Canyonlands National Park

Our last hike of the trip was in Canyonlands National Park. We hiked to Mesa Arch. I believe it was only about 1.5 miles. It was a nice and easy trail. Jared and Dan took pictures of all the plants for Weebloes. Jamie and Lexi borrowed binoculars from the visitor center. There was a park ranger on the trail who was very informative. The Arch was beautiful. It was like a hidden treasure in nature. Our family had an incredible time together and saw some beautiful scenery. There is nothing that can compare to being outside away from phones, computers, PlayStation, TV- all the things that tend to steal family time.

Salt Lake City Temple Square

It was a relaxing day when we walked through Temple Square. The kids and I were playing around with taking pictures of flowers. The flowers are beautiful there.

Park City Fun!

Park City was a fun change from our Hiking Adventures. If you ask Jamie what her favorite part of the trip was she would tell you that it was the trampoline in Park City. She just about spent all day jumping with Lexi. They stopped enough to try the alpine slide with Dan. Jamie REALLY did not have a fun trip down the slide. She was a trooper for trying it though! Jared could not get enough of the slides. We lost track of how many times he went down. He would check in with us every time he went down. I think he enjoyed the freedom of doing it on his own. Lexi and Jamie played their first ever game of miniature golf. It was a great day for our family.

We Can't Forget Our Time at Park City!

Delicate Arch

Our trip was not complete until we hiked up to Delicate Arch in Moab. When we started out, the girls were less than thrilled when we said we were going to hike one more trail before we headed home to Texas. It was a 4 mile round trip adventure. The trip to the Arch was a steady upwards climb. I have to admit there were a few tears by Jamie all the way to the top. My response to her was "Jamie it has got to be right over the next rock. It will be worth it once we get there". Lexi was OK once I brought to her attention that we were dressed the same. We both had on pink shirts and jean shorts. She did not realize that until I pointed it out to her- funny the things that work with children. We began our hike at about 7:00 at night so that we could see the sun set over the Arch. It actually turned out to be a blessing that we started so late. It was not nearly as hot.
Once we got to the top, Jamie's tears were gone after a brief rest. She got a surge of energy and started enjoying herself. It is amazing how the beauty of this earth can affect our moods. It was so majestic and peaceful. Jared was in his element. He really does have a natural love of hiking and nature. I think he found about every possible rock to climb up. Lexi is a trooper. For such a young girl she has got a ton of stamina. If there were an easy and harder route up and down each rock she would opt for the most difficult. Dan was the one who encouraged us to even hike the trail. In my mind it was late, the girls were tired, and we weren't sure about the difficulty of the trail. He was definitely the leader of the pack on this trail. He continually pushes us past what we think we can do- and we are better for it! I love that man!

Delicate Arch Pictures

 

Our Trip out West

We planned a trip for our kids to see a beautiful part of this country. Our children have never seen Utah without snow, so we decided it was time for a road trip. Our (semi) unplanned vacation really came together when we crossed the border into New Mexico. We stopped off at the visitor center and picked up a map of the 'Grand Circle'. It was a map of all of the National parks in Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. We decided to explore as many parks as we could and also hike as much as our children would allow.

Our first stop was the Grand Canyon. I remember hiking the Grand Canyon as a teenager and was very excited to see it again. There is so much grandeur and peace in our Country's National Parks. So beautifully preserved for so many people to see and enjoy. We hiked down about an hour on the Bright Angel trail in the South Rim. We did not want to exhaust our kids on the first day of hiking. It was just enough of a hike to get Dan and I pumped about backpacking Rim to Rim next summer. (If any of you readers want to join us- just let us know!)

A Day on Lake Powell

A day on Lake Powell is not your ordinary day at the lake in Texas. In order to truly experience the lake we just had to rent a boat and a few wake boards. The water was cold but the scenery more than made up for it. Jared and I had to get off on one of the beach areas and climb around on the rocks. Unfortunately we did not take any pictures of the scenery. The girls had a great time sitting in the boat and jumping into the water to cool off. Jamie was dubbed the 'Flag Girl'. It definitely made us miss our boat and has Dan already looking at boat stores. I also have to add that this is the first time I successfully drove the boat while pulling Dan on a wake board. In the past, I have wanted to leave him in the lake after several runs because it was usually not the ride he was wanting and he let me know it. Either he was being much more patient with me or I am actually getting better at it!

Our First Hike in Zion National Park

On our way to Janet (Dan's sister) and Robert's cabin in Brian Head we stopped off at Zion National Park for a quick hike. The kids were exhausted from our time on the lake but by the time we got out and started hiking on the rocks they did not want to stop. It was so much fun to see their enthusiasm for God's creations. They really could have explored for hours.

Time with Cousins and Sisters

My sister Paulette was able to come down from Idaho with her daughters (Kelsie, Kimberly, and Clarissa). They did not stay long enough. We sure enjoyed being with them. Traci came down from Nephi with 3 of her 4 kids. Katie, Megan, and Cameron were perfect playmates for our children. It was so much fun for me to sit in silence at times and watch them play. I tried to convince Traci and Dan that our kids are really half brothers and sisters since Traci and I are twins and came from the same egg. They were not buying it. It was definitely a highlight of the trip to see all of the cousins playing together. While we were all together we did a few hikes close to Brian Head. We hiked to the Alpine Pond and did a hike at Cedar Breaks. The Cedar Breaks hike was beautiful. It was a little bit longer so the younger kids stayed behind with Aunt Traci.

A Lesson Learned at Cedar Breaks

I have discovered a new thing about myself on this trip. I get into panic mode when one of my relatives (especially my children) get too close to an edge of a cliff. Jared really enjoyed climbing and standing on edges. At times I wanted to crawl out of my skin I was so nervous. I seemed to be OK if I stood on the edge. I just could not take the thought of watching someone I loved fall off the edge. On one of the hikes the kids were up ahead and found a rock to climb. From a distance I thought it was cool and wanted to join them. As I climbed the rock with my daughters and sister, the panic mode began to sink in. I realized that one side of the rock was hanging over a very step drop off into the canyon below. I made them all sit and was very content once they all got off the rock. The rock in this picture will always remind me of my nervous behavior. I do hope it goes away (to some extent).

Rest for Our Tired Feet!

Hiking was a joy for our family. But there is nothing like being able to rest up from a hard day of hiking in a nice mountain cabin. Janet and Robert were so kind to let us stay a few days in their cabin. They have always been so hospitable with their cabin and this trip was no exception. Thank you so much for allowing us to stay at your place. The kids enjoyed all of the games. Dan appreciated the counter space so that he could spread out all of the maps. He was determined to get to as many hikes as possible. The last picture is not of their cabin but of the view from the balcony.