Wild Flowers in Little Cottonwood Canyon

Rachel had never gone up Little Cottonwood Canyon to see the wildflowers in the Summer... so I HAD to take her there... even though everyone else and their dog was there too.

We drove all the way up and pulled over to take pictures as we went. It was so beautiful and colorful. It definitely felt like the sound of music.

The Spiral Jetty

Another Questival adventure that Candice and I had (after all the drama... we were the only 2 left by the end) was going to the Spiral Jetty. We chose to go there because both of us had never been. Like the Sun Tunnels, the Spiral Jetty is another art project that an artist put out in the middle of nowhere in Utah.

Spiral Jetty is an earthwork sculpture constructed in April 1970 that is considered to be the central work of American sculptor Robert Smithson. Smithson documented the construction of the sculpture in a 32-minute color film also titled Spiral Jetty.

Built on the northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake near Rozel Point in Utah entirely of mud, salt crystals, and basaltrocks, Spiral Jetty forms a 1,500-foot-long (460 m), 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) counterclockwise coil jutting from the shore of the lake.

We were crunched for time... so we were not there for very long. I would actually like to go again and be there for sunset. Get some more pictures. Until then... I can still cross it off my list. I have now been there, done that.

Ensign Peak

My co-worker, Candice, wanted to sign up and compete in Questival. So we did with her twin brothers and a couple of her friends. There is a lot of drama that happened with all of that... and maybe I will get into that later. However, Questival is all about getting out and trying new things and new experiences that you have never done before. It didn't end up being the experience that I wanted or hoped for, but I did get to do some new things. One of those things was hiking to Ensign Peak in Salt Lake City. It is a short hike with some awesome views. I will have to go back some day for sunset. Would be the perfect place to watch the sunset.

Annual Hike to Cecret Lake

I LOVE going to Cecret Lake every summer. Especially in July when it is wildflower season. Lacey had never been...so I told her I would take her there.

We went on a week night because over the years the secret has gotten out about Cecret Lake... and now everyone knows about this great spot and it is always SUPER crowded. I hate that the crowds are ruining my favorite spots. Week nights are typically better than weekends, so we went tonight. Well... it was still really crowded, sadly. However we still found a parking spot and had a great time.

It is always a favorite and I will continue to go back every year even though it gets more crowded every year. The crowds.... ugh...

No-Bake S'more "Cake"

Ingredients:

* 1 pkg. (3.9 oz) JELL-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding
* 1 1/2 cups cold milk
* 14 Graham Crackers, broken crosswise in half (28 squares)
* 1 Tub (8 oz) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping thawed, divided
* 1 cup mini marshmallows
* 2 Tbsp. chocolate syrup


Directions:

Beat pudding mix and milk in medium bowl with whisk 2 min. Let stand 5 min. Meanwhile, cover bottom of 8-inch square pan with 9 graham squares, overlapping as needed to form even layer.

Add 2 cups COOL WHIP to pudding; stir gently just until blended. Spread half the pudding mixture over graham squares in pan; top with 9 of the remaining graham squares. Repeat layers.

Spread remaining COOL WHIP over dessert. Top with marshmallows. Crush remaining graham square; sprinkle over dessert. Refrigerate 3 hours. Drizzle with chocolate syrup before serving.


Made this for a fun food day at work and it was a hit. Nice light and cool dessert. Nice easy summer treat.

Mapleton's Pioneer Day Fireworks

Mapleton's Pioneer Day Fireworks are the best of the entire summer... if you ask me. And when you are friends with a guy that works for the company that puts them on... you get VIP seating for the show and it is AWESOME!

The Firework show was a solid 27 minutes long. I felt like I was right under them and I loved every minute of it. I LOVE fireworks. Not only that, but the entire park was packed full of people watching the fireworks... but I got to sit with the crew. I loved being away from the crowd and being up close and personal.

Best Firework show of the Summer... I stand by that.

Summer Hike to Scout Falls

Last time I went to Scout Falls was in the fall. There wasn't a lot of rain that year, so there wasn't really much of a waterfall by the time I got there. So I decided I wanted to go again. Kirsten had been wanting to go on a hike, so I suggested this one and she was down. So off we went.

It was a somewhat rainy day (although we didn't get rained on at all, it just created cloud coverage which was perfect for us) so amazingly enough, it wasn't that crowded... especially for a Saturday. We were not mad about that. The weather was perfect, it wasn't crowded AND all of the wildflowers were in bloom. It couldn't have been a more beautiful and perfect hike. Just what we both wanted and needed.

We had a fun time catching up while we hiked... and played in the waterfalls when we got there. One of the three waterfalls that are there... you get to walk behind. How cool is that? Not very often do you get to go behind the waterfall.

Such a great outing with a great friend. I love days like this. When I moved to Utah... I never knew how much I would come to love the mountains.

Painting with Bob Ross... and MacKenzie

MacKenzie and I both love to craft, so I thought she might like to have a go at painting with Bob Ross. I enjoy it (even though my pictures turn out nothing like his) and it is always way more fun to do it with someone else so we can laugh together.

So MacKenzie and I choose the painting we thought would be doable for us and went for it. Again... it takes me (us) 2 hours to paint what he does in 27 minutes... but he makes it looks easy... and it really isn't that east. Ha ha.

Anyway, we had a blast. This is Bob Ross and what his painting looks like.

This is how me and MacKenzie's paintings turned out.... Definitely not the same, but not terrible either.

This one is mine...

Confessions of a Brunette on the Internet 384

Friday... I got together with MacKenzie and Allison to watch Blacklist. We all wait so we can watch it together. We get Brasas and Sodalicious and we eat and drink and be merry while we watch a great tv show together and all catch up. It is a great tradition that we have started. I enjoy it. Then we always talk after we are done watching until we are all too tired to talk anymore.

Saturday I wanted to lay outside and get some sun. So I went to the reservoir in Springville (because it is free) and I found a spot a lone and I layed out and tried to get a tan while I listened to a podcast. Exciting life of an old single.

Later on I got together with Rachel and we had our picnic and photoshoot in the Lavender Field in Mona which I already blogged about. It was fun. After our picnic, we went to go see a movie.

Sunday was the usual Family dinner. Always nice. After I hung out with some guy I met online. Not for very long. He was just driving through and wanted to meet so we met at the park and chatted for a half hour. No big deal.

Monday after work, I drove up to Saratoga Springs to watch the Bachelorette with Heather. Always more fun watching that show with someone else rather than watch it by myself. She is super excited that I am going to start watching it with her from now on. Of course Heather is a talker... and I'm always there past midnight chatting and then I still have to drive home. It's a late night, but I enjoy it.

I didn't have anything on Wednesday, so that brings me to today... MacKenzie and I got together and went to the food truck round up and then painted with Bob Ross. It was my 3rd time painting with Bob Ross, but it was her first. It is always fun to paint with Bob Ross... it is always a good laugh. I will blog more about that.

That is the week! Until next time...

New Trucks at the Food Truck Round Up

When new trucks come to the Food Truck Round-Up... you must try them... right? Especially when one of them is serving falafel's. Mmmm.... I mean, they are not as good as the ones you get in Israel, but they were pretty good.

The other truck, is a cookie dough truck. Edible Cookie dough that they make with lots of different options of what they mix in with it. I got S'more. It was pretty good... but if I were to choose one dessert at the Roundup, it would be Art City donuts.