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Part of why I’ve been spending all summer trying to get in the water is because there is nothing that snaps my border collie brain out of going in circles and worrying faster than just going from Dry to Wet. When that Wet is maybe 60 degrees? Oooooh yeah, that’ll get the anxious-dog brain distracted and happy:
All that to say, it was a nice little afternoon up the river and I warmed up in the sun right away. That sun was SO golden:
We had planned to go to the pool yesterday in the late afternoon but I found myself longing for the apocalypse so we went swimming in NATURE instead.
I may look like I’m lounging languidly here but I think I lasted maybe 30 seconds. That water was COLDDDD (but it worked to get me out of my head).
This was in Millcreek Canyon, where our usual stream spots are under construction. We had the idea to see what access we could get from a picnic area (which are usually mobbed on the weekends) and there were all sorts of delightful spots.
This might be Unsettled Summer but that doesn’t mean it can’t also be Pool Summer, especially since the Millcreek stream is out of the picture. (I saw a post earlier in the year of someone saying, “sure I lost my job but then I went to the pool for 60 days straight,” and THAT thought is helping me deal with work uncertainty.)
I decided I needed a waterproof pool bag instead of the cotton canvas tote I was using, so I could put wet towels in there with abandon. I already owned the Daughter Judy bag pattern from when it was a subscriber bonus and I had a yard of outdoor canvas sitting around from 2022, when I thought I was going to make a Kate Spade-style carry on. (I hesitated for a second before I cut into it, but more striped fabric exists if I ever decide to make it.)
The stripes play nicely with the fold detail and this was a really fast project. Plus I got three things checked off the list: not spending money, using up some stash, and being more equipped to Get In The Water.
We had a mini heat wave over the weekend and it was 96 degrees on Sunday. I wanted to Get In The Water but we ended up at the pool, because the streams are still high and cold but the pool has a zero-depth entry that had already warmed up and is great for lolling around in like a seal.
The no-frills pool locker room also had a surprisingly lovely play of leaf shadows over the skylight? It just seemed atmospheric so I took a picture.
It’s been a stressful few weeks and this has been my brain–except all the outdoor pools closed after Labor Day.
But it’s also been unseasonably warm so we headed to the closest reservoir Sunday and Got! In The! Water!!
The water was cold but I did go all the way in and those Victorians were on to something–taking the waters really does help. It wasn’t too crowded (I can’t imagine it in summer though) and we even got to see sailboats!
For our last hurrah of summer, I had the idea to take the new pack up to the same trail that nearly killed us and do it again, this time prepared for every eventuality. It started out so well–look at that pack stuffed full of gear!
But there is no such thing as lightning gear. We made it to the first lake and then the clouds started coming in fast and the thunder started getting louder. We were above the treeline in a thunderstorm the last time we tried this hike; the trail was about to climb; and we looked at each other and said, “NOPE.”
But before the clouds rolled in, the first lake was doing its best Bob Ross impression. (There’s about 10 minutes between the last pic and this one, that’s how fast things changed.)
We got off the trail of doom, the weather changed again, and we went over to Mirror Lake to eat our lunch:
And then we hit Provo Falls on the way home, even though it was cloudy again. Things are looking a little autumnal up at altitude–that willow is turning and there were one or two maples on the mountainsides going orange.
But the water was still pretty warm so we Got In. It was a good adventure.
Maybe we weren’t too scarred from our big hike last week, maybe I just can’t resist a chance to Get In The Water–but we were out Friday night and most of Sunday (and it was fine!).
Friday, we went up to the top of kindly Millcreek Canyon at golden hour and splashed around:
(If you don’t get all the way in the stream, you miss the bluebells growing out of mossy rocks!)
And Sunday we took nephew and sister-in-law and a visiting aunt and uncle tubing on the Provo River. It was about a thousand times busier than the stretch of the Bear we did at the beginning of the month and was a LOT colder, too–but I had fun the whole way (I was In The Water!!) and I think the group had an overall enjoyable experience.
It sure is a pretty canyon and river. There were people who used the tube rental place like us and also people out in their own kayaks and SUPs. I think it’s just a matter of time before I convince Doc that we need our own watercraft.
It’s still really hot. We weren’t feeling motivated for a dusty, sweaty hike but I did find myself longing for the apocalypse, which meant I needed some kind of nature. Sometimes just sitting on a rock and wading in an icy stream is enough.
It was refreshing and idyllic but also full of flies (you can see one on my knee up there biting me)…I guess that’s to be expected with nature.
It was another big weekend for Getting In The Water: Friday we drove to Idaho to the hot springs we like, which was offering tubing down the Bear River along with hot springs soaking after.
I had never been In The Water in a tube! It was amazing! There were calm spots and some mild rapids, the sun wasn’t too hot and the water wasn’t too cold…
…and we brought snacks and beer!
I think I need more tubing in my life. There are plenty of rivers here in Utah and Doc’s job rents tubes and PFDs, plus he’s on sabbatical soon. Anyone want to join us In The Water?
Clearly I like to Get In The Water but I really, really hate the Olympic swim strokes–mostly because the breathing never clicked for me but also because of my shoulder mobility and not being able to see where you’re going. So this post about Nihon Eiho, the Japanese traditional swimming styles, really clicked for me.
What most people practice as swimming then is the offspring of a completely unnatural environment, devoid of current, waves, salt, lack of visibility, unsure depth and wildlife … The Japanese classical swimming arts are the polar opposite–they are highly practical strokes and strategies, systematically designed to give the practitioner mastery of the natural element. In essence, to give the individual the same confidence they have on land, in the water.
[…] One begins with prone strokes that allow the practitioner to hold their head out of the water, a major difference to modern strokes. Indeed, the Kobori-ryu contains no techniques that take the practitioners eyes away from the objective.
The strokes are then broken into methods of crossing water, whether with, against or across currents, those for speed or those to conserve energy.
There are a few videos in the post showing the strokes in action and they look so natural–there’s barely any splashing. I want to learn this someday … maybe I can win the lottery and take a course in Japan.