Bryce Canyon

Today is going to be a two post day.

Because if I don't, I'll never be able to catch up. But if this is the first time you're looking at my blog today, make sure you don't miss my sister's graduation.

And I could have made it a three post day, because we had an amazing Memorial Day at Red Butte Garden, but we'll save that one for later.

The Big Move is less than two weeks away now. Keith and I originally had these amazing plans that we were going to take the boys to all the amazing sights in Utah before we left.

Of course, our time and budget didn't allow us to see everything we wanted. Well, really, we realized only one trip would be possible.

So we choose what we thought would be the most memorable and striking.

Bryce Canyon.

Panoramic view from Bryce Point

We drove down early the day after my sister's graduation.

It rained nearly the entire drive. It honestly had never once occurred to us that it might rain on our trip. We hadn't even bothered to look at the weather. Silly us.

But when we arrived at Bryce Canyon, the sun had come out.



We were able to find a camping spot in the park without any trouble (I'm pretty sure the rain scared off the holiday crowd.)

Then we took the boys to Sunset Point for our hike.

Plenty of water and sunscreen!
Ready for our hike!

We really wanted to take the boys to see the canyon, not just from the view points, but from the floor. To look up at the amazing rock structures ("hoodoos") and be awed.

View of "Wall Street" from canyon floor

So we had planned a 2 hour hike on the Navajo Loop.

Only the rain had turned the trail into the most amazingly slick and sticky mud. Tromping through the mud went against everything that Blaise had every been told about mud. Normally, it is "Stay out of the mud!" But this time, it was "It's okay. A little mud won't hurt you. Isn't this fun?" Blaise was not buying it. He screamed and cried nearly the whole way down. We tried to carry him a couple of times, but his mud-covered legs and feet attempted to cover us with the same goo. We got a variety of looks from fellow hikers. The looks ranged from "You guys are crazy!" to "Good luck with that" to "You guys rock for doings things like this as a family." I guess Blaise's screams reverberating off the canyon walls didn't really help enhance the scenery.

On the trail
Get a look at the mud on our shoes!

Fortunately the trail was nice and dry at the bottom of the canyon. And the rest of the hike was wonderful.

Keith, Roman, and Blaise
At the Twin Bridges

The boys didn't complain once. Roman walked the entire 2-hour-nearly-2-mile hike. Blaise probably would have. However, we encountered a little more mud on the ascending loop, and Blaise lost his shoes in the mud. So walking was no longer an option.

We made it!
At the end of the hike!

After the hike, we enjoyed a few more view points, then headed back to camp. We had anticipated enjoying hot dogs and marshmallows over a campfire, but it started raining again. We got our tent up just before we got drenched.

The rain did let up just long enough for us to enjoy hot dogs, but as soon as we broke out the marshmallows, it started to rain again. It rained until 2 am. (Ask me how I know. Rain on a tent is loud.)

The boys slept great! Surprising considering the noise of the rain and the chill of the night at 8000 ft.

The next morning was a gorgeous day, complete with blue sky. After pancakes cooked over a campfire, we enjoyed some more canyon views.

We drove home through a small town where Keith's father has lived as a child. There was a mill there that Keith remembers playing in as a child. But it was all fenced off, supposedly because some endangered owls had been found there. But it still made for amazing pictures.



We may not have been able to take Roman and Blaise to see all the amazing things there are to see in Utah. But at least we took them on an unforgettable trip.

I HIKED BRYCE CANYON!