Utah Trip: Part 3 (Finale)

After leaving Millsite, we headed to Boulder Mountain for the Thaine and Patra Taylor (my grandparents) family reunion. My grandparents had two daughters, so happily we're all close since there aren't many of us. We converged at the Aquarius Ranger Station, high up in the mountains above Loa where my parents live. It's not used as a ranger station any more, since technology has made it unnecessary for a ranger to be a live-in lookout for fires. So, anyone can reserve and use them for personal purposes. It's still pretty primitive camping, except there's a one-bedroom cabin and a kitchen...still have to use an outhouse. :-)

Mom and Aunt Nonnie planned delicious meals and super fun and silly games that everyone loved. Funny to see what kind of entertainment we came up with out in the middle of nowhere. What a blast!

The kids decorated their goodie bags for all the prizes they won.

Seth showing Grandpa his loot from the scavenger hunt.

Matt's favorite thing to do...take his little sweetie hiking!


Our whole Chappell family together again...it's been too long!

The Sannar family - aunt, uncle and cousins (we missed you, Paul and Mike!) - by the way, any family reading this, I need pictures of everyone together and of the fishing game. :-)

One day we piled in the went fishing at Cook Lake enjoyed the lake all to ourselves. It was a bit of a treacherous drive, and the kids in the back got bounced around quite a bit. Matt's GPS recorded the elevation at more than 10,000 feet. Thin air, but clean air! Take a look at that smooth water...a perfect backdrop for a little boy and his grandpa fishing.

And guess what? The lucky Mickey Mouse fishing pole scored again! Seth was so excited to reel it in and take a look at it...that is, until it started flopping around, at which point the freaking out commenced. This is him trying to get away from it.

Despite the brief panic episode, Grandma helped Seth cast his pole back out to wait for another bite.

And look at that! It's been over 20 years, I'd say, since I last went fishing, and I've still got it! Between those of us fishing, I think we caught 14 fish - enough for breakfast with homemade biscuits.

Lydia was happy to take a long nap and play in the rocks along the shore.

The next couple of days were spent:

four-wheeling,

watching incredible sunsets,

quilting,

(Yes, you read right. My niece, Leah, sewed her own quilt top, and my mom packed the quilt frames up the mountain and we all helped quilt it together!)

lovin' each other (me and my big brother and sisters)

(love this picture of Mom and Dad!!)

roughin' it - and loving it,

goofing off,

and enjoying a family vacation that was exciting, funny, touching, adventurous, beautiful and unforgettable.

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We were sad yet ready to be home at the same time. After two weeks away, I guess it's time to return to reality. We usually take two days to drive to and from Utah, but when our air conditioning compressor went out in Idaho Falls, we drove all the way in. one. day. so we could drive at night in cooler weather. Other than that little hiccup, we were blessed with a safe trip, great weather, and good times.