Backpacking to Red Castle

Wow! It has been a great while since the last time either Suzanne or I posted here on the blog. What better to break the long silence than pictures and post on the last Brothers Backpacking Trip?! Beginning last year, Travis and I decided that we would do our best to head out on a brothers backpacking trip at least once a year. Last year we made an attempt to summit Kings Peak which I was able to do successfully, but even more worthwhile than standing at the top of Utah, was bridging the 13 year gap between Travis and I (not that the gap has ever really been very large between us). For 2010, Travis and I decided to hit up some Red Castle, again in the rugged Uintah Mountains. In planning this trip, we found that there are a few different routes that can be taken when backpacking to the majestic peak and lakes below. Being the boys that we are, we of course chose the most strenuous route possible, but mostly for reasons of greater scenery from this trail. Suzanne was nice enough to hook me up for my birthday, with a brand new backpack by ALPS Mountaineering for the trip which was a welcome surprise! Travis and I accumulated the goods needed and revised the packing list and prepared every needful thing. The time finally came and we were anxious to be off! We were able to leave shortly after noon on August 12th, and planned to take four days to complete our journey in the High Uintah Wilderness Area. After a goodly drive and a strategic stop in Evanston, we finally arrived at what we thought was the trail head!
We got out of the car, and as we stretched our legs, we saw a cowboy and cowgirl and their cow-son and cowdog across the parking lot. We had some difficulty figuring out if it was the correct starting point to our journey, so we thought it would be a good idea to ask some locals, (as per the instruction's suggestion) if we were in the right place. We approached the cowpeople and proceeded to ask if we had found the trail head to Red Castle. As the cowboy and cowgirl turned to answer our question, we both were taken aback at the sight we saw. The cowboy told us we had gone about a half mile too far, but as he spoke to us, we couldn't help but notice that somehow, this fellow had a normal sized head, but an extremely small face. Travis and I later came to call it his Mini-mask. As Travis was mesmerized by this Mini-mask, the cowgirl began describing and vehemently pointing in the direction we needed to go. While she was pointing, large and very noticeable veins bulged from her rippling bicep and forearm. Almost taking a step back out of fright, I composed myself and we thanked them for their help and made our merry way, joking about the Mini-mask and the hulk lady along the way, to the parking lot ahead.

Travis and I knew there was over 2000 feet of elevation gain on this hike, but we failed to really pay attention to the fact that more than 1000 feet of that gain was in the first two miles. You can see our first 1000 feet right behind us here in our embarkation photo.

After 100 yards the trail required us to wade across this river. Here is Travis yelling in his head, "Take the dang picture already!"


The instructions said that the river would only be ankle deep and that it was an easy crossing. Clearly understanding the instructions, I did not bring any sandals, like Travis did, to wade across it. After rolling up my pants and gingerly made my way through the freezing cold ice melt water, breaking a toenail and getting my pants wet anyway all the while.




After the grueling 1000+ foot climb, we finally found a campsite just in time before that fireball of a sunset went behind the mountains. We seriously had just the perfect notch in the mountain where the sun went down giving us just enough time to get camp set up.


Good thing we had that light for the first time setting up this tent. We could have been at it for a while.

Travis carving walking stick number 2. Time to settle in for some fire action before bed.


The view from above our camp. On our way up to summit Bald Mountain.


A look up toward the ending trees as we approach treeline at 11,000 feet.


Our first sight of water, meager as it is, since we crossed the river.


Bald ridge, 11,200 ft Elevation appx. Glaciers still live on in August!


Bald Lake which is solely fed by those glaciers from above. Beautiful coloring from the glacial melt and mineral diffusion.


Our first glimpse of Red Castle in the distance from the peak of Bald Mountain.


Travis at the peak, the pinnacle marker behind and to his right and Red Castle behind and to the left of him.


Me at the peak of Bald Mountain. 11,773 ft elevation.


Finally!!! Lunch time!! Boilin a little water for some Santa Fe Chicken.


Come on! Boil already!


Travis carving stick #3, after breaking stick #2 beyond repair or use.


Finally seemed like we were getting a little closer.


The zoom helps things seem a little closer as well.


Finally made it to Lower Red Castle Lake and sat down to relax on the shores and wait for sunset to turn this thing into a glowing ember.


Once it got cold we felt like we had waited long enough.


Original Gangsta!


Here we are back at camp mosquito (with a vengeance), warming up next to our extra hot fire.


We had a handy site for our gear to prop against.


This is some creek action from some glaciers up on the saddle in the distance.


Last look at Red Castle and the rugged bowl it sits in.


Finally back at the car after a long walk back, and a short stop in the creek for Travis, notice the wet shirt and pants... but luckily dry radio.


Another strategic stop in Evanston. Steak hit the spot after a long backpacking trip that was supposed to take 4 days but only took 3. Especially after all the other surprise courses of the meal kept on coming!


On the way down the mountain, Travis and I came across several people with their dogs. We want to find somewhere we can go next year where we can take Maya and Zeus or more likely, just Maya. Any suggestions???!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!

How can I NOT LOVE THIS GUY!
Happy Birthday Mike! I love Mike for so many reasons, but here are some of my favorites:

1. He makes me laugh every day. He tells such great stories with hilarious sound effects and animation.

2. He says HILARIOUS things in his sleep.....just about every night...so I get a giggle in the middle of the night as well.

3. He is a good listening ear and a good problem solver....when his tool belt of ideas is needed

4. Extremely helpful with building things and knowing how to fix anything that is broken.

5. He is wise with money and disciplined with the wallet

6. He plays with kids and never fails to get them completely wild....because he is a kid himself

7. He is very sexy....that's a given

8. He shows great patience with those around him, especially me

9. He has a natural skill for making anything grow....our garden is his baby....no joke.

10. He is my favorite person ever!

Hope you have a really great birthday Mike! Love you!

Demolition Derby

Our Tradition of going to the demolition derby continues! This was one of our many fun dates 1 year ago this last weekend, and we attended again this year. It was so much more exciting and fun this year!We LOVE the big car pile ups and anxiously wait for the cars to get untangled and detached from each other
This was a really good event when the red car got pushed over. It was a big ol' boy too!
So much excitement as that that beat up car pushed onto the cement barrier had to be lifted off by a tractor and hauled out of the arena

Camping

A few weeks ago Mike and I went camping out by 5 mile pass kind of by the old Pony Express trail here in Utah. Here are Mike and Maya gathering fire wood.

Our new tent that kept us safe from the mosquito infestation
Mike's AWESOME fire pit he built while I got the tent ready. We had a really fun time and are looking forward to more camping trips.

Getting to know us?

I have decided that since our blog is still somewhat new, it would be fun and possibly a good idea to introduce each member of our little family. Suzanne and I have not been married very long so we don't have any children, but we do have a stinky doggy! And today being her 10 month birthday, Maya gets the honor of receiving the first bio of our family.

Measuring in at 26 inches tall at the shoulder and over 3 feet long from butt to nose, weighing in at 75 pounds at only 10 months old she is the biggest baby I have ever seen! Oh wait... she is a puppy... I guess that's a little different. Maya has one of the sweetest, most loving, and playful spirits I have ever seen in a dog. We bought her down in Eureka back in the middle of December when she was not even 4 months old, and she has changed a great deal since then.

Some of the highlights are:

• Maya chucking her lunch all over the back of my car and her sister Max, on the way home from Eureka.
• Maya and Max fighting for dominance when they spend time at my parents house.
• Maya chasing the neighbors cat down the street and into another neighbors backyard.
• The holes in the dirt in the backyard.
• Running full speed at the park and knocking Suzanne and I on our butts when she doesn't stop in time.
• Maya growing so big that she hardly fits in her bed anymore.
• Getting Maya so wild she runs circles around the backyard as fast as she can, juking and turning crazy without watching where she is going.
  
• Waking Maya up early in the morning and seeing her mose around the yard super tired and glomoe'd.
  
• Having the kids in the neighborhood over and watching Maya sniff their butts and crotches all in turn.
• Having Maya make us laugh every day.
• Getting Maya to bark and run around by making weird faces and motions that freak her out.
• Having Maya sass back at us when we tell her to stop barking at night.
• Watching the wheels turn in Maya's head when you talk to her, making you fully believe she understands what we are saying.
  
• Seeing poor Maya all drugged up after her hysterectomy and then going insanely wild in the backyard the next day.
• Missing Maya when we are gone on road trips where she can't come.
• Maya being so nice and loving to me when I was sick.
• Having everyone comment on how gorgeous or beautiful Maya is when we take her out or on walks.
  

Some future highlights:

• Taking Maya camping with us wherever we go.
• Having Maya accompany us to the Brinton Family Reunion in August.
• Continually having Maya make us laugh everyday.
• A million more things we can't even imagine.

Here is pretty Maya laying on and off her bed a little bit. When we let her inside she knows right where to go and to lay down and wait for us to come love on her.

Here is Maya at the park, she loves coming to the park and running whole hog for a while. She and Suz are pals and love to hang out and rest after running so much.

Neither Suzanne or I can outrun this stinker, she always chases us down and runs in front of us to make us stop running from her. Sometimes she will run 200 or more yards at full speed to catch up to or find one of us hiding or running from her.

One of the best things about this dog is her quirks and weird tendencies. For some reason when she is in the grass she loves to lay down with her hind legs extended and her butt flat like this. I have never seen a large dog do this! One of my favorite things to do with her is when she is like this, getting her to army crawl to me over several feet of ground, it is super cute when she crawls to you all excited!


Two nights ago, Suzanne and I were throwing a tennis ball in the backyard for Maya to play with. She ran around pouncing on the ball for a while but one time she got so excited and wild that she started running as fast as she could in circles in the backyard. She ran around several times and started to circle back toward Suzanne and I. When she approached us, she decided to turn and circle away again. When she did, her front legs slipped in the wettish grass and her whole front end went down on her chin. Since she was running full speed and because she continued to power forward with her back legs, she slid on her chin for at least 3 or 4 feet before getting her front legs going and running again. When I discovered blood on my arm and on my shirt a minute later we found she had a nasty scrape on her chin, hahahaha. Poor doggy gets so wild sometimes!

Thanks for being in our lives Maya, you bring such joy and fun to our lives every day and we love you!

His and Her Garden

Mike and I agreed before we got married that he wanted nothing to do with the front flower garden. The weeding and planting is "not his thing." So I told him I would take care of that area, since it is, afterall, my favorite part of the house on the outside. The plants are small now, but they will grow bigger with time and even bigger next year when they return!

Mike's garden has undergone some serious makeover. Where the dirt and stepping stones are used to be plastic with lots of loose gravel on top. We shoveled up all the gravel together wheelbarrow load by the wheelbarrow load. We had it hauled off by Mike's dad who was happy to use it around his home where his gravel got worn away. Then Mike and his brother spent Saturday get 2 truck loads of mulch and rich soil to mix into the beat up soil that remained after the rocks were gone. Now, we have in our garden carrots and after the last frost we will plant corn, green beans, cucumber, and tomato plants.
We are so excited about our hard work and what has become of it. One of our favorite things to do is to spend time in the yard together. Thank you for all your hard work Mike! After weeks of shoveling rocks and a good long Saturday tilling in soil, our gardens are ready for this fun warm season!

"...And the aliens abducted them"

Last night during our scripture study Mike was reading outloud and I was next to him resting my eyes listening to the account being read. All of a sudden I hear
"And the aliens came down in a spaceship and abducted all the people...."
I lifted my head and said "What?" Super confused. MIke started to laugh and said,
"I was just testing to make sure you were listening and not sleeping."
I told MIke I was listening and know too well that aliens did NOT come in the Book of Mormon. You sneaker sneak Mike....I CAN listen with my eyes closed. In his defense, it is a common occurrence that when my eyes are closed, my brain shuts down and I no longer listen. Ahhhhhh, good times in the Alexander home. Keeping it real.

Mission Accomplished, kinda

After a couple of weekends spent doing various and sundry tasks in the yard, I was finally able to spend a good amount of time finishing the fence. It feels so nice to be able to go in the back yard and grill or play with Maya or work in the yard and not be so annoyed by the dumbest dog in the world owned by our neighbors. Over the course of the summer I will need to level the back yard and get rid of the divots in the grass.
This is the long segment of the fence, you can see a couple areas where I'll need to fix the divots and level the ground. Suzanne did mow the lawn on Saturday as well so the yard is looking pretty decent. Good job Suz!!


So here is the kinda part of the title. The gate is getting a little haggard, so I'll need to rebuilt it and I'll replace the front of the fence in the front yard next. I was also able to get some of the grass edge on Saturday as well so as to separate our back lawn from the Garden area. Once that is done, I'll need to relocate the gravel from the garden to the side-yard. I love working in the yard and doing these DIY projects!

My Favorite Facial Product!

This facial product has become one of my favorites to use morning and night. My skin looks so smooth and feels so soft! It really keeps the blackheads on my nose and chin almost completely gone. I used to only use it once a day, but I now use it morning and night along with my other facial cleanser and cleaning system. I highly recommend it to all! It is the blemish and blackhead control. Give it a go! I guarantee you'll love it.