2008 Summer Reunion at Navajo Lake

Well, Everyone kept saying "We should go camp somewhere" all summer.
No kidding. At least that's what the oldies heard. Also, this "lets get the gang together" theme has been noticably repetitive for some time now (as in months) at West Jordan itself.
The venues considered have hitherto been in the frozen north though: Uinta north slope (Spirit Lake) and similar ... As in the idyllic memorable days of yore .... Whereupon the plot thickened ... there was this telephone planning chat with our fine Arizona crew in which we collectively came to terms with small boys in small family sedans for hours on end (12 to be exact) --- all for a weekend overnight camp which would be over soon after it had begun. We realized that this was not going to happen easily as we are currently residenced, calendared and configured.
So we started to rethink. Out came the maps and various "halfway between" possibilities and criteria thereunto applicable were explored and discussed ... Facilities, activities, and style of setting taken into account, etc....
Sometime during the process we settled upon Navajo Lake - 28 miles east of Cedar City, UT on Utah Hwy 14, altitude 9000'. Fairly cool scenery, nice high country, a lake, some 10000' hills and some red rock.
It was not, moreover, sight unseen; James and DDadson wandered through there on one of the crazy hike trips a while back. So finally, we just all threw it onto the calendar, made "hail mary" vacation requests in some cases and away we went.
......
The whole gang was here so most of the stuff everyone saw, but there were a couple of exceptions .... On Friday morning, during the group hangout session in camp, Dad and James got curious and slightly crazy. The result was a goofy little hike to this wierd spot at 10080' above some Pink Cliffs just up the hill from camp... This is not a summit, it is just a high altitude point on the Kane-Iron county line. OK, it was a wierd trip. Here is a video of the crazies among the quakies and pines at Kane county (Utah) high altitude point.....

There actually was some pretty cool scenery up there, but it is over through the trees to the rim of the cliffs.... Meaning where you saw the patch of blue sky through the trees in the video clip.
This (below) is what can be seen looking south from the rim ..... Virgin river drainage in foreground,
and that actually is Zion National Park in the distance, believe it or not. (The pics were actually taken on our way back down)...

This (below) is looking straight down off the top of the cliffs Below is another panorama to the south. Hills in the far distance are the Pine Valley range just north of St George.
The high spot on the left of the group is called Signal Peak. You guessed it - highest point in Washington County, Utah
Below is a closeup of the cliff formation from about halfway down.
Below is the cliffs from the hill just below them. So, that was where James and Dad were when they disappeared for 3 hours after breakfast on Friday.... Have to have at least one picture of Navajo Lake, so here it is.Now for some stuff from the hike on Andy Nelson Peak (10027') on Saturday.... Andy Nelson is the highest peak in Kane county. So there is this debate about which one counts as the high point - this peak or the county-liner. Anyway, Joshua got German all the way up there for his very first summit. Oh dear. Now he is infected. Below is the crew that got to the summit. It is a summit and not a football field, though it would be hard to prove.

I had my tripod on the trip, but there was nowhere to put it up there anyway, so we had to rotate to get everyone.

Below is what it looks like looking south from the saddle just below Andy Nelson Peak. If Dad had been a slightly better guide on route selection on the way up we would have used the Lodge trail and gotten more of you up here.

Finally, something really nuts that part of the West Jordan gang did on the way home.
As the sign says, this is Brian Head Peak. It is a drive-up summit, 3 miles up a dirt road from Utah 143 just north of Cedar Breaks NatMon, and on the way back to SLC.

One last shot from Brian Head summit. Standing offer from Dad to anyone who'd like to go back. Not a problem.

We (editorial) keep hearing that everyone had a good time. Thanks to each of you for coming. It was transcendently pleasant InMyHumbleOpinion, because you all are such cool people to hang with anywhere. Put that with the quiet open countryside and it is irresistable. Incidentally, rumblings of "now let's plan something for next year" are already discernible at West Jordan.

West Jordan hike at Fish Lake High Top

Here we go again ... Comrade father, having no adorable tiny children antics to display, has to improvise and is recently discovered yet again in the midst of certifiable obsession with outdoor exploring; Drags any available family members along. Any time any of you want to go crazy, the offer still stands, you know where geezer is.....


This picture series shows what it looks like in the High Plateau country east of US 89 near Richfield.
There are about 3 or 4 of these high plateau style mountains in this region. Their tops are usually 11000+ elevation
with sizable surface areas at the elevation, and one or more additional hills rising from the plateau, one of which
is the absolute summit (highest point) of the entire plateau.

The ones we have visited in this area are Fish Lake High Top, Boulder Mountain (home of BlueBell Knoll); there is another one between Fish Lake and Boulder Top, I believe.
This series is of the Fish Lake High Top plateau (summit elevation 11633) just above Fish Lake.

Frame below is about halfway up the customary foot route which starts at one of the Fish Lake overlooks
(Pelican Point); the canyon forks here and we are headed up the North fork, shown ahead. The rim is in the distance above.

Frame below is on the top of the plateau, looking toward the final 100' high hill which contains the highest actual elevation on the plateau - the actual high point is the top of a house size boulder.Frame below is from the top of the exact highpoint boulder looking into the distance. Various trail notes and advisories say to find "the" house-sized boulder, but there are about 50-100 such large boulders up here, so it becomes a "which one" issue very quickly. Some surrounding boulders and the plateau are in the foreground.
This is another view from the summit hill, showing the plateau and looking towards Pelican canyon trail



Now a video from enroute across the plateau shown in foreground above on my way down





This is really mostly intended as a sample of what kind of outdoor country there is in south central Utah.
You almost cannot tell the difference between downstate and Salt Lake from this, but if you go to the lower
elevations in the vicinity of this, it is drier.

West Jordan at Aunt Eleanor Birthday party

There was a surprise party in Orem for Aunt Eleanor Jorgensen on 24 July at the Washburn place. Various of the Jorgensen cousins contacted us. Aunt Eleanor, Uncle Cecil, and a goodly number of north Utah and Colorado

Jorgensen relatives in attendance: RI Jorgensen branch (Jerry, Steve, Mike, Jeff), Brown branch (Jared, George), and JR Clark (Bruce, Don Bragg). Also assorted progeny. Lunch and some hanging out before the group dispersed again.

Also we learned that Jared (Brown) has succeeded in getting a key family artifact back in the family: the Lion carried by to Utah by Mary Williamson (Mormon Martin company handcart survivor). This Lion figure has been talked about in family history in connection with the Mary Williamson story for years, but only Aunt Eleanor and Uncle Cecil had ever seen it. It has been a few places since 1858...

Mary Williamson and William Barton were parents of Amanda Barton Horsley, Florence V Jorgensen's mother.

The Lion went to Amanda Horsley and then to various Horsley family members and finally to some Horsley relatives in Montana who probably did not have much interest in most of the story other than it being an heirloom of some kind.

Jared was able to talk them into selling it. The plan is to place it for public display.

Lion figure, left side (note the screw - it is original, the figure is in two halves)

Lion figure, right side

Jerry Washburn holding lion figure

Jared/Margie Brown with Aunt Eleanor/Uncle Cecil and the lion

R.I. Jorgenson group (Jerry,Stephen, Mike, Jeff) with Aunt/Uncle and the lion

Birthday hike at Brighton (mount Evergreen)

We needed something short and to the point for this mid afternoon hike to fit Dad's birthday gathering.
Mount Evergreen (9890) turned out to be a nice pick for a quick 1.5 miles from the parking lot.
We took the ski lift road from trailhead to north end of Twin Lakes Dam (.75 mi),
then TwinLakes Pass trail along the north side of Twin Lakes to the back side of Evergreen (.25 mi)
to pick up the summit ridge access which is readily accessible.
Quick bash up the rocks past one endearing false summit - we were too fast for it to move
and there you go (.25 mi). Dad scouted this little gem alone last season.
None of these shots are OF Evergreen but FROM Evergreen. It is visually unremarkable, sorry.
We were thinking of the Arizona crew all the way up. Joshua has been all over this stuff too, remember.
Just stroll down memory lane if desired. Anyway here you go.
(1) Smiling faces of the happy summit team. We are much pleased with our self timer..

Now a video pan of what can be seen from where we are

Now 3 stills comprising the self same pan therein thereof ....
(2) South East to Milicent/Pioneer/Sunset Peak/Lake Mary area uphill from Brighton

(3) East across the bowl to Clayton Peak.
(4) North East toward Scott's Hill and Guardsman area.


Some more stills for continuing nostalgia....
(5) On the descent - South across Twin Lake to Millicent/Wolverine/Tuscarora

(6) On the descent - Twin Lake Dam and adjacent lake


Ye Summit Riff - 1

Ye Summit Riff - 2

Ye Summit Riff - 3

Amanda & Parents complete Bachelors degree capstone tour (04-16 June 2008)

So ....
Another installment of our family traditional Bachelors degree capstone activity program is now history and we are back safely.
As a reminder, the remaining excursion with the Phoenix crew remains to be determined. We are still open and entertain hopes.
Our trip was very pleasant and we think Amanda has some nice memories and some new insights, which is what these trips are for.
To James, Melissa, Joshua and Amanda specifically, we cherish each and all. Thank you for being the transcendent souls you each are.
Dad now has the perspective of several trips. With each one he is called upon to stretch and expand horizons. This is a good thing even for a wandering business warrior. He continues to be pleasantly surprised by each new lack of death, destruction or even major inconvenience.
There are many photographs. We have them at the house and can view as desired at next in person gathering. I may post a few here.
Here is a tour summary:
04 June: Travel by air the entire day: SLC->JFK->IST (Istanbul, Turkiye) ... 4 hr across US, 9 hr across Atlantic/Europe, plus 9 hr time change(GMT-7 -> GMT-5 -> GMT+2)
05 June: Istanbul - tour local historic sites: Roman Hippodrome, Sultan Ahmed ("Blue") Mosque, Hagia Sofia, (Lunch), Basilica Cistern. (Hotel: Grand Ostanik, Istanbul)
06 June: Istanbul - regional sites on Asian side: Istanbul-Iznik (Bosphorus bridge,Tuzla-Yalova ferry), Iznik (Nicea), Iznik->Istanbul, Lunch, Topkapi Palace, Bosporus Cruise. (Hotel: Grand Ostanik, Istanbul)
07 June: Air Travel - IST->Izmir, Local site loop: Bergama (Pergamon), (Lunch-CarpetFactory),Akhisar(Thyatira),Izmir(Smyrna). (Hotel: Kaya Prestige)
08 June: Izmir->Kusadasi via site loop: Salihli (Sardis), Alasehir(Philadelphia), Denizli(Laodikea), Colosse (site), (Lunch: MeandrosCafe, Denizli), Transit to Kusadasi(Ephesus). (Hotel: Richmond Ephesus)
09 June: Kusadasi - local sites: Akkoy (Miletus), (Lunch), Ephesus, Shopping (Leather,Porcelain). (Hotel: Richmond Ephesus).
(End Turkey, Start Aegean)
10 June: Cruise Day 1 (Louis Aquamarine): Port of Kusadasi, transit, Patmos, overnight to Rhodes (Hotel: M/V Aquamarine)
11 June: Cruise day 2: Rhodes-ashore-optional: Shopping, Crusader Fortress, re-embark, overnight to Crete
12 June: Cruise day 3: Crete, ashore: Knossos (Minoan), Heraklion (shop), afloat: Crete->Santorini, ashore: Santorini(shops, scenery), Santorini-> Piraeus
(End Aegean, Start Greece mainland)
13 June: Piraeus/Athens, local sites: Acropolis (Parthenon, Areopagus, Agora), Athens overview, (Lunch-Titania), National Archaeological Museum. (Hotel: Titania(Athens))
14 June: Region loop: Athens->Corinth canal, Corinth, Mycenae, back to Athens, Final Dinner and Tour farewell meeting, (Hotel: Titania)
15 June: Main group of official tour transfers to ATH airport for return to SLC, official tour ends - Extension stragglers (3 family units) remain in Athens for church and other purposes.
15 June: Clark-Chartrand-Winter Athens extension: Attend LDS services at Acropolis Branch, 52 Amalia Ave, Athens (20 minute walk from hotel)
Church experience notes: (Astounding confluence of languages - Greek, French, English - and cultures - Greece, Africa, Bulgaria, Brazil, Romania, US. Note: Same struggle for Young Adult LDS marriage/family prospects as elsewhere in Europe, amplified by highly predominant (98%) Greek Orthodox or Muslim environment.)
Sabbath friendly exploration of Athens on foot (Botanical Garden, Temple of Zeus), snack on pre-purchased yummy Greek pastry. Hang-out at hotel with the tour remnants
(Hotel: Titania)
16 June: Extension group transfer to ATH airport for flights to US.... ATH-JFK-SLC.
Observations:
(1) We continue to love to travel with LDS groups if we are not up to a DIY trip.
(2) Turkey is a very safe place for peaceable US people, folks - NATO ally,EU applicant, language Romanized, VERY Europe/West friendly!
(3) Greece is a very nice place, but we knew it would be.
(4) Added 2 national food styles - Turkish and Greek - to our list of faviorites along with China and England. We hope to add Germany some day.
(5) We love breakfast containing Cucumbers, Yogurt, Fruit, spiced Feta, Broiled tomato (Just like UK), and specialty bread.
And now here are some pictures ...
Guess where (in Turkey) --
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
Guess where (in Greece - Aegean)

(5)
(6) (7)
Guess where (in Greece - mainland)
(8)
(9)
(10) (Hint: the ORIGINAL caryatids)
(11)

(12)


(13)













And so ... there it is. Thanks for reading.

Answers:

(1) Sultan Ahmed (Blue) Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey

(2) Hagia Sofia (Basilica/Mosque/Museum), Istanbul

(3) Agora, Laodikea ancient site, nr Denizli, Turkey

(4) Library of Celsus, Ephesus ancient site, nr Kusadasi, Turkey

(5) Harbor overlook, Patmos, Greece

(6) Minoan palace, Knossos ancient site, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

(7) Thira, Santorini, Grece

(8) Parthenon west side and Acropolis, Athens, Greece

(9) Parthenon - East side, Acropolis, Athens, Greece

(10) Caryatid Porrtico, Erechthion, Acropolis, Athens, Greece

(11) AcroCorinth (Acropolis of Corinth) from Corinth ancient site, Corinth, Greece

(12) Lion Gate, Mycenae ancient site, Peloponnesus, Greece

(13) Front door of Acropolis Branch facility, LDS Church, 52 Amalia, Athens, Greece