Monument Valley and Four Corners

We drove through Monument Valley, and stopped by Four Corners, on our way to Mesa Verde. Here are some pictures in the order they were taken.

Wild mules

Mexican Hat

We all took a turn being in four states at once.







Not your every day drive!

Grand Canyon - South Rim

It is hard to fully prepare for the beauty of the Grand Canyon. The layers, the shadows, the light, the colors and the immensity kept us spellbound for two full days.

We pulled in to the park at sunset

First views...

South Kaibab Trail - 3 miles round trip to Cedar Ridge

I'm afraid of heights, and I'm even more afraid of my kids around heights. This was the beginning of many challenges to that fear! It was a windy day, pretty steep on the way down, and I'm pretty sure it was even more steep on the way up! Adele and I zoomed on the way up though, and she earned her Native American name Walks Like Wind. Seriously, she is a machine! And over the days I earned my Native American name, Don't Look Down...

In a few years we're going back to spend some time at Havasu Falls, and this will be our form of transportation! Now we're talkin'!

Looking down on our trail

Bright Angel Creek Trail - 1.5 miles round trip








We went to the Yavapai Geological Museum to hear a ranger speak, which was a requirement for the girls to earn their Junior Ranger Badges. It had the best views on the South Rim.




The girls were sworn in as Junior Rangers and they took it very serious. The following day they told a few people to stop throwing rocks off the edge of the canyon because there was a trail below. They showed their badge...

We saw lots of elk, mule deer, Geoff and Tennie saw a few California condors, and we captured a very bright green beetle for observation. We visited the mule stables too.

A walk along the Rim Trail

Trying on a ranger uniform in one of the gift shops

Continue along the rim...

Another gift shop (This was a good change of pace for them after long hikes. They love looking at all the trinkets. Thankfully we didn't go home with any...)

Magnificent place. We can't wait to go back for bigger adventures when the girls are a little older.

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

At the beginning of the school year we laid out some potential Z School service projects and the unanimous vote among the girls was to work with animals. This entire trip was born out of volunteering at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah.

Our first night was spent at a campground right outside of Pink Coral Sand Dunes State Park. We had a little time to play in the gorgeous pink sand. We learned that first day that red sand/dirt stains...

Tennie rescued some polliwogs whose pond had almost completely evaporated. She kept them overnight in a baggie with a little of the water but the water froze overnight (yes, we camped in 26 degree weather!) Luckily the polliwogs thawed with the water and we found a bigger pond where they could reach their full potential...


Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is a very well-organized place. We met people from around the country who had come to volunteer. And we met a lot of animals that the girls wanted to take home with us! If you are looking to adopt a pet, this is a great place to go.

Our first assignment was training puppies. We were trained on some things to do if the puppies showed unfavorable behavior, and then we played with them to socialize them in preparation for their new homes.




We then took several dogs on walks on some trails. We had a good time observing the different habits and characteristics of different dogs!

This hound dog walked Geoff, Tennie and Ceci!

In the afternoon we worked with the cats, all of which had cancer. They were so playful, and often cuddly. Since I'm not a big fan of cats and the girls are slowly accepting that we'll probably never have one, they loved this opportunity.



The girls wanted to cancel the remainder of the trip to keep on volunteering, but we managed to pull them away and make our way to the Grand Canyon.

One nice thing about writing about a trip after it is over is that all of the bathroom stops, and kids fighting, and wind storms, and sleepless nights, and less-than-par food, and the hours of setting up camp and then taking it down, and the car-turned-junk-pile, and the lack of showers and running water, and the midnight trips to the pit toilets all seem much less significant than they did at the time. Instead I remember the starry nights, and the cricket lullabies, and waking to bird song, and the endlessly resourceful Ancient Puebloans, and the aliveness I feel after being on a good hike, and watching our kids scale rocks like the lizards who lent us a campground, and seeing them explore the hills and caves and tunnels, and hearing from their uncle Davey that they were pointing out to him the names of wild flowers and bushes, and watching them carve their own hot dog/marshmellow sticks, and the magnificent creations of our Almighty God!!! It was a great trip.

I will mention that weather played a bigger part in our trip than we anticipated. The first night it was 26 degrees. We got up at 6:30AM to break camp and it was chilly! Mid-trip we heard that 25 degree temperatures, snow and wind were in the forecast for the coming nights. Truth be told, I'm not naturally inclined to camp and I felt strongly that a hotel was in order! So for several nights we stayed in a modest hotel, had a warm shower, and reveled in flushing toilets. But, on the cold nights that we did camp I was so grateful for good friends who hooked us up with awesome camping gear! And I was grateful daily for Geoff's camping know-how, and his tireless efforts to make us all comfortable.

This cold, spring storm was much more enjoyable from a heated room!

We still ate our camping food, and Geoff was my eternal hero for doing the cooking...


We stopped for laundry once (it wasn't one of our more hygienic periods of time...)

The girls kept themselves busy at the laundromat with one of their most common play pastimes...paper dolls. They collect magazines and use them as paper dolls, having the benefit of many different outfits.

And so here we are in Salt Lake City. The coolers, camelbacks, food bags, suitcases, sleeping bags, tent and car have been cleaned out. We are scrubbed clean. And, oh, how we are loving sleeping in beds! More pictures to come...