Sunday, January 1, 2012
On New Year's Eve, chances are you won't find me or my family at Times Square in New York City. Maybe I'll try that someday--someday when being shoulder to shoulder with over one million highly intoxicated strangers who blow annoying little noisemakers every five seconds sounds remotely appealing to me.
Someday when I've gone absolutely NUTS.
Don't judge me. I'm claustrophobic. And as it is, I'm having nightmares about Lady Gaga's outfit just from seeing it on TV. So yeah, chances aren't that good of EVER finding me at Times Square on New Year's Eve. (Now if we're talking the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade . . .count me IN. But that's another story for another holiday on another day.)
New Year's Eve USUALLY finds me with my extended family--much more my style. We get together and play all kinds of games and eat all kinds of diet-blowing food that would give Lipitor a run for its money. We laugh, we eat, we play, we count down, we watch the ball drop, we kiss, we toast, we go home. In short, we have a marvelous time! And that was the plan this year, until many of my extended family left town--and then the ones who were here were either entertaining the stomach flu or having a baby or fighting a cold or doing who knows what else . . .so our original plans went kaput.
So we went with "Plan B" yesterday. Rather than a raucous "nightlife" of games, food, and fun, we opted for raucous "wildlife!"
That's right: ELK, baby. That's where it's at. Or rather, that's where WE were at--watching the elk on Hardware Ranch. We decided that heading to Hardware Ranch would be a fun way to spend New Year's Eve afternoon. It was a good day for it--cold but clear, and so great to be in a beautiful setting with the sunshine and blue sky!
If you've never been to Hardware Ranch, you should give it a try! (And no, the Hardware Ranch people are not paying me to say that.) It's really inexpensive and fun--as wagon or sleigh rides always are--and just a short drive up Blacksmith Fork Canyon. Basically, you just buy a ticket and then if there's snow on the ground, you ride on a SLEIGH pulled by Clydesdale horses. If there's not snow on the ground (which was the case yesterday) you ride on a WAGON pulled by Clydesdale horses. Here is the team that made our ride possible yesterday--Reba and Billy.
Thanks, Reba and Billy. I guess I'm just the type of gal that really enjoys the wagon riding experience. Here we are, about to embark on our grand adventure:
(We talked my dad into coming with us, since he's the type of guy that really enjoys wagon rides . . .I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.) Anyway, they take you up on this ride right into the meadow where the elk are until you're just a little wagon island amidst a sea of elk. And this year's "sea" is apparently pretty small (only about 200 elk); when there's snow, they have 600-700 elk there, including lots of bulls. We only saw about two to three bulls yesterday--just lots and lots of cows. (Did you know that girl elk are called "cows?" I didn't. I had just assumed they were "does" or something but nope--"cows" they are. In fact, even the women's room in the visitor's center said, "Cows" on it. Not sure how I feel about that one, but you've gotta give them credit for getting into the theme of the thing.)
Here are some shots of wildlife:
Oops, didn't realize that one featured the backside of the elk in such a dominant way. I wouldn't want a picture of my backside splashed across a blog, but I suppose this cow won't care. Anyway, let's try this one:
Bethany really enjoyed the scenery and bright sunshine:
I love living in the mountains!
And here we are, after our ride, still feeling that "one-with-nature" euphoria:
We're so glad we made the trip! We were pretty darn cold at the end (well, Bethany was toasty--we had her bundled really well) but it was just the right sort of day for that exact sort of adventure!
When we got home, we had a quiet, pleasant night with my parents playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos and watching a cheesy Hallmark movie. And then we skedaddled right to bed because church now starts at 9:00 a.m. I had to teach Relief Society and wanted to be somewhat coherent, so I needed to sleep off my caramel corn "hangover!" All in all, a satisfying New Year's Eve. As long as I get to kiss James at midnight--that's the most important thing!
And I did. (Please excuse me for not posting photos. ;)
Oh, and extended family--as fun as our day was, I missed our normal routine. So mark your calendars for next year, mmmmmmkay? HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!
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