summer at silver lake

Adam had the 25th off for Pioneer Day, so we went up to Silver Lake. Adam has never been in the summer, although we snowshoed in last winter. 

What I love about Silver Lake is that it is a super easy walk around the lake on boardwalks mostly. People take strollers and it's wheelchair accessible. But it also has little places off of the trail to explore and climb. We had fun, and even ran into some of my favorite neighbors growing up- the Spencers. 

We saw lots of people fishing, and one person was walking out with a chain full of fish- so I guess the fishing's good too. 

This amazing flower field was right by the parking lot!

the boardwalk

Blackridge Reservoir- Herriman

My friend Ann organized a fun getaway every Wednesday of June and July. It was great and I'm sad that it's over for this summer! Last week we went to Blackridge Reservoir- a neighborhood lake at the top of Herriman. It's a manmade lake and small like a pond. Someday it will have lots of trees and shrubbery, but for now it's just a nice, clean, sandy beach with cool water, bathrooms and lots of garbage cans to keep it clean. The boys had lots of fun playing, and I had fun talking with my friends.

Be sure to bring some shade and toys for the kids to float... and maybe some lifejackets if your kids are into swimming. And always bring more food, snacks and water than you think you need- swimming makes the kids HUNGRY! You might want to get there early as there is limited parking for now. I'm pretty sure my kids thought we were in California... a mini beach vacation just up the road!

Blackridge Reservoir:

15000 S. Ashland Ridge Dr. (5390 W) Herriman, Utah

Directions from Bangerter:

Turn West onto 13400 S. (1.4 mi)

Turn left onto Monarch Meadows Pkwy (.5)

Continue onto 4800 W (.5 mi)

 4800 W turns right and becomes Juniper Crest Rd (.9 mi)

Turn right onto Emmeline Dr (.2 mi)

Take the 1st left onto Ashland Ridge Dr (.3 mi)

You are there!

antelope island

I hate to admit it, but I had never been to Antelope Island before. I don't know how this could have happened with me living in Utah my whole life, but it did. It turns out Adam had never been there either... although our boys had with Grandpa Steve.  We decided to check it out...

the causeway

So we headed out on the causeway... a road that goes right through the Great Salt Lake to the island, but drops off on either side. Cool!

cascade springs

We were in Midway for July 4th, so we went to Cascade Springs just over the mountain.
It was beautiful and green!

Lincoln

Elliott

with our friends, Abby & Rich

 Linc decided to take a little break on his own... in the middle of the path.

giant weed

Abby

CASCADE SPRINGS & ALPINE LOOP

From Salt Lake or Provo, get on the Alpine Loop Road via the American Fork or Provo canyons and just drive up the mountain to the summit. The Alpine Loop Road is clearly signed, as is the Cascade turnoff.

From Midway, just head down the Soldier Hollow Road and take the dirt road on your right... it takes you up over the hill and right to Cascade Springs. About 6 miles from Midway.

lisa falls

Lisa Falls is the perfect little hike for kids! It's only .2 miles round trip (that's right POINT 2), but the trail is sort of steep to give the kids a sense of adventure, with a shallow stream on the side. It's pretty shady too, with a few perfect picnic spots to pull off on. It's tucked away just enough that you can't see it from the road- a little hidden treasure.

(I picked up by bro, Eric and sis Tagen along the way... how lucky are they to live so close to the canyon? Too bad Adam went on a motorcycle ride yesterday and missed out.)

The trail...

tibble fork perfection

Outside is where I want to be.

So we spent Wednesday at Tibble Fork Reservoir.

It was perfect weather and partly cloudy.

Sometimes super sunny, sometimes cloudy and sometimes even sprinkling.

The kids always have so much fun exploring there.

The water was super high this time. Can you see that tree in the water? 

The river going up the canyon was crazy full too. 

Kind of scary, but we didn't have to deal with the river here.

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