The Ditch

This is where I spent most of my summers.  In, on, and around "The Ditch".  My cousins, Chris and Jesse, from Las Vegas used to visit every summer and we had all kinds of adventures.  One of our famous adventures (one we thought people would be writing books about) was the time we floated down the ditch all the way to Kamas.  It took us all day.  Along the way there were spillways, culverts, and barbed wire fences to navigate.  There was also, of course, the risk of crossing through more than one property line (including the infamous Addam Swapp polygamous compound).  For a while some wild ducks followed us including a mother with several babies.  More than ten miles away, we finally reached the end of the ditch - the place where it converges over a large spillway into the canal in Kamas (which eventually makes it's way to the Provo River).  It was late - past dinnertime - and we started the long hike back home along the bank of the canal.  We were sunburned, sore, and tired but when we came to the water gates (which we later named the Water Park), we couldn't resist diving from the dam into the deepest part of the canal to cool off a bit.  On the other side the water spilled over the gates like smooth waterfalls that you could hide behind.  But the most amazing thing of the whole day was what we found on the shallow side of the dam.  Salamanders.  Hundreds of them.  We caught them by the armfuls and carried them all the way back to the ranch - dozens of them - and put them in the hot tub.  Yup, we figured that was as good-a-place as any.  My dad was furious. That night we all slept out under the stars and recounted all our days adventures.

So here's the next generation of cousins.  They didn't leave our property line - thank goodness.  But they still had some narrow escapes under bridges and through barbed wire.  They lost one paddle.  Caught one snake.  And had enough stories to tell to last the whole evening.  One day I know they'll venture further and I won't be there to take pictures.  I'll be glad I took these ones when I had the chance.