Visitors from the East

When Kent and I lived in New York, some of our dearest friends were Chip and Joanna Walker.  We did a great many things with them and really liked them.  This week, after many years, we got to see Joanne and her daughter Celia.  As we talked, we realized it was 1999 when we last saw Joanne, and we hadn't met Celia ever.  Celia will be a senior next year and is checking out universities she might like to attend, and BYU made the list.  We live by BYU, and so a visit with us also made the list.  We are awfully happy it did.

Joanne and Celia brought Brandt and Blythe presents as thanks for hosting them.  They read my blog (Hi you two!) and they have obviously been paying attention.  They brought Brandt a Star Wars Lego set and Blythe a Beanie Boo white tiger and a etching sketch book.  Score on both counts!  It was so nice of them to think of Brandt and Blythe.

Before Joanne and Celia came, Joanne emailed with a tentative schedule and asked if we could show them around on Wednesday, and then again on Thursday afternoon/evening.  They were going to do the BYU tour and visit with several departments, financial aid, and housing on Thursday, but would be done in the late afternoon.  They have seen pictures of hikes and other activities, and Joanne really wanted to be in the mountains on Wednesday when we would have the whole day.  We've got mountains for sure, so yesterday we ventured up to higher elevations.

Rather than drag them too far away (Joanne and Celia are staying in Salt Lake), we opted for spending the day at Sundance.  A hike to Stewart Falls sounded reasonable--not too strenuous for those from lower altitude--and a ski lift ride would provide gloriously expansive views.  We packed a lunch and many hike munchies; the children always accuse me of starving them as we hike.  Although Joanne was nervous, we rode the ski lift to the top of the mountain for a view south down the canyon and back towards Provo, as well as north towards Deer Creek and Heber.  The weather was very cooperative, not too hot, with a bit of cloud cover to cool things off and a sprinkling of rain from time to time, but not really rain to get anyone wet.  We talked as we rode slowly up and down, and Joanne tried not to think about how high up we were.

The hike to Stewart Falls from the ski lift is really very nice.  I'd never been to the falls from that direction.  It's almost all either flat or downhill, with hardly any uphill sections.  We went through some open areas, heavily wooded areas, and had to ford several streams.  We were in the shade most of the time so it wasn't too hot, and everyone was a good hiker.  We only had minimal whining, but a stop and a snack seemed to put tempers right.

Miraculously, when we arrived at the falls, we had them all to ourselves.  A couple was there, but they were just starting the hike down as we came up, so we unpacked our lunch and ate on a rock facing the falls, all with unobstructed view.  It wasn't until we were done eating and had been there a bit that anyone else came, and then it was a couple who hiked right by us and up to the upper part of the falls, and another solo young woman who very nicely took our picture.

The hike back was almost all downhill, with beautiful views east over the mountains.  We could see down into the area where we usually park when we hike, and I discovered there are several pools we will have to investigate the next time we go.  We talked and laughed and stopped from time to time to avoid whining, and made it back to the resort without incident.  I did get us lost because I missed the sign that pointed the way to the trail, but Celia had seen it and took us back the way we should have gone.  She graciously didn't gloat about my foolish wanderings.

We opted for pizza for dinner and went to Brick Oven, a Provo/BYU tradition if there ever was one.  House-made rootbeer and pizza.  Doesn't get much better than that.

 

A rather out of focus picture of Joanne and Celia on the ski lift.

They were far away.

More in focus, but Celia's hand is over Joanne's face.

Not good shot number 2.

Drat!

Ski lift selfie!

On the second leg of the ski lift, Celia and Brandt rode together,

and Blythe, Joanne, and I rode together.

 

At the top

 

Looking south

Provo is way down there

View north

Deer Creek and Heber in the distance.

Headed back down.

 

 

Intrepid hikers!

This afternoon, around 4:00, Joanne and Celia finished their grand tour of BYU.  I had recommended they get ice cream at the Creamery, a recommendation the children endorsed as well.  They assured us before they came that they stopped for a scoop.  We hung around and chatted and then when Kent got home from the temple, we went to dinner at Zupa's.  They have such a great selection of healthy salads, soups, and sandwiches, we figured everyone would be happy with dinner.  And everyone was.

After dinner we returned to Sundance to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  This is a fun, upbeat, lively musical, and the Sundance version was Western themed.  We all enjoyed it, in spite of the rain that fell for several minutes just before and during intermission.  Fortunately, as with most rain in Utah, it was of short duration and the play continued.  The kids liked it, the adults liked it, and apart from a 20 minute reprise of all the songs after the play really felt finished, it was a great production.  

 

Unfortunately, we had to bid each other farewell after the show.  Joanne and Celia fly home on Saturday, but will spend the day in Salt Lake seeing lots of Salt Lake stuff.  We hope Celia will choose to come to BYU (Really Celia! We do!) so we can see her and Joanne again.  Lots of options for her, so we might not get lucky, but we certainly did with this visit with them this week.