Wildwood and the Brown Cabin

We just spent a week visiting with family and playing at our beloved brown cabin in Provo Canyon. I would attempt to describe this cabin and my fond memories of it but a while back my sister did it for me. Her words are always so much better so I am stealing her words to describe my memories...

(Thanks Jenny for doing the hard part for me:)

"Almost every summer of my childhood, we spent 12 hot hours in the car travelling to the cooler and greener, beautiful Provo Canyon for our week in Wildwood. I loved the very last part of the trip: arriving at the mouth of the canyon. Hoping, hoping, hoping that I would be lucky enough to be riding "shot-gun" for the drive through the canyon. Feeling the cool air on my face through the open window, gazing up at the majestic bare-rock and memorizing the unique up-turns of the mountain's strata; finding Bridal Veil Falls and breathing in the smells of the canyon. And then rushing from the car with my brothers and sisters to open (ride on/hang on) the gate at the entrance to Wildwood. We were finally here!

Oh how I loved this place: the ever-present sound of the creek--back ground music for our stay; after growing up in the desert, the green, cool dampness enveloped me and it seemed as if I were in a foreign land; the smells of the new growth and the deciduous trees--the cycle of woodland decay, all welcomed by me and pressed into my memory forever.

My grandmother stayed here when she was a girl; her father built this cabin. The intimate connection to my predecessors was tangible and I appreciated this even as a very young girl.

(As is the way of all property in a large and long line of kin, this cabin has passed from our immediate family {with much sadness and mourning!} And it has since had a necessary, but honorable overhaul. But as love and bond in this family are strong, it is still thankfully possible for us to enjoy this summer cabin.)

Going to bed under the close rafters, then only sheets of unpainted plywood, we tossed and turned in the heat and hoped for a cross breeze to waft through the screened windows. Sharing the space with cousins was best of all. We listened to the bugs and the traffic, sometimes long lines of it coming home from summer theater productions at Sundance. Often creeping out of bed to peer through the large knot-hole on the floor that allowed us a peek into the main room down below. The grown-ups laughing and talking; us listening to their words. Sometimes trying to figure out what it all meant and then being betrayed by the squeaky floor and called out from below to get back in bed.And then suddenly, it was morning. And miraculously, after the heat of the night, it was cold! (Such a foreign concept to a little desert girl--things cooling down through the night!) So cold, that we stayed tucked under the covers while we smelled our breakfast being cooked downstairs, not daring to come out until we heard the fire crackling.

And then after breakfast it was warm and time to play. There were often bottles of soda and watermelons cooling in the icy creek. It always amazed me just how cold that creek was. First your feet and then your ankles. Once you got past the dull pain and the numbness set in, you were fine. We had adventures and crossed the treacherous rope bridge {love, uncle Pax} and made our way to the top of the rocks to soar across the creek on a cabled swing.

There were treks up the Three Bears' Trail, where a bowl of salt water taffy would wait. And story time with just us kids out under the trees on the bed swing. And then, at night, maybe some games, and if we were very lucky--a marshmallow roast. I was always so sad for the week to end; saying goodbye to all my cousins and my beloved canyon. These were the best days of my summer."

I have way way too many fun pictures to post so I have opted for a slide show to show the rest. This slide show has music to it---click the sound mic on in the top left hand corner of the slideshow if you wish to hear upbeat children's music--"I love the mountains":) If you have kids they will love the music video if you click on it, it will go full screen...my kids love it. If you want to see the caption of the picture or have the picture stop moving, just put your mouse on it.

We had such a fun time hanging out with my sisters Lisa and Annie and my brother Jim and their families. Thanks guys! We kept busy playing in the creek, playing tennis, playing at the park, visiting the bean museum, getting dirty, hiking (Kyle even hiked Timp!), swinging, eating ice cream, BBQing and much more!

Thanks Great Grandpa Isaac Brockbank for this wonderful cabin and all the memories!

wildwood memories summer 2007

wildwood memories summer 2008