A Little Vacation

 

Its hard to believe that one week ago I was still enjoying vacation by climbing Mount Timpanogos.  This hike/tour was one of the big things I wanted to make sure we did on this visit.  I've done this hike a handful of times over the years, but I wanted Sam & Sarah to have this cool experience, too.

I told them early and often leading up to it that this was not an easy hike.  It takes about 1.5 hours to hike about 1.5 miles.  The rise is quite steep and the altitude is a challenge for those of us who live our lives basically at sea level.

Just to emphasize that mom wasn't exaggerating, this met us at the trailhead.

My amazing mother joined us as did one of my cousin's kids.

See the "rock face"?

I kind of went picture crazy.  I miss these mountains and all the amazing textures and colors.  Some of these I took and some Samantha took.

Going up ... 4 switchbacks ... including me looking down

Nature's Popcorn Ceiling ... Looked like Chinese noodles

The Heart of Timanogos

Its hard to believe that it'll take thousand of years for this stalactite
to finally touch its friend and make a column

This bird caught my attention just outside the clear range of my camera.
The bright colors against the greens and grays really stood out.

Its amazing to me how just about anything can grow on the mountain--
even straight out of the rocks.

Looking up the canyon into the Rockies ... and back down to the Utah Valley

New and different colors and textures around every turn in the trail