Jeff and I got down and dirty at the family reunion.
Oh yeah.
Not that kind, people! Geez! This is a G-rated family blog.
I mean, we got sopping wet and covered from head to toe (and everywhere in between) in mud on the ATVs.
A.W.E.S.O.M.E.
Thank you Arapeen Trail and Reeder Canyon (and cousin Kevin for telling us to try it)! Oh and my parents for watching the dwarfs so we could three hours having a blast. My miserably disappointing 10-year anniversary getaway is now a distant memory after this ride. Seriously, the best trail ride ever!
My Dad is so funny. He brought his 4 wheeling clothes just in case he got to go for a ride too :) He did. Although he didn't come back nearly as muddy as we did. Anyway, when he saw me getting ready with just tennis shoes, he grabbed his boots and insisted I wear them. I said, nah I'll be ok but ended up giving in. Boy, am I glad! Minus the two tiny spots where muddy water eventually made it's way through and into my socks, they kept my feet dry and clean.
Now when I say we got dirty, I mean we got dirty. The trail was amazing! There was a little bit of everything.... pine trees, open spaces, hills, jumps, rocky climbs, streams to cross, switchbacks, a lake, rock slides, and gorgeous scenery. I even saw a deer in a small clearing! Every dip and hill had a giant mud puddle and the bottom and in true Johnson style, both of us raced through them. Sometimes multiple times just to see how high we could splash the mud over us. And to get video of the fun.
Did I mention this was AWESOME? I can't believe how much fun I had. Until I hit this metal pole 50 inches from another metal pole, designed to keep any ATVs wider than 50 inches off the trail. Um. Yeah. That was dumb. And it hurt. Jeff gave me a stern lecture about not being so crazy... blah, blah, blah. But back to the mud....
By the time we got to the top of the mountain, our faces and teeth were speckled in mud and the rest of us? Well. Covered in brown mud and sopping wet. When I'm in control of getting wet, I enjoy it. When Mother Nature is in charge? Not so much.
We followed two guys in a side-by-side up the trail who kindly took our picture and shared some tips on the "hairy" parts of the trail to come. Good guys... even if they were wearing BYU attire. I think this might be the first (and probably only) picture of Jeff and I on the trail without half of our bodies or heads cut off.
Hmmm... I think I look good with freckles.
Jeff came back down the trail looking for me 'cause he said I was slow. I was trying not to be so crazy like he told me. Plus, I kept seeing these patches of gorgeous, tall, deep purple wildflowers tucked in the pine trees that I had to get a picture of.
Gorgeous view of Joe's Valley Resivoir. The wakes from the few boats on it were spectacular against the turquoise colored water.
Here are the after-ride shots to prove just how muddy we were. When we got back to the ranch, everyone kept staring at us, trying to figure out how in the world we had gotten caked in mud? My Uncle Bob just laughed and laughed at me.
Still not quite sure how I managed to get mud all the way up to my back. But it was well worth the laundry when we got home!
All smiles after this ride. Even if my smile was speckled with mud and I looked like I had a beard.
And the poor 4 wheelers were as covered as we were! By the time we got back to the truck, all the mud had dried, leaving behind one big mess to clean up. But weeks later, they are still sitting on the trailer caked in mud, waiting for a good rainstorm to clean them off. Or another epic ride!
Seriously the best ride ever! New favorite trail! We are definitely coming back! And when we do, I'm hoping it's just as down and dirty as the first time.
We did Pearl's most favorite thing over the 24th of July weekend.
Head down to the Lazy P Ranch in Orangeville. And skip out on our own town's celebration.
Tradition has it that Friday night is a wienie roast over a big bonfire. In past years, it's been nothing more than my family and Aunt Karen's clan since they own the ranch. But when we pulled in this time, the crowd had grown substantially! It was a bit weird to see so many people but great too. Even my cousins made it down, who pathetically we haven't seen in probably two years even though they live about 30 minutes from us.
Apparently that's why you have family reunions.
Saturday is the family lunch, auction, games, zip line, horseback riding, Peacock cash store, Aunt Beuhla's cream puffs (I'd drive 3,000 miles to have one), and another wienie roast. Like we need anymore food after our lunch feast.
Pearl got the most adorable peacock tutu. I think I'm going to copy it and make a "big girl" sized one for me to wear on Halloween. Jeff surprised me with a bid to get another jewelry box made by my Grandpa. This one is a musical jewelry box. Now I have enough to be able to give Pearl and Cole one when they are bigger. I think this will probably be the last year my Grandpa brings anything handmade to the reunion.
This year, we also pulled our 4 wheelers down and Jeff and I sneaked away to redeem our anniversary ride flop. You can read more about that later. They were a BIG hit with all the kids! My poor cousin Zac sort of got forced into taking his kids for a ride by me, which lasted a good three hours of back and forth around the ranch. I think he was glad I kept pressuring him to take one for a spin. My cousin Marcie (his wife)? Not so much. Especially after my dad's cousin Kevin opened up the "Red Neck Water Park" aka the gate for accessing the river behind the ranch. That was Pearl's favorite thing the entire weekend... she begged anyone with keys to the ATVs to drive her through the water and get her wet.
On the way home we stopped at the train station rest stop in Spanish Fork Canyon. We always drive by and think, huh we should stop there next time. Well? It wasn't really worth the stop except that I had to pee. The Scipio petting zoo was much more entertaining.
We really missed Uncle Paul and Uncle Jim. It just didn't feel the same without them. There wasn't nearly as much storytelling and ironically, cursing. And the bonfire wasn't nearly as big.... pfff about the fire restrictions throughout the state.
I love Castle Country.
How to make homemade Slurpees.
First of all, it helps if you are at a family reunion on a ranch with no 7-11 convenience store in sight. It will also help to have an awesome Aunt Denise who comes up with creative and fun ideas like this to entertain both kids and adults. Oh, and it should be hot. Like really hot outside.
Ingredients needed:
- About 100 cans of soda in all different flavors. Shasta works well but I hear a Mtn. Dew homemade Slurpee is divine. Sadly, Coke homemade Slurpees are disappointments.
- 100 zillion Ziplock bags in equal numbers of gallon and quart sizes.
- A big bag of rock salt.
- Cups and colored straws (duh!).
- And lots and lots of ice.
Dump a soda of your liking into the quart sized Ziplock bag and seal. Try to get as much of the air out of the bag as you can. Throw several a whole bunch of ice into the gallon sized Ziplock bag and a handful or two of the rock salt. Then put the Ziplock bag with your soda inside the bigger Ziplock bag and seal really good. You don't want anything mixing or spilling!
Then shake your booty until your hands freeze and you get this pathetic look on your face or until your soda freezes into a delicious, refreshing, slush. Whichever comes first.
Pour into a cup and suck down with a neon colored straw!
Repeat for your Uncle Bob, children, Grandpa, and random family members you can't remember their names.
Oh, and throw the smaller bag away... you don't want to risk getting any salt in your next Slurpee. Conserving the planet is not the main point of this activity. Except for keeping the grass green and alive.... DO NOT SPILL the salt water/ice mix or bag on your lawn. Unless you were planning to zeroscape it anyway.
Enjoy!
