Bucket list Item

Checked off---well, almost--the item was to ride the Rail Trail in Park City on a bike.  My original intent was to ride the whole 25 miles that Gary would take the Scouts on but I only wrote "Bike the Rail Trail." and on Saturday, July 8th I did that. That might count to cross that item off. We will see if I get back to ride the whole thing.  Thanks to Mike and Andi who like to ride bikes--it was because of them that I even thought about bringing our bikes and trying the trail.  I have not ridden a bike in three years since I started graduate school and I wasn't sure how far I could go, but I was willing to try it. So the plan was made.

And it was perfect.

Mike and Andi at the starting point

This rail trail was made from an old train track bed.  When it was no longer needed, someone thought of the idea of making a trail for hikers and bikers.  It weaves down the mountain from Park City down to the East Reservoir.  We started at the Promontory Trailhead which was just north of I-80 off of Hwy-40.

Gary said that I averaged about 17 pictures per mile as I would often stop to take photos along the way.  The weather was great for a morning ride.  Mike and Andi went ahead of us and enjoyed their own bike ride and we came up about 15 minutes behind them.

That is I-80 ahead.
We traveled under the freeway a couple of times on the trip.

No words needed......Gary is always fun to be with!!!

Proof I was actually on the trail--on a bike.

 June is a great time for this bike ride as there are lots of blooming wildflowers along the trail.

 Under a side road....

The trail was mostly downhill so it didn't require much peddling.  The only tricky part was some areas of rocks which made it a bit more difficult to ride for a few moments here and there.

 And I always like crossing bridges....

especially ones that travel over streams and rivers.

The rail trail had its own signs but as you can see, they were a bit smaller than standard stop signs.  I surprised that people don't take them.

Wouldn't you want to ride a bike along an area like this?

Mike and Andrea took this picture while they were waiting for us.
They had originally planned to bike to Coalville but riding Ben's bike with
city street tires and not any padding on the seat was not
the most comfortable ride for Andi so they finished in Wanship with us.

As we were finishing up, Andi commented that she didn't think they had ever spent time alone as couples with any of Mike's siblings.  It is true.  All our reunions have included the many grandchildren and now great grandchildren.  I think I have been out to dinner without kids with some of my siblings but to spend 2 days having fun without kids was a sweet blessing.  Now I want to do it with all of my siblings--who wants to come to Park City with us next year????  And Mike and Andi, we would love to do it again next year.

After the bike ride, we headed home and got to enjoy some extra time with Jessica, Elessia and the boys along with Mike and Andi.

Signs of a grandchild in the house

Life is truly full for us and we are so blessed to live the life we live.  Thanks Mike and Andi, we loved it and being with you.

"Getting Away"

One of the reasons I was feeling pressure about homework on July 4th was because Gary and I were heading for Park City with my brother, Mike and his wife Andrea at the end of the week.  Mike was in Logan working with some graduate students on energy projects for 6 weeks (they live in Lubbock, Texas, where he is a professor of economics).  Andi joined him for his last two weeks and we decided to take advantage of that opportunity and spend a few days together.  It was planned fairly last minute, but it turned out wonderful.  Jessica and family stayed with Jena so it was just the four of us.

For a "off the internet" RV park, we had a beautiful location near a stream and the Weber River:

Our evening walk along the river...

 A large nest with a parent bird and at least one or two baby birds.....

 Looking down into the valley around Coalville, Utah.

We are so not good at self pictures but we were there at Park City Mountain Resort.  We bought a pass and did the Alpine slide a few times, the Alpine Coaster 3 times (our favorite) and took the chair lift up the mountain side to enjoy the view.

Our first ride of the day was the Alpine slide--

Picture as we headed up the chair life

Andi isn't a big fan of heights but found that the chair lift wasn't too bad.  We took pictures of our feet so that Mike could sent it to her sister to prove she had actually done it.

 View from the stopping point for the Slide.....

Heading into the trees to get to the beginning of the slide.  I have a similar picture with Gary's mom and sisters from a number of years ago.

Andi and Gary are ready to go on the other slide across from us.

View of the Resort from the Alpine Coaster where we went next.

It is a fun ride.  It is a rollercoaster built on the mountain side.  It takes about a 6 minute ride up and about 2 minutes down.  You are in a car by yourself and you are whipping through the trees as you head down.  It is quiet except for people screaming.  We all loved it and waited in long lines (up to 45 minutes for three rides down the hill.  You should try it yourself sometime.)

As you are pulled up the hill you travel on the lower track but
as you come down the hill, you are on the upper track.

After lunch we headed up the chair lift for a view from the mountain top.

And another attempt at a selfie---

Once we got to the top, Mike, Andi and I decided to hike down while Gary went back down on the chair lift (his feet were already killing him).

An outhouse at the top of the mountain
clever if you like "bathroom" humor.

Despite the warning, the trail wasn't too crowded and we loved our walk down the hill and through the trees.

The first part of the trail was in the trees and amazing as you can see from the above photos.  It got harder and more in the sun during the last part of the trail as the trail widened and became rocky.  We ended up near the top of the Alpine slide and took it down the rest of the way.  Meanwhile, Gary enjoyed a nap in the shade.

 And one more trip down the Alpine Coaster before we headed back to our campsite.

Gary

Mike

And to finish off a great day at Park City, we cooked our foil dinners in the oven while we played games.