A couple Saturdays ago we decided it had been way too long since we'd done any explorations of the out-of-doors. We were hoping to see some pretty fall colors, so we went to revisit the yurt. To make a long story short, we started at the wrong place and ended up hiking a long way before we realized it. Then on the way back, we missed our starting point and stumbled into the good ol' yurt. Freezing and starving by this point, we scarfed down our tacos in the dark. and booked it back to the car. That said, we had such a good time! It's so nice to just get outside sometimes with just the family in a place where it's quiet and you have no immediate deadlines or responsibilities breathing down your neck. We had so much fun watching the kids enjoy the outdoors too. This has been the most wildly successful hike we've had with Bryn so far. She had a blast riding on my back and was happy the entire time and did not beat on the back of my head or pull my hair at all, which i...

Yurt (n): a circular domed tent of skins or felt stretched over a collapsible lattice framework and used by pastoral peoples of inner Asia ; also : a structure that resembles a yurt usually in size and design. Last week, a nice lady in the ward took Michelle on a hike up by Snowbasin, and showed her a super cool yurt maintained by the forest service. We went up on Saturday, and I am sold. We gotta come back and go camping here sometime - they have a stove, wood, sleeping pads, and chairs. It's called a "churt" (a cheap yurt) because it's free for whoever wants to pack their stuff in. Inside the yurt. It warms the cockles of my heart that someone said, "I think I'll build and maintain a sweet camping place for my Utah friends," and they did. Beautiful surroundings. Michelle spotted this insanely large hornet nest. About as big as a basketball. Glad it's abandoned. We forgot the baby carrier, but Add did just great on our shoulders. He would periodic...