Monday, September 29, 2008

Iron Bog Blog


Seth and I spent this past weekend with his family up at Iron Bog campground in Custer County, Idaho. We've had some pretty fun trips together so far, but I'm sure we'll remember this one for a long time.




On our way up to the Iron Bog campground, Seth and I stopped and fished Big Lost River coming out of Mackay Reservoir. It was a beautiful stream and was a really good place to practice our fly fishing skills. I got lucky and ended up hooking two small fish (not sure what they were as they jumped off my hook before I got a good look at them). Seth got skunked which made my already large head grow even bigger. Most days Seth can easily out-fish me, so when it's the other way around, I gotta make sure and rub it in!

Well we probably could have spent the whole day fishing there by Mackay but we knew the family was already up at the camp site, so we decided we better get up there before dinner time (plus we were really hungry). Everyone in the Hanson family was able to come except Scott and Amanda, who were both missed. It's quite the trip to Idaho from Houston, plus after making it through the aftermath of the hurricane a couple weeks before, we decided they were excused.

That evening Seth and I fished the little stream next to the campground and caught 14 small "Brookies." It was my first time catching them and it was a blast. I can see why the Hanson family loves them so much. When we got back from fishing, Tessa was very excited about the Brookies she'd caught with Grandpa and made sure to show them off to us. Marty and Arielle spent the evening hunting for elk, and checking out the deer for the October hunt. This was Arielle's first hunt and she was definitely ready. She was pretty tough and kept up with her dad the whole time. Marty Jr. was a big help keeping the fire going and I've never seen feet dirtier than Calysta's (although Abe was a close second). Rachel was the entertainment for the evening. We all enjoyed listening to her stories while admiring her impressive baby bump.


Mom and Dad Hanson were nice enough to bring the big white tent for Seth and I to sleep in. The wood burning stove was definitely a "warm" welcome at night and before getting out of bed in the morning. Seth was such a good husband and made sure the tent was warmed up before he'd let me get in bed, or out! I'm sure everyone would agree that nights up there got pretty chilly!


Grandma had so much fun!






On Saturday part of the family went on a hike up to Iron Bog lake. It was a steep 1.5 mile hike, but everyone made it... eventually. Just as we reached the lake we even saw a mountain goat way up on the side of the mountain. It was a beautiful lake and the weather was just great. We couldn't believe how big the fish were there.... a mix of cutthroats and cutthroat/rainbow hybrids. I caught the first fish of the day on a fly... the biggest fish I've caught yet. He was about a 2 lb. 18" cutthroat. Luckily Seth happened to be filming my sweet fly fishing skills at the time and caught it all on video. Needless to say I was pretty excited. Anyway, everyone ended up catching a lot of huge fish and we enjoyed eating them that night for dinner! As a bonus Grandpa, Seth and I all heard an elk bugle on the hike back down to the car. We sat and listened for at least a half hour to see if we could hear it again. Grandpa and Seth thought they heard it again about 15 minutes after the first one, but I was too distracted by a wasp flying around my head at the time to notice.






We finally made it back to camp, all worn out, and were greeted by Tessa who said, "Grandpa, can we go fishing?" Grandma, Calysta, and Soren were all pretty tired from their long day at camp and joined us in sitting around the campfire for the rest of the evening.



The next day Seth and I had to go home, so we didn't get to do much except pack up. We were definitely sad to leave so soon and wished we could have stayed a few more days. We really had a lot of fun. Oh and before I forget, the food was great too. The Hanson family has some mad cooking skills! In case any of you wanted that French Toast recipe, this is the link to it. http://www.recipezaar.com/90674. If you want access to all my secret recipes, this is my own page where I keep all the ones I like http://www.recipezaar.com/member/177753 (shameless plug, I know, I can't help it).



Isn't he beautiful? And the fish ain't bad either!

Arielle caught the biggest and last fish of the day!




Sunday, September 14, 2008

Our Fun Little Weekend



Seth and I had both been wanting to hike the Adam's Canyon trail here in Layton for a long time and this weekend we finally did. The hike was about 3.5 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 1187 feet. The trail leads to a 40 foot waterfall which, as a boy scout told us on the way up, "is totally worth the hike."

I think working out in Colorado has put Seth in a lot better shape. We used to have pretty equal fitness levels, but he kicked my butt hiking up there. He could have hiked to the top without any breaks, but I probably would have died had I not pretended to stop periodically to "admire the scenery." So now I guess I'm gonna have to work out in order to keep up with him. Or I could take the easy way out and make lots of delicious food that he'll scarf down, unaware of my secret attempt to bring him back down to my level.
Doesn't he look heroic?



Our friend, Ramona, came up to Layton that same evening and brought her Wii. We had a great time playing Mario Kart, boxing, baseball, target shooting, and Seth's favorite... cow racing. Seth and I both agree that we should definitely buy a Wii for exercise purposes (it's a hard sacrifice I know, but I'm willing to do it for health's sake). We worked up quite a sweat playing those games, especially the boxing. My shoulders are actually sore from all that punching!




This weekend was really fun and I had a great time hanging out with my wonderful husband. We technically have a few hours left before the weekend is over and I'm sure we'll try and squeeze more really amazing things in. Although, I don't know if anything can top BYU beating UCLA 59 to 0 (at least in Seth's eyes).

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Labor Day Extravaganza


Every year the Holley family gets together for our annual Labor Day vacation. This year just happened to be my year to do the planning, so Seth and I decided we'd camp at Potter's Ponds up by Joe's Valley Reservoir. Everyone was able to make it this year although some (Corinne's family) didn't get to stay as long as we would have liked. It was a bit chilly and rainy that weekend and those Arizona natives just can't handle anything below 70 degrees. I think everyone still had a good time though despite the weather and I think the kids especially had fun fishing. Four year old Lily caught 2 or 3 fish all on her own and two year old Ella caught one! Everyone was very impressed with the girls and their karate moves as well.

Seth and I went fishing one afternoon when everyone else decided to take a nap and I got a chance to test out the new fly rod Seth got me for my birthday. I actually didn't do too bad (only got the line stuck in a tree a couple times) and actually caught my first trout on a fly! It was just a little 6 or 7 inch brown but it was the most excited I've ever been about catching a fish.

I'm really glad everyone was able to make it and we all look forward to the family vacation next year!