Our Trek West: The High Uintas

I love Utah in the summer! As a native Arizonan I enjoyed escaping the sweltering "Valley of the Sun" for the cool, green mountains in northern Utah. One sweet memory I have is of our picnic at Mirror Lake in the High Uintas. Emma was a little toddler and I had to carry her around in a backpack to keep her out of trouble while my cousins and I hiked around the water. Rick spent much of his time squatting beside the little run-off streams, catching fish with his bare hands.

Lala hoped to recreate this lovely excursion one afternoon before we all had to go our separate ways. We all caravaned up the mountains in our shorts and sandals, not realizing that summer hadn't arrived in that part of the state. We drove where the GPS told us, but we couldn't recognize our old spot because of all the SNOW. In fact, we drove past the real turn off because it was gated off and blocked by mounds of unplowed white stuff.

We drove up and down the road, trying to find a place to park and play. Every 10 minutes we would all pull over, laugh, and shake our heads. It was actually chilly outside! Luckily, some brought sweatshirts and blankets. By pooling our resources, the kids could munch on a meal of cookies and crackers too.

Ultimately, we found another small lake at a lower elevation (less snow, more mud). The kids needed to run after all the driving. Never mind that that clouds were threatening to rain and thunder clapped in the distance!

Dusty was smart enough to bring her camera. She snapped some cute pictures as we explored the lake and threw rocks in the water. Rick, my ever resourceful husband, scoured the shores for fishing remnants. He found some line here, a hook there, and made himself a janky fishing pole. Within minutes he caught a fish!

An idea began to surface in Rick's mind. Jake was already halfway through the requirements for his fishing merit badge, why not complete the work right now? Rick pulled Jake aside and taught him to swing the fishing line in circles around his head and then cast it into the water. He never did catch a second fish.

Fortunately for Jake, Rick had packed his first catch in the snow. He wrapped it up in a grocery sack so that Jake could gut, clean, cook, and eat the fish at the condo. At least Jacob could take care of those requirements. The actual catching of the fish would have to happen another time.

Miraculously, none of our Colyar babies fell in the water that day. We managed to have a lovely time at the lake, for about 40 minutes. Then we got too cold.

Folks started talking about pizza and headed back for their warm cars.

Rick, Jake, and I lagged behind the group because we were still hoping to wrangle a fish. The rest got a head start with the plans to meet up at Provo Falls before heading into town.

When we finally got on our way, we noticed that we didn't get cell phone reception. We weren't worried of course, since the family was waiting 10 minutes down the road at the falls. Unbeknownst to us, they had all missed the turn off and decided to carry on down the mountain.

We stopped at the swollen falls, but didn't see a soul. The rain started up, so we thought it best to keep on down the road. Jakey took a quick picture of us though. Check out that water!

The heavens opened up and POURED. The rain was so heavy, we could barely see as we made our way through the dark forest. Suddenly, we came upon a felled tree laying across the road. It blocked both lanes and cars backed up in no time. Rick and some of the other drivers braved the weather and worked to remove the tree.

Someone had a small hatchet so they were able to chop at the tree and move it out of the way. By the time Rick got back in the car, he was completely soaked through his clothes. But, we were on our way! Short story long, we were able to meet up with the fam at a pizza joint and retell our crazy adventure. And, I thanked the heavens once more that I married my amazing husband!