Stuart Falls; A Beautiful Fall Hike near Sundance, Utah

If your looking for a beautiful place to hike, you need to go to Stuart Falls.  Stuart Falls is 200 foot, two tier waterfall.  You can hike to the falls year round.  You may need snowshoes or cross-country skis during the winter months. 

The hike starts at Sundance Resort.   There also trail heads starting in American Fork Canyon and Aspen Grove, but the Sundance route is the mildest.  It took us a little over an hour to hike the 3.5 miles.  The trail is a gradual incline, but not enough to make you out of breath.  

Here are some photos of our colorful, fall hike.

Matt hiking towards the falls.  Look at that beautiful mountain range in the background!

Nature made staircase.

 

I can picture a tiny elf or fairy living in this tree hole. 

    

This is Stuart Falls from afar.

 

At the base of Stuart Falls. 

 Dorothy's cute little sweater I made her.  She's my little nature girl. :)

 The tiny bridge you cross to get to the trail.

 Matt and I. 

Thanks for visiting!  

If you ever come to Salt Lake City, UT make sure you go up the canyon and get some amazing hiking in.  I am so lucky to live in such a beautiful place with hiking trails in my back yard!

Upcycled Tea Light Candle Holder

These DIY tea light candle holders are upcycled from cans of veggies.  They are so

easy to make, plus they look beautiful in the mountains for us mountain girls.

 Ladies (and gentlemen), get out your tool boxes!  

You will need: 

tin can (frozen)

screwdrivers with different tips (phillips, flat)

Sharpie

hammer

hard surface to work on

towel

 metal wire

candle

I saved some cans, cleaned them out, and took off the labels. 

  I filled them with water and froze over night.  

 If you try to punch holes in a tin can that's not frozen, it will dent and bend.

Clean the ice and precipitation from the outside of the can with a towel.   

Use a Sharpie to mark the holes.

Lay the can on a hard surface and hammer away.  This is my favorite part!  You get to release some anger and be creative.  :)

 This is what it will look like after the holes are punched in. 

Make two holes near the rim of the can, across from each other.  This is where you will insert the wire handle.

Place the tin in a bowl to let the ice melt.  

Fold the wire in half to decide how long you want your handle to be, then cut. 

Attach the wire. 

I used this tea light. 

 Place the candle in the tin.  Be careful not to burn yourself when you light the candle.  The tin will get hot.  

Use the handle to carry the tin after it's been lit. 

Have fun crafting these up.

Spiced Applesauce with Ginger and Fennel Seeds

Yesterday was such a beautiful day!  I went for a walk with Matt and Dorothy (my dog) to admire the blooming yellow sage and fluffy white cotton.  

 

 My favorite part of fall is the smell of warm cooking in the kitchen.  It was huge treat to come home to the sweet scent of homemade applesauce. 

For this applesauce, I used:

4 lbs Washington Apples

3 cups water

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. fennel seeds

1 tsp. freshly ground ginger

ground cinnamon, plus two sticks of cinnamon 

2 tbsp. lemon juice

Gather and wash the apples. 

Peel, core, and slice the apples.

I saved the apple peels to bake for a crispy garnish.

Slice the cored apples in half.

Immediately put the sliced apples in a bowl, and squeeze lime juice over the apples to prevent them from browning.

 Gather the rest of the ingredients.  

(Fennel seeds, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and brown sugar)

Add salt,

brown sugar,

 fennel seeds 

(these add a mild, sweet licorice flavor),

ground ginger, 

 and cinnamon.

 Then add three cups water. 

Stir the ingredients together.

Cover and cook on low for five hours.

Five hours later.....

Uncover and stir the cooked applesauce. 

 I had extra juice, so I scooped out the juice with a measuring cup to save for later. 

 Scoop the applesauce into a glass container.  

Store the applesauce in the fridge until you are ready to use and eat. 

I baked the apple peels in a 200 degree F. oven for about 45 minutes, until they were crispy.  They make a beautiful and delicious garnish for the applesauce. 

Enjoy!