A View of the Hills: Annabella Trip

Zach and Levi

We invited ourselves to Jodi and Chris' place this summer to rent some Razrs, ride the mountain and have a few other adventures. It was a cooler wet year so we enjoyed seeing the lakes at higher levels and even some snow that hadn't yet completely melted. We rented the Razrs on a Saturday and spent pretty much the entire day up on the mountain. We stopped at Barney Lake for lunch with Jodi and Chris' family, Mom and Dad Hills, Leslie, Erin, Dallas and Tim's family and Camrin with her four kids. It was quite the reunion!

Ned, Gwen, Sara, Anna, and Zoey

Ned

Ned Climbing a tree at Barney Lake

Gwen at Barney Lake

Zach couldn't resist spinning Brodies in this muddy field

The kid's favorite thing of the entire weekend- hanging out with cousins

Gwen sewed us some gaiters for our Razr rides

Modeling the gaiter

The next adventure on our trip was to go on an overnight backpack hike above Annabella. The boys had fun preparing their backpacks and Ned even made a little burner out of a tuna can, cardboard, and melted wax so we could cook our food the next morning. Shortly after beginning our hike the mosquitos came out in force. I have never seen so many mosquitoes! Though it was kind of warm, I quickly put my hoodie on and tied it tight around my face to keep as many mosquitos off of me as possible. I also sprayed myself with bug spray multiple times, but it wasn't enough. Nyle counted 40 mosquito bites on his body after all was said and done. I had only slightly less, because I was covered. The mosquitos still managed to get me through my clothes. Ironically, West, who forgot to bring a jacket or pants, got only one mosquito bite. I guess some of us taste better than others?

Nevertheless, the meadow we camped in was gorgeous and the hike was the perfect length at about 2 miles one way. Chris and Jodi led the way with all of their kids, minus Heston. Casey and Israel even came! Whit was a great trooper and often would lead the rear so he could help others out. He's a pro at this camping stuff and slept on top of his hammock on the ground by the fire. He claims he slept great! My boys slept pretty well in their hammocks, except West who woke us up in the middle of the night to the sounds of vomiting just outside our tent. The poor kid had altitude sickness. After he emptied his stomach a few times and some sips of water, we pulled him into our tent to finally get some good rest and then he was great for the rest of the trip!

We had fun watching these paragliders take off from the side of the mountain before our hike.

our campsite in a beautiful meadow

The boys were so excited to sleep in these hammocks while Zach and I borrowed Ned's tent

Zach and I

Ned

seeking refuge from the mosquitos

Ned using his burner and mess kit to make some instant oatmeal for himself and Nyle

Zach, West, and I on our hike back down the mountain

We tried to capture this amazing field of orange and purple flowers

Our tour guides- Chris and Jodi

After the hike, we floated down the irrigation canal that runs alongside Richfield. It's our 3rd time doing this and every time we do it, we say it's the last time. However, the kids always overrule us and we go again. It actually is a bit fun. There's a rope swing we always stop at, a little waterfall chute and then the most exciting part is when we all float under the freeway with only about 2 feet of clearance between the water level and the underside of the freeway bridge. This is particularly exciting because the underside is covered with gigantic spiders with their webs and tons of bird nests. It's a bit like a real-life Disneyland ride as we float into the dark of this long tunnel under the freeway and work hard to stay away from the sides of the canal so we don't inadvertently knock spiders onto us. The first year we did this, Zach rubbed his raft along the side of the canal almost the entire length and emerged on the other side of the canal covered with some of the biggest spiders I have ever seen! It was a bit freakish but fortunately, he just ducked under water to rid himself of them. After the overnight hike and then the canal ride, we felt very deserving of our long showers.

4th of July parade in Richfield

On the morning of the 4th, we went over to Richfield to watch the parade. The kids loved it since they were showered with candy, frisbees, otter pops, and an occasional squirt of water from a squirt gun or firehose from the paraders.

West was so excited each time he would catch something. We call him velcro-hands.

We finished up the evening with a BBQ at Tim and Dallas' place. The kids had fun playing this 4-square/volleyball game while the adults chatted inside.