Saturday Afternoon Ride

Today my oldest brother and his wife came to visit. We decided to go to the Polar Queen to have some of their yummy fish and chips.

They use to be even better when they served them with English chips, but they still fulfill that greasy fish and chip craving. I have never figured out why they think they need to serve them with toast. Not enough carbs and fat in the fish and the fries?
Then mom felt like she was up for a ride so we drove out through Spring Lake, Santaquin, and Goshen. My brother is pretty smart and he remembered how to get to the group of white birch trees out in the fields where the bald eagles roost.

I was surprised at how many of them were hanging out there.

We counted 7 in one tree. The trees were in a field a little way from the road, but the eagles had to know we were there and they were perfectly content to have us gawk at them.
Then we drove on through Elberta to the thriving metropolis of Eureka, nearly running over a group of deer in the process. Some of them looked before crossing the road and some of them didn't.

Of course, by the time I got the camera out and working they had gotten pretty far away. It was interesting how in this one spot there was hardly any snow, but the rest of the ride there was still a lot.
It was a really pretty ride. The snow had started to melt and then refrozen and the hills were so shiny and beautiful. It looked like it would be nice, slick tubing snow. Then all the sagebrush bushes were covered with snow and they looked like little snow rocks dotting the landscape. Along one section of road there were some rock cliffs all covered with frozen water falls. So pretty.

On the way back home we stopped at the Red Barn in Santaquin for some ice cream. It was a very fun few hours of visiting, exploring, reminiscing, and eating, of course. My favorite way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Today I am thankful for

history. Both my family history and the history of the world that I live in.

nature. It's so nice to get out of the city and just enjoy all the living things that share our world with us.

small towns. I am definitely a small town kind of girl. They each seem to have their own unique personality.

Up the canyon

Today we took a little trip up Payson canyon to enjoy nature and the cooler temperatures. We all, including mom, managed to fit into our van. It's good that the newlyweds like to sit very close. Our first stop was at the Grotto for an "easy" hike. One family member questioned this rating but it was relatively flat for the most part and only .3 miles long. The last time we made this hike (more than 10 years ago) my brother was the leader of the pack and led us up the wrong trail to start with and then the actual trail was in need of some major improvements so the trek took quite a while. They have really improved the path with log bridges and a wider trail so I thought the trip was much easier this time around. The pool and waterfall at the end was definitely worth the trip. We had to share the limited sitting rocks with some other visitors, but managed to spend some enjoyable time there. My youngest son demonstrated his rock climbing ability and climbed up to the top of the waterfall and I was impressed. He and the daughter and son-in-law then took the trail up to the top and got to look down on us all, literally and not just figuratively speaking this time. We left mom in the van reading her book while we hiked and even though we were parked in a cattle crossing she was still there when we returned. She said the largest creature she saw was a fly. We continued up the canyon and down the Santaquin side. We stopped at Tiney Flats for a picnic and potty break. I enjoyed both immensely. After we finished eating, mom and I were content to sit and appreciate the cool breeze and the beautiful scenery. The people under 25 weren't quite so happy. The fact that you can't get cell phone service when you are sitting between two very tall mountains really bothered the sons. They were certain they were missing some very vital text messages. My mom asked why they were in such a hurry to leave. She said "When we get home we will just have to work." The sons told her, "You don't have to work, you just choose to work." When we started expounding on why someone had to work ie. to pay the bills, wash the clothes, prepare food... They said, "Well of course the moms and dads have to work. That's a given." How is that choosing? If the hubby and/or I didn't choose to work, would someone else pick up the slack?? Sometimes I don't think life is very fair! It was a fun trip, even if I did have to leave before I was completely ready. I chose not to work when we got home and we still all survived. The oldest son took us all to the Polar Queen, his favorite Utah restaurant, for dinner tonight (so none of us would have to work). He and I really like their Fish and Chips. The chips are English fries and yummy. We were disappointed when we got there and found out that they no longer sell English fries. It was a sad, sad moment. Today I am grateful for Trees - I love trees. They are so green and provide shade that makes it cool. Canyons - that are close enough to drive up in just a few minutes and feel the temperature drop 15 degrees. My minivan - it is nice to have a vehicle that we can all fit in together even if some of us are a little squished.