Grandeur Peak, Saturday, June 18, 2011

    The trail started off lovely...a scenic stroll through the woods, the wide path skirting the babbling stream.  Porter skipped along, nose all a-twitter.  He stopped to lap up some cool, clean mountain water. We hiked upwards, shaded by maples, aspen, oaks, and firs. Wildflowers in bloom.
Happy, happy.

Wildflower:  Mule Ears

   The trail climbed up out of the forest and into a whole other clime.  Still it was lovely; the view down the valley lush.

  But with every footstep, the incline continued...it was relentless.  The trail became narrow and rocky and unstable.  The sun beat down on us.  Porter began seeking out shade, and upon finding some, he laid down.  Still, I tugged on his leash and he lumbered up on his paws and toiled on.
  Finally, we reached the summit. 
  3 hours and 3 miles from the trail head.
  Grandeur Peak is aptly named.  The view is 360*, with Salt Lake spread out to the west like a blanket of civilization and snowy mountain peaks in every other direction. 

  Lunch just below the peak: turkey sandwiches and homemade chocolate chip cookies!
  The way down was much faster--1 hr 45 minutes! The adventure down included: hearing, then spotting, a rattlesnake;  concentrating on the narrow trail--mindful of snakes and mindful of my  tired leg muscles on the rocky, narrow trail so I wouldn't fall--either down the mountain or on my tush.

Pay Day

Everything that goes up, must come down..sooner or later!  In this case, definitely later.
Friday, late afternoon.  A good time for a saunter, but probably not a full-on hike.
Thus, Scott & I went up to Park City Mountain Resort and caught the ski lift, Pay Day.  Perfect weather--sunny and warm, with a gentle breeze.  As we rose higher and higher, the sounds of laughter from the kids on the Alpine Slide faded, then disappeared.

Off the lift, we walked over to the ruins of the Silver Queen Mine, imagining 300 men working and living there.  Then we began to meader down the mountain.  We had to cross over a patch or two of snow!

Although we had purchased a trail map, wequickly we lost our bearings...but as long as we were basically heading downward, we figured it would work out.  We crisscrossed the mountain face over and over and over.  At one point, Scott said, and I quote, "I haven't a clue where we are!"  Immediately, however, he recanted with:  "Well, I have a clue, I just don't know exactly where we are."  I KNOW we've been in that situation before--many times before in our 26 years of marriage--times when he really wasn't sure exactly where we were, but this time, he actually admitted it out loud! 

Wildflower:  Mountain Bluebell

Still, we plowed on, admiring the forest beauty and the wildflowers and the pleasant air.  Looking for a moose.

 Of course, we had no choice but to plow on...we had only our feet to get us down off the mountain.
Our 20 minute ride up on the Pay Day lift...took us 2 1/2 hours to get down!! So much for a saunter.
Good thing we like hiking.  Good thing its not backpacking!
We (eventually) finished right in Park City, a block from Main Street.  Dinner at Easy Street Bistro, outside on the patio, with a water fountain next to us and a band nearby.  Now that's  Pay Day!

Joining the Tech-age

   I'm finally going to admit what my kids and hubby have known for years...I am sloooow to embrace technology.  I think I'm just preoccupied with the daily tasks of living, always trying to get the to-do list done by the end of the day.  And who wants to be a part of what everyone else is doing?  Not me...no that would be too common!  LOL
    Take blogging...everyone has a blog. And like my attitude towards annual Christmas letters, my attitude towards blogs and Facebook isn't always favorable.  Time to eat crow.  Time to join the melee.  Time to join the tech age.
     I've always been an aspiring writer, after all.
    And if you laugh at me, I totally get it!