We’ve lived in our town for 8 years now. We’re nestled in the foothills of the Oquirrh Mountains and are relatively close to several little canyons.
In 8 years, we’ve only been into our backyard canyons a few times, mainly because they have a reputation for being full of ticks and are usually very, very dry. Like the kind of dry where if you throw a rock and if that rock hits another rock, it might ignite a giant forest fire and burn down 1/3 of your town. I only wish I was exaggerating.
Anyway…last Saturday we decided to take a little family hike. We thought of some marvelous trails we’ve hiked before, but wanting to conserve gasoline we decided to stay close to home and headed up Yellow Fork Canyon.
We parked our car at the bottom of the canyon and began our hike in on the dirt road that leads inside the canyon. Like before, it was a dry and dusty trail. The foliage was a little greener than the last time we were there, mainly because it was earlier in the summer season I suppose.
After we walked a short distance, I noticed a little lesser traveled path. The kind you’re NOT supposed to use because of erosion. We decided to be rebels and take it anyway, not knowing where it would lead. 
To our surprise, we entered a world we never knew was there. It was lush and green and full of wonderful nature sounds. Mostly flies and bees humming. We also heard the song of the Meadow Lark which always brings back wonderful memories from my childhood. There was a beautiful sounding lark who would always sing on Sunday mornings as I would walk to church as a little girl.
We spent at least an hour exploring the trail and enjoying this mountainside. We only saw two other people on the trail, including this pair of beautiful horses and their riders.
We wandered as long as the children would allow. Since we didn’t have any information about how long the trail was or where it led, they were less enthused and more concerned that they’d run out of treats to eat on the trail. After about an hour and 15 minutes, we headed back to the car and straight to 7-11 where we all got a nice, ice-cold Slurpee!
We were glad to have had the chance to explore what is literally in our own backyard. I know many people don’t live on the edge of civilization the way we do, but I am willing to guess there are lots of unknown areas immediately around your home that you’ve yet to conquer.
Consider this an invitation to go for a walk, bike or scooter ride into some nearby and uncharted territory. Feel free to report back what you’ve found. I bet you’ll have a great adventure! This counts as #53 on my list.
