Answering a Couple of Questions

Megan B.

I tried to find out the name of the trail that I snow-shoed on with no luck. The best I can tell from Google maps is you turn on South Fork Road from Vivian Park and follow that for a long way until you get to Spring Hollow Road. (It can be easy to miss, we drove past it. If you hit a dead end turn around like we did!) It dead ends in a parking lot during the winter but there is a dirt road that may be open in the summer. Anyway we started our adventure up the hill near the dirt road. You will know it's there by the gate that can block it off.  You should be able to find the trail pretty easily since the snow is packed down. According to the picture on google maps it looks like there is a trail there in the summer too. I bet it would be gorgeous! I've also heard there is a beaver dam that you can see in the summer. It's a fun place. I hope you get to check it out.

The black line is where we went as far as I can tell.  I'm not sure how we got down off the ridge since there isn't a clear trail marked but we followed the packed snow and got back to the parking lot. Also the light spot in the meadow is what looks like a beaver dam but there is no water near it so I don't know for sure if that's it. My friend saw it years earlier but couldn't remember where. Maybe it is no longer in use? LOL!

Monica

For my pages I used Weeds and Wildflowers' Sweet and Simple kits. They have papers, elements, quick pages, etc. etc. for each and every month. I would pick them up as they came out but they are all on sale right now for 30% off. I literally just got an email saying the sale is ending soon. How's that for timing?


Debbie

You are right, the mountains just come right up out of the ground, right by us. Where I live they are surrounding us. (Don't get me wrong, the valley is actually quite large) That is why our air gets so bad in the valleys. It's like we are living in a bowl and the mountains lock the bad air in. Here are a couple of images that I got from google to show the inversion. January is usually the worst month but we can get the crappy air year around.

The mountains do provide a lot of entertainment though, especially in the summer. If we ever get to move I will miss the canyons. There are downsides to it though too. There is a little road with a couple of houses behind us but then it is literally a giant mountain that is my backyard. We literally live on the side of a mountain and have the driveway to prove it! (Anyone who reads this that has seen my house knows what I am talking about!) We get extra snow and slightly colder temperatures up here and we share the area with a lot of animals. We see deer all the time. We hear coyotes all summer long. There have been mountain lion sightings as well as wild minks. Oh and tarantulas. Ewww!

Where I grew up in Northern California we had rolling hills in the distance. You could drive into the Sierra Nevada's but even those don't shoot straight up like they do here. I think the mountains are spectacular but suppose I prefer the landscapes of my youth. I also like knowing that there is an ocean near. I really don't ever think Utah will feel like home and honestly I don't think I want it to. One of these days I will get to follow my heart and move back east. I just want to try it out. I can't explain it. For now please keep posting your pictures. I will live vicariously through you.


Thanks all for reading my blog. It means a lot to me! Have a wonderful day.