Alpine Loop- The Last Hurrah?

Last fall when DeLoris and I normally take our annual Alpine Loop trip she was not feeling well enough to go. Ever since then I've felt overwhelmed that we didn't get to do it and I MIGHT NOT EVER GET TO MAKE THAT TRIP AGAIN with my DeLoris!

Only a few weeks ago I got a call from Shari, DeLoris' daughter, telling me I'd want to go see *Mother* because they didn't expect her to last the week! I couldn't get down to Payson to see her until the next morning and when I came into her room there she was sitting up in bed drinking a carton of chocolate milk and looking very frail!

I've been down several times since then and she has always looking tired and in pain. Imagine my surprise when I went yesterday and this is the woman I saw!! I told her she was beautiful (and the Ever-ready bunny)! This is just a pix taken with my iPhone and edited in instagram! My wonderful, beautiful, glorious DeLor-EE-ous! She just turned 93!

Welp, I wasn't going to let the opportunity slip by again. I made a date to come back this morning and we would get in our 9th Annual Alpine Loop Trip (only 10 months late!) And I realize that this truly may be our last hurrah trip. My DeLoris has shrunk so much that she joked she needs a booster seat to see out the window!

When we arrived at the park entrance I asked the girls working there if I could buy my America the Beautiful Senior Pass a week early. They kindly sold it to me with a promise that I won't use it until next Saturday! I am so excited to have this happy little pass. It allows me free entrance to all National Parks for the rest of my life! Yay little-Joanie!

I made several stops for photo ops. We both commented that we've driven this route so often that we have favorite views and sights along the way. I always love how the aspen look. I almost feel like this should be a *find the hidden objects* puzzle.

We always make our stop at the rest rooms on the American Fork Canyon side of the trip. I have a selfie from this exact place in 2008. Today's selfie doesn't merit publishing (especially since we both have a very cute photo included in this post!)

And it wouldn't be a photo outing without a flower. I got this one with my olloclip macro lens on my iPhone.I love my MPC!

After lunch at In 'n Out as we were motoring back to Payson DeLoris said she might live another 5 years. Oh, how I hope that is true if (big IF) she can remain healthy and without much pain. What a wonderful dear friend she is to me. I'm a lucky girl!

Timpanogos Wreathed In Clouds

Wednesday morning, on the way to the Temple, I saw that we had received the first snow of the season on Timpanogos!

But not just snow- clouds and it was ethereal!

Delicious Colors

I want to lick them!

While up in Provo/Orem today I noticed the beautiful colors on Squaw Peak so when I got home I asked Gordon if he'd like to go on a drive around the Alpine Loop via a side trip to Squaw Peak trail head. The colors were beautiful in spite of the Idaho wildfire's smoke!

TIMPANOGOS SEEN FROM THE SQUAW PEAK ROAD

I LOVE FALL!

It has become my favorite time of year. Not to mention the riot of color- the days are normally consistently warm with cool nights. It seems to be a very predictable season... none of the out-of-control-mood-swings that come with spring!

Gordon and I reveled in this beautiful, perfect, September day! We talked about the luscious colors and how we'd like to capture them... so he did!

We are toying with the idea of painting our front door (which badly needs it) in a wonderful Wasatch Front fall color.

Just look at the palette we have to choose from.

308- Timapanogos

I love this view of Timpanogos from the Squaw Peak trail. I don't think I will ever get tired of looking at this beautiful mountain.


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015- Limited in Number... ONLY 3

For my fellow Jane Austen fans, I'm sure you'll recognized this quote from Emma. Today I feel like that... how can I limit myself to only three? But I hope they are not very dull things!

I love carrying my little camera with me. I feel like I have new eyes. Today I was headed to Camille's school (more later) I dipped down into the *bottoms* that is where it gets the coldest and where the hoar frost grows! Oh, I just love the look of hoar frost.

The first time I remember seeing it I was just a little girl on a very cold fall morning walking to school. I found a red leaf in the "short-cut" that was covered with hoar frost. I wanted so badly to take it with me to school for show and tell but by the time I got it to school the frost had melted from the warmth of my hand.



Today I stopped as soon as I could find a safe wide spot and started snapping away... so that is where my only three comes in... I had to whittle my number (say that with the English accent) to three (trill that R)!



As I got out to the fields that must be traversed to get to Camille's school there was more hoar frost encrusted trees, but by now it had warmed a little and the frost was starting to fall. It looked like fairy dust sparkling down to the road. Do you ever wish that you could photograph things the way you see them? I do... often I feel like there is so much lost in the 2-D capture.



Lastly, here is Utah Lake, frozen and covered with snow. It is a large lake, but not too deep. This is the view from Camille's school. Kind of make that commute worth it to get to look at this every day. And, btw, that is Timpanogos again in the background ruling over her valley.

014- Mt Timpanogos

I just want you to know that I had to change my purse this morning to a slightly larger version (I normally carry a small one) so I could accommodate carrying my camera. The good news is that my camera is almost exactly the same size as my Razor phone. I've really wanted to get a new-to-me digital SLR, but now I realize that would be very cumbersome to carry.

Anyway... I love to think about life as if I were going to take a picture of things. I've always been very visual and my memories are a series of mental-super-technicolor photos. But with my trusty little camera in my purse I just whip it out and get that shot that only comes around once-in-a-great-while.

As I left the Temple today there was steam rising off of one of the fountains. Normally both fountains are working but today this one had taken on the character of a reflection pool. I love this shot capturing Mt Timpanogos, its reflection AND the steam! Very serendipitous.



Check out my up-close-and-personal experience with Timp last fall here.

Rock Solid & Immovable

On Tuesday dear hubby asked if I would like to do something together “this day”. When I suggested that we hike to the Timpanogos Caves he was very enthusiastic. So after checking them out online and getting the proper attire for the day we headed north about 20 miles to the American Fork canyon to the trail head for the caves.
Happy Hikers at the start

Timpanogos Caves is a National Monument that was established in 1922 but the first of the three caves that make up this monument was discovered in 1887 by Martin Hansen.


We purchased our tickets for the cave tour (at the top of the trail) at the bottom of the trail (a smart marketing plan!) and started up the mountain. It is an excellent paved trail about 8-10’ wide and very well maintained. They have points of interest along the way. For $1 I purchased a little booklet that described each of these points. We hadn’t gone up the trail very far before Gordon realized that this hike was way over his head! At the ¼ mark he turned around and went back down to the bottom to wait for me to complete the trip (he had LOTS of company!)















Above- Daisies growing from a rock. Right- American Fork Canyon



With that every present “How-hard-can-it-be?” attitude I continued. I’ve never made a solo hike before and it was actually very pleasant. I didn’t have to worry that my short legs were slowing everyone down or that I was walking too fast for someone else. I stopped at each of the points of interest and read the description.

Root pinched and bleeding but hanging on.

Almost immediately I was aware of how close I felt to nature and our loving Heavenly Father who created this beautiful world for us. I grew up with an appreciation for rocks (sounds silly, I know) and I never cease to be amazed at how plants can grow seemingly right out of the rock. THIS is what made me come up with the title of this post. I was mentally composing as I continued my accent. Here are these trees; giant pines, cedars and firs, that have all woven their roots so deeply in the rocks that at times I could see that it hurt. But there they were nonetheless- Rock Solid & Immovable. This was so poignant to me, given the re-visited grieving I’ve been through this last month. Again I see the wonderful lesson that if we are planted firmly on the Rock (The Gospel of Jesus Christ) that even though the storms rage, the floods come, etc. we will still be left standing when the storm is over.















Above- Almost to the top and still smiling. Right- cave entrance.



I continued up the trail with a renewed appreciation for all of the flora and fauna I came across. My kids always know that there will be photos of critters and flowers when I am out with my camera.




Above- Chipmunk and lizard
Left- More wildflowers
Right- Baby pine, hanging and climbing.















I have visited Timpanogos Caves once before, when I was about 8 years old and we came to Utah to hear my sister, Ann, sing in the Tabernacle at General Conference, but I remembered little of that visit. I was excited to see all of these wonderful creations with my 55 year-old eyes. I wasn’t disappointed with what I found at the top! (I just wish I’d put on my glasses to properly see my digital photos and realized that they weren’t as in focus as I wanted without the flash & on the smart ISO setting. But seeing as how I returned with 184 shots, maybe that’s ok!) These formations are amazing taking thousands of years to create.



Top left- Stalactite and stalagmite meet in the middle, Top right- Helictites; Bottom left- Drapery formations also called bacon formations; Bottom right- The Heart of Timpanogos





After exiting the beauty of the cave the journey was only half over! I still had to navigate my way down the mountain. See the arrow? Yeah- that's where I needed to end up! By the time I was half way down I was hit with the Jelly-Legs Curse and looked around for Malfoy (or Crabbe and Goyle or even Harry Potter!)











I eventually made my way down, enjoying the scenery from the opposite direction and in the fading light toward evening.

I found Gordon waiting at the bottom. He'd killed time in the visitors center and drowned his sorrows at the snack bar with a double cheeseburger!

We continued our trip by taking the Alpine Loop that snakes its way from American Fork canyon around the back-side of Timp, past Sundance and ending up in Provo Canyon.


Will I make this hike again? YOU BETCHA! but not until my muscles stop hurting from this trip!