Ensign Peak

Tonight we had our first mountain excursion this trip!  It was totally, absolutely glorious.  I don't know what it is about having a view, but that's one of the best parts about the mountains in Salt Lake is that it's so easy to rise above it all - this particular hike is only a mile round trip and it's still amazing.  Right now my mom's serving in the youth organization of our church, with the 12-13 year old girls to be precise.  Most Wednesday nights they have activities and tonight just happened to be a hike up Ensign Peak, yet another sentimental location for me.  When I was a teenager and our prophet, President Hinckley, rededicated the updated monument I was one of a large group of youth where we all carried huge flags from around the world up to the top...I don't remember why, exactly, but I would guess something along the lines of representing the fact that our church has grown into such a worldwide church since being restored in 1820 and that we are to be 'an ensign to the nations.'  But that's just my guess.  A few years later I ran up to the top by myself anxiously carrying my unopened mission call and then reading at the summit the words 'you have been called to serve in the Thailand Bangkok Mission' and my life has been forever blessed since.  So I generally jump at any opportunity to go there, especially now when I can bring my kids (well, not B, he went to bed) and share such places with them.

Because we were leaving from a church picnic with my in-laws, the kids and I missed starting the hike with the group but I thought that would be fine anyway since I wanted S to hike up as much as possible on his own (E was riding in my carrier backpack).  He did quite well, probably about half or more of the way up, but eventually we looked like this:

Ensign Peak is at the north end of Salt Lake Valley, so the view really is incredible.  Yep, that's my mom in the red.  She totally looks younger than me.

We've really got to train S to be a bit more self-sufficient on hikes though.  I'm not sure where I would have put baby B had he come along...perhaps I could wear him on the front in the ergo...no, that would be moving out of the 'fun' realm and into the 'annoying' one.

Sugar House Park

Once upon a time Bishop and I lived in Utah for just a short time.  Then we moved to LA.  Four years and 2 kids later we moved back to Utah for a glorious 14 month stint while he did his internship year.  Even though it was a killer year training wise (for Bishop) it was a lovely year for many reasons: family, Utah, mountains, seasons, mountains, etc.  One of the best parts of that year is where we lived.  It was this idyllic, charming historic district of Salt Lake, within a few miles of both of our parents, easy freeway access, minutes from the temple (and other downtown attractions), and right next to this huge park near the high school we both attended called Sugar House Park.  I've spent a lot of time in that park over the years and a trip to Utah wouldn't be complete without ample visits there.  Usually my mom goes walking with a friend there once a week, which works out great for me because anytime we visit Utah the kids and I will tag along.  Even better is that my mom and her friend always offer to push my kids and let me have a solo run!  AND, this particular visit we catch my mom in her 3 month post-hysterectomy time which means she takes it easy during her recovery.  Translation: park walks almost EVERY DAY.  Score!  Not to glory in the fact my mom's recovering from surgery, of course, but when life gives you lemons make some lemonade, right?

We've only been in Utah a few days and we are loving these park walks (among so many other things).  Sometimes I'll bring all three munchkins, sometimes only two depending on the availability of pushers.  I've been loving running up some REAL hills - in the park there are 4 hills on the road: 2 down and 2 up so doing two laps can get me 8 hill repeats (magic 8!) and I can finish at least two laps while my mom walks one.  OR I can run the perimeter of the park and get a small taste of trail running, just enough to whet my appetite for the real deal.  There are a couple of huge grass hills in the park where I can do some serious hill sprints/plyo circuits.  Not to mention 30/20/10 is really fabulous when you add hills in...those 10 seconds seem oh so long up a hill.  The smell of summer mornings in Utah is just exquisite and is only amplified at the park where the sprinklers have all recently shut off, and all the while my beloved, familiar mountains stand protectively in the background of it all.  Plus we can run at 8am and not melt, unlike August in Houston where you've got to be done before 7 at the latest (don't get me wrong, it's still hot here, but losing the humidity makes a huge difference).  It's also nice to have my mom's DVD collection.  My week without them was nice, but I'm glad to get back into a schedule.

We might have to make this August exodus an annual thing, though I don't know that Bishop likes having us gone so long.  Looking forward to some time with family, time in the mountains, a couple of races and definitely more mornings in Sugar House Park!