Red Pine Trail with the grandkids

Nothing gives me more joy than spending time in the outdoors with those I love, and my grandkids are some of the finest reasons for being out there. I love being able to share the outdoors experience with them. My love of the outdoors is one of the things I'd really like to pass on to all my children and grandchildren.

Jude getting ready to go.

Yesterday, my son Ben and I took his kids and three of my other four grandkids up the Red Pine Trail in Little Cottonwood Canyon. It was great! Ben packed little Jude on his back, and eventually, ended up carrying Mimi for significant portions of the trail. A couple of the other kids were getting tired and the breaks just weren't cutting it for getting them rejuvenated (and at least one of them needed to go potty really bad and couldn't be talked into doing it in the woods), so we ended up turning back before making it to the lake, but we still had a lot of fun.

Early on in the hike. The kids were loving it.

We began hiking right at 9:00 and decided after a few minutes that we'd need to probably stop at around 11:30 to head back. It was a little cool at first and at least one of the kids put on her jacket. It's a shady trail for the most part, which is great on a hot summer day. The kids were enamored with the ground squirrels (potguts), chipmunks, and butterflies that were in profusion.

These little critters were everywhere.

Not as many wildflowers as Albion Basin maybe, but there is beauty everywhere you look.

After about a mile and a half, a guy passed us and said that we only had two miles left to the lake and I knew that we weren't going to make it. About a quarter mile later, I took Taggart and Gillian up the trail to look for a good place to eat lunch, while the others waited,  but we weren't going to find that either, at least not in a short enough distance for those who were too tired to continue.

White Pine Creek, where we ate lunch.

We decided to go back down and eat by White Pine Creek that we had crossed about a half mile previously. All the kids had a good time hanging around the rocks and playing near the stream. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

One final shot of all of us, the hike completed.

Snow at last

April snow showers bring May flowers? The biggest storm since the winter of 2013-2014 hit the Salt Lake Valley and deposited 9" in our city of West Valley. Too bad I was sick today, and stayed home from work and won't be able to do the same tomorrow for a last gasp ski day. I would dearly love to go.
The good thing is, by the end of the day, I was nearly back to normal. The kidney stones or whatever it was that was causing great pain, had largely subsided, praise the Lord. I went out and took a few pictures of the snow.

Yesterday, as part of the "Titanic Day" the heavy winds blew over our fence.

The lilac bush was collapsed by the weight of the snow.

I think it's going to be a few days before I can work on the raised beds again. And clean up the yard.

Anna is our little snow lover and has been waiting all season for enough snow to actually play in.

It has been snowing off and on all day and we couldn't be more grateful for it. The Lord has answered our prayers. Last I heard, Snowbird had received 22 inches and it was still snowing.