Cedar Mountain Video - Part I

Well, I never got to posting the other two parts of our Cedar Mountain trip, but I did get to make a video!  YouTube or my ISP, I'm not sure which, couldn't handle the nigh unto 10 minute length so I had to break it into 3 parts.  Here's the first:

Cascade Falls

We planned a day in the mountains yesterday with our friends, the Bairett family and left Cedar around 8:30am.  What resulted was a wonderful time (for the most part!) visiting some wonderful, amazing feats of nature.  The resulting trip will take three or four posts. Here is part #1:

Thirty years ago Grandpa Brower took a bunch of us cousins to visit a few of his favorite haunts from his County Ag Agent days.  I had memories of a waterfall coming out of a cave on the side of a mountain and a dusty road driving to the trailhead but I never knew its name or location.  Our first stop yesterday was Cascade Falls, just 40 minutes or so from our house up on Cedar Mountain.  As we hiked the trail and neared the falls it dawned on me that I was looking at the same trail from my childhood memories.  What rejoicing!  Here are photos from this leg of our journey:

It was a beautiful morning with the sun looking down directly on Zion, making it stand out.  We had to stop!

A look into Zion National Park. 

At the trailhead

G spots the falls.

On the trail...

Cascade Falls!

Family photo op in front of the falls.

Joseph made his way to the actual cave - a rather precarious climb.  Apparently the cave is traversable for more than 100 yards.  I want to return when the water flow is down.

Dad & Dizzy in front of the falls.

Dizzy the Outdoor Girl

Cascade Falls making its way down the mountain.

Beautifully colored rocks - fun to climb!

Looking out at Zion National Park on the return hike.

Taking a break before heading off.  Next stop... the Ice Cave!

Thunder Ridge ~ 2008

Joseph's first foray into the world of summer scout camps took place a couple of weeks ago.  I was fortunate enough to be able to go as well.  We left early Monday morning and returned at 10am the following Saturday.  Here are some photos from the week:

Camp Thunder Ridge is located up in the beautiful Cedar mountains north of Brianhead Ski Resort:

Our camp and the tarp that saved the day during the rainhail Friday night:

Joseph working on Basketry and Environmental Science

Pioneering:

Joseph earned the following merit badges, more than any other boy in the troop:

Archery

Basketry

Communications

Environmental Science

First Aid

Leatherwork

Pioneering

Pulp & Paper

Wilderness Survival

In addition to earning many merit badges the boys worked hard on several of the extracurricular activities.  One of the boys' favorite was the C.O.P.E. course.  It stands for something like Cooperative Organization Physical Event...something like that.  They did three events.  The first was an old fashioned group group board walk:

The second C.O.P.E. course involved lifting a tire onto a 10 foot telephone pole and lowering it to the ground, all without any person or the tire touching the pole:

We succeeded!  The third fun little course consisted of five tree trunks in the ground and all eight members of our party had to be standing on a trunk (which meant we had to share) to complete it.  And we all had to start at one end jumping from one trunk to another without toucing the ground:

The other leader, Rory Ackroyd and I participated in the Scoutmaster Golf Challenge.  You had to carve and assemble your own golf club and ball.  Rory handled the club.  I did the ball:

We lost.  Next time we need to go for a bigger, heavier ball that will push through the brush better.

Another extracurricular activity was the Polar Bear Swim.  This consisted of jumping into a snowmelt-fed lake at 6am in the morning at 9,500 feet elevation and swimming 50 meters. Joseph and I, Rory and one other boy were foolish enough to do such a thing:

Before                                               ...and...                                                 After

Another extracurricular activity involved duct taping each other to a pine tree.  I think they went through two rolls of duct tape:

Each morning all the troops gathered around the flag pole and had spirit contests consisting of singing patrol songs, etc.  We won the prized "spirit stick" for our rendition of a catchy, camp-made little diddy:

Here we are with our esteemed stick.

One evening our troop hiked the "Honor Trail".  Lots of pretty views and good advice from various camp staff members:

Both Rory and our Scoutmaster, Adrian Gunter, who came up each evening celebrated their birthdays at camp.  Joseph surprised them each with a present, wrapped up into mysterious shapes.  We all rejoiced when they shared their booty:

Rory and Adrian.  Two great guys.

Sunset at camp:

Morning in camp:

The boys cooked all the meals:

Friday night it rained like cats and dogs.  We even got some quarter inch hail.  Happily by the time we packed up Saturday morning, most everything had dried.

We woke up early Saturday morning and hiking to the top of a nearby peak called the "Eagles Nest" overlooking Thunder Ridge, Brian Head Ski Resort and the surrounding area.  We watched the sun rise, yelled loudly and listened to our echos.  Fun!

 Good times!!!

Deer in the Headlights

It's been a very busy four weeks since our last post.  Sorry I've been such a slacker!

Last Monday, Liesl and Jacob woke up bright and early and headed down to the Church Fruit Farm south of town with a two other sisters from the ward.  The Church was done with their harvest but there was still a good deal of fruit left - free, um, for the pickings you might say.  They brought back 1,000 lbs or so of apricots and spent the next 48 hours converting them into nectar, leather, syrup and jam.  All of Monday was fraught with problems as they worked.  The disposal at the house where they worked broke, as Liesl said, "on her watch".  Then a borrowed, $400 vitamix (?) blender thing died, again on Liesl's watch and then on the way home late at night after an exhausting 17 hour day she hit a deer in the Honda.  Deer parts went this way and that, she said, but fortunately the airbags didn't deploy.  Nevertheless a couple grand worth of damage was don and a good deal of deer hair embedded throughout the grill, bumper and radiator. 

It could have been much, much worse.  Joseph and Liesl, who were both in the car, were uninjured.  Our comprehensive insurance deductible is only $100 and we have rental coverage.  In Utah, apparently you have to get a police report after this kind of incident.  Our good friend, Brian Bairett, who is a Utah state trooper came right over and wrote it up.  The car is in the shop.  Not sure when we'll get it back.

In other news, that same evening before Liesl got home I heard Lucky barking rather excitedly out back.  I found him on the patio going head to head with a scorpion:

Here's the critter cleared and ready for action.

In a more attractive vein, here are a couple of cute photos of the youngest, recently taken:

Tonight we'll be heading to a Court of Honor where Joseph will receive his Star rank.  In the next post I'll try and give that update as well as a run-down on the week long Scout Camp he recently attended (his first).  Cheers!

Family & Fun in the Sun

2008 Brower Family Reunion

Immediately after celebrating Lizzy's birthday we set off for the Manti area for the 2008 Brower Family Reunion.  Aunt Teresa put in a tremendous amount of work over the past year planning the event and she did a wonderful job.  She had a wonderful facility reserved and all sorts of great activities planned.  Here are some photos from the weekend:

Family, food and fun!

Lizzy learns the perils of squeezing a water balloon.

Lizzy has fun in the lake.

Jacob is armed and ready for one of many water balloongun fights.

Rosie and Lizzy check out the lake.

Rosie stashes a reserve lollipop in her pocket.

Kids waiting for a carriage ride

McLaughlin Baptism

A little bit o' dancin'

Fun on the water

Dutch oven chicken and potatoes accompanied by corn, and pork & beans.  Delicious!

Lizzy had fun blowing bubbles - with and without a wand.

Lizzy-licious Turns Two

The past week was very eventful and will take several entries to cover, so here goes - and not necessarily in order!  On Friday Lizzy turned two.  We celebrated her birthday after packing for the Brower Family Reunion, but before we hit the road.  Here are some photos of the day:

Here Lizzy sits waiting to begin the big unwrapping.  The creation you see on the left is Joseph's doing and features something like four presents in one.

Upon opening a present from Grandma Arnell Lizzy insists on trying it out then and there.  On the left she is baring her substantial belly in an attempt to communicate her desire to disrobe.  On the right she patiently waits for her valet to ready her wardrobe.

Pants are added.  I love the photo on the right.  The perfect profile of a two year old.

The dress is donned.  Also featured is a new shovel and more bubbles - both gifts, I believe, from Joseph.

Siblings watch on and enjoy the festivities.  G sports her new hair-doo, cut to length by request.

Lizzy enjoys a piece of her birthday cake. 

Some raw footage of the day.  Happy Birthday Lizzy!!!

Ashdown Gorge

The local forestry service sponsors community hikes once a month.  We didn't know Saturday's destination but I buckeled up the oldest four kids in the van and off we went to the rendevous point.  We drove up Cedar Canyon 15-20 minutes and were led to the trailhead which I had passed many times before but never seen.  What was touted as "a fun hike for kids" turned out to be a tad too adventurous for anyone under the age of 7 - involving no trail and a lot of river fording, etc.  A few tears not withstanding we had a great time.  We were told that there are significant waterfalls and a 100 ft.arch about 90-120 minutes up the river.  We didn't make it nearly that far, but I hope to return with the oldest kids in the near future and conquer the gorge.  Here are some pictures from our trip:

Here are the intrepid hikers.

Tree made it a point to climb out to the edge of every fallen tree over the river.  I've included but a sampling for your enjoyment.

Ashdown Gorge is just that - a river bottom carved out of stone.  Very beautiful!

The kids were great sports.  We didn't have appropriate footware for river hiking but they jumped in, literally, anyways.  Only Joseph and his monkey skills managed to escape with dry shoes.

Here you can see Joseph and Jacob climbing a rock face seeking a way to keep shoes dry.  They ended up climbing back down and Joseph climbed along the orange strip center right.

Joseph here is pictured making the final leap after edging his way across the 30 foot long face (the beginning of which is pictured above).

Here's the wall Joseph edged along.  It had to be at least a 120 degree angle.

Brave G in one of her, well, braver moments.  She sure was a good sport.  The water was fast and cold and her dad sometimes forgot that what to him was knee high was waist deep to her.  Bad dad...

Here's Joseph and Katrina trying to make their way along another rock wall to keep their shoes dry.  Joseph ended up climbing up to directly above where he's standing now and edging his way along.  I didn't think he would make this one, but he did...

Joseph begins his climb...

Joseph made his way along a skinny ledge to the drop off point you see him at.  I ended up spotting him as he made his way down.

Here are G and Tree making their way along a cool water-carved ledge at the river's side.

The ledge was just the right height for G.  Joseph had to crouch a tad.  I walked the ledge on the way back and felt quite awkward and bulky.

A six foot drop to the river below awaited anyone who slipped on the narrow ledge.

Taking a breather (ok, a photo op) on yet another log protruding over the river.

Katrina thought it would be fun to walk a log that dangled over a bug infested, stagnant, trapped-water section of the river. Yum!

A very fun hike!

I met Liesl in town around 1pm.  She took the kids home and I headed into the office for a little Saturday catch up.  We started the day with an 8am chapel cleaning which the kids did great at and we ended the day with a wonderful visit with Grandpa and Grandma Arnell, and David and Melissa who were all returning from a trip to California for Nick and Jordon Olsen's wedding (in 118 F weather, whew!).

A great weekend!

Fiddler's Canyon Hike

Several weekends ago, right before Joseph's performance in A Comedy of Errors, I took Katrina and Jacob on a hike up Fiddler's Canyon.  Joseph was rehearsing for the play and the younger kids were too little for this particular hike.  Here are some photos from our adventure:

Along the way there were a number of instances of water carving out smooth grooves in the rock.  Pretty cool.

Some fun rock formations along the way.

Can you find Jacob in the first picture?  He had to climb up some pretty steep terrain to get there.

Lots of fun little outcroppings and places to explore.

Once we finished the hike we headed over to a local park where Joseph's troupe had gathered for some fun and games - all theater related - after their morning of rehersals.  In this particular game, three actors are "on stage" making things up as they go.  At any moment someone from the audience can walk up, tap one of the actors on the shoulder and replace them, and modify the story however they want.

Once we got home we were greeted by freak-woman-Lizzy.

Lovely-woman-Liesl, on the other hand, suprised us with donuts and milk on our arrival.  Good times!

Here are a few videos from our CA trip.  Sorry, no music on these!   The video quality is pretty bad.  The original footage is great, but I can't seem to find a good setting on Vista's Movie Maker that will convert decently on YouTube...

Gary & the kids on the River Rapids

 Liesl & the Kids on the Rockets (aka Joseph gets the last word)

Castles in the Sand