80 Days of Summer - Days 24-31

I was mostly working this week, hence the lack of posting. However, July should be a fun month with lots to do. This week, I'm taking the kids with my brother Daniel and his son Jadon backpacking in the High Uintas. We're going up Henry's Fork and potentially doing a 35 mile roundtrip hike attempting to summit King's Peak - Utah's highest mountain at 13,528. Summitting will depend on weather and the kids' fortitude. This past week has had some fun. Brandi and I went on a date to Grand Junction. We both had eye exams for contacts (she's never worn them before) and picked up our new lenses. We then went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse and had killer prime rib. Love that place. Love Brandi.

 Fish fry! We fried up the fish we caught up at Oowah Lake on Friday. Butter and Lemon Pepper. 

 Emmy making cornbread to go with the fish.

 The kids play really well together. Annie is playing "school" with the boys here. Annie has been our babysitter this week with both me and Brandi working. However, I try to get home in the early afternoon and take the boys to the pool while I work via my laptop poolside. Most of my summer work can be done via remote computer. Lots of reports and such. Annie and Emmy planned and held a garage sale on Saturday with their buddies, the Wakefield twin boys around the corner. 

 Emmy playing centerfield. Her softball team won their "league" and we will head for the state softball playoffs somewhere up north July 10-12. She's pretty excited.

 Emmy up to bat. After her game on Monday, there was a fire in town around 10:00 pm, so on our way home, we stopped and walked over to it. The heat and smoke were strong as we approached before fire crews came down the street we were on, so we left to get out of the way. A field near Mill Creek and some trees caught on fire, but they put it out that night.

 My charter school purchased a portable from another charter in St. George, and we hired a local guy to move it. However, they called Wednesday to tell me I had to remove this huge porch and ramp. So, I headed down Wednesday night and spent Thursday deconstructing and hauling to the dump a wooden porch. I stayed the night with my cousin, Lisa, and had a great time visiting Lisa, cousin Kelly, and Lisa's husband Craig. I also learned that one should never eat a Maverick hot dog at the outset of a road trip (or ever). Wednesday night, I was diverted off of I-15 in Cedar City and had to take a 2 hour detour because of a forest fire. Driving across Utah from Moab, I saw at least 5 huge forest fires through the mountain ranges. All the world is on fire. On our date Saturday evening, there was a huge fire in the mountains north of Grand Junction, Colorado. Utah and Colorado are getting pounded by fires. Almost every prayer in church this Sunday mentioned the fires all around us.

 It amazed me how fast these guys had our portable disassembled and up and ready to haul off. In half a day, they were done. 

 I took the two door porch pieces on a flatbed and hauled them the 5 hours back to Moab.

 My new go-to breakfast this year. Love it.

 Introduced the kids to real rootbeer Sunday evening with our traditional elk/deer roast dinner. Henry Weinhard's. Good stuff.

 I see this car almost every day parked on Main Street in Moab. I have always wanted a convertible Kharmanghia. My parents had a Kharmanghia (hard-top) growing up, and I have wanted one my whole life.  

Tonight, we hosted a church youth group meeting, and I spoke on the importance of staying close to the spirit via the scriptures, prayer, and church attendance so the Lord can direct our lives. Afterwards, I spent three hours loading the kids' packs for our Uintas trip this week. We are heading out in the morning for my parents house in Moroni for an evening with some of the bros. Hiking Tuesday through Saturday. The only lame part is Brandi has to work. My pack weighs 48 lbs; Annie and Emmy's weigh 21 lbs; James' weighs 18 lbs; and Matthew's weighs 4 lbs. Much of mine is food, so I'm hoping to hike out with about 35 lbs. Should be an exciting adventure. The hike begins at the Henry's Fork trailhead at about 9700 feet. We will drive up through Evanston, Wyoming and drop back down into Utah on the North Slope of the Uintahs The Uintahs are a huge oval of roadless mountains in Utah. They are the only east-west mountain range in the Lower 48 as I understand it. Here's a couple of pics from the last time I hiked up this trail in 2009 with some scouts.

 Standing on top of Utah (2009).

 When I arrived at the trailhead in 2009, I realized I had left my boot inserts back home drying. I cut two pieces out of my foam sleeping pad, which was better than nothing. However, they just acted as sponges, and my boots were full of wet sweat the whole trip. I have never had a blister in all my years of running and hiking that I remember, except for this one - the Mother of All Blisters. It developed on the day Chris Andrew and I did a 20 mile dayhike to summitt King's Peak. He videoed me popping it with my knife and it just gushed everywhere. To see the video, click here.

 The basin we will spend several nights in.

High mountain lake in the Uintahs we fished back in 2009. Look for pics of our trip on Sunday in one week!