Lila has her 4th grade every kid in a park pass so we are trying to take advantage of that and see some sights and hike. I managed to spend a day last week planning out where we would hike and kind of thinking things through and I found out that the hotel we booked now offered free breakfast which made things easier for me. As I was planning I got excited for our trip and remembered all the fun memories we had at Zions and hoped this trip would be similar. Steve and I managed to finish packing and load the car just as the girls were getting home from school Friday so everyone climbed in we said a prayer and hit the road. We hit some traffic and had some trouble at the gas station in Fillmore and we had hoped to get food at Costa Vita there but it was a mess and we just decided to drive to Beaver and get food. These delays caused us to get in about an hour later than anticipated and we did not get to go to the visitor's center to get the official pass or jr ranger books or go swimming. The kids were excited to see the room but as soon as we got in Andrew went running around and said, "where's the upstairs?" I told him there was no upstairs and then he counted the beds and was really upset that not everyone got there own bed (I guess we've been a little spoiled by VRBO and such sites). It took us a long time to get everyone settled down for bed and it was an 1.5 past the boys bedtimes by the time we got everyone to sleep.
We got up the next morning and headed to breakfast where we were surprised to find a very nice buffet breakfast waiting for us. The kids ate and ate and then we headed back to our room to fill water bottles and pack backpacks for hiking. Steve and Lila went across the street to the station there to see if they could get her official pass and they did. Then we decided to drive in to the park so we could drive out to the furthest points that the shuttles don't go to. We were worried about traffic since it was a holiday weekend, but I think we got an early enough start that we did not run into much traffic for the first part of the day. We drove clear out to Rainbow Point where it's 9300ft in elevation and it was breezy and cold and there was still snow on the ground and the hiking trail we had hoped to do so half way through the hike we bailed and went up to Yovimpa Point.
On the way back we stopped at several view points including Natural Bridge.
Then we headed to the main part of the park Sunrise and Sunset Points where we wanted to do the Queens Garden hike. Parking in the main parking lot was full and we noticed lots of different license plates so I told Ellie we should start keeping track and see how many different states we could find. While we ere driving through the parking lot I noticed another parking lot through the trees and sure enough it was additional parking and we were able to walk up see the views and we decided as a group to go ahead and do the Queens Garden hike (Lila was a little cold with the wind and we suggested the next day she layer her pants for added warmth). It was a beautiful hike and the kids did great -- even Marcus climbed back up most of the way.
When we got to the end I noticed on the benchmark there was a metal engraving where you could do a pencil rubbing and Ellie had happened to bring a notebook (from tracking license plates) and a colored pencil so we started our rubbing collection for their jr ranger books and the I hiked the hoodoos program. Then we made a quick stop on our way out of the park at the visitor's center to get the jr ranger books. Back at the hotel we made sandwiches and had a quick lunch before going swimming.
Then we relaxed for a bit before going out to dinner. The kids all worked on their jr ranger books while we waited for dinner. Then they decided they wanted to do this short hike called mossy cave to get another engraving for their books (I had hoped to do it Monday on our way out, but because the forecast called for snow Monday I figured we'd better not hike that day). So we went and it was an easy hike with some fun bridges that the boys would jump up and down on all the away across.
Everyone went to bed a little early after all the hiking and lack of sleep the night before including me -- I think I was asleep by 8:30, but one of my favorite things was hearing all the kids sing primary songs to Marcus so we he would go to sleep -- so sweet!
Sunday we wanted to keep it pretty simple so after breakfast we rode the shuttle into the park, walked around the visitor's center a bit then went out to a ranger program so the kids could finish up their jr ranger books and we learned about the geology of hoodoos which was interesting -- erosion plays a part but the freeze thaw cycle is also a critical part of how the hoodoos are formed and Bryce Canyon gets 200 freeze thaw cycles a year. Lila was part of the demonstration.
Looking over the Bryce Amphitheater
Waiting for the ranger program there was this pesky squirrel that kept running around by us -- I made Marcus put away his crackers to see if the squirrel would go away, but he didn't he full on jumped onto Ellie at one point and was on top of our backpack sniffing around. There was also a bus full of Chinese people come up and we tried to convince Lila to speak Chinese to them but she being shy.
Then we decided to do one hike that day. It was a longer hike with a bit more elevation change, but the kids wanted to do it. Lila had even double layered her pants in preparation -- glad she remembered what she had learned from the day before. I was a bit nervous because Marcus was tired, but he insisted on going with everyone. I tried to take him back to the hotel for a nap but he wanted to hike so away we went. After being on the trail for a bit we passed a sign that said entering Bryce Canyon wilderness and then there was a tree in the path.
That's called the Chinese wall on the left and on the right Marcus enjoyed tracing the letters on the sign above and telling me what letter it was and what sound it makes, I thought it was cute.
Not gonna lie going down was a bit rough, I was kind of cranky and worried about Marcus, Andrew slipped a couple of times, and Marcus's favorite hat blew off and down a ravine -- thank goodness for a tree that stopped it and a brave Daddy who went after it and then we put it in a backpack and put is hood up. We finally made it toTower Bridge and sat down and enjoyed a little snack.
We got our final benchmark rubbing and tried to estimate how long it would take us to hike back up. The kids were real troopers and we did the up part faster than we did the hiking down in.
We had roast and potatoes waiting for us in a crockpot at the hotel which was delicious and we were all ready for a yummy meal like that. Then we hung out watched some TV and had our Come Follow Me Lesson.
This morning we woke up to snow and the kids thought it was great. Which reminds me at breakfast every morning Marcus would flip over the little paper placemat to the map side and then he would say, "So we're going to ski here and then go over here." I tried to explain to him that it was a road map, but he's grown up with the kids looking at and discussing ski trail maps so in his mind that's what it had to be. ;) Also at our last breakfast Steve said he thought he heard Russian (which isn't surprising they say 65% of the visitors there are international) so Lila and I told him next time if he speaks Russion to someone she'll speak Chinese. We were hoping to go swimming before checking out but when we got to the pool there was somebody cleaning it and they told us it was closed.
The kids were disappointed and it was kind of silly to have it closed during regular hours on a holiday, but thus is life. Now we are on the road for home. We all wanted to try Costa Vita again in Fillmore since it's something different than fast food and I was shocked out how expensive it was -- turns out the plain cheese quesadillas I asked for were more than any of our meals. . .so there you have it Fillmore and Costa Vita are on our blacklist for a while. We did stop at a park so Steve and I could eat while the kids played and stretched their legs which was nice.
Now we're in some holiday stop and go traffic and Steve's laptop is about to die so I guess I'm done blogging for now.
I'm gonna try to squeeze in one final note: Lila was so sweet to always say, Thank you for this trip, I'm having so much fun. Which was so nice of her and makes you feel like your effort was worth it and of course once she said it the other kids were quick to chime in with how much fun they were having too.