Camping Cache Valley Part 2

On our way home from camping we decided to drive up the canyon a little more to do a short hike.  We just barely got a hiking baby carrier for Father's Day and I really wanted to try it out!  (Thanks Mom and Dad!)

Tony Grove did not disappoint us that day.  While I wished we had planned a little better, had we known, we could have had a lovely picnic just around the lake. 

We also got a new lens for our camera, which sadly, we didn't notice until it was too late, that it kind of made photos fuzzy for some reason.  So some of the pictures aren't quite as clear as I'd hoped.  

I'm not sure what happened with the camera, but doesn't this photo look super vintage?  

The husband was dying of heat, so I banished him over to the shade to help his attitude.

It was all fun and games until she decided to squat in the water. 

We decided to have ourselves a little family photo shot done.  I love that all of us hadn't showered in a couple days, Aiko's missing her pants, brother's bug eyed as ever and the Kona looks ginormous.  Ahh, family life.  You gotta love it. 

Then a girl shot, except for Aiko was done with pictures so we substituted brother instead. 

I have a thing for crazy trees.  This one had melded together and then had what looked like termites it it alive.  

The Hike was amazing!  It was just the right length, temperature, and luckily, we took water. 

If only we had brought the fishing poles. 

A family that wears chacos together....

I'd really like to come back to Tony Grove again.  There was another hike that was 10 miles and EVERYBODY seemed to be going on it.  Apparently, the wild flowers were just crazy in bloom.  Next time.  

Some other Hikes we've done here, here, here, here and here. 

Camping Cache Valley Part 1

This was our first camping trip as a family.  We hadn't taken Aiko camping, mainly because I was pregnant and not wanting too, plus Aiko has always slept in some kind of pack 'n' play or crib, so we didn't know how it would go.  

So here's a bunch of random camping photos. (Before we got those lovely tickets. See previous blog here.)

Had we not just gotten a ticket for jumping the bridge, I totally would have pushed for all of us to play on the rope swing, but well, ya know.  

Auntie Hali and Aiko were doing Sun Salutations. 

Auntie Hali goes camping multiple times a week.  All she does is take her hammock, pillow and sleeping bag and she's ready to go.  If it weren't for the fact that Aiko would somehow crawl out, I totally would invest in multiple hammocks just for the ease of packing. 

This was a happy picture we took of all of us on the way to the bridge. 

I had bought this amazing little Moses Basket, in the hopes that I would use it sometime with Little Brother.  It did come quite handy while camping, so he was safely tucked away in his own little spot. 

Poor, Poor Kona. 

She gets all the lame places to sit now, since these babies came along. 

It was a lovely morning packing up.  Such a good little spot.

Final Judgement

The court day has come and past.  Auntie Hannah was the first in line for the day.  She wanted moral support, so little brother and I went for moral support.  We showed up on time, only to realize that we were at the wrong building.  Sprinting across the parking lot with little brother in tow, because I thought for some reason bringing an infant was a good idea.  

Has anyone been to the county courts before, because we had no idea what we were suppose to do.   There was a docket with like 11 pages, giving names and descriptions of what people were charged with and their attorneys.  Hannah's was one of the few who didn't have an attorney...did we freaking need one?  Hannah's eyes were getting bigger by the moment.  Some of the charges people had were pretty extreme, I mean, we didn't see any murder charges, but some were pretty horrendous in my mind.  

We thought someone would maybe come out and instruct us, but nothing.  Finally, Hannah decided to go inside and sit in the courtroom.  I sat out in the hall for a few minutes, then realized that Hannah wasn't come back out.  There were people coming in and out of the room constantly.  Finally, I peeked in the doors and thought we were in church or something.  There were lots of pew/benches and a big spot for the judge.  I decided it would probably be a good idea to have my other sister come and pick up little brother.   After she came and picked him up I went back to the courtroom and started crocheting. Because crocheting is good to calm the nerves.   As I'm looking around, I'm seeing all sorts of people; farmers, shady people, judges, prosecutors, clerks and INMATES in chains and stripes.

I mean really.  Some people were there for speeding tickets, shoplifting, then there were others , by others, I mean things I don't like to name.  It was kind of unnerving to be sitting there with some hardened criminals, listening to their crimes and sentences.  Prosecutors and attorneys were walking around talking quietly as the judge dealt with his current villain. 

Apparently, there is this water tower in Logan Canyon where you write your name and a girl got caught.  The judge kind of reeled her a bit, but she was charged with $50 for the trespassing and then $500 for the graffiti.  $50 for trespassing?  We could handle that right?!  Right?

 Hannah was finally called up to the microphone and the judge thought she was another graffitier. (?)   But, Hannah calmly explained that actually, we were going for a "good wholesome family activity," that required jumping off a bridge. 

The judge laughed at her.

Then waved his arm dismissively and assigned her another court date and told her to call the Prosecutor.  

That was it. 

Does that seem highly inefficient to anyone else?  For reals?  She was literally standing there less than a minute.  I decided then and there that I needed to find out how this really worked.  (I mean, I took Business Law in college, can't be that hard right??!?!)  The prosecutor was still standing there as court adjourned, so I put on my big girl undies and decided to talk to him.  I explained in a rather shaky and small voice that there were four of us with citations and I was wondering how we could get this done in one day instead of two (highly inefficient days.)  He said that he would talk to my Prosecutor and get all our deals worked out, but that I'd probably have to come back another day. 

We were feeling pretty good after that.  Still slightly annoyed that I would have to come back, but at least I knew what to expect in the courtroom.  My court wasn't for an hour so we decided to get some lunch.  After seeing how Hannah's court went I decided that no moral support, I had my crochet hooks.

As I sat through court, crocheting away, I listened to all sorts of weird things.  Old men stealing bark from the stores, women punching husband's girlfriends...it only got more extreme.  This time, there were 13 inmates in chains, three of them were women.  Crazy right?!!?  Once again the prosecutors were walking around talking to people and handing them papers.  I eavesdropped (it wasn't hard, they weren't really whispering) on two girls and it looks like they were charged with trespassing at the water tower at were being cited for $50. (Things were looking better and better!!)  

The prosecutor actually came and called my name out to the crowd ... with a paper!!!  We stepped outside and he asked if I wanted a lawyer. (Did I need one?)  He explained that he was the one prosecuting against me and that he was going to charge me $500 for the trespassing and 8 hours of community service.  Usually, I don't keep my emotions hidden very well, but I tried very hard to keep an even face.  Inside, I was kind of freaking out about the injustice in the world, especially, since I didn't even jump off the stupid bridge.  Why didn't I JUMP?!  But, then after explaining the community service, the prosecutor decided to drop the fine to $400...then somehow he dropped it to $300 with the community service.   He then suggested I read through the papers and wait for my name to be called. 

Feeling slightly deflated and wondering what it would have been like to jump, I started listening to a guy being charged with smoking weed.  He was fined and then sentenced to 2 days in jail.  Which, the judge asked him when he could serve his time.  (Wait, what?)  The judge then asked him his work schedule.  I mean, they were accommodating his work schedule with his jail sentence?  Finally, they worked out a day and he was told to show up at 11pm to start his sentence.  

You guys, this is nothing like Law and Order. 

It got even more hysterical when he called up the next "trespasser of the water tower."  The judge sat there for a moment and said "I'm tired of doing these, when are people going to find out that there is a silent alarm up there?"  Then the judge held up his hands and exclaimed 

"Trespassers of the water tower: Crime of the Century!"  

We all laughed.

The judge called all the trespassers up at once (I was excluded from this group) and had all four of them plead guilty together and fined them $50.  He really was tired of dealing with this trespassing thing, he explained they don't normally group people together.

Next, they called my name.  I walked up and the Prosecutor stopped me and whispered that he would drop my charge to $50 since everyone had that.

Hot. Dang. 

While I'm up there, I'm trying to appear confident and not like a crook.  It was seriously nerve wrecking, I mean, just 10 feet away there were 13 inmates chained and listening to my ridiculous charges.  The judge asked the prosecutor why I had 8 hours of community service and the last four girls didn't. (I wanted to know why too.)  The prosecutor explained that he felt it was different and because the previous charges were kind of a tradition...etc. To which, I responded by saying, "Well, everyone else was doing it too."  In the end, the judge said because I'd already signed it that I would just have to serve it.  (I really don't mind, it's not like service it bad for anyone.)  The judge went on to say that we should spread the word to not jump from that bridge.  A few years ago, a boy drowned jumping off the bridge.  

If only he knew that I never even jumped off that bridge.

So, in the end, $50 bucks (which I just realized today I hadn't paid yet..just paid it) and 8 hour of community service for not even jumping off the bridge.

Hopefully, you now have a good understanding of what really goes on in the courts, since this was a novel. 

Previous blog posts about the fateful day.  Here & Here

Why do I always feel like Hali's activities are always illegal.

Because they are. 

As we drove up to this "activity," I kind of had this gut wrenching fear.  I don't let this be known very often, but I am a stickler for following the rules.  Always have.  When I'm older, I'll be the old lady that sits behind you in church, shushing the little people.  Oh, wait, I already do that.  

I should have said, "let's go" after seeing the "Private Property Sign."  We all saw it, but we all went anyway.  Hali's friends had just been there, I mean JUST barely been there, jumping naked (something I definitely wouldn't do) so it was okay right?

I should have said, "let's go" after tripping on a railroad track (some-freaking-how) with my baby boy strapped to my stomach.  Don't worry, I tucked in and somehow landed on my left side with all the bruises and cuts to show it. He didn't even seem to care.  

I should have said "it's too far" as we were trucking baby girl and little brother.  Little sister Hali said it was a short walk, who is definitely as wild as a recent returned missionary can get. Truly.  Also, her descriptions are always so appealing, yet so inaccurate in pretty much everything. 

Like the length of the walk and the height of the bridge.  "It's not that high."  she says.

YOLO right?

Don't worry, we set a prime example for little Aiko, who just squealed with delight while watching them jump.

Looks fun right?

Which is why I climbed right over that fence...and this is where I stayed.  You see, I'm not afraid of heights, really, I'm not.  It's not even the jumping part, it's the jumping into water.  I kind of hate water activities.  I hate swimming.  I'm more of a floater/bobber. So I didn't jump.  Which is weird, because I succumbed to peer pressure already to get there, but once it came to the jumping, I really didn't want too.  (Plus, I was still shaking from tripping, I mean it's one thing to trip, while it's another to trip with my little man's life.) Also, there was this weird sail boat on in the river...which Hali said they were filming them the last time she came.  Weirded me out. The Kona would have been there to save me even or the husband.  I literally walked away from it.  I kind of regret it now too.  

(Head bowed down in shame.)

As we were packing up to leave, Hali says "Oh, shoot."  Then she won't answer our questions and there is a super awkward silence.

That's because there is one lone man walking the long walk on the tracks towards us.  He's waving.  

Crap.

So we begin the long journey back towards what? A happy cop? An angry owner?  We don't really know.  As we get closer, it's apparent he's some kind of cop.  I'm not really sure what he thinks of our motley crew.  The husband's carrying Aiko in his new Father's Day gift, Hali's carrying little brother, I've got the Kona, Hannah's carrying a diaper bag, Aiko's just chatting it up and pointing at all the birds.  One happy family right?  

He was actually quite nice and perhaps it was because we didn't talk much on the way back.  We knew we were in the wrong.  Once again, I was hanging my head in shame.  Double shame.  You see, halfway back another guy shows up, this one is a Sheriff.  Cop A works for the Union Pacific Railroad Police.  (Which he said there was only 4 in the whole state.  The odds people!) Sheriff works for good old Cache county.  While they are chatting it up like old buddies, we walk the walk of shame towards our truck.  While eavesdropping, I find out he's from Cedar City.  Great.  Which, if you grew up in Cedar, you know everyone, including the husband and his family. This day is getting to be awesome.

Finally, we get back to the car and he asks for our IDs.  Which, out of the four of us, only Hannah somehow brought one.  

Awkward.  

As we are waiting for whatever to happen, we realize that not only are we trespassing, but we drove out in the truck, which doesn't have enough seats!!  So while sisters and I sit outside the truck, the husband is inside the truck (with the air and babies) looking up if it's legal to have somehow sit in the back of the truck.  We wouldn't want to get caught doing too many things wrong that day right? 


(taken before trouble.)

We sat there forever.  I mean it really was a good while.  We literally were running out of water and my babies were getting hungry.  Cop A got out of his truck and said we could sit in our truck out of the hot air if we wanted...Sheriff was sitting in his car doing who knows what.  I started worrying that maybe he was going to give us a second ticket.  I mean, I did hear whilst eavesdropping that Cop A has second jurisdiction while Sheriff has first.  

Could this be two separate infractions against the law?!  

Finally, Sheriff drives away and some time later Cop A got out of his car, carrying papers.  He proceeds to tell us that Union Pacific has a "no tolerance" for trespassers, especially when it comes to bridges.  So he's going to give a ticket, which is a misdemeanor and we'll have to appear before a judge.  It kind of appeared that he didn't really want to give us a ticket.  He tells us to spread the word.  He hands us our golden tickets and sends us on our way.

We did what anyone would do, we started Googling the process and how much our tickets were going to be. We found that it's a Class B with a fine of up to $1,000.  We worried in a quiet silence.  We even texted our mom who was in California with our uncle who is a lawyer.  I mean, we worried.  Finally, we talked to our mom and uncle.  He said it wasn't a big deal, maybe a couple hundred.  We finally laughed.  

Awkwardly.  

We still speculated away.  If only this...if only that.  I suddenly realized that I was going to have to pay for that unjumped-jump. I didn't even freaking jump.  We still don't know how much it's going to be, so we decided it was okay to laugh, until we find out how much we have to pay.  Hannah said "Well, boring people never have awesome stories to tell."  Which, while that is true, boring people don't have to pay for tickets because of bridge jumping (or not jumping.)

You only live once right?