San Rafael Swell, Memorial Weekend: Days 3 & 4

Day 3 started out with the kids heading straight for their abode atop the cliff by our camp.  They each had their own "couches" up there.  They spent a good portion of the day playing there. 

Here are a couple of videos I took of them in their "house":

Here they are showing me the stairway to the underground.  This is where they fight zombies and dragons.

Steve and Zac and I spent the morning reading in the shade.

We had our own worship service in the wild.

Then we went for a very loooooong drive to find this cabin called "Swaseys Cabin" named for the brothers who herded cattle there.  The cabin was built in 1921.

We explored the area around the cabin for a while.

Zac found this awesome plant and wanted me to climb up to where he was so I could see it.  I kept telling him I was good down where I was.  But he said it looked like it was painted there.  So I climbed up to see.  And it was pretty awesome and it did look like a painting.  This picture of it below is not out of focus.  That is what it really looked like.

 My silly girls posing by the plant.

Down the road a little ways we were able to see some rock art.  If you look right above Aubrey's head you can see it too.

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It was about that time that Steve decided that if we didn't head for the nearest gas station (almost another hour away) we would not have enough gas to drive back to our campsite and then pull the camper out and make it to a gas station the next day.  So we made the long drive into town.  We needed a little refreshment as well so Steve bought us all some ice cream.

Back at camp we had dinner and then Zac made a mallowdog.  What is a mallowdog?  It is a hot dog bun full of roasted marshmallows, made famous by the Robertson boys.

Aside from the mallowdogs, we also roasted hot dogs and starbursts.  Haven't tried a roasted starburst?  What are you waiting for?  It's delicious!

It was absolutely beautiful sitting around the fire without another soul in sight.  The sky was gorgeous.  I took a video as proof:

Once again, everyone wanted to go to bed earlier than I did.  They all abandoned me and went into the camper.  Steve read his book.  Addy and Aubrey were asleep instantly.  Emily did stay up and play a game of Skip-Bo with me, bless her.

The next morning we woke up and packed up camp.  Do you remember the gnats I spoke of in my post of days 1 & 2?  Oh my!  Gnatty Batty.  That's what it was.  Those evil, nasty, horrible, awful gnats.  Trying to pack up camp with those things attacking your entire person.  While they were trying to gain access into your body through your ears, eyes, nose and mouth.  Seriously.  I'm not kidding.  It really was enough to make you go insane.  In the membrane.  

More rock art.  It is so sad that it is crumbling and this is all that is left.

We drove to Goblin Valley.  At the beginning of our trip, Steve told Addy that it is called Goblin Valley because it is full of goblins that turn into statues in the day time.  As soon as we got there everyone was ready to run off and play but I made them stop for a picture.  Then they were off.  And so were Zac's shoes.

 Then we stumbled upon an awesome spot we name "The Arena".  Steve came up with a fun game of tag.

A video of our game:

It was HOT.  H.O.T.  We found solace in the little tiny bit of shade we could find.  We were shocked when we got back in the truck and it said it was only 81 degrees.  I honestly would have guessed upper 90's. 

And at last it was time to begin the journey home.  To keep themselves entertained, the kids (and I) made stuff out of  twizzlers.

We stopped for a bite to eat at Taco Bell.

Zac needed to get out of the booth to show us his dance.  The girls wouldn't let him out so he pushed his way out.  Half of Aubrey's taco insides ended up on the floor.

And here is his dance:

As we were getting closer to home we hit this.  Looks like everyone else was on their way home too.

It was a fun trip.  I am so thankful we had the opportunity to go.  We had a great time and made some fabulous memories.

Click here to see Days 1&2

San Rafael Swell, Memorial Weekend: Days 1 & 2

It has been way too long since we have been camping.  Last time we went was back at the end of August when we went to Bryce Canyon.  I have been making a lot of videos since the end of last year, and it has caused me to go back and look through my old pictures.  Every time I do and I come across camping pictures, my heart yearns to be camping.  Like yearns, yearns.  Memorial Weekend was our first chance we have had to go since the eternal snow of winter melted.  We decided to go somewhere we have never been before.  We went to the San Rafael Swell.  We left after the kids got out of school on Friday and didn't get there until around 7 PM.  We are lone campers.  We like to be all by ourselves.  And we usually are.  But this time we were worried about getting there so late on a Holiday Weekend, we didn't think we would be able to find a decent place to camp.  But we were very blessed and found this little hidden canyon and we had it all to ourselves the entire time.  Above is the view from our camp.

While Steve and I set up the camper, the kids went exploring in the canyon.  If you look really close you can see them on the top of the hill.

We got camp all set up and made dinner.  Then we watched some (nerdy) scouts who were camped in the next canyon over act out scenes from Star Wars.  They were on the top of the cliff that separates our two canyons.  I must admit, it was a little more than annoying.  They finally went back to their camp when it got dark.  The moon came up and it was so huge and full that it lit up our whole canyon and we didn't even need a lantern or flashlight.  We decided to go for a night hike.  So we climbed up atop the canyon wall and hiked around it.  It was a lot of fun.  It was so awesome to be walking at night and not even need a light because everything was bathed in the silvery glow of the moon.

We woke up the next morning and ate breakfast.  We normally only use the camper for sleeping purposes.  And on the rare occasions that it rains we also seek shelter in it.  So normally eating in the camper is off limits.  Especially since Zac's bed is where table is and we have to take it all apart to sit there.  But our camp had these nasty little gnats.  Nasty, pesky, annoying little gnats.  They only came out in the morning and evening for about an hour or so.  But it really could  make you go insane to be outside with them.  So we had to eat our breakfast in the camper.

Then we headed out for our hike.  We were doing the Little Wild Horse/Bell Canyon Hike.  It forms a big loop and takes about 5-8 hours to do.  Our plan was to do the whole thing.  But long story short, we were about an hour late leaving, then we had a horrible map that showed a road going to the part of the hike we wanted to start at.  After spending for ever looking for that road, we finally came to the conclusion that it was marked wrong on our map and the posted maps in the area, and that that road was really an ATV trail that we could not access via our truck (This was confirmed later when we found a posted map that had that road marked correctly).  So by the time we finally got to the place where we could actually start hiking, we were about 3 hours past our desired start time.  We were still going to try to do the whole thing, but didn't quite make it.  So we hiked a few hours in and back.  It was an AWESOME hike as you will see from the pictures and video.

Of course my Hobbit had to hike it barefoot.  Everyone that passed us commented on his bare feet.

Here is a video going through one of the slot canyons:

A lot of the hike was through slot canyons.  They were so fun to hike through.  There was one part we were in that was pretty long and narrow.  So narrow that if you were going one direction and met up with a group going the other direction, one of you would have to turn around and hike back out so the other group could get by.  We just happened to be in one of the narrowest parts when I heard another group coming towards us.  My kids were several feet in front.  I heard a familiar voice say "HEY!"  Then I saw a familiar face.  Like who would have ever thought in the middle of a slot canyon in south central Utah we would run smack dab into Brent Schuenman!  But I was confused because I didn't recognize any of the kids or other people he was with.  So for a minute I thought maybe it was his twin brother.  But he seemed to know my kids, and Brent's brother wouldn't know my kids.  We determined it was indeed Brent, not his twin. 

Their group backed out and hey!  There was LaRee and her kids!  Fancy meeting you here!

Seriously, how gorgeous is this?

Time for lunch

Zac started getting a really bad migraine.  We stopped to let him rest.

He was not the only one who rested.

Addy and Aubrey never rested.  They just explored the area around us.

  Aubrey was doing gymnastics atop this big rock.  Here is a video:

We decided that it was getting late enough we better not try to keep going.  

We we turned around and headed back the way we came.

Zac had his first aid kit with him and he was Addy's personal physician the entire trip.

We made it back to camp at dinner time.  After dinner we sat around the fire roasting marshmallows.  Around 10:00 everyone was ready to go to bed.  Sitting around the fire at night is one of  my favorite parts of camping.  I kept begging people to stay up with me, but no one would.  So I gave in and went to bed as well.

Click here to see day 3&4