging out and talking in the stork. (Smith’s is a giant store, so I suppose it is a good place to hang out). Before we were married, Mama and I ended up a store late in the evening (probably even Saturday evening) buying ice cream.
I didn’t see much of Benjamin. When I returned, he was helping Shayla with computer stuff (that is the story I heard, anyway). Benjamin gave me his bed so I could sleep, since the rest of the apartment would be up later than I needed to go to bed. So I finally got in bed about midnight. I was up at 6:00 am and I was off 25 minutes later.
It was a beautiful drive down in the early dawn, except near Beaver, the smoke from the wild fire in the mountains northeast of Beaver really mucked up the air in the entire Beaver valley. Occasionally I struggled to stay awake. The Classical channel on Sirius radio had the most beautiful program on Baroque choral music. I loved it. However, the beautiful music did not keep me awake. I finally switched to the 60s station, and tried to follow the words to stay awake. Finally, when church started in La Canada, I had Eva call me, put her phone on speaker phone (I muted my phone), and I plugged my phone into my truck’s speaker system and listened to the farewell talks for Matt Van Slooten, Mike Gooch, and Mike Weston. The talks were very good, the congregation filled up the chapel and the cultural hall, and Eva’s YW-YM choir sang beautifully. I made it home a little after 2 pm, put things away, and took a short nap.
So that was my fun weekend. (My legs are sore today.)
Love Daddy
That’s all for now.
Love Daddy
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