Altonah

Today I rode up to my Grandpa's farm in Altonah, Utah with him and his friend Chris. 4 days out of the 5 day work week my grandpa (twice retired) goes into his law office in his suit and tie - ready to do who knows what, law stuff I suppose - but at least one day in his work week he heads 3 hours east to Altonah to work out at the farm with his buddies. A break from the computer, and phone calls for me as well - I decided to tag along and see what it is they do all day up there.
Looking towards the Uintas to the north - I don't know if it looks as cold as it was, but just think cold thoughts and you'll get it. Those snowy peaks in the distance lead to the King's Peak beyond.

So after our 3 hour drive (45 min break at the Daniel's Summit for breakfast) we meet up with Butch and start the day out in the kitchen of the old broken down house that sits on the property for "Coffee Break". This is held at precisely 10:30 a.m. any day they are working - whether at the farm or cabin. That orange "All-Pro" torch blower kept us toasty.

Grandpa and Butch discuss the order of business for the day. Turns out digging holes is the first item of business.
Looks easy, except to dig these holes you have to get out the giant bolders that are cemented into the clay earth. This is done with a 7' tall iron rod that you jamb down there. Butch is the king of breaking up these big boulders.
If you look very closely you can see the rain gutter that we also put up today. Old men teetering on ladders is a scary/comical sight. Finally they let me up there to finish it.


This is the barn built out of the wood saved from the original barn my grandpa used to have out in Draper before Draper turned into neighborhood ville.

End of the day - another coffee doughnut break.
Oops, cut Chris's head off on this one. He is a retired landscaper/engineer for Utah Power & Light - where he met my grandpa - where he spent the bulk of his career as a corporate lawyer for Utah Power & Light.
Chris is from a town I had never heard of west of Salt Lake near where the airport is now. He grew up out there, joined the national guard at 18 because "if he was going to be drafted he wanted it to be with people that he knew". One week later he was on a train to Oklahoma to start training. He later spent a whole year stomping around in the mountains of Korea. These are the conversations that make me want to hang out with these guys. They are pure gold.

Good bye farm. Time to go home.