Beautiful Weather for Hiking

Because we don't anticipate many more days of nice weather, we thought we'd take advantage of it and head up to the mountains. My dad had

asked me if we wanted to go up to Silver Lake and do the boardwalk around the lake. I was leery at first because when my dad says something is easy and should take half an hour, that usually means it will be strenuous and take 3 hours. He came through on this one though and was true to his word.

The walk around Silver Lake was a nice easy stroll on a boardwalk, with a beautiful view. The hike started terribly when Kodi cried the entire drive up the mountain. I hoped that

this wasn't any indication of what was to come. Kris had to pull out the ear plugs that he conven-

iently keeps in the car. The crying didn't stop as we headed out on the trail. We put her in the backpack and the tears strolled. it really made it difficult to enjoy the peace and quiet of nature. Once we took her out the backpack and let her walk, the crying ceased and the rest of the "hike" was quite enjoyable. There were many opportunities for beautiful photographs and we saw a chipmunk, some ducks, and a lot of trees that had been eaten by beavers. Because this hike was so successful, we decided to do one more before heading back to the city.

Donut Falls is a very popular hike in Utah. I've done it, but it has been years. I remember it

being disap- pointingly short. This time, it didn't seem so short. Kodi was getting very tired and was a pretty good sport until half way through.

The entire hike back down I had to carry her and try to console her by singing songs from Tangled. Kyson was a little irritable by the end too, but I still feel the day was a success. We got to have some family time, enjoy the weather, appreciate God's beauty, and take some great photographs.