Ever have a destination run? Somewhere you've always thought would be awesome to run? Well, the first time I remember going to Logan (just a few years ago - when I was a wee baby runner) I passed Mantua lake and thought "Man! I'd love to live here and wake up and run around that lake every morning. It is just gorgeous up here!" Every year we go on a campout with my hubby's family and this year we were at Box Elder CG - just about a mile away from Mantua Lake (reservoir). I wasn't going to miss this for all the fire in the world...oh wait, I almost did! :) I'd figured out the lake was 4 miles around on map my run - and that there was a nice running path around the lake, bonus! It looked a little tricky to get there from the campground, but figured I'm not directionally challenged and had 11 miles to burn to get there for at least ONE loop around. As we left about 3PM Friday afternoon we saw the first wisps of smoke from the fire. As we drove away (stopping a couple places on the way out of town) the sheer numbers of fire crews passing us and the billowing smoke was enough to start calling neighbors and getting on Herriman city's FB page. When we got to the campground I was about ready to turn around and go home, the evacuation area was 2 blocks West - but extended past us Northward. I live at the end of a dead end street...where there is a nice dry field, connected to the evac areas. If the fire jumped Rose Canyon Rd and headed North we'd be right next to the fire, because that field would be gone in a matter of seconds. This freaked me out the most. Thankfully, calls and texts from neighbors kept me dealing with things and some logical reasoning from my husband and some peaceful prayer helped calm me down and we decided to stay put. This didn't stop me from being glued to hubby's phone on FB all night (frustrating, because I couldn't see all MY friends stuff and comment, but still at least able to see news and city reports). The last call I got was around 9PM and my neighbor told me it looked like it had settled and she was no longer worried at all...and it all had stayed South. The only problem was, that by this time they'd thrown our neighborhood into the evac area. Well, we didn't have to leave, but if you left you weren't allowed back into the neighborhood. Some friends who were working or had hubbies working late got 'locked out' of the 'hood and couldn't get home. I think they did this more for crowd control than anything. If you know your way around you can sneak through my 'hood to the evac zones and to good views of the fire, so closing down the neighborhood just helped the emergency crews keep the people out that shouldn't be there and roads open for them to use more quickly. All this info really helped me sleep with peace of mind that all was going to be okay.
What didn't help me sleep was that 2/4 kids went to bed saying they felt like they were going to barf. Dumb camping treats! My kids aren't used to free for all junk food tables, they don't handle their sugar well :) So, any sound they made I woke up afraid they were going to barf in Paul's tent! (Prlman loaned us a tent big enough for the family! Thanks Paul!) Luckily, after 5.5 long hours of 'sleep' no one had barfed and I got up and ready for my epic lake run! I made my way straight there, no detours or back tracking - booyah! Beautiful little dirt path to follow around, peaceful fishermen on the shore and I got to see the first light on the lake from the East side of the lake. Then, due to being close to the mtns I got to watch the sun rise....4 or 5 times on my 2nd loop of the lake. The last loop I went the opposite direction and my SIL that was with her family fishing, hoped on her bike and rode while I ran. Great company! But, it was getting hot, I was out of water and I hadn't eaten. The last few miles felt like a death march. I'm so glad I had Annette there so that my pride wouldn't let me quit! :) AP: 8:50 (not bad for a nice little meandering 15 miles! - oh, and flat...SO flat!)
When I got back to camp my Father in Law got my breakfast ready for me and I had bacon, french toast, milk and orange juice. What a way to do it right! I'd missed all the food prep drama (and work) and gotten a great run in and waited on at breakfast, and ate in peace since kids had already eaten! Score a win for mom!!! The rest of camp was pretty uneventful, until around 10ish when we saw the news that our neighborhood was out of 'lock down' and we would be able to get home! YAY! We also took our youngest 2 on a walk and found a little beach next to the creek that ran through camp. I waded in and sat on a log and let my legs get a bit of an ice bath...awesome! We packed up and headed home. Bellies full of junk, bodies caked in dirt, skin all bitten by mosquitoes (oh, they were bad! my poor daughter went to the doc today (sunday) due to swollen ankles that hurt to walk on from them!), and a full 24 hrs of fun in the out of doors! Oh, and I got to check off an epic run from my bucket list. Mantua Lake - awesome run! try it sometime.
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