Fifth Water Fall Hot Spring

With last weeks trip to the Uintas still fresh on our minds we decided to take another trip up into the cooler mountains today. We loaded up in the Rover and headed up American Fork canyon to a favorite spot of mine called Fifth Water Fall hot springs.

A nice 2.5 mile jaunt up the canyon hikers are rewarded by a cool dip and a hot soak in the sulfur springs. It is a local hot spot as well and it is well traveled in the summer. A local hot spot for those that like to soak in the buff too! A common occurrence at other hot springs I know as well and it can be somewhat daunting for the virgin eye. Today was no different.

The hot walk up to the top of the canyon weaves in and out of shaded pathways and follows a river to the falls. Bugs galore are hatching right now and if we didn't keep moving the flies started to eat us alive. After about 45 minutes we arrived at the springs. There are lower and upper hot springs. The lower were occupied by the indigenous bares.

We gave the bares their space and moved up to a pool a few yards upstream closer to the waterfall that was so refreshing. Alternating between the falls and the pools was such a great feeling after the hike. Behind the water fall is a small cavern that you can sit in and escape the sun. The cool spray quenches thirst and cools the skin. I was glad that we went later in the day as it would have been way too hot for that steep climb.

The pools are fueled by underground thermal activity of course, but there seems to be a sulfuric reaction as well. The smell is very potent and you can tell when you are getting close as you are hiking.

The kids loved it despite the strong smell of sulfur and were sad to leave just a little bit later. I have a personal goal to go up there in the winter by snowshoe.

P.S. If you do go up to these hot springs, be ready for snakes! We saw three on the trail and almost stepped on the one rattler of the bunch!

Father's Day Outing

In a last minute decision, we decided to head up into the Uintas for Father's Day. With water and sandals on we all loaded into the Rover and headed up to where temps are always a good 10 deg cooler. The Unita's have been packed with snow this past winter; more than the past few years.

In Kamas (The Gateway to the Uintas) we were told by the local gas sales clerk, "There's still a buncha snow up there." She showed us recent pictures of Mirror Lake and sure enough, the snow was still almost 7' tall!

We drove up anyway and headed to a favorite spot of mine called Provo River Falls. It wasn't under snow banks.

We hiked along side the river where the water was flowing at a good 800-1200 cfm or so and there were several kayakers there taking advantage of the white water. I took several pictures of them making runs down the falls... it was awesome.

All in all a great Father's Day trip!

Lines of Flux

Magnets drawn to the poles as are geese to the north

King groundhog has seen his shadow; six more

Robins Red, present again, she feeds at my beckon call

Blue shells cuddle new life

Grasses brown yearn for color,

Soil grows saturated with Heaven’s flood waters

Soon all will change in Cycle

But not until one more; lined in a row nature shall come

Unsung

Unseen force so visible

Wisps of steam emerge toxic

So small is my effort

Do we think alike?

Untold story so powerful

The left hand is deaf

The right only shouts

This nation once a dream now forsaken

Unscheduled stop lightens the load

Burdens transferred to another

Weights shifted to a mother

How long can she last?

Un-foreshadowed black cancer swells

Death’s imminence looms heavy

Apathy’s intolerance skips along

Only the young shall see in the end

A Childhood Memory...

11:45. Lunch time. On the menu today was a favorite, pigs in a blanket. I traded my chocolate pudding for a second helping from the kid at the end of the folding lunch table. The lunch hall was abuzz with the sounds of children’s laughter, trays clanking and silverware clicking. Echoes could be heard in the nearby halls; if you had just entered the school it would be evident where everyone was.

Children were required to stay indoors for fifteen minutes before they could perform the usual mass exodus to the playground where they could play another twenty minutes. There were many things to do outside. Kickball was a popular past time. Four square was played quite regularly; resonating rubber balls on pavement marked by squares was a comforting sound. The swings and jungle gym were magnets to all the kids, but it was first come first serve and unless you were quick, you would have to wait for someone to “bail-out” for a turn on the swings. However there was one game that did not limit the player to a specific area; marbles.

Marbles could be purchased at any local store that had a toy section. I had personally begged my mother to buy me a bag so that I could play during the recess at school. My parents did not drink, so the coveted Crown Royal bag to carry your marbles that I had was gained by a series of underground deals. Inside of my bag was my bounty of marbles that I had won from the other kids in class. Each marble had its own story and magical property. I had fiery red “bird cages”, “bird’s eyes”, mirror finish blue and green ones, and even a few “steelies”. But my most prized possession was my bright red Tiger’s eye. It was a “beaut”! I had won it from a kid just a few weeks earlier and I distinctly remember the joyous sound of that final “clack” sound my marble made as it hit my opponent’s on the final blow of our game.

Rules applied to our game. It was simple really, the two opponents threw their marbles in opposite directions and then each progressively threw theirs closer to the other until one hit another. Whoever hit first was declared the winner. We played for “keepsies” or practice. Keepsies meant that the winner kept the loser’s marble. It was a gamble sometimes to play this way, especially if the marble played was a favorite.

This particular day I was up against Mark. Mark’s dad was a mechanic and had given his son one of the biggest heaviest steel ball bearings any of us had seen. It was “ginormous”, a steel ball of death, weighing in at least 5 lbs, and as silver as the shiny quarter in my pocket! I wanted that marble, although, technically it wasn’t a marble. Everyone wanted that marble. But It was me that Mark had chosen to play that day on the playground. Mark, being the challenger, had the right to look at my bag and choose the marble I played with. As chance would have it, he chose the “Tiger’s Eye”. My heart jumped, and shivers crept up my back. What if I win? That monstrous ball of glory could be mine! But if I lose, then my most prized possession is gone, up for grabs in future maybe. Mark, with his freckly cheeks and red hair stood there smiling at me as I contemplated my decision to play or not.

The game was on. We each threw our marbles in opposite directions hoping for the best cover possible. My Tiger landed in the tall grass while his made a loud “thump” in the sand near the igloo shaped jungle gym. I picked my marble up and strategically threw it into the sand on a high mound knowing that I didn’t want to land in a low spot for fear that gravity would help him win. Mark threw his closer to mine but it landed near the swing set frame; adequate protection. I picked up my marble and chose to throw closer to the steelie hoping to draw Mark closer so I might have a shot at his prize. My tactic worked, Mark picked up his small bowling ball and aimed for my pea sized target of a marble.

It was a battle. His might against my strategy. In the final phase it was my marble a few inches from his large steel ball. I had chosen to deliver my final blow by “cherry drops” which entitle me to pick up my marble and drop it straight down from the height of my hip. The playground grew silent as I took aim, raised my hand with marble pinched between finger and thumb. With one eye closed and peering over my right hip I focused on Mark’s large target at my feet. I released the marble. A small “tick” was barely audible as my glass ball of red stripes smacked the top of his mirror finished ball bearing. A smile grew across my face as I looked up and saw Mark’s jaw drop. Victory was mine!