This year we went a day early with the rest of Bev's family so we could enjoy the 4th of July festivities in Richfield and hike to Lost Lake before the reunion began. The Richfield parade was fun, especially for the kids who hauled away more candy than any two halloweens combined. To the adults the parade seemed more like an excuse for local businesses to get some cheap advertising, there were only two floats during the 90 minute parade, but plenty of average cars and trucks with a company logo. We still enjoyed watching the kids scramble for candy and the vintages cars that were part of the parade.
We then headed up to the Lost Lake Trailhead and began the 6 mile round-trip hike. We enjoyed the cooler temperature on the mountain and the smell of fresh pine. We hiked past a few monsterous beaver dams and eventually made it to the lake. We had fun at the lake and took a much needed rest and some took a swim in the freezing mountain water. The only casualty of the hike were my feet that had 5 blisters each, some the size of silver dollars, by the time we reached the cars (next time I'll be sure to wear some better shoes). It was a wonderful hike and great to finally see the Lost Lake I've heard so much about.
Friday night we set-up camp without any problems, and caught-up with all of the extended family. Of course it rained hard for about 15min, just long enough to soak all of the camp-chairs but we managed. Saturday we played bolo golf (the most popular game this reunion), volleyball, ticket-to-ride, and went for a bike ride. We were also introduced to the game of Sow, a thrilling game that involves everyone (all 40 of us) swinging big sticks at a can and at each other's shins until the "sow" gets the can in a hole and then we all run like mad to the designated area. Thankfully we only had one casualty, Megan took a stick in mouth, however, she is accident prone so maybe this wasn't an actual casualty but just another "Megan" incident. We capped the night with smores and singing around the campfire. Sunday we held our own little sacrament and testimony meeting. It's amazing how close the spirit is when you're in the mountains surrounded by God's creations. We then sadly broke camp and made the long drive home.
We enjoyed the time off from work and more importantly the time spent with family. This was our first camping experience since we've been married and have decided that we need to go more often. So if anyone is in search of camping pals let us know, we're there!
