Spring Break Part VI

Tuesday in Utah, so... April 5th, my mom had reserved to go to Zion.  We hadn't been in such a long time and she thought it would be fun to take the kids on a couple of short hikes.  Her ankle is healing well, and though she didn't make it all the way to the Temple of Sinawava at the very end, she did great.  I can tell it still hurts her, but she was a trooper and gave us a great idea for some fun!  My kids were also troopers.  Don't get me wrong... there was some whining, but for the most part, they were great, and really did enjoy being OUTSIDE!

When we talked to Gma Linda the night before, Lexi invited her to come and despite the fact that she had a doctor's appointment that morning, had been gone for a couple of weeks to help Kate with her new baby, and didn't think she would be able to make it, she talked to her coworker and was able to work it out!  It was great to have a 1:1 adult/kid ratio!  That never happens for me!

Our ride to the hiking parts of the park.  They no longer let vehicles in to this particular area.  But it was well staffed and the shuttle buses were always there within a few minutes of when we got to the bus stop.

The map of the various stops.

Ready for an adventure!  Ella and Gma Pam... with Lexi behind.

A view from one of the sunroofs in the shuttle bus.

Our first actual hiking stop.  Weeping Rock

Gma Pam and Ella... and a waterfall at Weeping Rock.

Braeden, Ella, me, and Lexi!  Both in this picture AND the next Ella is very concerned about the water dripping on her head!

Yay!  I was there!

Spring really is the best time to come if you really want to see a waterfall here.  By the time the winter runoff is through and the trees are green, the waterfalls have disappeared, so though it still looked a bit bare from the winter, the water was very refreshing to see in the desert!

The Gma's, the grandkids, and the waterfall!

The view the opposite way of the waterfall.  You can see off to the left the water "weeping" here at Weeping Rock.

Weeping Rock really was "weeping" this day!  A lot!  All those specks are drops of water.

On the way back down.  Notice who is in the lead??  Someone who is as slow as cold tar most of the time!  ELLA!

Hey down there!  Ella and Gma Linda

These two were off on an adventure of their own.  Off the beaten path... on "a real hike" as they called it.  They wanted to be "adventurers."

Ella throwing dirt in the creek and Gma Linda patiently watching!

Keep watching for this little guy.  He doesn't stand a chance when Braeden is anywhere near.  He was DETERMINED to catch him.  Especially since he didn't get one on the hike with SAmberie.

Queen of the Downed Tree.

Love this shot!  Beauty all around... and I mean the little girl, too!  The white behind her shows some of the Court of the Patriarchs.

He actually got it!  He was SOOOO EXCITED!  I'm not really sure you're supposed to do this in a national park, but... who cares! 

Seriously, Braeden.  He is the little boy that is just ALL BOY.  He will pick up anything.  And that is going to be a problem someday, I'm sure.  (Especially when this little thing was so mad that it bit his pinkie finger and then scratched his hand trying to frantically get away.)

Look hard.  He is smashing it's tail trying to catch it again, but it slithered away quickly and got away from him.  Poor thing!

You have CHEEEE-toh's in your teeth!

Gathered around Gma Pam who had brought plenty of snacks for us to share!  Time for some much needed sustenance.

What's the face for???

He looks stuck, right??  But I asked if he was "hung up" on the rock and he denied.  He was trying to balance himself on the smallest seat to be found!

Put this and the one below together and you'll have an accurate view of this waterfall!  I can't remember a time when I've seen this much water there.  (But... it has been a while since I had even been!)

This was at the base of the Narrows/Temple of Sinawava.

This is also the base of the hike to the Temple of Sinawava.  It's also the end/beginning of the Narrows, which ever way you are hiking it.

There is NO ZOOM on this picture.  We were literally this close.  At one point there was a squirrel that was much to close to Gma Linda and she actually had to shoo it away!

Um... no.  Dragging this long branch in the middle of the trail is NOT going to work.  She totally ran away from me when she saw me coming to retrieve it.  Laughing and giggling the whole way.  Stinker.  Notice in this picture she is tripping Braeden with it.  Fortunately she didn't get any strangers with it.

Ooohh... this was very brisk water.  It's called "insta-red" feet.  I'm surprised they could even feel their feet by the time we left, but they LOVED it.  My kids are magnetized to water.

Rock stacking!  This activity went on for quite some time.  And I just sat there and watched.  There wasn't even any fighting.  Just quiet concentration!

When he realized that the rocks were just going to keep slipping off, he started all over and got Ella to help him cement them together with mud.  Pretty smart for a kid... to say, "hey... this isn't working, so I'll add something to the mix that will help 'glue' them together!"

So proud of how many he got on top of each other!  (Frankly... I was really surprised!)

With all that "mortar" I'm sure it still standing today!  Haha!  J/K

This is what they were trying to copy.  A man down the way was stacking rocks like this... and these were BIG.  I honestly don't know how he did it and got it to stay for as long as he did.  Very cool!

Eewww... and she has globs of mud on the back of her shirt.  I just left them until they dried and I could easily brush them off.  Ick.

Oh, my!  Snotty nose AND muddy hands!  Good thing she's cute!

This picture just cracks me up!  Gma Linda is hefting Ella over all the rocks and junk so she doesn't hurt her feet moving from one place to another for play in the water.

This is where Lexi spent most of her time while Braeden and Ella were busy building a rock tower.  It was much warmer over here after the sun had slipped behind the cliffs!  And they were building a dam of their own where the water wasn't moving so swiftly.  This was just a little inlet of sorts... I wish I had a picture of how it all fit together.

Look at the size difference in the rocks they are carrying.  Hence the reason Braeden got a very smashed and bloody finger.  It's still very black today.  We'll just wait it out... until it grows out.  Damian tried to pierce it and let out some of the blood and pressure, but by that time it had already hardened and was mostly back to normal size after the swelling.  Sigh.  He's a bruiser!  Literally.

That is some very nice balancing on rocks, Lexi!

Gma Linda requested this picture.  She has one from LONG ago in the same spot (less the grandkids!)

After we hiked back out, took the tram back through all the stops to our car, we loaded up and took a drive up farther into the canyon to go through the tunnels for the kids.  They were all soooo tired.  We had to wake them when we got there, and even then... Ella was DONE!  We honked to let them hear the echo, but I was dismayed to find that we were the ONLY ones to honk.  No one was happily honking back to us... which was sad for me because it was a tradition for me.  Maybe people thought I was ruining the serene atmosphere of the beauty of the park... I don't know, but it was a sad moment for me!  I used to laugh and giggle any time we would drive through and get some honking responses!  Loved it!

Panning for shiny rocks, shark teeth, etc. at a rock shop in Springdale.  Lexi LOVES rocks and spied some at the multiple shops on the way into the park.  We walked through the store while Ella was sleeping, and the man seen in the picture that was at the counter saw that my children just couldn't decide which small $3.00 rock to buy, so he told us that he had one more jug (seen above by Gma Linda) that was full of "treasures" if they wanted to sift through it.  It was $20, but they ended up having more fun and getting more stuff than they would have in the store for that much!

They took it very seriously and it took them quite some time!  Well worth the $20!

Some of the loot.  I really should have taken a picture later... outside the bag, but... I didn't.  They had fun and got some cool stuff and were even willing to share with Ella to make her happy when she would wake!

A much better adventure than simply buying rocks in a store.  And the beauty of the background was much nicer than worrying about whether or not they were going to break a whole bunch of stuff in the store that I would keep telling them not to touch.

These are huge... and I know Lexi would have brought one home if I would have let her.  Believe it or not, this is all GLASS.  Yep... glass.

We hadn't even eaten lunch this day... we just spent it hiking and SNACKING, so after panning for rocks we headed to the Pizza and Noodle Company there in Springdale. We enjoyed some yummy food and then a nice ride home. So glad it was a nice, beautiful, WARM day that day... because it quickly got cold, windy... and then... (well, you'll see! I'll keep you in suspense a little!)