Mother's Day Hike :: May 13, 2018

For Mother's Day we drove up the ridge and to National Forest land to go on a hike.

This is the beginning of the trail.

I was with Jeralyn and Joshua on the trail and we spooked a grouse laying on her nest next to the trail. We didn't know that there was a nest there until Quent came with Joel and suspected there was probably a nest nearby.  Sure enough, there was one.

We walked for a while until we decided it was time for a snack/lunch.

On the way home, we spotted some morel mushrooms. And then we were hunting for them.  We picked maybe a dozen of them and enjoyed them for dinner the next day.  So delicious!

When we reached the car the kids were looking for frogs in the water.  They found one and Jeralyn held one.  Quent told her to give it a kiss.  Ha!

This was her "kiss" she gave to the frog.

Zion National Park :: April 27-29, 2018

Our last stop in southern Utah was Zion National Park.  I'm not sure if it was because of the half-marathon, but the park was packed.  It felt too commercialized for me and that took away from the natural beauty of the park.  And it was hot here.  Lots of water drinking and more playing in the water than in the other places we had been.

You can only drive to a certain point in the park and if you want to go farther, you have to take the shuttle buses.  The kids thought that riding the bus was really fun.

We went on a hike to some waterfalls.

I was being silly while eating a snack.

Joshua was upset about something and was caught on camera.

The water comes off the rock onto the path.  I love rain and water, so I couldn't help myself, I just had to walk through it.  Most of the people there were doing their best to avoid the water, but I purposely wanted to get wet.  It was fun, refreshing, and it put a smile on my face.

On the morning of the half-marathon, we drove over to another part of the park that is less populated.  We went on a beautiful, short hike with the kids.

This was the last photo from Quent's camera of our trip to Utah.

Escalante :: April 26, 2018

Our next stop was Escalante, Utah.  We camped a couple of nights at a beautiful campground next to a reservoir.

There was some rocks right above our site that the kids enjoyed playing on.

We went for a long drive and did a very, very short hike into this slot canyon.

I would like to go back to Escalante someday.  Since being there, I have seen some really cool photos of slot canyons.  Not pictured in this set of photos is an enjoyable time at a playground, swimming in the reservoir, and visiting the Visitor Center.

Capitol Reef :: April 2018

Capitol Reef was my favorite place that we visited on our vacation.  The weather and temperature was pleasant and I really enjoyed the walks, bike rides, and having a pie shop attached to the campground was a plus!