A view of the area
The only really nasty part of the ride. I got kicked off for safety reasons.
Snack Break
Standing by one of the abandoned mines.Since Kevin is back in school, he has a lot more free time. Last Tuesday, there wasn't enough work at his job for him to do, and he had the day off, so we went four-wheeling again. This time it was just the two of us and his dad. We went in the hills past Eagle Mountain and Cedar Fort. The area definitely fits into the definition of desert, as the majority of the vegetation was sage brush and junipers.
This area apparently used as gold and silver mines back in the day, and we were able to look into some old mines. They were covered by really thick rebar, so you were able to walk across the hole and look down. That was a very weird feeling. Kevin and his dad threw some rocks down the mines to see how deep they were. In some one the mines it was almost impossible to hear the rocks hit the bottom they were so deep. Another indicator of how deep the mines were was the huge tailings pile. It was amazing to me that people in the 1800's were able to dig so deep without our modern technologies.
This ride was less dusty, but it was much more difficult. There were places that were very steep and rocky, as well as places that had huge ruts in them from previous rain storms. There were a few times that I was sure the four-wheeler was going to tip over on us, but we survived.
Kevin's dad took pictures of us, so hopefully I will be able to get those tonight and post them.
Last weekend marked the beginning of the BYU football season, at least the home games. I have had season tickets since my first year at BYU (I am now in my seventh season), and I love BYU football. This year I am able to share that love with Kevin. While he is not completely enthused about sitting in a football stadium for three-four hours, he hasn't complained too much, and I think he actually enjoys the games at times. We have okay seats. They are definitely not as good as the seats I had as a student, but we could be a lot higher, which is my only consolation. The people surrounding us were kind of annoying, but only the people directly behind us seem to be season ticket holders. It is also nice to be able to sit throughout the game, something that never happened in the student section. Maybe someday, I will be rich enough to sit in an actual chair, so that I don't have to carry one, nor sit by annoying people. The people who sit in the nice seats seem to be more reserved and are there to enjoy the game, not make lots of annoying noise, but you never know.
I am looking forward to enjoying this season with Kevin. It is kind of nice to have a regular activity that doesn't include either of our parents. While I enjoy spending time with them, I find it important to spend alone time with Kevin so that we are able to talk and work through any "bumps" we may be having at the moment
I have been wanting to find a house for the last year, but my search has been kind of off and on for the past little while; however, towards the middle or end of August, I decided that I should get more serious about the whole house hunting process since the deadline for the tax credit is November 30, and I really want that $8000. Since then, I have "hired" a realtor, and I have found two houses that I have put offers on. Most of the houses in my price range are short sales, so I could wait two months before the sale is finalized, which is why I have put in offers on two houses so far. If I find other houses that I like, I will probably put offers of them too. I am in the first position on both houses, so I could potentially get either of them. This process is both exciting and scary at the same time. I am excited to become a new homeowner and to move out of an apartment (the mold incident and my new upstairs neighbors have strengthened my desire to leave this apartment complex), but it is also scary because buying a house seems to be a very grown-up thing to do. When I know for sure which house I will be moving into, I will post pictures.
This past Sunday, Kevin and I went on a drive up a canyon in the South Jordan/Herriman area that connects to Tooele. Kevin had been up here the previous day with his friend, Alex, and wanted to show the area to me. I had no idea that you could even drive over the mountains into Tooele, although I should have guessed because Utah is full of small little roads in the mountains, but this road was actually paved, which is rare. When we got to the top of the paved road, we decided to turn onto a dirt road that seemed to go further up the mountain. When we got to the top, we realized that the drive was well worth our time. First of all, we were directly above the Kennecott Copper Mine. I never really fathomed how huge it really is. It seems to stretch forever. We could also see from what was probably North Salt Lake or Woods Cross down to Alpine and Highland, and possibly more. We could also see the Draper, Jordan River, and Oquirrah Mountain Temples. Salt Lake had too many lights so we were unable to find the Salt Lake Temple. To further perfect-ify (yes, I realize that I just made up that word) the view, there was lightning in the mountains across the valley that lit up the whole sky. It was breathtaking. Hopefully, we will find another excuse to drive up there or another equally beautiful part of the mountains.
I think that I have seen far more sights in the Salt Lake Valley since meeting Kevin than I ever have before. Hopefully we will see even more.
Every Labor Day Weekend, Francis hosts Frontier Days, which features a horse pull, a rodeo, a bull wars, and other various events. I have been attending the festivities ever since I was little. I even scored a bunny and a kitten there when I was little. Since my dad was on the town board for so long and my mom is the Town Clerk, I am usually volunteered for something, but this year I was able to just enjoy everything for the most part.
Kevin and his parents came up Saturday for the Horse Pulls and Rodeo. This was Jim and Glenda's first experience with a horse pull, and I think they enjoyed it almost as much as Kevin does. There weren't as many teams this year, but it was still exciting. I think my cousin Sheldon won at least two of the weight classes and got second in the other. Between the Horse Pull and Parade, I took them up to our house and introduced them to the goats, sheep, and llama. They especially enjoyed seeing Yoda, our baby goat that has ears that bear a strong resemblance to the Star Wars character of the same name. They also got to chat with my dad and grandma. The parade was rather small, but we did score quite a bit of candy. The barbecue was pretty good, but the pulled pork had way too much pepper on it. The highlight of the night was the rodeo. It was pretty good, although it was kind of drug-out because none of the animals could find their ways back into the pens (which was also the case Monday). Kevin and his parents enjoyed watching the Wild Cow Milking and Saddle Cow events (both of which my cousin Rowdy won). It was fun to share a little bit of my background with them.
Monday was the Bull Wars. It wasn't too exciting because only five or six bulls were ridden, but it was okay. The Ring of Fear was kind of a waste of time because only two people participated, but I guess the Hide Race and Trailer was were fairly entertaining. All in all, it was a nice weekend and a welcome break from the routine of being in West Jordan.
