Summer Trip To The Motherland

After six months of nearly complete family isolation we took a vacation back to the motherland. Our summer trips to Utah have become a favorite tradition while we have been away at school. We normally begin the drive to Utah at about 6PM and make the 11 hr trip. This is a true test of endurance and a bit of a living nightmare. This time around the stars aligned and we left at noon-ish. I can't tell you how much better the drive was. We had almost forgot how scenic old I-89 is. We made several stops, I read, we took some pictures, and even went on a little hike to horse shoe gulch.

Once we made it to home, (Yes, we still refer to it as home, I am sure we always will.) we found Grandma and Grandpa Treasure there too! Grandpa is receiving treatment (radiation and chemo) at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and is staying in Utah in the mean time. It was hard for all of us to see Grandpa suffer but we were all grateful he had chosen to undergo the painful treatments so he can be with us longer. Even through the pain Grandpa delivered some pretty good one liners to keep everyone smiling.

Once all the Treasure Sisters were together we decided to go to Seven Peaks water park for old times sake. Back in the day when we worked at Dad's hotel we had season passes and would spend several days a week at the water park. It was a mostly cloudy day, but warm enough to swim. My easily sun burnt husband didn't mind the lack of sun. We got to do most of the slides before lightning shut the park down.

Russell flew in to meet us at the Bastian's. It was like a mini reunion. We went up Big Cottonwood Canyon and roasted cheesy hot dogs and made smores. We all enjoyed the pines and the mountains but we all swore off cheesy hot dogs for life. Never read the ingredients on a hot dog package as you eat them. After the Sun went down we put on jackets and stoked the fire. Our home in Phoenix seemed so far away. A jacket in the summer is completely out of the question where the low temperature might not dip below triple digits.