Kodak Instamatic

My parents share a cabin with my uncle in the high Uintah Mountains that we love to go to. This weekend we packed up and drove by way of Park City. In Park City before school is starting? Might as well go shopping at the outlet mall. We had a blast! By "we" I mean my daughters and I. My 4 year old son didn't mind it too much. My older son reluctantly tried on pants. The girls found all kinds of great stuff. Mr. Taylor was very patient

At 9:00 p.m. the stores were closing and we still had a two hour drive plus a grocery store run before getting to the cabin. It was then the four year old said for the tenth time that his tummy hurt. Mr. Taylor asked me what I fed him for dinner. Me? I was quite certain he was in charge of dinner. What kind of parent forgets to feed a 4 year old boy?

At 9:08 some of us were eating a second dinner. One of us was eating his first dinner.

After a quick a stop at the grocery store we were within 15 minutes of the turn off to the dirt road when I saw movement on the road ahead. Did you know that raccoons travel as one big happy family? They also feast on road kill as one happy family. They also nearly became road kill as a family. Tragedy averted.

Saturday morning was on the chilly side. We stayed inside and played games. We weren't too worried when it started raining. And then it started to snow.

Did I mention it was August 15th?

Later, when it warmed up, we went hiking at a lake that didn't have a trail. That didn't last long.

We then found ourselves driving to one of our favorite haunts, Christmas Meadows. Really fun hike with an amazing view.

It was sheep grazing time. The sheep were all over the mountainside. On the way out they weren't satisfied to graze but decided to stand stupidly on the dirt road. Just stand there. They also talked to us. We were quite amused.

Sunday morning I was quietly lamenting how long it had been since we had seen deer or moose on the property. I was standing on the front porch as that thought crossed my mind. At the same time I turned my head to the right and saw the moose bull. I tried to get the attention of my children and husband as quietly as I could but I spooked him anyway. Mr. Taylor whispered to go get the camera. I ran inside and grabbed the nearest camera and turned it on. No memory card. I grabbed another camera and turned it on. Dead battery.

I have said it before. I will say it again.

CHILDREN! THE CAMERA IS NOT A TOY!

What I would have given for a Kodak Instamatic right then.

Instead, Mr. Taylor and I ran outside (quietly, of course) and tracked the moose with our most useful weapons; our camera phones.

If you look really, really close, you can Mr. Moose. He really was quite spectacular up close and personal.

After playing around the cabin, we packed up and found our second favorite hike - Ruth Lake. Ruth Lake is somewhere in the ballpark of 9,500 feet above sea level. It's about a mile and half hike each way and breathtaking. By breathtaking I mean absolutely beautiful and the oxygen is much thinner at that altitude.

By this time the 4 year old was pretty tired and the 9 year old boy was enjoying no access to a real bathroom WAAAYYY too much. He drank as much water as he could so he could hone his skills using his outdoor plumbing. This fun game backfired on him on our drive home.

Again, wish I had my old Instamatic.