Howdy Rowdy! Random Stuff about My Family

Redneck Thanksgiving

A little video from our outing this Thanksgiving

Posted under Recreation

Well, it’s amazing how fast 18 years can go by… we celebrated our 18th anniversary this year by going to Zion National Park and hiking Angel’s Landing. I guess it’s a testament to the number of years that we’ve been married that our planning for the trip started just days before; no 3 or 6 month ramp-up on the planning process; no exotic location with 5-star amenities… just a quick drive to Southern Utah and a couple of nights stay in Springdale!

Actually, it turned out to be the perfect get-away and we had a lot of fun doing a few hikes and then taking in some relaxing dining and movies in the evenings.  Here are a bunch of pictures if you’ve got time to kill. 

Below is a track log of our hike to Angel’s Landing with a link to some interesting GPS analysis of the hike. One little tidbit… 2,500 vertical feet from base to summit! Both Natalie and I were a little apprehensive before the hike; we’d read about how many people have died from falling over the edge on the hike. So… if it’s 2,500 feet down… assuming free-fall terminal velocity is about 120 mi/hr, then you’d have approximately 14 seconds of time to contemplate meeting your maker… that’s something to think about!  However, it appears you could pull in your arms and legs, achieving 200 mph, and make the trip in a quick 8.5 seconds!

 

 

Posted under Recreation

Over this past weekend we took the scouts to Goblin Valley.  The weather was excellent and we had a great time.  We camped to the West of the main park entrance — campground and all surrounding areas were very crowded be we were able to find a great little spot with some small coves that made a great campground.

Saturday morning we broke camp early and headed into the park.  We had a great hike through the goblins and made a nice loop through the main park area.  After a few hours in the park we had some lunch and then 1/2 of the scout group headed home.  Those of us who could stay a little longer drove over to Little Wild Horse trail head and did a shortened hike through the slot canyon.  That was a great hike!  Would liked to have had a few more hours so we could have done the full loop of Little Wild Horse and Bell Canyon… maybe next time.

Posted under Recreation

Well, I’ve been slacking off a bit in writing for the ol’ blog so I better get something down for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Several years ago we started a tradition of going shooting the morning of Thanksgiving Day.  A long time ago I got together with friends and played football on Thanksgiving… I thought about reviving that tradition but there are too many injuries and, frankly, its too stinkin’ much work!  So, we started to go shooting.  My brother, Mark, coined the phrase “Redneck Thanksgiving” — probably because it is just so… well, “redneck.”

The basic premis is first, bring some food to eat and hot cocoa to keep you warm, second, bring as many guns as you can with plenty of ammo, and third, bring cool things to shoot at (boring old targets are fine but think about how much more fun it is to shoot at “stuff”).

This year my Dad was out of town so the only immediate family in attendance was Mark, my brother, and Ron, Nathan and Spencer Smith, my brother-in-law and his two boys.  We met in Cedar Hills to start our trek to the “west desert” where are traditional shooting place is located.  It was raining hard but we decided that we’d make the trip and hope for the best.  To our pleasant surprise the rain quit before we arrived at the destination and the weather was calm and mild for us.  It made for a perfect shooting day!

We setup two shooting stations, one for rifles/handguns and one for shotguns and clay-target shooting.  Here are some of our pictures… click the link to see the original images — enjoy!!!

Posted under Recreation

I have a lot of great memories from UEA trips of years past. One memorable trip was when I was in high school and some friends and I went camping on Skyline Drive in the mountains above Centerville. It was cold and snowy but we had a blast sitting by the fire, eating pizza delivered from the valley by one friend, and shooting Roman candles at each other.

This year we enjoyed wonderful weather and the company of good friends in Moab, UT. We stayed at an awesome place called the Moab Wilderness House. It is an eco-friendly home located in a remote canyon about 10 miles southwest of Moab. Reaching the home requires an SUV as you travel moderately rough dirt roads and cross two streams.  The setting was spectacular and the remote location provided a real getaway.

During our trip we rode ATVs (thank you Olpins and Tolds), went mountain biking and did some hikes. The kids also enjoyed the brisk water in the pool and alternated between the pool and the hot tub to stay warm.

For me, the best part of the trip was just getting away to a remote location that was peaceful and so scenic. Each evening the sun would set the canyon ablaze with brilliant orange, red and yellow colors. The changing aspens were a nice contrast to the beautiful red cliffs. From the patio we had a spectacular view of the entire canyon.

One funny part of the trip was when the kids were playing music from their iPods and Porter decided he would show us his dance moves — can’t really describe it, you just need to watch.  Pretty good for a 4-year-old!

 

Posted under Family, Recreation

This past week has been very difficult.  Some friends in our neighborhood lost their 17-year-old son, Tyler.  We’ve spent the week grieving with them and trying to lend help where possible.  Yesterday we attended the wonderful, uplifting and inspiring funeral.  Our hearts go out to Traci and Rob during this difficult time.

Reflecting on the week we realized just how little we’ve been together as a family and how worn out we were (mostly Natalie).  We decided our family needed a low-key outing so we could reconnect a little bit.  So, we headed up American Fork Canyon for a picnic dinner and then we made s’mores over a fire.  The canyon was beautiful with the autum leaves changing and a few fallen leaves swirling across the road.  The temperature was just perfect too; just a hint of crisp, cool air letting us know that Fall has begun and Summer is definitely over.  We were the only people in the camping/picnic area and it was good for everybody to forget about scool, work, church, etc. and just relax.  I’m just thankful for wonderful kids and the good memories we made today.

Posted under Family, Recreation

On August 14th, 2008 we hiked “The Subway” with some friends.  Our guides, the Paxmans, had hiked it once before and talked us into going with them.  I had high expectations for the hike and was totally blown away.  It is the most incredble hike I’ve been on and the formations and scenery are incredible.  It is a strenuous all-day hike that took us about 10 hours to complete (including time to stop and play along the way).  Our family group included Natalie, Davis, Thane, Eli, and myself.  The other families that went were Tolds, Paxmans, and Smiths.

 

Here is a link to my GPS track — batteries went dead for a portion of the hike but you get the general idea.  To see a detailed breakdown of the GPS log click the image below.

 

Posted under Recreation

Today we hiked to Timp Cave with some of Natalie’s family who were visiting from Arizona. John & Allison Davis, along with their kids, hiked to the cave with us. The weather was pretty hot but probably wasn’t that bad for our guests who are used to that Arizona heat! After the hike we met Ken and Linda, Natalie’s parents, and had a picnic lunch at a nearby park in the canyon.

Posted under Recreation