We loved Silver Lake Nature Center, in the canyons near Salt Lake City, because it had long walkways over the marshes and ponds. It was an easy outdoor walk for me and we always saw interesting birds and wildlife. Until this day we'd never ventured off the boardwalk and taken a trail up the mountain side.  

The beginning of the trail was fairly easy, and we stopped often to take pictures and let the kids climb on rocks. I had no idea what was ahead.

When we finally made it to the top, I had to take a minute to savor my victory.

A beautiful day and amazing scenery.

 I remember this day so clearly, because I had to dig so deeply inside myself to realize I was capable of mastering such a difficult hike.

Fortunately we found an old service road to take back down, which wasn't nearly as steep as our trip up the mountain.