Loa

For my parents 40th anniversary, they wanted to do something really special with all their kids. My dad used to regal all the kids with tales of his summers spent as a director of a summer camp: rafting, camping, canoeing, fishing, playing battleship with radios... Sadly, once he came out west his outdoor gear was exchanged for a suit to practice law in and he rarely got to the great outdoors that made up so much of his earlier years. So, for years he has promised us a fishing trip. And this year he delivered...at least the best you can deliver when 9 of the 22 family members are little kids.

Loa is in the middle of Utah, near Capitol Reef, past Gunnison (if you have any idea where Gunnison is). So, "what does one do in Loa?" you may be asking yourself? You go fishing, you go paddle boating, you eat good food, you sleep in a big barn, you play with little cousins/nieces/nephews you haven't seen for a long time, you go hiking, you feed baby cows, you learn the difference between dairy cows and cows raised for meat, and you may go horseback riding (only if the rancher who is taking care of you doesn't have to go up the mountain to save a bunch of cows who strayed into a place with no water).

This little lake was down the road from the barn we were staying in. We spent a morning fishing there and an afternoon doing paddle boats. Charlotte caught a fish within the first 10 minutes. Then Connor caught a second fish much later.






Cows, cows, cows. We got to give milk to the baby cows one morning. The kids all loved seeing the cows gulp down the bottles.



Tractor ride. This pic is of Ginger, Macey, and the rancher. Blake seemed to be in heaven riding on the tractor--this was part of his birthday celebration.


Fun inside the barn