We hiked a trail we had hiked in the Spring about four years ago. This time the water was either dried up or stale, and it wasn't warm enough to jump in the pools anyway, but it was still a beautiful day in those gorgeous red rocks.
Red Cliffs Nature Trail
Today we weren't going for the destination, and we told the girls they could explore off-trail. Adele is not in to hiking lately so she was tolerating another day of being out, but Tennie and Adele took off.
Why do their explores always include high places?
We came across an old tree that kept all three girls engaged in imaginative play for a good while.
And then there were apartment-like caves that were an "upgrade" to the tree.
Adele gave me a tour of the palatial house.
We came across a baby tarantula. I'm so glad it's mother wasn't nearby.
Adele was really just tolerating our outing at this point. I went ahead to see the pools when I came across a baby desert tortoise! I hollered back to Geoff and Adele, and Tennie and Ceci came running from the rocks, and soon we were a family full of energy again.
(We found out later that it is illegal to touch these endangered tortoises, so don't tell anyone...)
We went straight to In-N-Out and Nielsen's Frozen Custard (a very nourishing meal to replenish our bodies...)
In between hikes we watched the BYU and Ute football games, saw a movie, and the girls got their nails done by their aunt Joann. It was great to see my mom. We love staying at her house. She is so easy to be around.
And we loved seeing my brother Mitch and his family. Their house is DECKED OUT for Halloween. Ceci got this gory head-on-a-pole and went outside to scare the neighbor kids, acting like she was Tag and Pack's grandma.
They have an awesome superhero dress-up box, and Ceci tried squeezing into several costumes.
We played a game to see which kids could sit still and not move. Pack was a clear winner.
It doesn't get much cuter than that kid.
And now we're back in the school-mode.
Our Winter Break plans were foiled by forecasts of rain. We had hoped to camp and explore Southern Lake Powell. Instead, we spent the long weekend in St. George and lucked out with some rainless days to do some hiking.
Zion National Park
On our way to Zion we stopped at this self-serve garden stand. How anyone grows anything in that area is beyond me, but we bought some fresh greens and admired the location of this little farm/orchard. Stunning.
We stopped to have lunch at a little cafe, and again marveled at the beauty of the place.
Ceci spread her wings a bit...
It seemed like the entire state of Utah, and maybe Arizona and Colorado too, were in Zion that day. It was packed! And I'm pretty sure half of those people were there to hike Angel's Landing just like we were.
Angel's Landing is a 2-mile hike up, and when I say up I mean UP! It was so spectacular at every turn we took loads of pictures; every one with breathtaking grandeur.
After the 2-mile uphill hike Adele and I waited while Geoff, Tennie and Ceci went the additional 1-mile round-trip to Angel's Landing. This is what it looks like:
Do you see those little people walking the narrow path next to the 1500 ft drop-off? It is basically the same on the other side. You can't tell in this picture, but there were groups of people passing each other on that narrow path. I did this a dozen times during my high school/college years. It is a great hike, but my nerves can't do it anymore.
While we were waiting a nice lady, who was also waiting, told us that the previous two times her family did this hike someone fell off. BOTH TIMES! Apparently, on another occasion a husband pushed his wife off for the life insurance! He is in prison. Well, I turned my brain off and did my best not to think about my favorite people making their way to the top and back. And my brain was turned off for a good two hours! But this is what they saw at the top:
I'm so glad I didn't see them on some of those ledges.
Adele and I didn't have shabby views, either. Pretty much the same, actually. We took a family picture at our waiting spot when they returned.
And then we made our way back down that steep trail listening to the burning song of our quads...
It was a memorable day.
