Cabin!

Ben and Jo decided to stay a week in Utah after their wedding because, first, they wanted to see family and friends for longer than a weekend. And second, because Jo's parents and sister flew all the way from Korea, why not enjoy what Utah has to offer for a bit?

Anyway, because of this, E decided to take work off on Tuesday and we hosted Ben and Jo and her family up at my cabin for the day. The cabin was a perfect retreat, close enough to the city to not make it a horrible inconvenience, but far enough to really feel like we are getting away. Plus, the cabin is very rustic, without running water and electricity. Jo's parents loved it!

We arrived after lunch around noon. Jo's father was in heaven as soon as he stepped out of the car. He said he grew up in the Korean countryside, and now living in Seoul, he misses the countryside a lot. The rustic-ness of the cabin was also a hit, I think the fact that there are still places that look and feel like they were built 100 years ago has some sort of special charm.

We looked around the cabin, sat on the patio, and watched the hummingbirds zoom to and from the feeder. Jo's father said he'd always heard about hummingbirds, always read about them, but this was the first time he'd ever seen one, it was really special.

After a little bit of chatting we got up to hike to the lake. The hike is any easy one, and I was feeling like I could do it. Up the mountain we looked for wildlife and talked about plants and flowers. I pointed out some of my favorite wildflowers and taught them the English name. Ben and Jo were having a blast, and we talked a little about school, life, and the baby.

One thing Jo was really really looking forward to was swimming in the lake. She had never been to the cabin, and Ben had told her stories of how fun swimming in the frigid mountain water was. Jo was so thrilled, she instructed her entire family to pack swimsuits. Well once we arrived the sky was a little cloudy, and although the air was warm, it wasn't wicked hot, so the lake wasn't calling to any of us.

However, Ben had packed his water shoes all the way from Virginia just for the lake. I knew, if nothing else, I should jump in and show how "fun" it is. So I changed and jumped in. My god... it was freezing! It always is, I don't know why I was surprised. Ben followed me into the lake and we both bobbed there for awhile like pathetic ice cubes. After a few minutes to adjust to the numbing effects we dunked and started claiming to the onlookers on the beach that the water was actually warm, and they should join us.

Nobody bought it.

After a dozen or so more minutes of our ice water bath, Ben and I joined everyone back on the beach. We chatted and looked around for moose as we dried off. Once back in our hiking gear, we descended the mountain once again.

Back at the cabin we pulled out snacks and drinks and sat around talking about funny high school and college stories. Jo's parents were very interested to hear stories of when we were all young. We told a few of our favorites (Monstro the Moose and the obsidian obelisks) and asked Jo's parents for a few of their favorite stories too. At one point, Jo's father said that this trip to Utah has been his favorite vacation of his entire life. Wow, that is really neat.

Soon we started a fire in the fire pit so that we could burn the logs down to coals, we were going to grill hot dogs! Again, Jo's family was thrilled with the authenticity of the American experience. E and I sat around the fire pit, chatting with our best friends in the entire world. Life was perfect.

As the logs burned down we started roasting the dogs and heated up some chili inside. Soon we were all enjoying our chili cheese dogs and potato salad. The sun was getting low in the sky, and it was my favorite time of day at the cabin. The aspens were shaded so beautiful, half in sunlight, half in shadow. As dinner came to a close I asked everyone if they'd like to join me on a mini walk down to the meadow, we had yet to see a moose, and dusk is prime time. E stayed back to finish his dutch oven peach cobbler. The rest of us trooped down to the meadow. The lighting was magical, the meadow was bathed in gold and pink hues, but alas, no moose was to be found.

Back at the cabin we dug into a fantastic cobbler! E always does a perfect job with his dutch ovens, he is really quite a master. Jo's family was thrilled with the cobbler, and we all couldn't get over how yummy it was.

After dinner and dessert was finished we cleaned up, packed up and headed out. I gave Jo's parents a big hug, telling them that the next time we see them will be in Korea, E and I totally want to go soon with Jo and Ben.

Almost as soon as we were in the car we saw her! A mommy moose with a tiny baby! We stopped the car to watch Mama and baby eat for awhile. How special, we had finally seen this truly awesome animal! We passed binoculars from person to person, even thought the moose and her baby were not far away. Again, we said goodbye, and got back into our car. Around another corner we saw another! Another female on the far edge of the meadow. Again, we passed the binoculars and commented on how lucky we were. Back in the car we continued home. Around the next corner we stopped again, this time for five (yes five!) male moose. They were down in a meadow relaxing and eating. Wow! An eight moose sighting, we had rarely been so lucky! Of all these moose sightings, I didn't take a single photo. The dusk light was a bit dark, and some of the sightings were too far off, but you'll have to take my word for it, it was an awesome end to the day!

We wade in... gosh, my toes hurt just looking at this photo. Click to see it bigger (so you can see my tummy!)
Ben's face shows our pain. This is only moments after he lowered his shoulders into the icy bath. This photo makes me laugh so much, it really shows the pain.
Yea! We're in!
Ben helping E with his dutch oven. Can't help but be reminded of this photo taken two years ago.
Dinner is served! And it was so yummy.
The meadow at sunset. Love the rose/golden light.