Mt. Olympus... Okay yeah so we didn't hike it but the pictures are pretty.

So............................my wife had a lunch with her friends this Saturday and we also heard that Ensign Peak is a bit muddy this early in the season. So we didn't get out for our weekly hike as we would have liked. Having said that, I did get the opportunity to do a bit of walking around up by my father in law's house in the Olympus Cove area of Salt Lake City. These pictures were taken outside of his house.

The pictures really make me think of Spring. What an interesting season in Utah. Snowing one day and 80 degrees the next day. Those beautiful blossoms that I took pictures of will be very yummy peaches come fall (I know from experience). Spring is a great time of year as it is a time of new beginnings like with the blossoms. Take the opportunity to make a new beginning. Maybe there is a skill you've been meaning to learn, or a relationship you've been meaning to mend. Take this opportunity to have a new beginning. I hope we can get back to hiking next week (weather permitting of course) :). If you have any suggestions for places that we could hike in addition to the sites mentioned, please feel free to leave a comment. We are very open to suggestions. Have a great week everyone!!

Bridal Veil Falls (Provo Canyon)

So our first "hike" was to Bridal Veil Falls.  I say "hike" as it is really more of a leisurely stroll than an actual hike.  Unfortunately for reasons unknown to us, the parking area by the falls is still closed.  The only sign that we could find said that the area is closed until March 31st each year.  Well..............it was APRIL 17 but whatever.  So we parked along the road and got down onto the trail.  The trail to the falls is completely paved so we were able to bring the stroller for Emily.  We did test out Emily (18 months) on Daddy's shoulders and she seemed ok with that (which will come in handy on future hikes as most do not allow strollers).  Brandon is  almost 4 and walked (although by the end he was "getting pretty tired").

Its a bit early in the Spring for the trees so it was a little brown along the trail.  Having said that though, between the 75 degree weather and the river along the trail its a pleasant little trip. The falls themselves were beautiful as usual.  We were able to go up the rocks a bit and take some pictures.  While you CAN hike much further up the falls we didn't.  With two little kids it just wasn't practical.  The tram has not operated for some time (this used to take you up to the top of the falls).
I do have one little aside here.  The area directly around the falls has several signs that clearly state "WALKING ONLY".  This area is probably 50 yards or so.  The reason for this is fairly obvious.  People like to STOP and look at the falls, take pictures, skip rocks...you get the idea.  In the 10 minutes that we were there, there were at least 4 groups of bikers who decided that the rules did not apply to them.  Perhaps they couldn't read.....hmmmmm....yeah, that's it!!  maybe they couldn't read.  OR for some reason they thought that the rules didn't apply to them.  Yes, I know.  Its just SOOOOOOO hard to get off of your bike for 15 seconds and walk it through the walking only area.  But for those of you who do visit the falls on a bike, skateboard, scooter, ect.  PLEASE walk through the walking area.  While it was lots of FUN trying to avoid getting run over while keeping two kids from getting run over and trying snap a few pics, NOT having to do that would have been so much better :).  

Overall the falls were great.  It was an excellent way to start our hiking tradition.  Next week Ensign Peak (weather permitting).  Here are a few more pictures from the trip....

(along the trail to the falls)

Snow is definitely not gone yet.