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April 2021

Goblin Valley

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For Spring Break we knew we wanted to work in our annual trip to Goblin Valley. Dallas was able to get the day off so our day of fun was on!

When we went to Zion, we were grateful for the cacti that captivated Brooke’s attention and helped her have fun. We hoped she would find something in Goblin Valley to similarly keep her engaged with the hiking during the day.

Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long. Brooke found a scurrying lizard and very easily caught it. I’m still impressed she was able to grab it because those things are fast!

Before long, Brooke had completely tamed the lizard and it didn’t even try to escape.

Meet Elizard, the lizard:

Brooke found the lizard probably in the first thirty minutes of our day. She kept the lizard for the next 4-5 hours as we hiked. Somehow she was able to scale all the rocks and climb up and down all the hills and mounds one-handed. An impressive feat, to be sure.


I had the great idea to climb straight up one of the rock walls. Halfway up we realized we would probably not be able to make it down the same way we came up. Thankfully, after a few treacherous moments, we all made it to the top.

 

We had a great view of everything down below. The kids were not able to enjoy the view because they were stressing about how we were going to get down.

After a few failed attempts at descending, we finally found a safe way down.

We also finally found some shade and had to rest for a bit.

Once again, I must thank Elizard for keeping Brooke happy and occupied.

Who am I kidding? The lizard kept everyone entranced:

All right. I’ll hold Elizard, too:


Spencer got some sticks…

And Brooke built a play pen for Elizard.

After spending the day with us, we returned Elizard to a spot close to where we found him. Thank you, Elizard for allowing yourself to be the object of a family’s affection for an afternoon. We may not have been able to have a successful day without you.

Goblin Valley keeps its spot in my heart as one of my favorite places ever.

Adventures in Zion

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For President’s Day, we decided to take advantage of the days off school to explore Zion National Park a little bit. We were hoping southern Utah would give us beautiful weather and gorgeous views.

Unfortunately, the further south we drove, the worse the weather got. We ended up driving through a blizzard, but finally made it to Zion in one piece.

The weather was too rainy for hiking, so we drove around a bit to take in the mountains.

The only other thing we could do was head to our hotel and enjoy the indoor pool. The kids loved having the pool almost to themselves.

After swimming we got all tucked into our beds and fell right to sleep. Unfortunately Madison didn’t STAY tucked into her bed. She fell out of the bed at least a half dozen times and I had to keep putting her back. Silly girl.

The next day was everything we hoped for! The weather was perfect. The skies were blue. Zion was ready to be explored.

We hiked Canyon Overlook Trail first. That was a nice, easy hike and Madison loved being able to scamper on rocks.

Vacationing with a teenager can be…challenging. We’re never quite sure what mood our resident teen will grace us with each day. Luckily finding a cactus was just the diversion Brooke needed to keep her mind busy and happy as she hiked.

We made it to the overlook!

I had been warning people to watch out for puddles and ended up stepping in one myself. Brooke thought that was hilarious, so she made me reenact the scene.

We planned to catch the shuttle to take it further up the canyon, but we didn’t get a spot. We decided to hike Watchman Trail instead. This was a three-mile hike. The kids’ legs were already tired from the first hike, so there was a bit more grumbling this time around, but we all hiked to the top, enjoyed the view, and made it back down in one piece.

After their long day hiking, the kids were itching to get back into the hotel pool for another evening of swimming.


The next day was our last day at Zion, so we had to be sure to get a picture by the sign:

We drove up the canyon a little bit, but most of the kid-friendly hikes were closed, so we stayed in the car and just took in the beauty and grandeur of the mountains.

We drove through Kolob Canyon and were amazed at the beauty of the snow-flecked mountains.

We had a great family getaway!