Southern Utah with Alex

In October 2014, Alex invited us to go with their family to Southern Utah to some of their favorite places.
We had intended to drive down to his house on Thursday afternoon so we could leave for Southern Utah that evening.  But Greg had a church activity he had to be at, so we ended up driving down late on Thursday. We stayed at Alex's house that evening.

On Friday morning, Alex packed everything into the car and we started off.  The two older kids were in the very back seat, and Greg and I and Ceder were in the middle seat.  It was a long drive, but after a couple of hours we started to get into some beautiful country.








We stopped for gas, and discovered a small zoo with some animals that were half donkey and half zebra.  There were also poneys, and a camel!

We stopped several times to get out and admire the view.  We were headed for Escalante National Monument.
  

Anciently, southern Utah was a shallow sea.  The sea formed layers of sandstone and limestone.  The land was uplifted and formed a giant maze of cracks and faults that created a beautiful red and yellow cliffs and valleys that were further carved by water.

The landscape is so broken up that it was the last area in the USA to have roads and highways.

After several hours of enchanting scenery we reached the Calf Creek Campground and trailhead.

To quote an official Utah.com website:  "Calf Creek Falls is one of the most enchanting areas of the Grand Staircase-Escalante area, a verdant oasis amid the tumbled stone monoliths of the desert. Named for its use as a natural pen for calves back in the late 1800s, the creek remained relatively unknown until the formation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monumen. Walking between mineral-streaked cliffs of Navajo Sandstone, hikers pass beaver ponds and pre-historic rock art sites en route to the paradisaical pools."

Greg hiked for a little ways, then went back to the campground with Cedar to play in the creek..  The rest of us hiked the rest of the way to Calf Creek.  It was a gorgeous hike through a narrow canyon with the sound of the creek gurgling along with us.  The trial was sometimes on sand, and sometimes on rock.  It was sometimes hard to see which way the trail went as canyons opened up on the side.

Winrey was running on ahead.  We couldn't see her so Lanette asked Aedin to run up and tell her to stop and wait for us.  A couple of hikers were coming back down the trail and said they hadn't seen her.  So Alex and Aedin ran back down the trail to find her.  It turned out that she had gotten confused and gotten off the trail.  Some hikers found her and told her to stay with them until they could find us, but she felt they were going the wrong way, so she turned around and ran back down the trail.  Alex finally caught up with her almost back at the campground.    Aedin decided to stay at the campground with Greg and play in the creek.

Alex and Winrey came back up the trail to where we were waiting for them.  After that Winrey was careful to hike "sandwiched" between her two parents!

We reached the waterfall late in the afternoon.  It was so pretty, falling over the cliff and washing over it. It fell into a  round pool with fallen leaves all around it and gently flowed into the tiny creek.  We wanted to get back before it got dark, so we couldn't stay long.  As we hiked back, the sun set, but we got back before it was dark.

The next day we drove to Capital Reef.   Utah.com says,  "Located in south-central Utah in the heart of red rock country, Capitol Reef National Park is a hidden treasure filled with cliffs, canyons, domes and bridges in the Waterpocket Fold, a geologic monocline (a wrinkle on the earth) extending almost 100 miles."


These two pictures above are actually stacked on top of each other to show how deep the canyon is.


We drove through a very narrow canyon.  The striped red and gold cliffs rose straight up on either side of the road.  At the narrowest point, Greg and I got out and told Alex to drive ahead a little way and we walked through the canyon.  It was gorgeous.

We drove to Fruta, a pioneer settlement with fruit orchards.  The valley is very pretty with red cliffs, trees, and mild winters.  But is was very isolated.   At Fruita there are still fruit orchards.  You can pick and eat as much fruit as you want, or if youwant to take the fruit with you you can buy it.  There is a pioneer house that is now a museum where you can buy baked goods. .  It is one of Winrey's favorite places.  She loves to learn about pioneers.  We bought a variety of scones and pies and jams and had them with our lunch near the river under the golden trees in the campground.

Next we took a hike up another narrow canyon.  
 The pioneers had to clear boulders from the dry creek-bed so that they could bring wagons in through the very narrow canyon to get to Fruita.  The walls of the canyon were covered with holes.  The kids had fun climbing into some of them.

Many years ago when Eric was about 5 and Alex about 3, we hiked this same canyon, and I think they climbed into the exact same holes!



There were Indian petroglyphs in several places.   There was also a place where many pioneers carved their  names and dates into the sandstone.


















Alex had brought his Indian flute.  He sat on the ground and played a haunting melody.
















We drove to another place and walked along a boardwalk to see more petroglyphs.  Some of them look like space aliens!

 The land is very broken up in some places in Southern Utah.  We drove over a road that was built on the very ridge of the mountain, the only place it could be built!  Cliffs dropped of on both sides of the road and in most places there were no guard rails.  The road wound back and forth.  The speed limit was only 25 miles per hour for good reason!  At one point we drove over a long bridge that joined the tops of two mountains.




Next to drove to Goblin Valley.

This is a fantastic surreal place.   Utah.com,  "Its eminent feature is its thousands of  hoodoo rocks, referred to locally as “goblins”,which are formations of mushroom-shaped rock pinnacle , some as high as several meters. The distinct shape of these rocks comes from an erosion-resistant layer of rock atop softer sandstone."

The kids had a blast climbing on the goblins and playing hide and seek.
 I wish I had taken the time to hike further into it, I was kind of worried about getting lost!

Our trip was so fun, and it was great to be with Alex's amazing family.  We really appreciate them taking us with them!

Here is a picture I took of a window of a restaurant where we ate!

We drove home  though more amazing country. 

 




We arrived at Alex's house with just enough time to get ready for church.  Sacrament meeting was the annual Primary Program where the kids did all the talks and sang for us.  They have about 100 kids, and every one sang out with all their heart, and knew every word!  We could hear Aedin's voice!

After church, Alex had a surprise for us.  He had turned his garage into a pirate lagoon!  In the dim light of lanterns and candles, we crossed a swinging bridge made of old timbers and rope, onto the deck above a pond surrounded with moss draped trees. Across the pond, a skeleton sat on a barrel with his treasure chest.   Along the side of the deck were the timbers of the ship, with an anchor hanging over the side.  There was also a net filled with cargo hanging over.  

A waterfall fell from high bove our heads through hanging vines into the pond.  Chests and barrels were stacked around deck with muskets, keys, and other piratey stuff.  Music from pirate movies could be heard.  

Alex brought out the meal,  crispy Monte Christo sandwiches with powdered sugar and jam, just like at Disneyland in the Blue Bijou restaurant.

He told us that at the next house he buys, a major part of the house will be just for setting up sets such as this one!

Spring 2014 with Aedin, Winrey, and Cedar

 I realized I never posted about my stay with Alex's kids in the Spring.  I stayed with them while Alex and Lanette went to Disney World.

Aedin and Winrey made cards to send to Grandma Gudmundsen to cheer her up.  We also made some fairies.  I had sent her a book on how to make them, and Lanette provided lots of fun supplies.  Aedin,  Cedar, and I each made one and Winrey made several.

Winrey and I also had a lot of fun making several paper dresses for her.

I took the kids to their swimming lessons.  Their cousins were there too!.  They all had fun, but Cedar really loved it!  The pool was warm, and he was trying so hard to float on his back.  I think he wanted to impress the other kids.

We also went to Winrey and Aedin's gymastics lessons. 
Here is Aedin in the plaid shorts standing on his head.


We made cookies.   We also walked to several parks.  They especially liked this playground.

It was so fun to be with them.  I love them all so much!

Fall 2014 Visits

We took a trip to see Glen and Eric's families.  We enjoyed seeing Glen and Sarah's new house and fun, very safe and private backyard.  We saw many quail and some rabbits.  One morning we saw about 70 quail run by over the course of several minutes.  The kids have gotten so big.  Logan is 5 now, Lucas is almost 4, and Oliver is 1 1/2. (What a little blond cutie he is!)



On Saturday we went to Logan's soccer game.  It was fun to see the little kids run around on the field.  They only played 3 from each team at a time, which is such a good ideas, because each child gets to interact with the ball a lot more often.

We brought some bubble blowing toys for Logan and Lucas.  I wish we could have bought more of them, because the toys were wonderful, blowing hundreds of bubble with just the pull of a trigger.  We also had fun playing Carcasone ( a game) and Race for the Galaxy (another game) and just playing legos and kicking balls with the kids.

Later we went apple picking again, and the kids also chose some pumpkins from a pumpkin patch at the same farm.  We got to see Lucas' preschool and Logan's school.  They both love their teachers.

On another day we went for a short hike up a shady, pine covered mountain to the top.  We could see all the surrounding hills, and in the distance, the city of Moscow.  A man at the top talked to Logan and I about the geology of the mountain.

So a few days later we reluctantly said goodbye to Glen and his family and drove to Coer de Alene.  We stopped to stretch our legs at the lake and took some pictures.  Then we drove to Great Falls.  The drive is incredibly beautiful, with many of the trees beginning to turn gold.

It was great to see Eric and Nancie and all their kids.  Greg helped Eric get the boat ready for our boating day.  Nancie and I took the kids to the fabric store to pick out fabric.  They had a great time choosing the fabrics for their items.  I sewed a super-hero cape for Trevor.  He wanted it blue on one side and black with a red lightning bolt on the other side. He loved it.   I also made a lavender sparkly maxi skirt for Kaylinn.  She looked adorable in it and loved it too.  I made peacock colored paisley maxi skirt for Catherine.  It was so gratifying to see how truly thrilled she was about her skirt.  At one point she paused and said, "Wait, maybe this is just a dream!"  She pinched herself, and we assured her it was not a dream.  She continued to thank me over and over every few minutes.   I was so happy to be able to bring so much enjoyment to her.    I only regret not taking pictures of the cape and skirts!  Nancie, maybe you would do that for me!

On Saturday we went boating. 

It was so amazingly warm for the middle of October.  It really felt like summer.  The day was gorgeous with hardly any wind - perfect for boating.  We went across the little lake into the Missouri river to a place called, The Gates of the Mountain.  It was named by Lewis and Clark.  We picnicked at a place where Lewis and Clark camped during their explorations.   The river goes between high cliffs where we saw deer, eagles, and eagle's nest, and ducks and other birds.  As you approach the "Gates" of the mountain, they seem to be closed.  But as you come around the curve, they seems to slide back into the mountain.  I pointed it out to Trevor and Kaylinn, and the exclaimed, "How do they DO that!"   It really does look like they are opening.

It was a great trip, but I miss them all already.  :)

Fall Leaves and Apple Pie

Greg had an Optometry convention in Couer D' Alane so I stayed at Glen's house while he attended the convention.  Later Greg joined us.  It was so fun to be with Glen and Sarah and laugh at all the funny things the little boys did. 

One day I took a walk with Glen up a hill to an old cemetery.  It was interesting to read the inscriptions on some of the very old pioneer tombstones.

Another day we went to the Farmer's Market.  There was lots of produce, flowers, baked goods and foods.  One outdoor shop had a huge kettle where they were popping up kettle popcorn.  Logan and I watched as they sprinkled the popcorn with sugar then bagged it up.  They gave us a sample. Yummy!
After his convention, Greg joined us.   Glen suggested we go to the local orchard and pick some apples.  Logan was very excited.  He ran to get his little book and said, "Look!  There is a picture of an apple tree in my book!"  He brought the book with him as we drove to the orchard.  The trees were low and loaded with red, green, and yellow apples.  Ribbons hung from the trees to show which rows we could pick, and what variety the trees were.  We picked Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Rome apples.  The limbs were low and loaded with beautiful big apples.  Logan and Lucas both enjoyed picking the apples and putting them in the bags we had brought.  We took them to be weighted, then drove back to the entrance to the orchard to pay for them.
When we got home we sampled the delicious crisp apples.  I suggested we make an apple pie.  Sarah agreed, so I made the crust while Sarah and Glen, with help from Lucas, made the filling.  Logan loved helping me roll out the dough.  Then he and Lucas used cookie cutters to cut some shapes from the top crust.
Later when we were eating the pie, Sarah admitted to not usually liking apple pie, but she loved this one!  I think the nice fresh tart apples, and the fact that it was not overly sweet appealed to her.
The next evening we were taking about things we could do, such as watch a movie or play a game. Sarah said, "Or we could make another pie!"  So we did!   This time Logan helped with the filling.  I gave him the cinnamon to take to his mom, but unexpectedly, Logan dumped a large amount of cinnamon into the filling they were making!  They had to spoon some of it out.  The pie turned out a little spicier than the first one, but it was still delicious.

Then we drove over the mountains to Montana to see Eric and his family.  The trees were brilliant in their fall colors.  We even saw a special kind of lacy pine tree that turns yellow in the fall and drops its needles.  Then they grow needles again in the spring.
We had a great time with Eric and Nancie and the kids.  They drew us numerous pictures and love letters.  I told Nancie the story about the apple pies and she said, "We have a whole box of apples!"  So, you guessed it, I made another apple pie!   On the way out of town we took some food to Eric at work, including the last slice of pie.  Nancie told me later that the first thing he said when he got home was, "Did you get the recipient for the pie?"
When we arrived home, I check facebook.  Sarah had posted that she had make an apple pie!  Then later she posted the picture above.  She had made two more pies!