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Millie and I differ on several things in life; then again, I probably differ with most people on most things about life. One of those things we differ on is the school of thought when it comes to learning how to ride a bike. I STRONGLY disagree with the use of training wheels. I absolutely hate them and the idiot that invented the stupid things. Millie, on the other hand, believed they were a safe means to teach a child to ride a bike. Instead of butting heads over the trivial matter, Millie turned to the internet for other alternatives. She discovered a method to train which includes removing the pedals, allowing the child to learn to walk, then run, then coast on the bike, then putting the pedals back on and letting the child take the next, natural, step to actually ride the bike.

The idea looked logical and most likely effective, so we decided (together) to give it a shot.

We bought Ellery a small bike for her birthday (in April) and removed the pedals. The weather here in Utah was less than conducive to bike riding (rain, rain and snow) back in April and May, so the bike hung in the garage for most of the summer. We got it out once or twice and had to force her to get on it (she insisted on only riding her tricycle). One of the reasons she didn't want to ride the bike was because it was Dora, and not Disney's Cars. So we compromised with her and I got her a Cars helmet to ride with. We put her on the bike a few more times (without pedals) throughout the summer for a total of maybe a few hours or so.

Yesterday, Millie got the bike out again and decided to put the pedals back on. She did, and within a couple of hours Ellery was not only riding her bike, she learned how to start and stop all by herself!!! She thinks she's so big.

Although the Walls couldn't make it up to Utah this year for the annual Uinta trip I decided to keep the new tradition alive since it's such a great trip! No, I didn't go alone; I don't think all the arguing in the world would ever convince Millie to let me do that - I might get eaten by an imaginary bear or something. No big deal, I'd rather have some company anyway so I invited a few friends. My brother-in-law Brandon was the only one of those friends that could make it and I was glad to have him along!

The hike in was great. We started the hike around 1030am on Monday; perfect weather. We took our time with the 2.5 mile hike to our camping spot on the west side of Betsy Lake and set up camp before heading out to "Walter's Hole" to get a little fishing in.

It was a good first day of fishing as I reeled in this BEAUTIFUL 21+ inch brook trout!! She was big, fat and feisty with teeth that matched her temper.

Although that was the only catch from Walter's Hole that day, I think Brandon was almost as happy to see such a fish as I was to catch it... well, maybe not quite as excited. Still, it made for a great start to the fishing trip. Oh, and for those of you that might be wondering, I let the fish go. Something that big and beautiful needs to all the chances it can take to pass on those genes and ensure good fishing for my children someday!

When we got back from Walter's Hole I was so exhausted (and a little dehydrated) from the day's activities that I got a killer migraine... so bad in fact it made me vomit - four times. Then I lied down and took a two hour nap. When I got up, we went fishing some more at Betsy Lake. That night, Brandon and I were exhausted so we ate our Mountain House dinners (delicious!!!) and hit the sack. The night sky was crystal clear and moonless so the stars were out in full force. I can't remember the last time I saw the milky way so bright, so vivid, all the way across the sky!!!! We couldn't figure out what it meant! :)

The forest was absolutely silent, so ANY noise we did hear tended to wake us up, it's hard to sleep soundly when you're that vulnerable to the forces of nature.

The next day we got up early (for Brandon) and headed Betsy for some fishing. I caught a good sized cutthroat trout but Brandon's luck wasn't making for much of a fishing trip still. I decided to take him to the ace-in-the-hole fishing spot of the Granddaddy Basin - Shadow Lake. It was everything I promised him it would be. We caught a fish with EVERY cast; lost count after 20 or so. A few of the fish we pulled out, gutted and fire roasted right there by the lake - can't get any fresher than that. It was Brandon's first time cleaning his own fish, and his first time cooking and eating one over a fire like that. The fish from Shadow aren't huge, but they're delicious and fun to catch!

After a few hours of catching fish after fish we decided to make the trek back to camp for a rest before heading back to Walter's Hole. On our way back to camp, we took a short cut up the side of a cliff on the way back to camp and, being boys, we could resist to roll a few boulders from the top. We got a few REALLY big ones to get some good momentum, but didn't think to video until after we had run out of the big boulders to roll - but we got a few vids of some of the smaller ones.

We got back to camp, took a nap, then headed back out to try our luck one more time at Walter's Hole. It wasn't looking very good as we could see ANYTHING surfacing or swimming around out in the crystal clear water. Then, all of a sudden, Brandon got a bite! I rushed over to help him land it and take pictures. Another beautiful big brook trout! Not quite as big as the one I caught the day before, but not much smaller either. After pictures, we let his fish go as well.

It seems Walter's Hole will only give up one fish per day, because the remaining few hours of fishing resulted in nothing.

That night we made a huge hot fire to celebrate as we talked about the trip's accomplishments. Both Brandon and I had caught more fish than we bothered to count AND our own personal record fish as well. We could go home happy.

Note: Just for an idea of how big my fish was, the Utah state record for a brook trout (catch and release) is 23" caught by Travis L. Clark on 12/06/97 at Boulder Mountain. Next time I go up there, I'm bringing a tape measure, not just my arm and a camera.

It was a good thing we had such a good day yesterday. This morning, we got up, went to fish at Betsy (because it's the closest in proximity to our campsite) but after a few hours of casting and reeling with no fish to land or release, we decided to call it a day, head back to clean up camp and head home.

I really look forward to next years trip!



Other trip highlights:

There was snow up there this year! Quite a bit. I went sliding down it on West Granddaddy Mountain.

The bugs were RIDICULOUS!!! The past two years I don't remember then being ANY bugs. This year the mosquitoes and mutant flies were out in full force. The mosquitoes wouldn't leave Brandon alone and the flies seemed to think my head was some sort of playground. So annoying!

Rolling boulders was great, a first time experience for Brandon, and something that never gets old for the boy child in all of us!

The Basin was pretty much empty. There were only two other cars at the trail head when we came in - camping in that much solitude is something everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.

The weather was PER-FECT!!! An occasional puffy cloud during the day to keep the sun at bay, temps in the high 70s - low 80s, and the clearest moonless nights at night with lows in the mid 40s. We took the fly cover off the tent last night and slept "under the stars" since Brandon's tent is full mesh from about 8" off the ground and all the way around without the fly on.

It's always fun to see big game in the wild. We saw several deer (mostly does - female deer, not "does" as in "that does it") and a fawn and one big buck.

I hate the English language.

Anyway, a great trip! Looking forward to next year!!!

We finally went camping this year!  We realized we hadn't gone all summer and since it is coming to an end, decided to go.  Katie, Brandon and Esme came with us. 

Jacob and I found a nice camp ground up Hobble Creek Canyon.  It was nice to get away and have fun.  The girls playing in the stream and attempted to fish early on in the day.  Katie took them for a little walk.  Dinner was hot dogs, then the kids went to bed.  I'd like to say it was pretty uneventful from there but....well, we heard Aayla crying in the tent after being in there a while.  Jacob checked on and found she had opened a brand new tube of A&D diaper rash cream.  More than half was gone.  It was smeared all over the blankets, sleeping bags and all over her mouth.  If you don't know Aayla, she loves to eat creams, lotions, soaps, etc.  You have to be careful with that girl.  I knew she had eaten some.  I figured a lot since she was very pale and started choking and crying and acting like she was going to throw up.  I held her and she eventually calmed down.  I got really paranoid and worried what it would do to her.  There was no cell phone reception in the canyon so I couldn't just call Poison Control.  I finally decided to drive all the way back down the canyon to call.  They told me she would could be nauseous,  vomit, or have diarrhea.  Great.  Back to the canyon we went and she was fine.  By then it was dark.  We stayed up by the fire talking and laughing, then went to bed.  Breakfast was our traditional biscuits and gravy made by Jacob.  Yum! 

Before we left I took the girls down to the water to play some more.  Ells didn't want to get her clothes wet.  NONE of them!  She just loves to be naked any excuse she can find.
This past weekend we were able to go to the Demolition Derby with Brandon and Katie.  Why haven't I ever been to one of these before??  It was so awesome!!  Who knew a bunch of old beat up cars crashing into each other until they no longer can run could be so entertaining?  Did I mention it was awesome, cause it was.  I just need to remember to bring earplugs next time.  Don't make fun...I just want to protect my hearing.  I'd like to keep it when I'm old and decaying. 


Jacob caught a T-shirt.  He was very happy.
The girls lately have been really into side-walk-chalk.  Ellery loves drawing 'stories', or 'parties'.  She is so funny.  I can't remember what kind of party she had the other day, but it was some theme party she had drawn.  Here is a picture of her drawing the story of the 3 little pigs.  It's hard to tell but the yellow is the straw house, the black is the stick house and the blue is the brick house.  She drew the 3 pigs in pink and then started drawing the big bad wolf in black on top of the pigs because he was chasing them, and then blowing on their houses.  Note the eyebrows on the wolf.  They are angry eyebrows.

Aayla loves the chalk so much too.  She pretty much likes to draw on anything.  I keep having to tell her to just draw on the ground.  She goes for the front door, patio pillars, retaining wall bricks, siding of the house, etc.

I know the vast majority of the few posts I have done in the last year have been about our home/yard; this one is no exception.

Our grass and gardens have been doing great this summer, with only a few unfortunate exceptions. Millie decided to have a slip n slide party a few weeks ago and left the plastic tarp out way too long on a day that was way too hot. Needless to say, there is a nice 8'x 10' dead grass burn mark in the back yard. Honestly though, as frustrating as that is, the remedy is simple enough: remove plastic, water frequently, mow out dead grass as new grass grows. However, shortly after the burn, another spot appeared in one of the nearby corners of the yard. Literally, a spot.

My first thought was something along the line of "that's a strange looking dead spot." It just appeared out of nowhere and almost a perfect circle. I thought for sure this was the result of another one of Salisbury's lazy ass waste management techniques which meant I was probably going to have to break out some more concrete to save my lawn.

I was right.

It was impossible to tell just how deep the round of concrete waste was, but I took my 16lb. sledge hammer to it for about three minutes without making a scratch. It was a hot day, so I decided to give it a rest for the time being.

This morning I decided to have another go at it. I beat at the concrete again with the sledge for about 5 min. and it cracked - not much, but enough. I started to pry at it with my shovel and was able to remove a piece. With each piece that came out I thought to myself how I'm rescuing my lawn. However, with each piece that came out I had to tear more lawn up to remove more and more concrete. By the end of it all, that small spot of dead grass was just the tip of the concrete waste pile that was lurking under my lawn, waiting for enough dry hot days to kill my beautiful green carpet!You can see the dead spot from the slip n slide in the back ground of this pict... it is getting much better than it was originally.



It's a comforting to know all that concrete is now out and will be one less thing I'll have to worry about while I'm away on clinical rotations this fall, but it frustrates me to no end to think about how careless Salisbury was with our yard during construction. Oh well, it's done.