Patsy's Mine and Flag Rock

On September 16, we went on an afternoon hike to Patsy's Mine and Flag Rock in Farmington. It was a really beautiful afternoon for a hike. Patsy's mine was only about a mile up from the trailhead.

Austin and Nate outside of Patsy's Mine

This old mine runs back into the rock about 150 feet. However, the mine was pretty wet inside while we were there due to recent rains, so we didn't go down too far. There were just lots of puddles of standing water that we didn't really want to go trudging through. It is my understanding that the mine was created by a man named Patsy Morley who in the early 1900s. He  was a former boxer who started by digging it out by hand, but ultimately switched to use steam power to dig it out. He dug unsuccessfully for about twenty years hoping to find some precious metals before he mysteriously disappeared one day.

From Inside Patsy's Mine

After leaving the mine, we continued up another 0.6 mile to Flag Rock. The view from there was really picturesque, so we enjoyed it for awhile while munching on our snacks before heading back down. Luckily for us, another hiker was there too who was willing to take our picture for us.

We were also hoping to see some good fall colors along our way, but we were slightly early for that. There was just a spattering of the earliest leaves starting to change.

The Homestead

On September 8, we headed to The Homestead in Midway. My parents have taken my grandparents here for a number of years for their birthdays since they love it. We all enjoy the time there really.

That afternoon we went bowling. Nate did amazing, beating his previous record score and hitting four strikes in a row!

That afternoon we went swimming and then had dinner. We also had birthday cake and ice cream for my grandparents' birthdays.

I am so lucky to have these two awesome grandparents!

The next morning after breakfast we played some shuffleboard. Austin had fun learning how to push the discs with the poles. He also enjoyed some time on the nearby playground.

We made sure to get a group picture before Allan and Katie had to leave.

Then the three of us went on a little walk up to the top of the crater. We enjoyed the view from the top, and were even able to spot my grandparents and aunts playing golf below. We could also see the fall colors appearing up in the surrounding hills.

After our walk, we finished packing up and headed home.