I've been gone for a while...



North of Salem along the foothills



       I know I have many devoted fans of my blog that have been wondering when I was going to post again. Well the wait is over! The truth is, I have been a little down in the dumps of late and really didn't have much I wanted to say. Sally and I have been going out almost every night we have together and visiting somewhere in the valley, or up the canyons. I found it was hard to write about the west fields of Spanish Fork and Payson for the tenth time and make them interesting to my readers. There isn't anything different when we go, we just like being out there. There is to me however something visceral about being in the country air, and the sights, and smells, and sounds, of country life. I guess the old expression is true, " you can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy." I can't help thinking a lot of my growing up on the farm, and when I get out in the country air and I start waxing poetic and babbling on to Sally about the good ol' days of milking cows and putting up hay, and feeding horses in the chilly winds of Idaho.

I thought I hated every minute of growing up doing chores on the farm. I found later that the further I got away from that upbringing the more I felt privileged and felt a little sorry for anyone who didn't have the same experiences as myself. My father was not a mean man but he expected us to help and could be a little stern when we fell short of his expectations. I am so grateful for that now. I know now that he loved me and wanted me to amount to something. If I could not handle a few chores or some rough days hauling hay, then what was I to do when the real tests of life came knocking at my door? Even now in my older years I still get romantic sometimes about getting a little farm and having animals and raising crops.  Enough of the good ol' days.


Payson Canyon



         Sally and I have been to many cool places since July. We went over the Nebo Loop from Payson canyon, and then last week went over it again from the Nephi side and saw it backwards. It was beautiful both ways, especially now that the leaves a turning. Colors are changing so fast in the mountains, my car was actually green when we left on our drive! Ha, ha! There were a lot of cows to watch out for though. We went to Soldier Summit and over to Scowfield reservoir and down through Indianola. We went to Heber and up to Wanship and Kamas and came home by way of Kimball Junction. We went to Goshen north along the Redwood Road to Saratoga and Lehi and home. We have been around Utah Lake by way of West Mountain and Elberta and Santiquin. Up Spanish Fork Canyon to Diamond Fork as far as a Spitfire can go. This canyon by the way is "brilliant" (our new exclamation word, awesome is getting too worn out)!

Diamond Fork Canyon





This photo is from a  formation that appears to have skulls trapped in the stone trying to escape. It is one we will visit often I am sure. Needless to say we have put many miles on the Spitfire and she is still going strong. I'm saddened that soon we will have to put her away for the winter and look forward to next year. I still need to get a top so we can get through some of the rain storms, we got caught in a few this summer. At least we have had fun on every trip, I only wish it was a bit bigger so we could stay in longer. Thanks for coming along.