Mirror Lake Drive

September 25 was Public Lands Day. Woohoo. Free entrance into national parks and public lands. We took the chance to drive up Mirror Lake Scenic Byway like we did for Labor Day last year.

There were definitely some Fall colors showing.

Jr. made sure to get a patriotic picture with a flag and colors in the background.

Provo Falls wasn't too crowded so we were able to stop there. I learned a few things. The path is not stroller friendly (even though at the top it looks like it could be). There are a few levels of waterfalls. You can walk to more than just what you see from the parking lot or as you drive by. 

And Jet gets a kick out of the needles on evergreens.

We saw an American dipper while we were there, too.

And Jeremy and I are a cute couple.

 

We made a quick stop at the Hayden Peak Overlook again as we always do (we've only done this twice with our family but both Jeremy and I have done this drive with Utah County Birders) but didn't see any birds we were hoping to and drove around the campground at Mirror Lake. One of the spots we go to was closed so we didn't see any birds we were hoping to see there, either. 

We did have success with the pikas this time and we got better pictures. Jr. has to get so many biological encounters for his biology class and he needs pictures so this worked out great. Who knows how many other kids in his class will have a pika on their list? And pikas are lagomorphs like rabbits and it was International Rabbit Day.

Jr. Jr. helped me get a picture of a pika with my phone... with binoculars. I couldn't hold both and zoom in and push the button, so I tried to hold the phone and binoculars steady while Jr. Jr. zoomed in and took the picture. He was a big help.

zoomed in with just my phone

not zoomed in through binoculars

 

zoomed in through binoculars

Since it was also Singles Day, we put singles packets in our water bottles for the drive home.

It was a lovely drive and family time.

Labor Day 2020

We got the kids up early again to go on a birding trip for Labor Day on September 7. We wanted to drive up Mirror Lake Scenic Byway. This is a place Jeremy and I have both gone on birding field trips in the past. Unfortunately with things as they currently are, birding field trips are not possible in the same way. We're encouraged to go out on our own to work on this year's challenge without meeting in big groups.

We stopped by Bridal Veil Falls on the way through the canyon because that early in the morning, there weren't many people there. Very easy to keep a turkey vulture's wing-length away from people. 

Speaking of turkey vultures, we stopped in Heber at the historic Wasatch Stake Tabernacle. It seems every time we drive through Heber, this building has turkey vultures sitting on it, sometimes spreading their wings. Wouldn't it be fun to juggle with the turkey vultures on the building in the background? So I did.

They look so small but they're really such big birds. Jeremy discovered that not only were they on the building but there were a bunch in the trees nearby.

There was also a hot air balloon flying in the sky nearby. Those are always neat to see.

We had fun taking pictures. That's when we realized this was going to be a somewhat relaxed trip and not a "we need to get to this certain point by this time" trip.

We had certain places we wanted to stop to look for specific birds but whatever and wherever else we stopped would be good, too. That's how Jeremy saw a black-throated gray warbler when we stopped at a random picnic area with a little pond. I saw it as it flew but didn't get a good look at it like Jeremy did. Poor Nichole missed it altogether.

She did get to see the Clark's Nutcrackers and Canada Jays, though, which were two of the birds we specifically made the trip for.

There were plenty of other things to see besides birds.

Chipmunks and squirrels.

Everyone got to see a pika (except Jet but he's young enough we don't count him with "everyone" when we see something).

  Of course there was beautiful scenery with mountains and lakes everywhere.

 And juggling at an elevation of over 10,000 feet? That's cool.

I really enjoyed this trip with my family.

We did hit Labor Day traffic on the way home- lots of stop and go traffic from Heber to Deer Creek Reservoir. And driving past Bridal Veil Falls again? I'm sure glad we stopped that morning.

We were all exhausted by the end of the day but it was worth it.