In light of the fact that Paul and Bethany and their family have relocated to Utah, we decided that it was time to put our camping equipment choices to the test: "we must buy this trailer because it has these extra beds for the grandchildren." Grace and Alice are now old enough (and responsible enough) to come on a camping trip with us.
So we saddled up and went to Smith and Morehouse campground in upper Weber canyon. We set up said trailer and began the adventure. It turned out that the trailer DID have the right number of beds for the grandkids.
We warmed up a fire pit (no restrictions yet)...
...and put on the dogs. Both girls were pretty good about cooking over the fire and eating campfire food. Of course, it is hard not to like Nathan's hot dogs. Not shown are the ears of corn we steamed right in the husks. Delish.
After dinner we went up to the reservoir to see if the fish were jumping and to see if there would be stars. Winners on both issues.
We ended the evening playing "Authors" in the trailer. So nice that all of us can read the cards. I'm sure someone won.
We had tickets the next day for Timpanogos Cave, which those of you familiar with a map will realize are not right next to each other. The extra driving turned out to be fortunate, however, because we ended up stopping in Heber to get some non-pinchy shoes for Miss Alice. Grace worked on her photobombing skills, which are already prodigious.
Before heading up the trail, we fortified ourselves with the picnic lunch of champions: string cheese, naan, lunch meat, cucumbers, fruits, etc.
The trail was 7800 feet long. The ranger told us. And they had little copper buttons in the pavement every 100 feet so we could gauge our progress.
Both girls (and the grandparents) were good hikers. Nary a grumble nor a murmur the whole way up. Here we are near the top. And still smiling. Mostly.
The cave was relatively unchanged from the last time we saw it, which was when the girls' father was about Alice's age. Most of it was relatively unchanged from the last 750 million years, so there's that.
After the cave, we rested a bit.
Then a bit more.
Then headed down the hill.
Some of us rested a bit more in the car.
For a reward, we stopped in Kamas for a world-class burger at Hi Mountain Drugstore. Really one of the best ever. The secret ingredient might have been hunger...
Cookie dough shakes were also the order of the day. Hey, there has to be some reward for all of that hot hiking.
We played more games in the trailer, and then read books by lantern light until our eyes fell out of our heads. The next morning we got up to fish. First time for the girls.
Alice was the first to catch a fish, but everyone caught several. They were too small to keep, though.
Both of the girls got the hang of casting and had a fun time practicing.
Not too much expensive tackle got lost, and it was a record low amount of cussing for Grandpa.
We went back to camp, closed down the trailer and headed home over the Alpine loop. It was a pretty windy road, and jam-packed with other nature lovers, but it was a pretty drive.
So with one successful trip in the bag, we all decided we should plan another one! Can't wait for the other grandkids to get older. So many places to explore, so little time.
