Winding Down with Game Night

A lot of times, we spend the time after dinner watching a favorite TV show as a family (American Ninja Warrior, Tree House Masters, Storm Chasers), picking up our many messes from the day, finishing up homework/completing projects, or playing board games.  

Tonight, a kids card game came out of the box while I got things picked up from the day.  It's been a long time since I've seen this game out, its very similar to memory (turning over cards and making a match, with a car theme), and it's a game that everyone (including a 2 year old) can participate in. 

The game is Road Block and really isn't anything special, but it passed the time and did the job of calming everyone down before bed.

Road Trip Home: Good-Bye Utah

Early this morning, we packed up the van, double checked the condo for any forgotten items, and loaded up for a long day of driving.  The weather was cold, it was very windy, and it started raining while we were leaving, so it was a good day to be in the van watching movies, reading books, playing Nintendo DS, coloring, playing lap games and just enjoy the scenery as it passed by.  I was thankful the weather waited until today to be yucky.  It was beautiful weather the whole time we were there.

The wind was so strong in some areas that it kicked up dust and covered the road.  It was similar to the way fog covers and area, but instead it was a dust cloud.  We enjoyed watching (and hitting at times) tumble weed as it was blown across the road.  You couldn't help laugh when a large piece rolled by, dancing in the wind.

Along the way there were a few scenic overlooks, so we stopped for a few minutes to see what they were and grab a photo.  At the first one it was so windy I could barely get out of the van myself and the stinging sand blowing against me was no fun to try and photograph anything in.  So with each stop we looked from inside the van, then I hopped out, grabbed a few photos, then jumped back into the van and we were on our way again.  At one time Ethan said from the backseat "If we keep stopping like this it will take us forever to get home!".  Funny kid.

The drive was pretty uneventful, with us stopping for gas a few times and once for food at Chick-fil-A, right on the outside of Denver.  The kids were exhausted and we were too, but we drove as far as we could go and finally decided to stop at a hotel we stayed at in the past, The Oak Tree Inn in North Platte, Nebraska, and Derrick's parents later stopped there too.

The hotel, as I remember wasn't the best, but it was comfortable and it had a diner next door, Penny's Diner, where you can enjoy complimentary breakfast before heading out of town in the morning.  Out of the few places to pick, that sounded the best to me.

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Today we decided to take the long drive to Bryce Canyon.  We heard many amazing reviews about how awesome of a place the park was, and even though it was over a two hour drive, we decided it would be worth the trip.

Driving there we decided to take the scenic way through the Dixie National Forest.  The road was narrow and winding, and you could tell we were gaining a lot of elevation, but all the signs and markers were destroyed, so we had no idea what the overlook areas were or how high up we were.

Along the way we spotted the turn for Brian Head, Utah (also on our list of resorts we can visit, Cedar Breaks Lodge) as well as a nice hiking area we didn't get to try, but might the next time we come, Cedar Breaks National Monument.  The manager of the resort had told us she enjoyed hiking there with her family and thought it was a semi-challenging hike, similar to the narrows.

Once we got closer to our destination, it was clear that this was going to be something that we had never seen before.

The Visitor Center was a pretty large facility, and we got the low-down on the hikes, grabbed a few tokens and postcards, and signed the kids up for the Jr. Park Ranger Program (so they could earn a badge if they complete the tasks required) and headed out on our adventure.  Getting the badge and booklet completed was high on the list, and we didn't want to have to be trying to get it done at the last minute.  So we got started right away.  One of the main tasks was to have each child pick up 10 pieces of litter (and they even provided plastic gloves for them to do so).  I thought it would take some time to complete, but sadly we accomplished the task in less than 5 minutes at the Sunset Point parking area.  Most items were cigarette butts.

http://www.exploreamerika.com/Maps1.htm

Do you see the man walking on the trail on the right side of the photo?
That is the Navajo Loop Trail.

We decided that we were going to hike the Navajo Loop Trail which started at Sunset Point.  It seemed to have a lot that Bryce Canyon had to offer, seeing the hoodoos (the tall skinny spires of rock) up close and getting down to the canyon floor for a different view than one can see while at the overlook.  We also wanted a place where Great Grandpa, Ernie and our new travel friend, "Grandma Jo" could sit and enjoy the view while we hiked.

http://www.nps.gov/brca/naturescience/hoodoos.htm

As we started off on our hike, I instantly clicked into "Mom-mode", warning my kids not to get too close to the edge and making sure everyone was careful as the rocks under our feet were very slippery and keeping an eye on Elliot as he held Grandma Vicky's hand, but I couldn't resist taking photo after photo of the amazing place were were hiking down into.  It felt like we were on a different planet, the landscape was so different and amazing with all the towering hoodoos overhead.

Elliot held Grandma Vicky's pocket to be safe while she took photos.

Ethan wondered what the yellow streaks were.

Everywhere we looked we saw balanced rocks against beautiful blue sky.

The reviews said that more rocks fall on this trail than any other in the park.
Enter at your own risk.

Elliot loved getting dirty!

Of course the kids wanted to venture off the trail a bit to check out the narrow spaces.

It was slow going, coming back down with all the sliding rocks.

Ethan had to be careful not to slip and fall.

Everett, whining about something during our snack break.

Quick attitude change as soon as he saw the camera.

Then just a silly boy!

If there was a rock or a tree, Everett climbed on it!

A few times Everett stopped to pout about how much walking we were doing,
but cheered up when there was something to climb!

Time to head back up to the overlook area.

Vicky, on the way back up from the canyon floor.

Elliot hiked the whole trail without being carried!  It wasn't the easiest hike for such little legs!

Our family at Sunset Point overlook, after the hike into the canyon.

After our hike, we drove to all the overlooks, stopping to check out each one.  Rainbow Point was the highest elevation.