Our Side-Trips Home (A Walk Down Memory Lane)

 

We went to Utah County to help April pack for her recent move.  Using my mom's car, Steve went home a couple days earlier so he could get back to work, and my mom took an extra day off work so she could help April and go home with me and the girls later.  So, when the time came to go back home, my mom got to be our passenger and instead of drive straight home, I decided that I would stop at a few places to show my girls some of my childhood memories.

First stop: Bridal Veil Falls

   

As a child, my family would often take trips to Bridal Veil Falls, it being a quick 10-15 minute drive away.  We went possibly once a week in the warm months.  I would often get carsick on the ride up, so I complained a lot about having to go, but I admit that once I got there, I was usually glad to be there.  We would save old bread to feed the fish and ducks in the pond at the base of the falls.  There was a tram that went from the base to the top of the mountain.  I don't remember it running very often- maybe it was broken.  There was a little store that looked like a trolley car from the outside.  We never bought anything from that cute store, but we did go inside on occasion to seek warmth.  There was a goat petting zoo up the trail a little ways.  There was also a place that you could pan for gold.  We took the hike up the falls once.  It was really rocky and not super stable.  Things have definitely changed since I was a kid.  Mother Nature had a fit one year and a huge avalanche changed Bridal Veil Falls completely.  No more petting zoo.  No more tram.  You can't even drive to the old parking lot anymore.  But now there is a developed park with grass and picnic tables.  It's still beautiful, and the falls are still the same old falls I remember.  And now there is a pull-off viewing area.  That's where we stopped off to show the girls.

 We appreciated all the beautiful fall colors on our ride back home. 

Second Stop: Sundance Ski Resort

 We had the most beautiful day and fresh mountain air was so invigorating!  Sundance was one of my mom's favorite places to go up the canyon.  As a kid, I complained a lot about going there, yet again because of my carsickness.  Sundance was even further than Bridal Veil and was on an even windier road.

It is truly beautiful there.  I've never been there in the winter when the ski resort is running.  In fact, I've lived in Utah for as long as I can remember and I've never been skiing.  When my family would go to Sundance back in the day, it was to appreciate the mountain air and to take a walk and take pictures.  That's what I did with my girls on this little side trip.

Looking off the bridge into the running river.

Smelling all the pretty flowers.

Amara really liked this one.

Smiling on the bench.  I'm pretty sure I had a picture taken on that same bench when I was 12.

Funny faces!

 And of course, my mom indulged my kids and bought them sweet lollipops.  My parents would sometimes buy those for us kids when we went up there, too.  They have lots of fun flavors and they were the cheapest things you could buy.  Everything else costs TONS!

 My kids had so much fun seeing all those places I remembered as a kid.  When we finally got home the girls told their daddy all about how much fun that day had been.  It was a worthwhile mini-vacation-for-the-day.

Of course it was nice to be home, but I must admit that the minute we get home, we always want to go back.  We miss things like this...

 And this...