Camp Floyd Stagecoach Inn State Park

This Saturday was the semi annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Blake and I planned that during the two hours between conference sessions we would make the drive to Camp Floyd Stagecoach Inn State Park. It is located in a little town called Fairfield, Utah which just happened to be less than 20 minutes away from our home.

We pulled up and parked in front of a tiny little building.  Upon entering the lady at the desk was very helpful, she took our fee (only $3 each SCORE!!) then continued to give us a brief history of Camp Floyd. 

Since I know you might not be interested in this I will just give you the readers digest version of what went down 160 or so years ago. 

In the 1850's President Buchanan was told there was a large rebellion of Mormons in Utah. He took this rumor very seriously and sent 3,500 soldiers, 1/3 of the entire U.S. Army to Utah to squash the rebellion. When the soldiers arrived they found that there was no rebellion and they set up camp in Fairfield, Utah. John Carson a Fairfield resident also built an Inn out of his home which housed visitors to the soldiers and pony express riders when the pony express was active. 

In 1861 President Lincoln called the army back home to help in the Civil War and ordered the whole camp to be destroyed so that it would't be used by anyone else. First however they had an auction to sell as much as they could to the Utah Settlers. It was the best yard sell probably in the history of the world for the buyers! The army ended up selling 3-4 million dollars worth of things for 100,000.  They then destroyed everything that was left. So out of all the housing and other buildings for the 3,500 soldiers only one building was left. 

This was it.

Inside there was educational video and a small room with artifacts from that time. It was very interesting.

 

One thing I thought that was really cool was a drawing from a soldier of Witch Rocks on his way to Salt Lake City. This is right up the road from my parents house in Morgan. I even have been on top of the middle tower while rock climbing with some friends. It is crazy how land marks like this span the ages. They have been there for years before I was born and will probably be there long after I am gone. It can sometimes be mind-boggling. 

Here is a picture I took in 2012 before my friends Austin, Brenden and I climbed the middle tower. 

 Across the street from the first building was The Stage Coach Inn. It was fun to walk through the Inn with furniture from that time.

My favorite quote by one of the soldiers who lived in this camp basically summed up Fairfield, Utah pretty well. It also made me laugh out loud. "Camp Floyd is one of the most miserable disagreeable and uninteresting places that every 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." Seriously so funny.

Right before we left we found this awesome big tree. We asked an elderly lady to take the picture with my phone. Sometimes technology is hard so you can't see us very well, but you can see how big the tree is!

We made it home just in time for the last session of conference. If you missed it or are interested in what was said feel free to look it up on lds.org. :) It was an amazing Saturday!

Water, Rock, and Sand

Now that Blake and I finally have our tank and stand we were ready to fill it with water, sand, and rocks. But first we had to try it out with regular water, to make sure the plumbing and tank didn't leak at all. Let me tell you, it is a lot easier to fill up a 30 gallon tank with a hose, outside on the grass than it is to fill a 90 gallon tank, in a condo with a handful of 5 gallon buckets and two bath tubs. 

Basically, I would have two buckets filling up at the same time in the two different bathrooms, and I would run to one, replace it with an empty bucket, run to the other one, replace that with an empty bucket, and drop the full buckets off in the middle where the tank was, while on my way. It was quite the work out. Blake did an awesome job with all the pipes he made, everything worked like a charm!

Draining the tank was a little easier. We just siphoned the water back into the buckets.

Since the tank was tested and passed with flying colors, we were ready to start actually fill it with sand. 

It took us a while to arrange the rocks, but eventually after a long long time, (or so it seemed because it was really late) we placed them together it the perfect way! I really wanted an arch and Blake tried really hard to make that happen. I think he did a really good job.

It looks so amazing! Everything combined looks beautiful! I can't wait for the tank to cycle so we can start putting in fish and our corals. 

The Loveland Living Planet Aquarium

THE LOVELAND LIVING PLANET AQUARIUM!! That's right I said it! It has officially opened! Okay, I might be a little late on this. The new location opened in Draper in March. During that time Blake and I were a little busy, being newly weds, moving into our new home, you know that kind of stuff. Anyways, back to the aquarium. . .

Blake and I finally hit our 6 month anniversary last Monday. Since it was a Monday I work till 8 so we didn't really have any time to celebrate. We decided to celebrate our anniversary the following weekend! You guessed it, we went to the Living Planet Aquarium. It was absolutely amazing!

When we first arrived at the aquarium we went to the 4D movie, The Last Reef. It was so fun! If you are not familiar with 4D movies, you get air and or water sprayed on you at certain times in the movie. Along with that it is a 3D movie! It was a great film all about reefs and how we can help them survive. 

Blake and I had a blast looking at all the different types of animals they had. (Isn't he attractive)

Some of my favorite animals were the yellow dart frogs and the four eyed fish. The fish with four eyes have two that look above the surface and two that look below. They are pretty funny looking!

The Jelly Fish, are always my person favorites as well. 

Around the time that Blake and I started dating my friend Jonny showed me a documentary on Cuttle Fish. It was absolutely mind blowing. I had to show Blake and I believe he really enjoyed it. If you have the time I would 100% recommend this amazing wonder. We have often joked about getting a Cuttle Fish, because they are so cool!!! I have never actually seen one in person until this day. Here is a picture, it kind of blends in the rock but still it is the coolest fish hands down. 

The aquarium was such a blast. I love spending every moment of my free time with this guy. I can't believe that I found someone I have so much in common with. The first 6 months of my eternity with this guy could not have been more perfect! 

New Tank Stand

When Blake and I first set up our 30 gallon aquarium, while we were dating it was such a fun thing to do. We both love aquariums and it gave us a long list of things to do together. We had always talked about how ideally in the future we would get a larger tank. 30 gallons (what we currently have) is big, but you basically max out after 5 fish. After we bought our home we immediately started making plans for a larger tank in our living room. 

We were trying to decide between a few different sizes 90, 110, and 120 gallons. Blake was sort of worried about the weight of the tank on our floor, since we live on the second story of our building. We decided on a 90 gallon. Which is one of the smaller sizes, but is still triple the size of our original tank. That way our neighbors beneath us won't wake up one morning with our aquarium in their living room. 

We spent weeks scouring pinterst in search of the perfect aquarium stand. After narrowing it down to a select few, we finally chose the picture that would be our inspiration. We decided to just do it flat against the ground without the legs, to better distribute the weight. 

Blake's father Steele graciously volunteered his time, skills, and tools to help us achieve our dream of the perfect stand. I can take absolutely no credit in building the stand it was 100% Blake and Steele. I wasn't even present for most of the construction. I told Blake to take a lot of pictures so I apologize in advance for the picture over load. 

When it was completed it looked amazing! I was blown away at how good the stain looked! I couldn't wait for Blake to bring it home from Bountiful. When Blake arrived with it in the car we hauled it up the stairs to our Condo! Honestly it was lighter than the actual glass fish tank, so that was a plus, but it was still crazy heavy and awkward to carry!

Right when we put it against the wall I was so in love with it! I am beyond thrilled with how it turned out. Thank you, thank you, a million times to Blake and Steele for creating my dream aquarium stand. 

Wasatch National Forest

For quite a while Blake and a couple of his co-workers have talked about going camping. You know those times when you and someone else always say you are going to do something but no one really follows through. Well, this was NOT one of those times.

 We had talked about going to the Uinta's, in the Ruth Lake area. Since Blake and I went camping there last year and it was beyond beautiful, we were all for it! Unfortunately, the temperatures at night this time of the year drop below zero, and the day temps are in the low 50's. Not an option for comfortable camping, in all of our opinions so we decided to camp a lot closer to home. 

We ended up going camping up American Fork Canyon in the Wasatch National Forest.  Luckily we got there before the sun set and snagged an amazing spot! Amazing wouldn't even begin to describe the view from where we set up out tents.

The camping crew was John Thuet, his wife Carly, Stephanie, Blake, and I.  Oh and how could I forget, the Thuet's dog Nyx. She is the most playful and adorable Old English Bull Dog. We have gone climbing a couple times with the Thuet family and I was so excited to spend more time with them. I had never actually spent time with Stephanie before, but since the end of the trip I now know her as the sweetest girl around. Stephanie hadn't camped much so it was fun to have her there.

It got pretty chilly as we were setting up camp and getting dinner ready. Thuet, and Carly lit a blazing fire that warmed us up immediatley.  While around the fire we played a game of Catch Phrase.  I usually am terrible at that game, and true to my past record, we lost miserably to the Thuet's. They have been married for four years, and practically can read each others minds, so they obviously dominated. With Blake and my 6 month anniversary next week, we have a lot of catching up to do if we want to be on their Catch Phrase level.

Another thing that I want to remember from that night was that Blake kept saying "dat" and "doe".  In the context that hip teenagers these days are saying it. I don't even know if I am spelling it correct since I am not a teenager and I am not hip. Some examples: "Dat fire doe" "Dat tent doe". It was so, indescribably annoying, but I couldn't help but laugh. Luckily this has stopped since we have been home so I am keeping my fingers crossed he doesn't make a habit of it. 

After dinner John even introduced us to the most delicious treat (I can't remember what it is called, I am the worst). First you take the mallow, you cover it in crescent roll dough, cook it in the fire till golden brown, and then roll it in butter, cinnamon, and sugar. Even though I wasn't the most talented at cooking it, it was delicious! 

I was a little nervous about being cold while sleeping, but it seriously was the perfect temperature at night. I slept so well and woke up in the morning well rested and refreshed. The view in the morning was awe-inspiring. It is amazing how beautiful nature is. I absolutely love the fall, not for the temperature change, but because the leaves are breathtaking when they turn various shades of yellow, red, and orange. Fall is almost officially here. :) 

After we packed up camp, we drove back to American Fork Canyon. I introduced everyone to a new wall in the area called Serenity.  We just decided to do a couple of the easiest routes on the wall. Carly is pregnant so she sat this one out (Shout out to her for being patient and a good sport). It was Stephanie's second time climbing I do believe, and on her second attempt on one of the climbs she made it all the way to the top! I was very impressed with her dedication.  The walls at Serenity are abnormally tall and really help you to build up your endurance.

I haven't been climbing hardly at all lately which really bums me out, but the climbs today felt really good to me, and weren't that much of a challenge. Which really got me psyched. I am counting down the days till the Lehi climbing gym opens and I can build up me strength again! 

We left the canyon before late afternoon, and while driving home I felt euphoric and exhausted. It is so fun to get out and do stuff, but it definitely can wear you out. :)

Also, if you haven't read my last blog post, I am attempting to visit every State Park, National Monument, National Park, and National Forest, in Utah and I have a life time to complete it. Thanks to this lovely camping trip I was able to check Wasatch National Forest off our to-do list. Imagine me doing a heel click out of pure happiness.

Utah Lake State Park

The other day while aimlessly browsing the world wide web I came across a list of all the state parks, national parks, national forests, and national monuments in Utah. I know this is kind of nerdy but from the moment I viewed that list I couldn't wait to visit every single one of them. I told Blake of my plan and he was 100% behind it. There are so many places to see in Utah, and some of them are right in our backyard, why not go on an adventure!

First stop on the Utah State tour, and only five miles aways from our humble abode, is Utah Lake Stake Park! 

I can't believe that for the last three years I have lived right next to this colossal, beautiful lake and never been there. I guess that is a lie, Blake and I took some of our engagements out on the frozen lake. But, not counting that romantic cold day, I have spent no time there.

Labor Day morning Blake and I put on our swim suits, lathered up on sunscreen, and loaded the car. There are five harbors located in different towns all around the lake, Spanish Fork, Lindon, American Fork, Saratoga Springs, and Provo. The Marina in Saratoga Springs is much closer to us but we decided to go to the Lindon Marina because they are more developed and rent paddle boards, kayaks, and canoes. 

We ended up renting two paddle boards. I was nervous about not being able to keep my balance but it was actually pretty easy, since the boards are so huge!

 The friendly rental guy told us the deepest the lake gets during this season is 4-6 feet deep. That is mind blowing! That means I could probably touch the bottom at most parts of the lake. 

We paddled out of the marina and around the lake, it was so fun. Blake and I started to play a game where we would try and do a 360 on our boards. Just spin in a little circle without falling in, I feel like I ended up looking like a penguin waddling in a circle. After several spins on the board, Blake was winning by a lot. The last time we did it I spun to fast, lost my balance and fell in. Remember how I thought it was awesome that the lake was so shallow? It really isn't that awesome because below the 4 feet of water is really deep thick mud. It was kind of gross. :)

It was so nice to get some sun, and honestly my arms got quite a work out paddling around. It was a relaxing wonderful holiday spent with the love of my life.