Hiking the Y

With a long Labor Day weekend, we were able to use our Saturday exactly how we wanted to instead of spending it begrudgingly working on homework or other chores. We had a late breakfast with our friends, Matt and Katherine, and it was great to spend some time getting to know them better. Then, after a little bit of thrift store shopping and a half nap/half BYU football game, Drew and I decided to hike Y mountain near BYU's campus. It's so named because it has a massive concrete Y on the side of it, a Y that has been there for over 100 years (that must have been before they knew much about ecology and the less than positive effects of concrete and repeated paintings on surrounding critters and erosion). Such structures aren't allowed anymore, so the Y maintains its record as the largest college symbol in the U.S.

The hike up to the Y is only 1.2 miles long, but it's really steep and dusty, so getting there is no leisurely walk. The view along the way is the best part, especially near sunset when we went; you can see all of Provo Valley, Utah Lake, and the surrounding mountains.

That white snow-looking stuff behind us is the concrete Y,
dappled with a bunch of college students and families.

Instead of stopping at the Y, we kept going up the mountain a little further to some rock formations that Drew had been to before. After the tough trip to the Y, I wasn't initially thrilled about the prospect of more climbing, but the extra distance made the whole hike worth it. The trail narrows, the incline drops, more plants grow, and more animals are about once you get beyond the high-traffic area around the Y. We even saw a kind of pretty greenish-brown snake (a North American racer, we think?) slithering across the path. 

I'm pretty sure that these plants have to be counted among my heroes.
They have a lot to teach us, like:
Be resilient.
Bloom where you're planted.
Life can be sown and even flourish in desolate places.
Extract the best stuff out of life, even when circumstances are tough.
Find something to do/love/be and then hold onto it with all of your might.

The view of sunset up on the mountain is phenomenal. We stayed long enough to catch a few moments of it and then headed back down as it started to get darker and cooler.

We dawdled on the way down, watching the sunset silhouette the valley below; the colors were absolutely beautiful.

We finished our evening with Josh and Brittany, a delicious meal of shrimp scampi, and a fun game of Five Crowns. Another good day for the books. :)