We are learning to PIVOT!
Isn't that 2020 in a nutshell? Having really weird stuff happen, and then learning to pivot and make the best of what could be a really terrible situation?
We'd been planning for at least a year to drive across the country to visit Tyler's family in New Jersey, stopping at various historical sites (especially historical sites for our church). But literally 3 days before we left, New Jersey decided that Utah COVID numbers were getting too high, so they would require visitors from Utah to quarantine for 2 weeks.
That was our entire vacation time. There was no way we could do that. And Tyler's parents weren't really comfortable with us coming out at that point. We were devastated. The kids especially were heartbroken.
So, we pivoted.
We decided to hit some National Parks here in Utah and then go up to the Pacific Northwest and hit some other parks and see my family. We quickly traded out beach clothes for hiking clothes and set out for Chapter One of our Summer Adventure.
And we had an awesome time.
First, we headed to Bryce Canyon National Park. It is located in Southern Utah, about 4.5 hours away from home. We learned some important lessons on this trip! First, we learned that Eliza gets very carsick.
That was not a fun lesson to learn.
But it prepared us for when Micah surprised us with the fact that he, too, gets carsick.
Woo wee!
We also learned that some audiobooks are AMAZING for our family (may I recommend Mystwick School of Musicraft? It was a phenomenal audiobook!).
Bryce was GORGEOUS! The views take my breath away and are so very awe-inspiring. The hikes that are shaded are awesome. The direct-sun stretches are SO HOT, but still worth it.
The kids were appropriately awed when they saw the views. They were less awed when I announced we were going to hike the Navajo Loop trail.
Can you see the chipmunk Eliza tried to befriend before she even saw the view?
Going down Wall Street was my favorite part. The cool arches the trail goes through are just fun. Also, we were going down.
It was amazing to see how life will find a way, even from the bottom of a deep slot canyon!
Eliza ended up on Tyler's back while coming back up Navajo Loop trail. He learned that she narrates constantly. She chattered and sang and pointed our all the interesting things to see. It was a serious workout!
Micah was a pretty impressive hiker. He complained about how long it was, but kept going and going like a boss.
Look at that handsome Jack!
After dinner, we decided to hike to Mossy Cave. It was a highly recommended hike. We learned we should have taken towels!
She was straight up marching and it was too cute.
I'm going to be honest, I was kinda underwhelmed by Mossy Cave. It was a nice hike, but when I think of "cave" it isn't just a dark overhang. The waterfall, however, was SUPER cool! We were sad we didn't bring towels so we could really play in it.
It was so pretty in the Mossy Cave area, and very different from inside the park.
Day 2, Cole really wanted to hike Swamp Canyon. So we went!
But the trails were closed. Boo.
We checked out Lower, Middle, and Upper Inspiration Points instead. Some of the most GORGEOUS views of the park, for sure!
It was SUPER windy. Some kids weren't thrilled with the heights. And it was still so worth it.
We also saw lizards, which really helped some kids focus on something other than the heights.
And then they found some dead tree to climb on and almost everyone was joyful once again.
Wanna guess who wasn't joyful? ;)
Hold on to your hats, kids! There's more fun to come!
We hit the Fairyland Loop Trail next, mostly because "Fairyland."
Here's the fam, looking like a bunch of Hobbits heading out on an adventure.
I don't think real Hobbits asked, "How much longer do we have to hike? Can we go back to the car?" quite so much.
We thought the trees that had been stripped and twisted by the wind were so interesting!
There were a lot of drop offs along the sides of the trail, which meant we kept this hike fairly brief. I mean, not brief enough for some kids, but I'm sure they build character.
Tyler and I left the kids at the motel during nap time (Jack is a very responsible babysitter) and went on a hike to the Queen's Garden trail.
My newly-acquired fanny pack was an MVP for this trip, fyi. Best accessory, walking first aid kit. And I quickly learned that hiking with kids requires a LOT of band-aids.
But this hike was without children, so we were able to cover a lot of ground with no complaining! Winner!
Tyler did take the kids back to the waterfall by Mossy Cave for an evening swim while I put little kiddos down for bedtime.
He might have been a little excited. Just a little.
"Feel the Power, Kronk."
Like, EVERYONE had a great time!
They practically had to be dragged away.
And this concludes the tale of how Bryce became our family's favorite National Park.
You should totally go. It is incredible.
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