Rebecca the Serious Hunter

Lately, I have been receiving a good deal of hunting stuff in the mail. For example, for some reason I have been getting the Field & Stream magazine. While I definitely never subscribed for this magazine, I have also gotten several offers to start doing so.

I can't figure out why I am suddenly getting hunting stuff. While I am definitely into outdoor activities such as camping and hiking, I have never been hunting in my life. Nor have I ever expressed any interest to anyone in doing so.

However, a few days ago I received my favorite hunting mail as of yet: a large letter from the North American Hunting Club. I opened the large bulky letter up just to see what it was and found a letter congratulating me on my nomination into the Club. The letter explained the benefits of being a club member. For a dollar a month, I would be able to get the club's magazine, their email newsletter, and opportunities to win guns and gear, among other benefits. Plus, I would test out hunting gear, fill out surveys on it, and then get to keep it afterward for free.

No doubt, if I was actually into hunting this could be a great deal. However, as someone who has never held a gun in my life, these offers are rather comical.

But what really made us laugh were the remarks the letter made about my hunting enthusiasm. For example, the letter reads:

"Why you?

Well, it's no secret among your friends and family that you are a dedicated hunter. As someone who is devoted to the sport, you're exactly the kind of person our Club is always looking for."

And...

"Only serious hunters are nominated. It's not for beginners! But it's not to say you need to be a pro to belong either. This Club is for hunting enthusiasts who constantly want to learn more. To improve their skills. To deepen their understanding of the sport. To improve with every hunting trip."

And...

"Why so much for so little? Let me explain...

You see, avid hunters like yourself are very valuable to the makers of hunting equipment and accessories. They want your attention."

Along with the letter, the envelope was loaded with other little free gifts: a sheet of return address labels, a notepad, a hunting license holder, and two decals (a white buck figure and a banner stating I am a member of the Club) to place on my car.


Who knew that the North American Hunting Club would consider someone like me a good nominee?

Mount Ogden

Friday evening Rebecca and I went camping again. We stayed at the Upper Meadows campground near Huntsville. We got there pretty early in the day and were just walking along the creak when we saw a birds' nest (a barn swallow nest to be exact) under a bridge. We found that the camera's flash made the chicks excited.




The next day, after eating milk and graham crackers for breakfast (we forgot the cereal), we drove to Snow Basin Ski resort and hiked Mt. Ogden. It was a pretty long hike but there were some really great views, and there was a lot of variety in the landscape.









There were also a lot of beautiful wild flowers including this one (Rebecca insists that I mention it's a Fleabane). We didn't notice as we were taking the pictures, but if you zoom in you can see that the bright red spots are actually tiny bugs!

We were also able to rest for a while and refill our water at the lodge at the top before hiking the rest of the way to the peak. Here's a shot of us at the top with the Salt Lake Valley in the background.



As you can see in the picture above, I was really happy we could ride the gondola down for free and didn't have to walk all the way back down. Rebecca was happy about it too, but she didn't think the pictures of her turned out well enough to keep. This last picture of the peak was taken on our way down.

Shakespeare Festival and Cedar Breaks

Friday Nate and I drove down to Orem where we met up with my family and then rode with them down to Cedar City for the Shakespeare Festival. I went to the festival several times before with my family before getting married, but this was Nate's first time there. We only went to one Friday evening play this year, but it was definitely a good one. We saw The Comedy of Errors, and it was very well done. The actors did an excellent job and really brought the play to life. It was hilarious, and we did a lot of laughing.


The next morning Nate and I visited his grandparents in Enoch. Then we headed up to Cedar Breaks with my family. Even though I have been here many times, I have never really gotten tired of these beautiful views.

My two brothers, Nate, and I headed down along the Ramparts Trail next to the visitor's center. This trail follows the rim of the canyon and leads to some nice view points.











Along with lots of interesting rock formations and grand views, there are also many interesting twisted old bristlecone pine trees to see along this trail.




After finishing our hike, we all ate lunch and visited a couple other view points before heading home.

Blackhawk

A couple weeks ago, my former horseback riding instructor Geneva informed me that she and her family were spending a week or so up at Blackhawk camping and riding. This is something they do every year with a group of friends and their horses and families. Geneva also invites her students to come up for a bit as well. I was also invited, so first thing yesterday morning I drove down to Payson and up the Nebo Loop to Blackhawk. Everyone else was gone at the time except for Geneva and her daughter. The three of us saddled up and headed out. I rode Kane, Geneva rode Kala, and her daughter rode Honey. We rode around the long loop, as Geneva calls it, which took us the whole afternoon. It was great fun to walk, trot, and lope along the trail on the back of a horse while enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery and the good company.









The trail wound along steep ridges, over open meadows, by trickling springs, past wind weathered evergreens, and through flower laced aspen groves. Besides the great scenery, there were plenty of squirrels to see, and lots of cows to chase. There were lots of birds too, including the sage grouse that would fly up suddenly from the brush and startle our horses.


Geneva and I playfully took pictures of each other at the same time. Below is a picture taken towards the end of the trail as we headed along a ridge. The view from here was fantastic. The highest point of dark green mountain in the middle ground is Blackhawk, and the campsite is just below there.




Below to the left is a view looking back on the ridge from where the picture above was taken. Below to the right is a picture of Geneva with her daughter back near the campsite.









Here I am riding Kane through the pasture in front of the campsite with Loafer Mountain in the background.

After the ride, we let the horses graze. They were certainly hungry after the long ride. I was feeling pretty tired and hungry myself by then, and today I am super stiff and sore. That is what I get for riding about six hours or so after not riding much for so long. But it was definitely worth it!

Waterfall Canyon

Tuesday after Nate got home from work, we headed up to Ogden to hike up Waterfall Canyon: a short 1.2 mile jaunt up to a pleasant 200 foot waterfall trickling down a steep rock face. The sunlight bouncing off the water's cold spray even created fleeting little rainbows along the waterfall.





We hiked up with our friends Cambria and Tyson, and their son Jeffery. Originally, we had planned on doing this hike with them last fall, but that just didn't work out. So, we were glad for the opportunity to try it again with them.


Jeffery was quite the "climber" for being a little less than a year old. He definitely loved to play on the rocks.

The views around the waterfall were also pretty spectacular.