July Part 3: Pioneer Day Weekend

Brian and I are not Utah natives, so it always takes us a little bit by surprise that Pioneer Day is such a thing. (It's a state holiday). We always think that we should celebrate it in bigger ways, but it hasn't quite landed on our radar in a way that establishes any kind of family tradition. Well, this year, we lit off a big sparkler with Michael (since he missed lighting his on the 4th of July--5th of July. We decided we should get these long lasting sparklers every time because they are awesome. They got a whole sparkler fight in before the sparkler got all used up. 

Happy Pioneer day, everyone. 

I decided to commemorate Pioneer Day, I wanted to go to the mountains and enjoy the beauty of Utah. I decided that it was time our family visited Donut Falls. I will confess, the kids weren't terribly excited to go, but go we did. 

Michael left us in the dust, as usual, and we'd catch up to him for a bit before he'd move on. It was sunny and hot, but the whole hike was invigorating. 

The best part was when we arrived at the falls and saw all the rocks that needed to be climbed to find the famous donut part of the falls. 

The kids loved climbing these rocks, and I dragged my gimpy leg up them and was so proud of myself for not slipping! 

We found the cave with the waterfall. 

And then climbed up to the falls above it. Thankfully, someone had installed these handy ropes. 

I didn't go up as far as the kids. 

Water+rocks=happy boys. 

Here's the water heading into the donut, just to the right of Brian's head. 

Heading back down was a little trickier, but we made it. Slowly, but surely we made it. 

Rachel, Gabe, and I played in the water in the cave for a bit. Originally, we took our shoes and socks off, but the water was ice cold, and the kids didn't last long that way. The rocks were a little tricky to navigate barefoot as well. 

I didn't want to leave; I love wading in streams! 

Rachel and Gabe put their shoes back on and decided they didn't care if they had to hike back down in soggy shoes. They lasted much longer in the water once they didn't have to worry about hurting their feet on the rocks. 

Here's Rachel and Gabe checking out the 8th wonder of the world--the backside of water!

On the way down, I did have to lift my left foot with my hands a couple of times when it got stuck in some rocks, which made me laugh a little bit--it just hasn't been the same since my hip replacement. I am still amazed I made it down mostly on my own and without tripping, slipping, or falling. 

According to this sign, we weren't supposed to climb up past this point, but if we had listened, we wouldn't have seen the actual Donut Falls. 

Can you spot our children? 

Michael was super sweet about helping me when he could. 

And since Rachel and Gabe already had wet shoes, they had no issues fording the stream on the rest of the hike. 

The kids tried to make friends with a squirrel. 

Michael wanted to take a different path back to the car at one point, so I went with him. We had a nice walk together, but we ended up missing our turn and overshot our car by quite a bit. We should have beat Brian, Rachel, and Gabe back to the car, so Brian was a bit nervous when he reached the van and we weren't there, and since there was no reception, he couldn't call us and find out what happened, so he headed up the trail where we should have emerged. Thankfully, Michael was able to run up and catch him. Otherwise, we might still be up there! 

After the hike, we decided to go to Brighton and ride the lifts. Michael wasn't thrilled with this decision, but he did ride up with us once. The kids and Brian all have Ikon passes, so their ride was free, and we only had to pay for mine, which was nice. We made a pit stop before taking the lift. The men's bathroom was under construction, so everyone was sharing the women's. This sign made us laugh. It was a bit awkward, but thank goodness for stall doors. 

The lift was a 6-seater, so we all got to ride together. This was my first time riding the lift at Brighton, and the kids all told me stories of their adventures and how the lift works during the winter. 

Here we all are at the top. Michael was SO happy to be there with us! 

One of my favorite parts of this lift ride was that we decided to play the theme song for Soarin' Around the World from Disneyland. It really elevated the experience and made most of us laugh. 

They let us go around one more time, but Michael didn't join us. I loved being up in the mountains for a bit longer, and I loved not having to climb to the top (I was basically spent after the Donut Falls hike/climb.) I love smelling the pines and seeing the views, and I'm grateful for the chance I have to ride the lifts with my family since I can't do it in the winter. 

Since we did this to celebrate Pioneer Day, I have to say that I'm grateful for our pioneer ancestors. They laid a great foundation in this state, paved the way for our future, and we stand on the backs of their efforts. I hope I can prove to be as faithful as they were, that I can honor their legacy. They turned the unwanted desert into a paradise, and we are grateful for their efforts. I'm glad we got to celebrate them by enjoying this beUTAHful state!