First Camping Trip for the Summer!

On fourth of July weekend all the campsites were filled with tourists in Great Basin National Park (which includes Strawberry and Snake Creek). So, friends of ours found a nice campsite not too far from Baker at a place called Silver Creek.

Isaac found his comfort zone in one of the camping chairs and was content with just hanging out there for a while :)

Darkness seemed to fall fast!

Bryan brought his guitar which is always great, especially in front of a campfire............

I was trying to play around with my camera in the dark. So was Ben and Meg ;)

The timing was great on July 2nd for camping because it ended up raining the next 4-5 following days. It rained the hardest on 4th of July. We went to EskDale for the Independence Day Celebration. We had good food and saw great musical numbers - but the fireworks were a no-go. The rain had dampened everything. Oh well. It was still fun. Ava and Isaac don't appreciate fireworks anyway :P

Rattlesnake Operation

(CAUTION: this blog topic contains graphic photos ~ not for the fainthearted)

Rattlesnakes in Great Basin National Park have been successfully implanted with radio transmitters. Bryan and the Great Basin crew, along with Beverly (Bryan's advisor at BYU; as well as a veterinarian) completed a couple more surgeries last week. I had the opportunity to observe and document.........

(Note: Bryan gets credit for some of these photos taken from a previous week)

Safety First: they maneuver the snake into the tube.....................

Then, they anesthetize the rattlesnake inside the tube using solution on a cottonball.........

As they wait for the snake to fall asleep, they check & document vitals and prep for surgery.........

Cleaning/disinfecting tissue after snake falls asleep..............................

Mark assists as Beverly goes in for the first cut...................

Opening is ready for insertion of the transmitter.....................

Bryan pulls the other end of the transmitter through an incision...............

After the transmitter is successfully placed, Beverly finishes the surgery by sewing the tissues.....

Bryan helping the rattlesnake with its oxygen intake...........(this is one of my favorite photos)
How many other people get to do this?

lol :D

After adequate rest and recovery, the rattlesnake is released. Is he aware that he makes a great study subject?

Pretty awesome research!

Back to Blogging!!

You don't know what you got until it's gone ~ that goes for the internet too.

lol

The internet has been out at the Hamilton residence for what seems like a month. The technician came to Baker today and fixed it! I can hardly contain my excitement - to help express my emotions, here are a few images of Isaac to do it for me:

YIPPPEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

I feel sooooooo behind! As long as "blogger" cooperates I will catch up! There are so many things going on. Not too mention it's July now - the busiest month of the year for us!

*sigh*

Here goes!

Lexington Arch

Last Tuesday, a couple of friends (Rosaleen & Alex) myself and the kids went on a hike to Lexington Arch. If you aren't familiar with this trail it's not too long (I think 1.7 miles one-way) however it has quite the elevation gain. The wildflowers on the ridges were absolutely abundant and even more beautiful this year!

Ava would stop periodically and pick up sticks and rocks. Those switchbacks are steep - especially for a 3 year old! I had a variety of snacks with me of course, which made the trip a little easier. Ava seemed to get some energy comsuming gummy bears on the way up :)

I was surprised because she didn't actually complain as much as I thought she would considering the challenge. She made it all the way to the bench where the overlook to the arch was! I was one proud mamma! Of course we had to document this momentous occassion - here is the proof :)

Isaac did really good too - he sucked water through the camelback all the way up the trail. For the last little (yet hardest) part of the trail Alex carried Isaac and I carried Ava in their packs.

There was a nice cool breeze at the top which was refreshing. We were all happy sitting up there under the 7 story limestone arch, eating goodies and taking in the beautiful view.

Eventually the refreshing breeze turned into wind so we made a decision to head back down the trail. Rosaleen offered to hike Ava down on her back while I took Isaac.......

It wasn't long before both Isaac and Ava fell asleep in their packs.....................

I told Rosaleen "Ava really earned and deserved that nap!"

I plan on doing more camping and hiking this summer ~ oh, the possibilities!!!

Thanks Rosaleen and Alex for sharing that little adventure!