This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Reading about the Brighton Ski Area sponsoring the 2nd annual International River Garbage Cleanup "Fish for Garbage" Saturday on the Provo River brought back a memory.
Many years ago, my family did an overnight backpacking trip in the Uintas. Fishing was slow on the pretty alpine lake, but we noticed that previous campers and hikers had tossed dozens of beer and pop cans into the water.
Tying on some cheap treble-hook lures on their fishing rods, I challenged the kids to get their "limit of cans." The challenge entertained them for much of the morning. They eventually fished out every one of those cans and we hauled them a couple of miles back to the car. The kids had more fun than if they had caught a limit of fish.
As someone who has never understood why people litter beautiful places, I have to commend Brighton and a number of other local sponsoring for sponsoring the cleanup Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Volunteers should meet at Vivian Park in Provo Canyon between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. A barbecue lunch will be served from noon to 2 p.m.
Sponsors will provide garbage bags and a river section assignment or volunteers can choose their own clean up section. Garbage should be brought back to Vivian Park Pavilion 1. In exchange for a bag of garbage, volunteers will be given one voucher for a free lunch and a prize drawing at 2:30 p.m. Volunteers must be present to win.
The grand prize is two hotel nights for two at the Waldorf Astoria Park City, a $250 dinner certificate at the hotel's Powder and a one-day guided fishing trip on the Provo river with Rocky Mountain Outfitters.
In addition, there are prizes from more than a dozen local shops and businesses.
For information and updates, visit http://www.brightonanglers.com.
It sounds like a good day to get your limit of trash!