Inspiration

I have this ever-growing pathological need to explore.  Last Sunday, I warmed my family up to the idea by periodically saying, "The hike is in two hours!"..."It's almost time for the hike!"..."Come on, everyone is going on the hike!"  The little kids are easy to rally.  I told them we were going to a place called "Patsy's Mine," and we needed a flashlight.  That was all it took.  They were in.  The older people were harder to convince, but we ended up with a pretty good car full, including Scott.  I love it when he comes on my fabricated adventures!

Emily warned us that Patsy's Mine was steep, so when we happened upon another hike looking for the mine, we pulled off and took that one.  Why not?  All I really craved was to scramble into the mountains and take in the beauty.  We ended up just slightly up Farmington Canyon.  Nobody in my family has been close to that canyon for 20 years, ever since Trajan's accident where the truck he was in rolled down a ravine and all 5 boys in the truck miraculously survived.  I'll have to post the newspaper articles about it.  Three of the were life-flighted out.  The one who was injured the most landed near Trajan and was delirious, crawling toward a cliff.  Badly hurt, Trajan crawled after him and hung onto his leg until he came to his senses.  He saved his life.

Anyway, my dad has banned all of us from going up that canyon, it was so traumatic.  We only drove a mile or so up, and I could see that the two-lane road was only wide enough for one car in places, and that I had no desire to venture further.

Anyway, the hike was perfect.  Easy trail, bright leaves.  Tolly, Tizzy and Xanthe are like little mountain goats.  They scaled these rocks like they were nothing!

"I've seen the leaves.  Let's go."  Ha ha.  I love having a captive audience on these outings.

Rugged!  Oh la la!

Tizzy was our trailblazer.  She marched to the front of the line and said, "Stop talking!  Stop taking pictures!  Come on!  I'm the leader!"  And she was fast, too!

When we're lucky enough to have Golda home from college, we don't want to waste our time looking at screens.  Last year, she wouldn't have had time to hike.  It's nice to have her back from the grueling high school life.  Now we're just missing Ruby.  Did I tell you, she found out her GPA was a 4.0 instead of a 3.9?  Hip hip hooray!  The A- in math changed to an A when all the grades were entered.  That boggles my mind.  I took one look at her math homework the other night and my eyes crossed.  I don't even begin to comprehend it.  The first time Golda got an A in math in 7th grade, I was like, "Wow.  People really get A's in math? Inconceivable!"

Anyway, I keep getting sidetracked.  These guys found a bunch of treasures along the way, mostly bullet shells and big nails.  When we got home, I put them in a vase.  They're pretty in their own way.

It's important to dress properly.  Halloween socks, big purse filled with rusty nails and rocks. and a blanket in case it's chilly.  It wasn't, by the way.

These guys look cute, though. It looks like they coordinated, their outfits, in fact.  If there's one thing I know, it's that I will do anything for these people.  Protect them, side with them, follow them, lead them, stay with them no matter what.  Just like I tell my ballet students that they've logged another hour for their ballet banks, here our family has logged another hour for our memory banks.  Steal that time, people.  It's not coming back.  The only way to slow down time is to turn hours into activities that will stay with you as pleasant memories.