Memorial Day Part 1...

Memorial Day found us waking at 5:00 a.m.  You read it right.  The kids woke me up and demanded that we get ready so we could be to the Fire Department Breakfast by 6:00.  We made it by 6:25.  We mingled with 1100 and something of our closest friends as Reed scrambled eggs, the kids bussed tables, and I held up the wall, or the sink, or flipped pancakes.  Jake was so good he received a tip, and Reed and I were instructed in the finer details of child labor laws.  It was all good.  Not nearly as awkward as I thought it would be, due to the fact we are no longer members of the department.  

Afterwards, Niki and Jeff invited us on an outing.  Our first stop was Heber City, where we dined on delicious milkshakes and fine burgers, at Granny's. 

Reed enjoyed his shake thoroughly.  Lick those lips, baby...
We then set out to find Cascade Springs.  We knew where it was, the only problem was that "The Loop" was closed, and we had to take an alternate route in.  Two roads converged in Midway, and we took the road less traveled.  We traveled along, eventually hitting a dirt road, and still we traveled.  The mountains were beautiful - and snow covered.  It looks to be a good water year.
The road wound higher and higher into the mountains, until we were almost at the summit.  Did you know that Utah means "top of the mountains?" and that is where we found ourselves when we got stuck, and could go no further.  Lucky for us, Jeff was there, and was able to pull us out.  The snow is still rather deep in some places, making those obscure roads nigh impossible to navigate.
We backed down the hill into a clearing where we learned several life lessons, the first of which was that Cascade Springs was 11 miles away from where we were.  The kids learned that fun can be had in the most unexpected places.  Taylor learned to relieve herself in the woods, after many failed attempts, due to stage fright, teasing, or the fear of critters.  Torey learned, or rather we did, that she is very nervous in the truck when making steep climbs.  She did however manage to catch Jaycie when she was running out of control down the hill.  Jake learned that no matter how far you are away from home, there are still "lunars" (aluminum cans) to be recycled, and that they can still find their way into the back of the truck to be brought home.
Stay tuned for Memorial Day Part 2.... Finding Cascade Springs.