Oneida Narrows - Idaho

 

We were excited to have some family time and relax time.  We stopped in Logan to have a yummy belated birthday cake with Pat and Seth.  Seth had burgers and yummy food for us.  Pat had an ice cream cake.  We got to enjoy the shade and good company.   

We drove a few short hours to the Onedia Narrows.  What a beautiful spot.  We had a fun "glamping" tent we got to stay in.  We could soak in the hot springs then go jump in the river/reservoir.  We took paddle boards and good food to cook. We  played games and the boys went for a bike ride.  The found an old pay phone on the ride :). We even stopped by Pat and Seths on the way home.  We got some cheese curds and had a yummy lunch.  We were all ready to be out of the hot sun.  

I would recommend to anyone to go to Maple Grove Hot Springs- during any season!

Hiking Lone Peak - Daddy Daughter Date

 Darren and Corey are buddies.  They wanted to do something fun with their kids so they hiked a mountain... Lone Peak.  Its always more fun with friends. Avery, Brecken, and Ella.  They made it all the way up to the very top which is a bit of a rock scramble.  Coming down the last two hours was in the heat of the day.  Super proud of them!

Cousin Time- Nolan's Boys

Nolan lives close by so we loved having his boys over a few times from during the summer.  With cousin Soren living next door we had a billion bullets and guns for an epic nerf gun war.  (Unfortunately it was a day Darren was working from home so it was a little loud). We had a great time.  After the war we got to go swim with the Harston cousins and the Balls cousins at Grandpas pool.  

Nolan took one day off work and took all six kids up to Snowbird to play.  My kids loved it.  

 

Moab in 106* heat

We had a lovely trip to Moab in 106 degree heat.   We managed to do lots of things to help us cool off but it was just still HOT!  

We hiked in on Professor Creek/Mary Jane Canyon.  There was water the whole 4 miles in.  We had to cross it many times.  After about a mile and a half the canyon walls started to go up which gave us shade.  At the waterfall we left Valree, Evelyn, Gwen and Abby.  We headed up the side slot canyon and had to go over several big boulders.  It was super fun to see all the kids working together to figure out how to get over the obstacles.  Once we got out of the side canyon we were on top, fully exposed to the sun.  It was about a mile and a half following the GPS to the drop in spot.  It was hot.

It was so happy to drop in and see the river again.  I just sat in the water and cooled off for a while.  Ella found tadpoles.  Everyone was happy!  We had some great sandstone slides to go down.  A swimming hole or two.  Then we finally made it back to the waterfall.  The little girls had left with Valree long before.  We rappelled over the big boulder and right into the water.  Standing under the waterfall and getting soaked felt amazing.  

Then we started out hike out.  4 miles back out.  For a total of 11.5 miles.  We were exhausted.  We did make it out for dinner both nights.  The waiter sang Darren Happy Birthday and fed him some whip cream.  Darren was sure surprised.

We headed out to the river the next day.  The water was so low instead of taking 3 hours to float the river it was 5.5 hours.  Kids were hungry and done with the heat by the time we got back to the condo.  They still wanted to swim and hot tub!  We had a lovely church service all together on Sunday.  My kids call it Brittany church.  She makes it extra special.  Love our Dowland and Larkin friends.

Escalante Zebra and Tunnel

After hiking in the heat for 6.3 miles no one wanted to attempt another hike...6.8 miles in the heat.. the second day.  I was able to convince a few fun people to come with me at 5:00 AM to hike in and out.  They were full of energy and so we zipped along.  (My girls were amazing and stayed back at the campground and cleaned up.)  Zebra Canyon was spectacular.  I am so glad I got to see it.  Both canyons are so short.  Its the approach that is long.  Zebra canyon was so skinny you couldn't even fit through it.  You had to stem the walls.

I absolutely loved the Moki Rocks- They were amazing.
Moqui marbles (sometimes spelled Moki) are also known by collectors by many other names—Navajo cherries, Navajo berries, Kayenta berries, Entrada berries, Hopi marbles, Moqui balls, or Shaman stones. Geologists call them iron concretions.

We hiked back over to Tunnel canyon.  Short and sweet.  Nothing outstanding but fun to see.  Top is pretty much shut and the bottom is wider.  We didn't have any water in it like it usually does.  

We wanted to stick together as a family and since some people hadn't done the Escalante Natural Bridges we headed back there.  I took some kids and explored the other way.  I was hoping to find some swim holes but no luck.  We did see some old homes up in the red rocks.

One the way home my parents, the Thomas's and my crew stopped in at Willis Creek near Bryce.  There wasn't much water at this time of year.  We were all hot and tired so we only went in a mile or two.