There's A Hot Fire In The Old Town Tonight! Christensen Reunion Day 1, July 2, 2012

Dear Christensens,

We regret to inform you that your beautiful reunion cabin, including the zipline, is under mandatory evacutation due to a wild fire in the area.  However, where there is suspense, there is adventure to be found.  Your new home until further notice will be the quaint town of Alton, Utah.  

Sincerely, the Firefighters and Owners of your Cabin Rental

Well, it may not have been what we were expecting after a 6 hour drive to Southern Utah, but our family dutifully drove an extra few miles down the road to the town of Alton, Utah, where the number of farm animals surpasses the actual population.  Okay, that may be a made up statistic, but I actually wouldn't be surprised if it were true.  Afterall, the stop signs there speak to the horses, not the drivers.  See for yourself-

And yes, ALL the stop signs were actually WHOA signs.  I gotta say, the town's first impression brought a smile to my face.  And I've got to admit, this reunion was an adventure and a fun one at that.  I was never worried that we wouldn't have a good time.  By nature, getting together with the Christensen clan results in enjoyment.  The lodging and amenities were not what we packed for, but it was really nice to see the people of Alton pull together to provide several sleeping pads and blankets for our group as well as a few pots and cooking utensils. 

As you can see, the Alton Town Hall was our home for a couple nights.  We had a basketball court as our main meeting place, with a stage and a few rooms around for people to sleep.  Our family enjoyed our stay here.   Admittedly, our family was lucky to be the first ones to use the only nice new air mattress (it smelled too vinyl-y for others in our group), so we didn't end up directly on the floor.  So, we were sleeping alright.  Too bad not everyone had that luxury.  It was also too bad that the smoke would settle into the town over night and was causing respiratory problems for a few in our group.  

The forest fire wasn't a good thing, but it sure made for some memorable moments this reunion and allowed us to get to know a town and their people that we wouldn't have had the opportunity to do otherwise!