Silver Lake- Best and Easiest Nature Hike for Young Kids


Silver Lake is hands down the most beautiful, easiest nature hike for children. Located in Big Cottonwood Canyon just minutes from Salt Lake City, Silver Lake has it all. The trail starts at the parking lot and has a boardwalk through a marsh that leads into a more wooded area. The change in terrain and landscape is so fun for kids. They can go down to the lake on different viewing platforms to see the ducks or look for fish. And, there always seems to be someone fishing which is really fun to watch.


The lake itself is in a little basin surrounded by mountains so the scenery is just breathtaking. Especially in the late spring when all the wild flowers are blooming.


 This trail is our go-to lazy Sunday outing. Quick and not strenuous, which means the adults can enjoy conversation and relax while letting toddlers walk by themselves and the older kids roam ahead with plenty of things to catch their interest...it seems like we see a moose at least half the time we go among other wildlife. Oh and don't forget to catch the visitor's center in the summer. They have a lot of great exhibits for the kids to learn about the environment and even a junior ranger program where they can earn another badge for their collection.


Whenever someone visits Salt Lake and asks for a recommendation for a hike, Silver Lake is the answer.

Happy Trails!
Free Family Activities, Guide to Utah, Life with Kids,
Share:

Travel Guide- Road to Hana



ROAD TO HANA    ________________________________________________________________


Today we're heading to Hana by way of the famous Hana  Highway.

The Hāna Highway is a 68-mile long stretch of highway which connects Kahului with the town of Hāna in east Maui. Although Hāna is only about 52 miles from Kahului, it took us over 4 hours to drive as the highway is very winding and narrow and passes over 59 bridges, 46 of which are only one lane wide.

There are approximately 620 curves along Route 360 from just east of Kahului to Hāna, virtually all of it through lush, tropical rainforest. Many of the concrete and steel bridges date back to 1910 and all but one are still in use.



Jon decided he needed to stop and buy some of that Spam sushi the couple from the Polynesian Cultural Center told us about on our way out of town.


It was suprisingly good. And served warm....


There are places all along the highway to stop and see. Lots of paths to waterfalls or hidden bays. We stopped at one stop and took this trail to go see the sight mentioned in our guide book. I was convinced the plants growing along the side of the trail were sugar cane but after trying like 5 different stalks, I finally had to admit that Jon was right and that I had been eating weeds! He thought I was crazy.


The road is crazy with all the one-laned bridges and sharp turns where you can't even see oncoming traffic.


But it was nothing like the drivers who would come barreling through the yield signs before checking to see if someone was already on the bridge. It didn't seem to worry Jon as much as me though.


Jon loved this road and got quite used to all the craziness after a while


I started getting car sick from all the twists and turns, so Jon switched me so I could drive.


Much better.


You could take all day to stop at every stop and see the sights.


We just chose a few but every single one was so pretty. Maui is definitely more beautiful than Oahu and once you get to the east side it gets truly wild.


We drove through Hana and out again before we even realized we'd made it. We turned around and got some food at a road side stand before heading out past Hana to get to our B&B about 20 min away.


We checked in and then left to go eat our dinner at a cliff we saw earlier, but it was so windy it was blowing the lettuce leaves out of the salad containers. We decided to wait on dinner and just enjoy the view.


It was so fun being on the exposed side of the island. The weather is a lot crazier by the open ocean vs the channels between islands.


We stayed till the sun was almost down then headed back.
Hana, Hana Highway, Hawaii,
Share:

Guide to Hana, Hawaii

Hana Town, Hawaii is as authentic Hawaii as it gets. Although it is only 52 miles away from the Kahului Airport, it will take you about 4 hours to drive the Hana Highway along the coastal rainforest to Hana. Most people opt to stay in Lahaina or Wailea but no trip to Maui is complete without a stop in Hana. This is where you will see 'real Hawaii'. Somehow, Hana has avoided the major developments that have taken place on the other side of the island and is virtually untouched as far as tourism goes with hotels and shopping.

There is so much to see and do. Our days in Hana were my favorite. We had just the right amount of relaxing and playing at the beach with more active adventures.

7 SACRED POOLS   _______________________________________________________________
The first place I was dying to see was the Seven Sacred Pools. The Ohe'o Gulch or Seven Sacred Pools, are about 15 minutes past Hana town. There are actually dozens of pools and waterfalls which flow through the ‘Ohe‘o Gulch into the ocean nearby but these ones are the biggest.

7 Sacred Pools
We hiked down the Kuloa Point trail which leads down to the ocean with a great view of the pools themselves. We wanted to swim in one of the pools but the weather kicked up and started pounding us with rain so we were worried about flash flooding. I'm not normally one to be paranoid about stuff like that but there were warning signs everywhere and the weather was so unpredictable.



We got soaked. Luckily we had packed the rain cover for our camera. (Thanks Jon)


After hiding out under a tree for the storm to pass we decided to hike back up to the crossing with the Pipiwai trail. This is supposed to be one of the best hikes on Maui and I would have to say it was otherworldly.

Right off the bat we found this crazy looking tree that looks like the Eywa tree from Avatar. The limbs get so heavy that they start to grow supports down to the ground to hold it up!

Jon decided to help.

Pipiwai is 4 miles round trip with a gain in elevation of 650 feet and several great waterfalls along the route.


After hiking past the waterfalls, we came to a bamboo forest.



It was so amazing! You could not see more than a foot to either side the bamboo forest was so thick and reached over 40 feet, blocking out the sky. Just thinking of how much bamboo it would take to do that was overwhelming considering that each branch was about 3 inches in diameter.


It continued raining on us off and on and most of the trail was through mud. One place we came to had this beautiful wooded boardwalk stretching off in the distance. It was so magical especially because when the wind would blow we could hear the bamboo stalks hitting against each other making the coolest sounds.

This was my favorite thing that I saw in all of Hawaii.


We finally made it out of the bamboo forest and started our ascent again. We could see Waimoku Falls in the back, but first we had to cross a stream. I had been so glad I bought waterproof hiking shoes before our trip to Hawaii and had been grateful for them the last few hours as we were hiking through the mud and rain. But now we crossed the river which was higher than my ankles and water got inside my shoes and couldn't dry off.


This picture doesn't do Waimoku Falls justice. The water falls down a 400-foot sheer lava rock wall. It was absolutely incredible.

We had a little snack then headed back to the car. I am so glad we did this hike and didn't get scared off by the weather. It was definitely a must-see.

HAMOA BEACH  _________________________________________________________________

Hamoa Beach is stunning in its beauty. According to National Geographic, Hamoa Beach is one of the top 5 beaches in the world. It is about 1,000 feet long and about 100 feet wide, with lush palm trees and lava cliffs surrounding its crescent-shaped cove. It is so secluded and there were hardly any other people there. It felt like our own private beach.

Hamoa is unprotected by fringing reefs, so big surfs hit the beach unobstructed especially during the winter months so we are lucky we came in November. Jon has been wanting to body surf and with the big wave it was perfect. There was no reef or anything to hit your toes (or your head during a wipe-out). The tide was definitely too strong for me. I felt pretty nervous out there so I came back in and had a great time watching Jon and a couple other surfers out there.


I picked a flower off a tree on our way down the trail to Hamoa. I love all these beautiful tropical flowers. It was so peaceful and romantic sitting out in the sun. I could do that every day during this vacation. It's the perfect beach paradise.


After we decided we'd had enough for the day, dark storm clouds moved in and dumped rain on us for at least 15 min straight. Luckily, we had just finished packing up when it started, so we ran as fast as we could to a pavilion 25 feet away. By the time we got there we were soaked and then the wind really started to howl. It was crazy! I got a video of it and every time I watch it I can't believe how fast the weather changed. I wonder if it is like that in every coastal town?


HONOKALANI BEACH    __________________________________________________________
Honokalani Beach is a black sand beach. It is spectacular! The obsidian sand made from the same black volcanic rock that makes the rugged coastline with the lush green plants against the crystal blue water is breathtaking.



There are a lot of things to do here. You can explore lava tubes, caves, natural stone arches, sea stacks and blowholes.
Hamoa Beach, Hana, Hawaii,
Share:

Haleakala National Park


Happy Anniversary to us! I think we were able to celebrate our anniversary with the most incredible experience. We woke up this morning at 3 am in order to drive into the heart of Haleakala National Park and 10,000 feet up the mountain to get to the top of Haleakala Crater to see the sun rise at 6 am.


After we got to the top of the crater and parked the car, there were still about 300 yards to hike to a total elevation of 10,023 feet. You would not believe how cold it was. The temperature was around 40 but it was so misty and the wind was freezing. The clouds just kept rolling up the mountain bathing us in freezing cold mist. We were shivering so bad; the dew on our faces was turning to ice.  Jon finally got so cold and skeptical that we would be able to see the sun come up through all the fog that he went to go wait in the gift shop.

I wasn't willing to risk missing anything, even if my toes were freezing in my flip flops (since my hiking shoes were still wet from yesterday).

We could tell that it was starting to get lighter but we still couldn't see anything but fog all around us. Then all of a sudden the fog started to thin and one of the park rangers started chanting in his native Hawaiian as the sky grew lighter and his chant grew louder and louder til it climaxed as the sun peaked over the mountain.



It was so captivating listening to the chant welcoming the sun and the warmth it would bring to our new day.


It was so amazing I can't even find the words to describe it. It felt like we were floating on a cloud looking down at the earth with all the mist around us and the beautiful colors it reflected from the sun.



Jon had come out again when it started to get light so he didn't miss the sunrise after all.


Haleakala is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of Maui. The other 25% to the west is formed by the West Maui Mountains.



The tallest peak of Haleakalā is Puʻu ʻUlaʻula (Red Hill). From the summit we could look down into a massive depression 7 miles across, 2 miles wide and 2,600 ft deep!



I really can't find words to describe how incredible this was. Wow!

We walked around the top of the summit for a bit, but it really was so cold. So we hopped back in our car and made our way down the winding mountain to enjoy breakfast and steaming hot tea at a nearby lodge.

Passion Fruit Tea

It was fun to drive back down through the clouds.The prettiest rainbow greeted us as we came down off the mountain, giving us the promise of good luck for our anniversary,
Haleakala, Hawaii, National Parks,
Share:

How to Can Apple Sauce

Fresh Picked Apples From My Dad's Tree

There is just something about Fall and apples.

The nice crunch and sweet burst of flavor. Mmm. I love apples.

And they are so versatile. Which is a good thing too because if you have an apple tree, chances are you have more apples than you can get though by just eating them plain.

Apples can be used in salads, rice pilafs, desserts like pie and cobblers, pressed for juice or made into my girls' favorite: Applesauce.

Making your own applesauce is so easy. It helps to have a few gadgets but I have made them without too.


This is an apple corer, slicer and peeler. You can take off the thing that peels it if you want to leave them on for more nutrition. (And a pretty color of applesauce.) You can also use it on potatoes.


Stick the washed apple on. Slide it up to the peeler and start turning the handle.

Isn't this the coolest thing ever? Look how it peels and slices as it easily turns.


Pretty huh? Notice the core stays on the machine and the part of the apple you want slides off.


Put the sliced and peeled apples in a ascorbic acid or vitamin C water bath to keep from turning brown while you work on more apples. (At this point you could put the slices on a dehydrator for a healthy snack)


Once you have enough apples to fill a pot fill it with a cup of water simmer until the apples start to turn soft. The apples will start to make their own juice but just make sure it isn't cooking too high and starts to burn.


These are soft enough.


Next, carefully blend in batches. It is very hot.


At this point you can start putting it back in a new pot and then season with sugar or cinnamon if you'd like but I think that the applesauce is amazing plain and that's how my kids prefer it so I just move on to filling the jars.

When you put hot food into the jars it is called a hot pack. This is what we do for applesauce so if you decide to make a big batch of applesauce one day and can it the next, make sure you heat it up again before putting in your jars. Fill to 1/2 inch of the top (headspace). Put on heated lids and rings. And process in a water bath canner for the time indicated for your altitude in the chart below.

Table 1. Recommended process time for Applesauce in a boiling-water canner.
Process Time at Altitudes of
Style of PackQuart Size0 - 1,000 ft1,001 - 3,000 ft3,001 - 6,000 ftAbove 6,000 ft
HotPints15 min202025
Quarts20253035

Take out of canner and leave undisturbed on a surface free of drafts for at least 24 hours to cool. When cool, wash jars and store without rings in a cool, dark place.



Freshly canned jars have got to be one of the prettiest sights in the world. It always brings a smile to my face.

Enjoy!
Apples, Food, How to Can Applesauce,
Share:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)