Snow Canyon: All Geological Phenomena Crammed Into a Few Square Miles

When it is a special occasion, like a round-number anniversary--what do you do to celebrate?  You go camping, of course! (For example, our honeymoon, 33 and a third years ago was a camping trip to red rock country...) We chose previously unvisited Snow Canyon, near St. George. This is the view we woke up to, after arriving after dark the night before.

Our hikes took us through twisting paths of red rock. 

 Red rock has special stress-absorbing powers to repair the soul. At least it always works for us.

Terisa got some red rock therapy: rest for the weary sole.

We saw all kinds of strange textures,

...and classic formations.

We ate lunch in this little cave.

 

 Terisa crawled around in a lava tube,

 ...and we hiked into a dead-end slot canyon.

Some of the visually interesting things about the park are the lava flows which recently (27,000 years ago) engulfed some of the red rock formations. The lava we saw was of two types: the ropy pa'hoehoe lava, and  the chunky, broken a'a lava.  (This is a perfectly acceptable two-letter word to use in Scrabble(TM).)

We climbed up this steep cinder cone that looked like nothing so much as a pile of ash.

At the top, we peered into this depression/crater...

 

...and then looked out to see many more cinder cones in the immediate area. 

Mostly we got clear skies, but for one brief moment we had dramatic skies.  We may have endured a dozen or so raindrops.

In addition to red sandstone, there was one outcropping of white sandstone with bowls like this hollowed out.

This is a larger bowl, where capricious wind gusts sandblasted us, and the wisps of flying sand swirled up the surfaces like so much smoke.

So. Many. Textures.

On the way home we noticed the Mountain Meadow massacre site was close at hand, so we stopped and explored, whetting our appetite for more information about the atrocity.

And so as not to end on a low note, here are some photos from Addy's recent visit to Utah that haven't been downloaded until now. Miss Addy was very clear about what couches and pillows were for.

And what grandchild has not ridden the elephant at Great Grace's house?

It was a visually stunning weekend.  The hikes were short and easy, and even though it is close to civilization, there are almost no indications that a large metro area is nearby.  All things weighed, we want to go back, preferably with some of you.

Addy-Sitting, September 2015

Addy came to stay with us for a few days while her Mom and Dad went exploring in the orient. Lynne brought out Addy a couple of days early to acclimate.  So of course we went to Cafe Rio (here Addy is placing her order for a quesadilla, extra cheesy, please!),

and we think it is vital to have shopping experiences at a book store. Not that there is any danger in this family that we won't...

 

Addy quickly got used to the tea-party table we have for the littles, and served four stuffed bears several delightful snacks.

 

Then Lynne and Kit started out on their adventure. First stop for them: Hong Kong.  First stop for us when they left: Blue Lemon at City Creek.  Here Addy enjoys mac and cheese and the company of Grandma Terisa, Grandpa Gabe, Great Grandma LuAnn, and GGPa Jim.

 

Since we were in City Creek Center, we also played in the fountains. How could we not? The waterfall was so glassy we had to touch it for ourselves.

 

It was all very exciting.

 

We pretended we were magicians calling forth the little fountains to rise up. It worked so-so, but we got splashed enough.

 

 Addy warmed up to Grandma Lu and Jim, even though she gave him "the glare" earlier. That is, Addy gave Jim the glare.  Grandma didn't.

 

Then we went home and settled into a regular routine for a few days, though life at our house is not too routine under any circumstances. For example, the meals are reasonably predictable in timing,

 

 and menu,

but we like to spice them up with games and shenanigans. Here Addy give us her famous, "I can't believe you are such nerds!" look.  She also practiced her glare on us, but we all cracked up in giggles before it went too long.

 There was some shopping, for which Addy made sure she had a large enough shopping bag.

Of course we read books,

 

had more tea parties, sometimes with real cookies,

 

 

 and tried on Grandpa's cowboy boots. And headlamp.  And made Grandpa put on his construction knee pads, which turned out to be quite useful when crawling around on the floor with Adelaide Jane.

 Outside, Miss Addy helped Grandpa pick tomatoes,

though it is certain she ate her weight in cherry tomatoes when she thought she could sneak some.

 

We played in the neighbor's fort,

 

and on our swing.

After a big day, we just chilled on the back porch swing.

More playing inside, sometimes with Grandma Terisa's fuzzy puppet collection,

and sometimes with other toys.

On Sunday we went to church.  She was pretty good in Sacrament meeting, and liked nursery well enough, even though it is very busy.

Finally, at the end of each day, we got dressed in our zebra pajamas and brushed our teeth.  Nights have been pretty good and there is lots of sleep being slept by everyone.

Tending Addy has made us miss our other grandchildren, so here are a few previously unpublished pics of a bunch more cuties. Here, Addy chills with Charlie--yes, it IS possible to chill with Charlie!--at Grace's Baptism.

When they were in Utah last month, we practiced face-painting.  Here is Indian princess Grace (now a third-grader!)

And shooting star Princess Alice , now in pre-school.

And Dan'l Boone, frontiersman or raccoon. You decide.  Charlie is almost 3.

And here is a pic of the elusive Danny-fish.  It won't be many more years that all of us fit on this swing, but this year, we are just right!

Busy Summer Highlights, Part 5: Reunion in Moab Saturday and Sunday

But Lynne and Kit and Addy and Gabe and Terisa got up at 4:30 for an early start for Delicate Arch.  Turns out we were all all awake anyway because the power turned off at about 4:00. It was dark when we left Red Cliffs, but we didn't need our headlamps for the hike.  It was chilly for the first 7 steps. Then it was warm.

The crepuscular light made the hike different from any other time I've been.

It was almost magical.

Sure enough, the change in light changed the appearance of the arch and all of the surrounding formations.

Proof that we made it.

Lynne and Kit and Addy got a nice couple to take their picture under the arch.

We got an old-fashioned selfie to go in our parks collection.

The light kept changing.

We felt lucky to have the arch almost to ourselves.  Maybe a dozen other people were there, and there was room enough and time enough for everyone to get all of the pictures they wanted.

We went down--past several hundred upward hikers--and met the 7 am group at the petroglyphs by Wolfe Ranch. The parking lot was full and three tour buses had disgorged.

This was the line at the bathroom when we got there at about 8.

We went back to the resort and found the Virginia Gabes in the pool. 

 

 The pool was cool, but the hot tub was cooler. Still no power, so they couldn't bubble up the hot tub.

We had lunch,

 and visits,

and snow cones,

and snakes and lizards.

In the evening we went over to the main building for the official 75th birthday meal.  We had a great room all to ourselves.

Grandpa and Addy shared a lemonade.

It is important to smack your lips and say, "aahhhh!" when you are done.

 Addy mooched frosting from Grandma's cupcake.

When the movie came on, the Lion King chant inspired Paul to reenact the opening scenes.

On Sunday, we got up got packed, made some meals and got ready for church.

We ended up attending a most welcoming branch in Castle Valley.  The kids were very good in the meeting, but we still accounted for a quarter of the congregation and 80% of the noise!  All of the members said they were glad to hear kids' voices again. We picked up a realty magazine to see if we could afford property in Castle Valley.  Not really. 

 After church, PBGAC & D headed out for I-70 and Denver.  Lynne and Kit got the last tickets to the Fiery Furnace hike at 4 pm, but since 5 years old and under couldn't go, Grm and Grp explored more of the Park with Miss Addy.  Turns out she is not that keen on feeling sand in her toes.  But she was content to hike with us.

Near sunset, we thought we'd go out to the lower overlook for Delicate Arch to see if the evening crepuscular light was different.  You can't really make it out in this picture, but every surface we could see around the arch was covered with people waiting for the sun to go down.  Must have been hundreds. I'll bet an enterprising lemonade stand could make a killing up there.

It confirmed for us that any hikes where we want solitude will be early morning.  As of this writing, all families have made it safe and sound back home.  It was so great to have every one here for a few days. We love that everyone is making good lives for themselves in interesting and different places.  I think that just makes a week like this one all the more special.

And it was special.