Happy 4th of July

Yesterday at church,  our ward Primary President was telling the children about how their family hiked to Stewart falls and how awesome the falls are this year because of the record snow levels we received last winter.  So when Mr. T came home from church, I asked if he would take me up Provo canyon the next day, so we could hike to Stewart Falls.

Today was a leisurely 4th of July morning.  I usually get up and go for a walk first thing in the morning, but since I was planning this hike, I didn't go for my morning walk.  I read a few chapters in a book I am reading: "Saving CeeCee Honeycutt".  It's a really cute, sassy book that makes me laugh.

Mr. T finally got up & moving.  We left home about 11:00 am.   Arrived at the trail head about 11:30 and began our hike. There were a lot of people on the trail.  Many, many families with children of all ages.  The hike is about 3.5 miles (round trip) and is considered easy.  It was the perfect day for a hike,  a little overcast which made it perfect for hiking.  

Mr T. at the beginning of the trailhead

This was beautiful - all the ferns in the quaking aspen.  I have never seen ferns growing so tall and thick in Utah.  I thought for a minute we had been transported to Washington or Oregon!

Stewart Falls.  There is still quite a bit of snow at the base of the falls.  The mist coming from the falls sure did feel good.  

There was quite a bit of excitement when we got to the falls.  A young man climbing near the falls had fallen 30 feet onto a ledge.  There were search & rescue people all over the place trying to get him down to a helicopter so he could be flown out.  We did not see the actual rescue, as we left before they brought him down.  But we sit down and rest for awhile and watch all rescue personnel wandering around.

This picture shows the amount of snow that is still left at the bottom of the falls.  

On our way back, I was drawn to all the wild flowers along the trail. 

 Forget-me-not

 Yarrow

 Columbine

  Sweet pea

 wild strawberries

wild geranium

Instead of driving back down past Sundance, we continued up the Alpine loop thru American Fork Canyon.  Here are a couple pictures I took along the loop:

Showing how fast the water is moving down the canyon.  There is still a lot of snow that needs to melt and come down out of the mountains.

Back side of Timpanogos.  The other side is what I see when I look out the front windows of my house.    I do love the beauty of this mountain.

Great day!