Camping!

This event has been long time coming. Camping to us involves a camp fire. Siamak and I used to go camping all the time way back in the '90's. Then we moved to Arizona and couldn't have a campfire anywhere...so we never went camping. We did get away during the summers, we are very experienced Scottsdale resort goers. But, as Siamak said this weekend, "There is really nothing that compares to camping." Even though fire is now an issue in Utah we still wanted to venture to the Uintas for some fun in the outdoors. Not only did Sia and I camp up there quite often, but much of my childhood memories of camping are from serious back road camping along the Provo River. No off road camping allowed if you want a fire this year, you must be in an approved campground. Setareh and Arian had never been camping so we needed to go. We tried to leave the city early and get a site, I heard it gets crowded. Reservations for a Hotel or Dinner are things we know about... A Reservation for Camping?....NOT something we know about. There are 16 approved campgrounds between Kamas and Evanston. More than 2 hours of driving along Highway 150 and finally at stop number lucky 13 we found a site at Beaver View Campground. It was PERFECT! The whole weekend was fabulous!

Saturday, Sayeh and I made breakfast in oranges from some tricks we learned at the Speaking of Women's Health conference...Sia was impressed with our freshly squeezed orange juice, blueberry muffins and eggs. Later, we headed to Mirror Lake to take Siamak's favorite camping toy out for a spin. Sia loves that raft and COLD water. I opted for picture taking and let him and Sayeh take the little ones out for a ride around the lake. Look at these guys - they had a blast. If you look carefully at the picture you will see some kayakers in the background - they are important to note because...

After the Khadjenoury's returned from their little lake expedition, while the boat was "docked" a huge gust of wind took the boat into the air and plopped it into the middle of the lake. Those kayakers you see were too kind and rescued the raft. Yeah!!! They did hold it for ransom for a beer but they settled for a piece of watermelon as payment. Then the woman asked me my name... (Ok Vickey the next part is for you), and asked if I was Lisa Cohne. She was Shari Pedderson! It was wonderful to see her. She is really an amazing woman! I was happy to hear she was well, happy and starting a new career in nursing - she will be an incredible nurse! Siamak had been bugging me about the fact that this same weekend was the East High School 20th reunion and I had opted for camping instead of attending my reunion. I told him that it was amazingly cosmic how I ran into Shari and how much seeing her and finding out about someone I truly care about was so much more incredible than reuniting with hundreds of people I could care less about. I have mentioned Shari's father in my blog and it felt really good to tell her about Jeff Haas from Sierra Vista - who had been a close friend of Ray's when they were teenagers in the exact way that I know Shari - B'nai B'rith Youth Organization. Totally Cosmic (I realize I should have on the tie-dye shirt Setareh made me at camp as I make that statement). Look at my own hippie chick!

So, Mirror Lake was very fun. After boating and picnicking, we walked around the perimeter of lake and headed back to our cute little campsite at Beaver View...Sayeh got a nap while Sia, and I took the kids to explore the campground. The funny thing about that little exploration was that earlier that morning we decided to go for a hike from the campsite but couldn't find any trails...I insisted there must be something...what we discovered that evening was the spot where I made that statement was exactly where the beautiful little hidden trail was. Arian and Setareh went to bed early, tired from a big day and Sia, Sayeh and I had a lovely time chatting around the fire until the wee hours of the night. It was kind of cold up there.

Sad to leave Sunday but had lots of fun on a big hike (for us...4 miles round trip) to Long Lake. Siamak is crazy and jumped to the lake that sits at 11,000 ft. above sea level. There is really nothing like camping!

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