My family was supposed to go on our big trip this year-my mom had planned and booked spots to spend a whole week in Yosemite National Park and San Fransisco. We had an itinerary all written out with how many days to spend where and what to do while there. Of course, with everything shutting down, back in April my parents decided to cancel that vacation this year and postpone it until 2021. We were all super bummed. I told my mom we still needed to do something here at home so this was our Plan B. Not quite as exciting but at least we were able to spend some time together. One thing my family is good at is having fun together under any circumstance!
My mom booked three sites for two nights at a place in Coalville called Echo Island. This is not roughing-it camping, more of a trailer "city" type camping. We had already camped in the Uintahs and this was completely opposite of that, but we had just as much fun. Justin was working on Thursday so we packed the trailer up the night before and I took the kids that afternoon in the Pilot. The plan was for him to drive the trailer down when he got off work that night. That afternoon and evening was spent exploring the campground, playing with cousins (we missed the Walker's!), and helping out with dinner, i.e. shucking corn, with a campfire that night.
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| Stockton, Brynn, Seth, Grandpa, Ben, Grant, Lucy, Molly |
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| Molly and Abby |
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| Granpda and Brynn |
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| Lucy and Ivy-these girls took Cash on so many walks |
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| Ivy, Grandma, Ben, Erin, Grant, Lucy |
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| Grace and Brynn |
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Stockton and Grant
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The plan was for Justin to bring the trailer to us that night after he got off work, help set it up, then go back home with Stockton who had an early baseball game the next morning. However, our plans ended up changing. Around 5:00 that night someone noticed some smoke on the mountains behind Daniel and called the fire department. I think they got a jump start on the fire right away and for several hours had felt like it was under control. This was about the time that Justin was getting home from work. He called me but I told him to hurry to the campsite so we weren't setting up in the dark-everything I was reading about the fire said that it was slow moving, they had it contained, and that it really wasn't much of a threat. That changed later that evening while Justin was driving to Coalville with the trailer. He got to us late-maybe around 9:30 and helped me get the trailer set up. The kids were fully occupied playing with cousins, thank goodness. Around 10:00 he got two back-to-back phone calls from two different friends who are on the Wasatch County Search and Rescue. By this point, Little Sweden Road (the road right before ours if you're heading out to Strawberry) had been placed under mandatory evacuations and they told Justin that our street was next and that we should start preparing for evacuation. Apparently, there was about an hour time span that the wind picked up and blew the fire dangerously close to Crazy Acres Road. Our street has a lot of dry brush lining the road and that was cause for concern. Justin and I felt that we needed to be home-to help neighbors evacuate, get our own stuff together, just to be there and see what was happening. We left the kids with grandparents and other family and raced back home as fast as we could-I still can't believe that Justin didn't get pulled over. From the minute I caught a glimpse of that fire, I had a rock in my stomach. You could see it clear back on the road just past Jordanelle as it drops into the valley-it was glowing bright red against the night and it got scarier the closer to home we got. The first picture was the view from our driveway. It seemed close and far away all at the same time. It was a very surreal moment as I fielded texts from concerned family, friends, and neighbors, checked on my own friends and ward members who were evacuated, and walked through the house wondering what to take with me if mandatory evacuation came to our street. At the same time, once home, I did feel at peace. I didn't feel too stressed out and I am grateful for that. I feel like it was a tender mercy from Heavenly Father. The wind had calmed down and I think the danger had mostly passed, at least for our street. The things I ended up getting from my house? The hard drive with all my photos, my wedding dress, the three blessing dresses made by my mom, mine and Justin's wedding rings/bands, and my big bin of photos. It made me realize how much stuff we have is just that-stuff. It was a little eye opening and gave me a fresh perspective on priorities. Had we had more time, or been more worried about the fire actually making it to us, I probably would have gone through my cedar chest and grabbed more things but this was what was easy to get to.
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| about a mile away from our house |
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picture a friend posted just behind her parent's house on Little Sweden
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my small pile of "stuff"
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Anyway, we stayed up for a little while, talking with neighbors and seeing if there would be any more developments and then we decided to go to bed. I slept well and only woke up once to go outside and check the fire. It looked the same as it had the night before. When we woke up, we checked the news and our "sources" (Justin's SAR buddies) and found out that the wind had stopped, the fire wasn't actually moving, and that everything was going to be fine. With that news, we decided to go back to the campsite and spent the day with family. There was nothing for us to do at home. Justin and Stockton decided to miss their games that day and catch the two the next day.
Friday was spent at Echo Reservoir on the lake. We had paddleboards and kayaks and toys for the sand. Swimming and snacking and playing. Brynn and Ali showed off their headstand tricks on the paddleboard. Bryce tried and failed. We stayed all afternoon and then the kids went back to the campsite to swim in the pool.
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Gavin, Abby, Molly
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Ali and Brynn
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Grant, Stockton, Spencer
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| Grace, Brynn, Bryce, Molly, Seth, Abby |
We had another campfire that night and then packed up camp and headed home the following morning. Stockton and Justin had left the night before with the trailer so they could play/coach baseball. They had two games that Saturday, thankfully just in Heber. It felt good to be home but sad to see the huge burn scar on our mountain. Thankfully, no one was hurt, all the livestock got out (so many horses and cows on those two streets), and no structures were damaged. We counted our many, many blesses that night, for sure!
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