Lake of Bears!

For the first year or so in our Holladay apartments, we had a young couple, much like ourselves, who were living above us.  Our primary interaction with them was to make sure we paid our internet bill and stayed current with them.  Occasionally we would do things in a larger group setting because we were both friends with the Skokos's.  However, as there time to move drew closer, it seemed as if we started to hang out with them more often.  A friendship developed to the point, where they even invited us to join them at their cabin in Bear Lake.  We jumped on the opportunity.
On the drive up to the cabin, Mike and Adam discussed career opportunities and desires.  Adam was either close to graduating or had just graduated.  Currently he was working at a construction job with good hours, good pay, and a sweet truck.  To top it off, the owner wanted Adam and his son to take over the business. However, this is not what Adam wanted.  He wanted to make it big in the finance world.  He wanted more of a challenge and didn't want to go into business with the son.  Mike, on the other hand, thought he had it made.  Especially after putting in long and treacherous days at Zane Benefits for almost a year now.  I guess the grass is always greener on the other side, eh?

Once we arrived in Bear Lake, we had to stop at Labeaus's for a traditional raspberry shake.  As Megan was eating her corn dog, she had a sheer look of terror come over her face.  Words cannot even describe how great her facial expression was.  She let out a gasp as we are all trying to figure out what was going on.  Turns out a skunk, yup a skunk, brushed up against her leg.  It was at this moment when we realized this was going to be a great weekend getaway.  However, this was just the beginning.  Later that night as we were hanging out in the main living room, we saw a small creature run across the floor.  Mike, the Mighty Mouse Hunter, was born.  The boys quickly got to work.  Mike located a plastic toy putter and some fire tongs and began his hunt. To all of our amazement mice kept appearing.  Needless, to say they found a system to quickly trap and kill the mice.  Mike would use the putter to trap the mouse and then Adam would use the fire tongs to squeeze the mouse to death.  Admittedly a little grotesque, but also relevant under the circumstances.  By the end of the hunt, six mice had been killed and laid to rest in front of the cabin.  Later we would learn, Adam was and is terrified of Mice.  Yet, he pulled through strong.

The next morning we would start a different sort of adventures.  We decided to check out the famous Minnetonka  Caves in the Cache Valley National Forest.  The cave was definitely worth seeing, however, what made it most enjoyable was our tour guide friend.  He was a young lad of about 15 what he lacked in stature, he made up for in personality.  At one point, he was explaining about the composition of the cave.  It was made of carbonic acid.  He then went on, "Do you know what else has carbonic acid, soda pop.  You drink soda pop."  Having said what he needed to say, he turned on his heel, and was off to the next site.  Another classic moment was in a part of the cave which apparently had good acoustics.  He said, "For example" and then proceeded to sing "Don't waste your time on me..."  We loved every minute of it.  After exploring the cave, we set out on our own explorations.  We were driving around the mountains looking for a rope swing.  Unfortunately, it was snowing, and we were unable to find it.  However, we didn't leave empty handed.  We discovered a huge half-pipe of rocks.  Mike quickly deemed it, "Hell's Half Pipe."  It was nature's playground for the boys.  Still having some light, we decided we would try braving the lake.  Being as cold as it was, only Mike and Adam dared to go into the water.  They played around in the Kayak for a little bit.  Then Megan and I joined them in some warmer water, aka the hot tubs.  It was a great way to soak up the activities of a great weekend.