Utah Summer: Mountains

No matter how much we enjoy our day to day life in Omaha there are two things we miss dearly that it will never possess: family and the mountains. Up until we moved to Omaha, Scott and I both spent our entire lives surrounded by the mountains of Utah and enjoyed all the outdoor recreation they provide. Whenever we come back to Utah I am amazed at the immediate comfort and peace I feel having mountains around me again. 

On our first day in Utah as we were driving through a canyon Mason and Brynn said that we were going up on the mountain when Miles asked, "What is a mountain." Sometimes I forget that Miles was only one when Ellie was born which ended most of our outdoor activities until we moved to Omaha when Miles was just two. He doesn't have the memories of spending time in the mountains like Brynn and Mason do. Brynn explains the absence of  mountains in Nebraska by telling people that we live on the very top of the mountain in Omaha so we can't see the mountain. These things only made me more determined to spend every moment we could in the mountains hoping my kids will grow up loving them the way I do even though we don't live by them. A few of our favorite excursions included:

 Rollerblading to Bridal Veil Falls. This used to be one of our favorite places to come with our playgroup when Mason and Brynn were little. It has become much more popular than it was back then, but we still enjoyed climbing and playing in the falls the way they did when they were little. 

Hiking to Stuart Falls was at the top of our Utah Summer to do list.  This is one of my favorite, family friendly hikes. It was full of some incredible views. Miles had endless energy on the way there and ran practically the whole way, jumping off every rock and log he could find along the trail and striking funny poses in every picture. On the way back his little legs were a little bit tired. Mason and Brynn enjoyed playing word games while we hiked. (i.e. 100 grand - grand slam - slam dunk - dunk tank - etc.). When we got to the falls it was a little more exciting than when we hiked to "The Falls" at Platte River State Park in Omaha earlier this summer. (We accidentally walked right past "The Falls" without noticing because they were little more than rapids in a stream.) Scott and the kids played around in the water and I was designated to carry everyone past the pokey rocks back to their shoes after. This sure made me miss the days when Provo Canyon was practically in our backyard.

On August 14, 2004, Scott and I hiked up to the Bear Claw Lodge at Sundance Resort where he surprised me with a candlelight dinner and a diamond ring. 11 years later we returned to the scene of the crime on a little ziptour date.  It was breathtakingly beautiful and exhilarating! 

The exact place where Scott proposed.

Our time spent in the mountains was wonderful but made me very homesick to be back in the state I love.