Family Hike... and more!

The following Saturday we all drove up to Park City to pick Cat up at her Girl Scout camp.  She had had a wonderful time and we loved hearing all about it.

When I dropped Cat off a couple of days earlier I noticed signs to "Silver Lake" and thought it would be fun for all of us to do some exploring in the area when we picked Cat up from camp.  When I got home and we looked it up online, there were several "Silver Lakes" in northern Utah and I had no idea which one was nearest the camp.  After some research Ben and I decided that this one looked like a good option - short and easy!  It is in Brighton at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon.  It really was great for the kids - not so much a hike as a stroll.

"Watch Out for Moose!"  (and Squirrel.  Haha.)

Jack was good to go, once he found a walking stick. 

Beautiful scenery, a little duck family, and evidence of some beavers hard at work.

Geocaching is always more fun for the kids than hiking.  Maybe next time we'll just tell
them that we're going geocaching and skip all of the complaining.

The second cache Ben wanted us to find was way off the beaten path.  I almost wondered if we'd find the trail again! And, no, none of the kids wanted to trade their trinkets for the "Down with underwear!" pin.  Probably better.

We headed toward Salt Lake on our way home and as I was reading some things on my phone I happened to see that the Days of '47 celebration in SLC was sponsoring a FREE Family Fun Day - ummm - THAT DAY.  So we ate our bagged lunches in the car and drove straight to the fairgrounds for an encore adventure.  What a day!  And then to make it even better, we ran into my cousin, Stephanie, and her three children just as we arrived.  So we had friends to hang out with.  Love it.

In the top picture, you can barely see Steph on the left side, and her younger son John is in the green shirt. The lower pictures are courtesy of Steph.  They're so much better than the pics I took with my phone.

The kids really enjoyed the magic show.  Plus, it was nice to sit in the shade for a few minutes.

Next we headed to the 55-gallon drum train ride.  Jack tried to chicken out but we wouldn't let him,
and he ended up really liking it.  I don't get that kid sometimes.

Then it was off to the animal display where we saw, among other things, a big lizard,
a little spiky lizard, a turtle, and a tarantula.  Good times.

Next was, you guessed it, pony rides.  Always a hit with my kids.

Then some very patient people tried to teach Cat and Jack how to lasso a calf and a sheep
in the Rodeo Games section of the carnival.

Last stop: the hayride.

What a fun-filled day!  And it was all the better because Cat was with us.

It's just not the same without her.