More Camping!

After petrified dunes, we went to the White Rock trail. Surrounded by all the red rocks and sand, this hill really stood out. Thinking back, I wish I had picked up some samples of the different sands, red, white and even black. Anyway, it was cool. A short hike took us to a natural amphitheater where the kids, once again, scrambled up and down the rocks. It's amazing how tired they can be on the path, then as soon as we get somewhere with rocks, they are bouncing with energy! We finished the day with Tinfoil dinners, more hot cocoa and gooey s'mores around a wonderfully warm campfire. I have to say, Snow Canyon State Park has an awesome campground! I loved the warm showers and flush toilets in clean bathrooms, and the kids loved to ride their scooters around. Combined with the incredible natural beauty of the canyon, all this made it a place we can't wait to go to again!
Sadie and her cousin loved being "Twinners" in their matching PJ's! And, of course, we couldn't go camping without some injuries... I think everyone but Sadie ended up with a few band-aids and scrapes. Nathan topped them all though, when he crashed his scooter! This picture doesn't quite do justice to the bloody mess he was before I cleaned him up. Luckily nothing was deep and no stitches were needed. He just scraped off a lot of skin on his hand, arm, knee and chest (that part isn't pictured). By the time we left camp, my first aid kit was almost completely empty!
I'm just glad we all ended up home, safe and sound, and a little sunburned. It was quite a shock to the system to get back and find everything blanketed with snow! It makes me especially glad we took the trip and got to bask in the sun for a few days.

Camping part 2

Wednesday was colder and it rained a bit, so we spent some time huddled in our tent, telling old family stories and making fruit loop necklaces for snacks on our hike. We also did a treasure hunt: Nick drew up clues with little maps and the kids went all over the campground to find the treasure, (glow-in-the-dark bracelets, which were great when it got dark). When the rain was done and the sun was peaking out a bit we left for the Petrified Dunes. It was incredible! It made me want to take a class in geology so I could understand how all these amazing rock formations came to be. The kids, once again, loved the rock-climbing! It was actually more like rock scrambling... which was perfect for them.

CAMPING!!!

We were so excited to escape the frigid wintry weather here in Centerville, for the Cheerful sunshine of St. George and Snow Canyon Park! We left Monday and, after stopping in St. George to pick up my brother and his family, set up camp. We didn't have much time to hike the first day, but our camping site was near a large group site with an empty parking lot and the kids made full use of it with their scooters. After grilling some delicious "Tropical Kabobs" (Camp food is the BEST!!!) We enjoyed a campfire and hot cocoa as the day cooled off and temperatures dropped.

Our second day began bright and early, and I've never seen my husband so happy to eat a bowl of steaming hot oatmeal! The sun came out around 9:00 am and everything heated up pretty quickly. We took a picnic lunch to the sand dunes, which was a blast. I felt like I was at the beach! It was hot, but the sand a few inches under the surface was cool and refreshing. I think we all ingested a bit of sand and I found it in surprising places, :o) but we had so much fun!

This is Brandon, attempting to free himself from the pit monster.

Sadie and her cousin being cute and happy!
Nathan dying of thirst and heat stroke in the desert. Our family vacations are definitely full of dramatics!

After the sand dunes, we went on the Pioneer Names hike. Several pioneers wrote their names on a rock wall in axle grease in the late 1800's. The kids just liked climbing all the rocks!