Donut Falls

On Sunday I was having a personal pitty party and I went home from church an hour early. While at home, thinking, the thought came to me that I always find peace in nature. So, I began packing a pic-nic lunch for the crew. I grilled some chicken and made a strawberry chicken salad for Tim and I (since we are still on the diet) and a nice variety of sandwiches, chips, fruit and nuts for the kids! When they came home from church I told them to change their clothes - get on tennis shoes - and get in the van. Of course there was some complaining at first.. "where are we going", "I'm hungry", "when will we eat", "I hate tennis shoes", and so on. But, I ignored it and got everyone moving and into the van we went. We headed southeast out of Salt Lake to Big Cottonwood Canyon. 9 miles into the canyon we turned off towards "Donut Falls".

The picnic area was still closed for winter... so we improvised! We laid the seats down in the back of the van, got out 2 camp chairs and sat there and ate our lunch - while we watched the cars drive by and look at us funny! When we were done, we started to make our way up the 1 mile trial to the falls. Did I mention that it was a BEAUTIFUL day?

The river was moving so fast. The pounding sound of rushing water was relaxing...but with 4 kids running wild I spent a good amount of time worrying too! The trails were snow covered in parts and very muddy in other parts. It was hard to keep our balance much of the time, but we did it and stayed relatively clean. We stopped for breaks here and there along the trail and admired the blue sky, the green trees, and the sticks that were just the right size for little boys to use to poke people with! Then we came to a part of the trail that was covered by water.

*NOTE: To get to this part of the trail you had to traverse down some steep rocks... and then hug the wall as you stepped from stone to stone in the water to get to the dry path on the other side. I have a huge fear that my children will die doing this. The water was moving fast, the path is narrow and slippery and there is nothing to hold on to. I turn around and refuse to go - and Tim pushes ahead - ALONE.

But.... then he comes back and tells me to please trust him. That he can get the whole family to the other side safely and that the waterfall is beautiful. I told him to just take pictures and let's go. He was persistent and against every fiber of my being I agreed to go. My stomach was in knots the whole time. If anyone fell in that water they'd be gone and dead in heartbeat. I just knew it! But, alas, here I sit... typing...so you know that we are fine. We made it across - and back again - with only Tim's feet getting wet and numb from the icy water. The waterfall was beautiful and I'm glad that we got to see it.

As we turned to make our way 1 mile back down the hill, it hit me how peaceful I felt. So, shortly before we got to the end of the trail and back to the van, I pulled our little family off of the trail and into the woods to sit and chat. We chatted about the beauty around us, and we shared our feelings about nature. It turned out to be a wonderful day!