The second week of our Utah trip was highlighted by a four day camping trip to Daniels Summit east of Heber. Mike's family came over from Vernal, and Tiffany and Brian even came up for an overnight stay. Madeline immediately fell in love with Mike's kids' new kitty.
The weather was cooperative, though not overly warm. We were above 8,000 feet in elevation, and the spring and early summer in northern Utah has been unseasonably cool. Coupled with the extreme amounts of snow Utah received this past winter, long pants were more suitable than shorts for most of the week. Strawberry Reservoir was easily seen from our camp site.
Uncle Mike was plenty popular with the kids because he brought his work truck with a cable winch on the back and made a super-cool zip line that provided hours of entertainment for the kids. Here's Jessica on a zip run.
Emily having a zip turn.
Madeline coming to a stop.
As many of you are aware, Tiffany had a baby about a month ago. Madeline loved holding the baby kitty, but maybe liked holding baby Lily even more. Baby Lily even stayed overnight one night at the camp, but did not roast marshmallows (although she did hang out by the fire with us).
Four wheeler rides were near constant entertainment as well. Because snow blocked much of the dirt road that makes up Daniels Loop, we weren't able to ride as far as we might have otherwise, but we did have plenty of places to ride, and we even logged a couple of trees that had fallen across the road so that we could ride farther. This is Emily and Megan with MJ on the front.
Joanne, who thinks having to stay in a Motel 6 is camping, came up on Wednesday and Friday, just for the day. It was nice that the camp was only about 45 minutes from her mom's house in Orem so she could go home, shower, sleep in a bed, and still get to have a few four wheeler rides with us.
At one point, we wanted to ride farther on the road than anyone had gone yet this spring. We came upon a group with two four wheelers that had stopped at a snow drift blocking the road and were debating whether or not to attempt busting it. I decided I would try. I was on my dad's ATV, which has four wheel drive, but I didn't put it in four wheel drive (dumb) and didn't get a very good run at the drift because I had Jessica on the back with me and I didn't want her to get thrown off. So I ended up stuck about 3/4 of the way through the drift. Fortunately Mike's wife Angie had her dad's four wheeler which has a winch, and they were able to pull me out. By the next day, the drift had melted a good bit and we were able to get through, but only a short distance further, more snow blocked the way.
The mountains were beautiful, and the Quaking Aspens were just starting to get their leaves. The snow melt provided ample water; in some places, entire meadows were flowing. We stopped at some seasonal waterfalls for some photos. This is Megan, Madeline, MJ and Emily at a little rocky roadside waterfall on Daniels Loop.
Our girls took a shining to learning to ride ATVs. Mike's daughter Corinne has this little green single gear Kawasaki. This is Jessica tearing up the scene on it.
Emily had her own turn riding, and though a bit more tentative than Jessica, she did fine and had a blast.
At the very top of Daniels Summit there is a lodge, restaurant and store. It is only a mile or so from where we camped and is accessible by four wheeler. Madeline was enamored with this giant bear carving in front of the lodge.
Here is a little sample of the snow that's still present at the summit. I told Madeline to stand by it to give some perspective.
At the summit store, Joanne found this gigantic gummy snake and just had to buy it for Madeline. It was three feet long before Madeline started eating it.
It wouldn't be camping without s'mores. After four days of mountain living, on Saturday it was time to call it good. We took a few last four wheeler rides and then broke camp to head home and clean up before Sunday.
Sunday was Father's Day and the kids made M&M bow ties for the dads during Primary. Jessica decided to pose with me.
Sunday after church we got to go see Grandma North at Maurine and Rex's house. I kept my tie on. Grandma was doing good and it was nice to visit with her for a little while.
I've been a lot of places in the world in my life, and it's still hard to find a sight that compares with a Utah mountain sunset. Photos really don't do it justice.
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