Schmidt's Adventures

We arrived in Salt Lake City 20 minutes early. Retrieved our luggage; picked up the car and off to Provo we went. The area is a valley surrounded by peaks. Many were heavily blanketed in snow. Downtown Provo has beautiful mountain views all around. We had a fun reunion with Greg and Tessa- our guides on our Switzerland trip. Greg is the owner of Alpenwild, Tessa is his daughter. We also met Tessa's husband, Rob. It was wonderful to see them and catch up. After lunch, we planned to hike the "Y" trail. There is a large Y on the side of the mountain from BYU. We got about half way up and it began to rain hard and some hail. Down the trail we went. Things did not go as planned, but you can't control the weather. We strolled around the town and came across the oldest American yarn shop that was started in 1904 buy the current owner's grandparents. Of course I got yarn. They even had a group of women sitting there knitting. Finished the night with a movie. Off to Zion ...

We are getting ready for the next adventure. Marty and I have hiked hundreds of miles and all of those miles have involved mountains, dense forest, waterfalls and greenery. Besides our drive through the Badlands and stopping at each scenic overlook, we have never ventured into the southwest. Dry and rocky landscapes will be a new sight for us. The pictures I have seen of the National Parks are beautiful and an ecological and erosion miracle. We plan to hit all five parks in Utah. Plan to hike all the most famous and maybe a few out-of-the way hikes as well. Weather will be our determining factor. The idea of flash flooding during rain is a new hazard we may have to face. This will also be a great photography trip. So excited!!! Thanks to everyone who followed our trip to Switzerland. I hope you will enjoy this as well.