House O' Sullivans

“Camp Floyd [near Fairfield, Utah] is one of the most miserable, disagreeable and uninteresting places that ever disgraced the earth.   It is built upon a dry plain, entirely destitute of grass, or, indeed, any vegetation, except sage, that flourishes where nothing else will grow.   There is no water here except a little dirty stream that runs near the west end of the camp, scarcely large enough to drown a mouse.”   (Utah, a soldier with Johnston’s Army, September 25, 1858.   From the plaque at present-day Camp Floyd State Park.) Went to the Lundskog family reunion at historic Camp Floyd this morning and despite it being a Saturday in late June -- had the place completely to ourselves.  Maybe everyone else in the western hemisphere had read the reviews and determined that that long dead soldier couldn't be that far off  and would leave "disagreeable" and "uninteresting" for a Saturday say maybe in late January. Well Sullivans ...

Zeke sporting the new climbing "equipo" Yesterday afternoon, we dodged the heat (I think the high in the Valley was around 97 F) and headed up to Big Cottonwood Canyon with the kids and a couple of friends--Dave Robertson and Ginny Watts.  It was also the inaugeral outing for our new, ultimate, 25-point  kid harness, modeled here by Mr. Zeke.  We've taken the kids climbing a few times, but only as passive spectators.  The Beachball Crag, about a mile and a half upcanyon and right next to the creek, was the locale of the first ever climb for Sophie, Hal, and Zeke. Zeke did not want to take off his new gear, so he rode all the way up to the canyon in his snazzy ensemble:  <> </></></><>  </> </> Casey set up the climb Dave was a regular belay warrior After Casey and Dave did the route, Soph was next in the queue.  She easily went right up the climb and immediate...

Camp #1 at the China Meadows Trailhead on Tuesday night Last week we loaded our backpacks and headed for the high Uintas.  Casey conceived the epic family vaction plan several months ago.  Growing up, his family did many multi-day stints with the horses in the backcountry and Casey thought that Sophie, Hallee, Zeke, and I were ready (tough enough).  I was a bit incredulous that we could pull off a week-long back-packing trip with three little people, but Casey was determined.  Grandpa Doug agreed to provide the horses, packing equipment, and expertise and somehow Uncle Sean and Grandma Ilean got roped in.  Cousin Emory and Cooper (the dog) also got the green light.  The plan was to drive to China Meadows and camp for a night, then load the horses with all of the camping equipment and provisions that they could carry, while we hauled the rest bodily and hike a few miles to a high meadow where we'd spend a week in paradise....