Some Weeks Are Tough (Fishing Helps)

Very recently my Nephew, Ryan Probert, age 42 passed away unexpectedly. His parents and siblings have faced this hard time with courage.
We also continue to watch over our 90 year old father who is on Hospice. He has Progressing Dementia, some ever present pain and he can usually be found laying on his bed at the Assisted Living Home. He seems to sleep more than he used too.
We have been on this journey with him for two rough years now. My sister, Debera , and I have been closest to the situation and have stayed by his side through it all.
To endure hard times we need respite ourselves.
 My method is to go to my Loved Mountains to hike, picnic, fish, and in the Winter, snowshoe, every chance that I can.
Today was a walking, picnic and Fishing Day. I've noticed that lately it takes longer for me to drop the stress levels. Life; Gotta Love it.


I did catch one trout on this outing. It was good size but not huge.
Catch and Release for this guy.

Joe (Husband of almost 37 years now)

Lazy Fishing
(My fly fishing on Rivers is more active)

My advice is get out and play or you Will go crazy.

A Uintah Saturday

Joe and I really needed a reprieve from work and responsibility.
We spent our Saturday in the Uintahs.
We were happy to find a shady spot by a Large Lake to relax.


We explored a number of Lakes.

A smaller Lake here

Hopefully I will get my videos working....

Easter 2017

I haven't blogged in a long time. In 2016 my dad had two back surgeries. After the first one I lived with him for two weeks. Otherwise I was going to his house often. The last surgery required three months in Skilled nursing. Following that he went into Assisted Living. He has been there about four months so far. Helping him get through each step has been intense and has been my focus. Also for the last eight months or so my husband has been learning a new career.  So, it was a big deal when Joe got a day off work! We went fishing! It's just a fun outlet from life's challenges.

Early Morning Fishing And Other Stuff

So, this is our story: Joe found a new job. Hooray!  With all the stress we really needed a break!
We spent one night in a Yurt at Rivers Edge in Heber.

                                   

Early morning on the river;

Yep. I'm hooked.

My Waders and boots are pretty nifty.
I call it my space suit now.

I had a trout hit my line hard. It was such a jolt.
That was the end of the excitement though.

Other stuff:
We ate at Dairy Keen, Chicks (a diner), and had ice cream at Heber Valley Creamery.
We visited the Homestead Crater.
We picked wild Huckleberries (I'm going to make muffins).
Lastly, we drove out to Strawberry Reservoir and walked on a boat dock.

It was a short trip but time well spent.
.

Fishing In New Waders (and boots)

Last summer I just knew that I had to get off the river bank and into the river to fish.
It miraculously happened for me!
Today I stood in the river with my fly rod for the first time!
I am incredibly impressed with these new Waders.
They have altered my fishing in a very positive way.

They were a birthday gift from my son and his wife.


We have two or  three spots on the Middle Provo River in Heber that we like so far.

So, there you have it. I did get in the river. Hooray.

Deseret Peak

Deseret Peak Wilderness area.
Near Grantsville.
Elevation 11,031 feet.
Elevation Gain: 3,603 feet
Difficulty: Difficult
Scenery: Wooded approach, high-mountain terrain, excellent views.

My brother, Brad, suggested this hike.

This was a strenuous hike but we made it to the top.
We were about 8 hours on the trail.

We couldn't stay long on the summit because of very high winds (storm front!)

This was down the mountain. We had passed through 20 minutes of heavy rain and hail, but we had our ponchos and did okay with the situation.

How do we know that we are getting old? We hike and exercise but we still don't look like it. Oh well. The main thing is that we are out there and doing it.

Francis Peak etc.. Pioneer Weekend

It's a Monday and a long 'Pioneer Holiday' weekend in Utah.
On Saturday we went to a free Mormon Tabernacle concert.
Today Joe and I walked up a long dusty road to Francis Peak in Farmington.
His car didn't want to go closer to the top so we left it far down the road.

It was 92 degrees in the shade.

I found the only tiny strip of shade around.
The back wall of the Radar station.

Venturing a short distance on the Great Western trail from there.
Truth is, we had already walked pretty far up a steep road in the heat.

Walking back down:

This is us literally rolling down the mountain for 12 miles with the engine off, because Joe forgot to put gas in his car.
We weren't sure that we had enough to get out.
Turns out we did, but we didn't know that at the time.
We made it to a gas station just fine, but it was an adventure.
Adventure is code for "This could be bad".

Anyway, we will do this again when the weather is cooler.
We want to walk the length of the ridge line.