On September 26th Kent and I celebrate our 25th Anniversary. Since our dating days we have enjoyed hikes and various outdoor activities, so much that the rest of our family probably thinks we are a little on the goofy side! We have been able to experience some of the most amazing places as a couple, and as a family with Andrew in tow. This past week we took a little celebration trip which included a couple of hikes and a scenic chairlift ride. Fall is our favorite season and we were treated to amazing colors everywhere we went. Come along with us and enjoy visiting Timpanogos Cave, the smooth Sundance chairlift ride and hiking up
Wheeler Peak in the
Great Basin National Park of Nevada. We look forward to many more years of adventures together as a couple.
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| Our first stop is Timpanogos Cave National Monument |
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| To get to the Caves you have to hike a 1.5 mile trail |
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| A beautiful Fall day |
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| Looking towards Lone Peak |
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| We are almost to the Cave entrance |
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| The Utah Maples are bright red |
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| We climbed 1,092 ft. to reach the Caves |
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| In we go . . . |
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| There are three caves |
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| Stalactite illuminated by a flashlight |
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| Helicitites |
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| Stalactites and stalagmites |
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| Nancy our guide, she lives in Riverton, Utah and she follows Hurricane Tiger Football |
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| Great colors |
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| Smoke from fires in Idaho hinder our visibility in the distance |
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| Heading back down the trail |
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| Through the upper gate |
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| American Fork Canyon |
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| A perfect day with very few cars |
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| Mt. Timpanogos |
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| Spring along the road |
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| Our second stop was Sundance Resort |
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| The colors were stunning |
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| T-shirt weather |
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| Perfect day for the scenic chairlift ride |
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| Do you see Robert Redford? Neither did we, he owns all of this |
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| Fall colors dwarfed by the Wasatch Range |
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| The ride was smooth |
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| Our third stop was the Great Basin National Park in Nevada |
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| Call us crazy and you are probably right |
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| We are about to hike 8.6 miles round trip and climb 3,063 ft. to the Wheeler Peak Summit |
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| The trail starts out in the aspens |
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| A glimpse of where we are headed from along the trail |
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| 3.1 more miles to go, we have already covered 1.2 miles |
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| We are moving right along on the easy section of trail; Stella Lake is visible from here |
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| Climbing higher above the tree line |
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| Teresa Lake is hidden in the trees |
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| Talk about rocks! |
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| This was the hardest section of the trail |
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| We made it! Unbelievable! It took us 3.75 hours! |
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| Wheeler Peak 13,063 ft. |
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| Off with our packs, enjoying the summit |
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| Looking towards Jeff Davis Peak |
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| Kent enjoying the view |
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| We met Randy from Des Moines, Iowa along the trail and invited him hike along with us |
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| Great Basin has some rugged peaks and terrain |
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| Looking back towards the lower section of trail |
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| We passed Gene and Sharee on the trail. They are 77 and 68 and they made it, too! |
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| Us again, the crazy couple! |
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| After enjoying some snacks it's time to head down |
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| It took us 3 hours to hike down |
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| It's hard to see, but there really is a trail through these rocks |
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| Now we are headed in the right direction . . . down the mountain! |
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| It looks so far away and yet so close |
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| We enjoyed this part of the trail |
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| Looking back to where we were gave us a sense of accomplishment |
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One last look at the Snake Range of the Great Basin
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| Aerial view of the Wheeler Peak Trail |
