Backpacking.
 My favorite past time ever. It was great to spend a weekend in the HighUintas, hiking fishing, sleeping. All well above 10,000 feet and with some of my most favortite people.  Stella came through and hiked really well and packed all of her own gear.
 It was great to have my Dad along. He has been to Cuberant Basin so many times, as well as with his own father, whom I miss tremendously. My Dad brought a great perspective to myself: that it is a rarely beatuiful place that he, or any of us may never see again.  Definitely good to take the time to appreciate the places we love
We were also graced with the presence of a herd of beautiful mountain goats. They were not shy for over two hours, before they wandered back into the mountain land.

So great to get so far away from all of the other people. So simple to only have to worry about the immediate happiness, wellbeing, and full stomache's of those nearest. Quiet and peace that is missed daily at this point. 

It really can be simple and beautiful. Funny how you have to strap so much weight on your back, and head into the wild unknown.

Hidden Peak.
What more can I say... So many days we have all experienced here. Although we share the memory, rarely do we all get up here together.  It was an epic day heading in reverse direction, UP Snowbirds' ski hills.  Kaya and Ethan for sure physically dominated but Myself, My Dad and Zack came in closely behind.

  It is always a great experience to see your mountain runs completely exposed and snow free. We were all able to relive epic powder memories on this famous traverse line above the Cirque at Snowbird.
 I am not sure who won the show down of ski/boarding stories.  Three generations hashing it out, there can obviously be no winner. Hopefully our visit will channel a good snow flow and happy runs for all of our fellow pow-hound friends!

VENUS, it passed in front of our glorious sun recently. Apparently it does not happen very often, in fact the next time it does I will most definitely be not on this earth any longer  .  We had a nice evening at the Utah Museum of Natural History, equipped with telescopes and astronomers, and warm jackets. 

Stella, showing me up and getting to the top faster, City of Rocks, ID

The great thing about climbing is the intense physical and mental pressure that you voluntarily exert on yourself. The even greater part is that there is tons of downtime, so you can watch your favorite people challenging themselves in the same way. It is great to be a spectator.

   Somehow we managed another outdoor adventure in this busy spring season. Luckily a friend's birthday coincided with Mothers Day and we were invited on a camping/climbing trip to City of Rocks, ID. This was great because it involved little planning, and also a double celebration.  My Mom vacationing in Mexico made it even easier to get away. My 80+ year old Grandma was my only guilt, but I made up for it later in the week.
    City of Rocks is a National Reserve and home to the oldest rocks in North America. Some being 2.5 billion years old. The ancient-ness of the area is very apparent the moment you drive into the "city" The time warp is further intensified by the long drive in.
     After leaving the main highway(I15) you drive along a secondary highway for a bit, and then hit what I would describe as country roads. Idaho is a farming state (from what my experience has been anyway.) We saw a lot of farms; it is a bit monotonous, but entertaining at the same time. This said entertainment is mainly due to the kids in the back seat, claiming that zombies must live in the ramshackle houses attached to these farms.( I am very glad Stella-Moon had no bad dreams resulting in this morbid conversation.) Needless to say, we live in a very beautiful and civilized part of the world. The end of the drive in is on graded/dirt roads and it is not until you enter the park that you realize the breathtaking beauty.

     I don't think you have to love rock climbing to appreciate this place, but it does help. I can't wait to go back again.

     We had an epic nose bleed courtesy of Stella-Moon, shared some incredible food with great people,   left stronger, happier, and with a few new found friends.

Our trip to the San Rafael Swell, Utah this spring was pretty incredible. It was an unexplored place for us so there was an element of risk, which was awesome. Everything turned out perfectly. We were there during a meteor shower, which presented the most beautiful shooting star I have ever seen. We had some great hiking and conversations. Most of all we got to spend time with each other and live life very simply for a few days, which is always refreshing.

Paintbrush

It has been well over one year since I have posted here. I have thought about doing so many times but am now finally making action to do so. This is usually the hardest part of anything, the beginning so hopefully I can keep it up!

September completely flew by, actually the whole summer is now a blur and I can't believe it is the middle of October and snow has been falling in our beloved Mountains. I spent over two weeks camping in Southern Utah last month. I feel so lucky to have been able to find the time to be able to enjoy the much needed time outdoors. Our first trip was the annual Arches adventure. It was great as usual, good friends, food, and weather. We added on 4 days to this by going to Needles, Canyonlands beforehand. I hadn't been there since I was very small and it was the kids first visit. I never get tired of hiking in these red-rock wonders. After heading home from Arches, and getting a bit of laundry and unpacking done, we left town again. Back to Needles, this time with the Snowbird Ski Team. For the kids it was the most fun they had ever had camping. For me it was the most relaxed, as the food was all cooked for us. I rarely get to relax and enjoy my coffee for very long on a campout. What a great trip. It was awesome getting to know the kids' friends better, (as well as meet some new ones). The coaches did such a great job of keeping all the kids busy working their butts off, having fun, and staying safe. My Dad came along, which was nice since Zack was busy with work and family stuff. Hiking with just him was really fun, since we are both just happy to be out enjoying nature, in a relaxed way...

Uintas Backpacking Trip

We have reached a milestone in the Benzon Family. We officially survived a backpacking adventure into the wilderness, all five of us(plus 2). We headed out to the "family tradition" spot: Clegg Lake, in the Uintas, Utah for Stella's first backpacking trip. She did great and carried all of her own gear and also some hot cocoa to share with everyone. This was also the first time that we all went together as a family as well. My Dad came, which is part of the tradition with the grandkids, and also my brother, Mark came, which was another first. (with us anyway: we went tons together as kids) The trip was awesome. We had perfect weather, great food;(my Dad and brother packed in sausage and a dozen eggs for breakfast as well as a 6pk of beer) we had fun fishing, despite catching none of the little trout; and NO RAIN, which is unusual for this particular part of the world. It is just amazing how easily great memories can be made, when you are making them with people you love.

We Will Be Backpacking...

All this hiking has a purpose, of course. Stella's first backpacking adventure is soon approaching(this weekend, weather and health pending). We headed up to the Uintas to test out the trail without the heavy load of overnight packs. It was quite an adventure: thunder, lightning, hail, rain, and of course mosquitos! Our poor dog even got a bunch of bites. It was a fun time, despite not catching any fish. Zack and I are just enjoying the kids at this age so much and love being able to take them anywhere. Stella did great on the hike btw and the mosquitos should be just about gone in the high Uintas!

Hiking...

We have been hiking A LOT. Our most favorite easy hike is by far Neffs Canyon. It is only 5 minutes from our house and has a rope swing, the kids love it. I have yet to hike the whole trail with everyone, which leads over and down into Millcreek. We have also hiked some prety cool trails in Millcreek as well, and I got Zack a pass for the canyon for an anniversary present. I think I burned the kids out a bit on hiking, especially when it got hot and I started waking them up super early to go. I am lucky to have some great friends from Snowbird who I am going regularly with to take some pressure off the kids(I never hike alone) Some of the more brag-worthy hikes I've done: Mount Olympus, Hidden Peak, and Gobblers Knob.