Dock Flats

 

When I was young, my parents took us camping each year during the first weekend in October. This weekend was always our church's semi-annual General Conference. We would set up camp in the middle of Dock Flat, just a way's away from Strawberry Reservoir, in the middle of the aspens, and listen to conference through the spotty radio signal. This weekend was often the opening of hunting season for my dad as well, which was another reason for the trip. 

Somewhere down the line, the tradition got lost, lives got busy, and all 4 of us kids grew up. We hadn't spent conference weekend at dock flats for years, and I thought about it a lot. Especially after I got married, I knew I wanted to share this beautiful place with Devin. It's such a nostalgic area for me, tucked back behind Daniel's Summit. The leaves are always the brightest yellow this time of year, and it's always been the perfect place to camp in the fall. 

I'm not sure what changed, or who's idea it was, but we went back this year, for conference weekend. And it was the most perfect little trip. Devin and I left Saturday afternoon and stayed until Sunday afternoon and I got to show him one of my favorite places in the world. 

While my Dad, uncle and brother hunted, we relaxed in the surprisingly warm weather; snacking and playing games. When they came back with a big spike, we watched in horror (we just couldn't look away, but it was so gross) as they hung the elk from a tree and skinned it, preparing it for the processing plant. 

We went on a few long 4-wheeler rides, letting cooper chase us from behind (he loved it, but got so, so tired), zoomed through mud puddles, and explored off-road paths. It was so great to be back, and exactly what we needed this weekend.

 

cooper loves camping more than we do, i think.

 

this is my family! i love my family.

 

When I was 11 years old, I was in a 4-wheeler accident that involved this tree. If I remember correctly, it was on a trip just like this one. My little sister was on the back of the 4-wheeler, and we were both thrown across the road like rag dolls. Luckily, neither one of us were hurt seriously, but the 4-wheeler we were on was damaged pretty bad. It was my uncle's at the time, and has since been bought by my Dad (it was fixed after the crash, obviously). I was so nervous and worried for my dad to find out what happened, but he wasn't mad. He took me back to the tree I had hit later that trip and helped me carve my nickname "KD BUG" into the tree, along with the year, 02. Every year that we went back, we carved it into the tree. You can see 02, 03, 04, 5, 6 and 10. I took Devin to show him the tree, but we didn't carve a 13. Even though that accident was really scary, it's still one of my favorite memories of this place, and I'm sort of glad I was able to leave my mark there.

Dock Flats is accessible through Heber, so Devin and I had taken Parley's Canyon to get there. On the way home, he decided he wanted a change of pace, so we headed down Provo Canyon instead, and spontaneously added the alpine loop to our route home, as well. The leaves were just starting to yellow and the roads were packed, but it made for a gorgeous ride nonetheless. I love American Fork Canyon more and more every time I visit.