When our time was up in Idaho and we needed to start heading back home, our looping road trip across the west started heading south. We traveled with Jack’s sister and her family to their home in Utah, where we overnighted before continuing on.
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| Little Mrs. Quail sitting on her eggs in Amy’s backyard. |
Kyle and Amy were gracious enough to let us stay at their house, which is never a small feat when eight people invade your home, eat all your food, and take up all your free space.
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| Jack up the tree to pick cherries. |
When we first entered Utah, it was mostly agricultural-type, open spaces but once we hit the first major city, it was town after town, all connected together into basically one mega-city. Even in the middle of urban development, we still gravitated toward the natural wonders and were able to find them. In Amy’s backyard, she hosted a tiny quail by her woodpile, who was nesting on a clutch of eggs. Also in her backyard, a huge cherry tree was fruiting and Jack, determined to find a cherry or two without worms, scurried up to pick them.
After dinner, we hopped on the bike trail near their house and took a walk. Along the way, we found a mother mallard and her little ducklings. Not far in, Jack spotted several wild plum trees, which naturally meant we had to stop and forage.
We grabbed what ripe ones we could from the ground but pretty sure, we were employing the kids to help us grab the ones higher up. We’d pick a few, eat them, and move on to the next patch, where we found several different varieties. There were white, yellow, and purple-fleshed plums, each with a slightly different taste and texture.
Claire loves to climb but not when it’s on someone else’s shoulders. It took me stabilizing her ankles for her to finally let go and be confident in her reach. Getting her back down was equally as arduous since she wouldn’t let go of Jack’s shoulders and fall back into my arms. Let’s just say our trust exercise wasn’t very successful.
Peter wasn’t particularly interested in the plums so he kept begging for people to push him on the bikes and scooters we’d borrowed, up and down the path. Riding was definitely the highlight of his day, probably because it meant he wasn’t restrained in his car seat.
When it was getting close to bedtime, we meandered back to Amy’s house and got everyone situated. By then, the kids were all pros at sleeping wherever they were assigned and were asleep in no time flat.
The next morning was blissfully unhurried. Kyle had to go in to work for a few hours, which meant we had time to sleep in (and by sleep in, I mean about 7am…we’d been in so many time zones by then, we had no idea when we were supposed to wake up).
After breakfast, we packed up our things back into the car and waited for our cue it was time to go. The cousin’s played games, virtual and otherwise.
And they can never pass up a chance to jump on a trampoline. I was grateful they were able to run themselves ragged before we were back in the car for another stretch.
All to soon, we were back on the road to our next stay in Colorado. We didn’t get to explore Utah as much as we would have liked but I’m sure we’ll be out that way again someday. It’s a beautiful, rugged area with all kinds of interesting quirks, and we saw a good portion of the changing landscape fly by while we were in the car, so we got a pretty good sense for its natural beauty. It was an enjoyable stopover, especially since we were able to spend it with family.
Until next time, Utah!
