This trip has been going great, and we love it! But, we've also been in the desert for seven weeks now. I have a new appreciation for the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years - and we have a comfy 5th wheel! Today I told the kids to get their coats and shoes on, because we were going to Bryce National Park to see the canyon.
"I've seen enough canyons now!"
"We don't need to see anymore."
"Do we have to go??"
These were the replies. I told them that we were 20 minutes from one of the National Parks, and we were going to go see it. Grumbling, everyone got in the car.
We got into Bryce National Park, and it was beautiful. (If you're thinking about going to Bryce National Park, don't let this stop you. We've just seen a lot of canyons lately, but it would be completely worth your time!)
We hiked into the canyon for about 10 minutes, and then our four-year-old had to go to the bathroom, so we took her back the 10 minutes to the bathroom. After which, everyone was requesting to leave. We got in the truck, and I was mentally writing a blog on over-saturation of beauty and wonder. Really, there can over indulgence in good things. I think if we were to go to Bryce Canyon as a summer vacation, it would be so impressive and we'd be in awe. Instead, we've seen so much beauty in God's creation, that we're immune to appreciating it. I don't like that at all! I suppose it's a good reason for having stresses in life, to help us appreciate the beauty. But anyway, to continue the story, we got in the truck. Half-heartedly, I told my family that there was another trail in Bryce that went to a cave and a waterfall. "No canyon?? Let's go!!" said 3/4 of the kids. So, off we went. Here's some pictures, and by then the whole family was completely enjoying ourselves. Turns out, we really just needed to see waterfalls and caves, and not canyons.
As we walked on the trail back to the car, I asked E which he liked better, the canyon or the waterfall/ cave trail.
"What canyon?" he asked.
"Bryce canyon. The reason we came here!" I told him.
"Oh. I forgot about it. I really didn't like it much. But, the waterfall was great!"
Hmm. I don't think that's supposed to be the reaction people have at Bryce National Park.
Later, I asked B the same question. "Did you like the canyon or the waterfall trail better?"
"What canyon?" he asked.
Yep, it's a good thing we're done with canyons soon. We are spoiled rotten, I guess.
We really are enjoying Utah, though. Our campground is the best we've been at in a really long time, and it's just us and one other RV. Quite a scenic place. We've been enjoying the chance to fish in the river here.
Also, the campground owner was so helpful, and informed us about the places that "only locals know about." On her advice, we went to these lava tubes. Very, very cool. It was really fun to hike in caves that have no electric or paths. Completely opposite of Carlsbad Caverns.
yes, you can climb into here!
We had also gone to Zion National Park earlier in the week. It was a canyon. Fortunately, though, we were able to walk to another waterfall that sprayed us with water. We had a blast running through that and getting all wet! We also got to play in the Virgin River there. Very fun.
And that is Utah through our eyes this week. We won't put up a picture of what Utah looks like at this exact moment, because it doesn't seem to us that it should really snow in May. Utah disagrees. But, I guess we deserve some snow in the year!
We hope you're doing well, too! Love from the Utter family!
5 comments:
Hello, I love following your blog. We are in the planning process of starting a similar adventure hopefully by February. I put on our list of things to see many of the places you blog about. I also love your honesty that sometimes kids complain and things aren't always perfect. It helps me to set realistic expectations. Thank you for your blog, I'm really enjoying it!
Thanks, Heather! Have fun planning your own adventures! You're going to love it!
I have always wanted to go to Bryce Canyon and Zion National park!
There is a wind ensemble piece about Zion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJUkfOoM8wY
I understand where you're coming from . . . kids easily get overloaded. My 15-year-old was the same way about cliff dwellings last year when we were at Mesa Verde. "I don't want to see another cliff dwelling! They all look the same!" Plus, it was hot there! Thanks for sharing the pic of the waterfall at Bryce. That was one trail we wanted to do, but were too tired after hiking three miles in the canyon and another one at Rainbow Point! Enjoy your travels, and remember to leave some downtime . . .
Kristin, you'd love them both - they're totally beautiful, no matter what I wrote about the kids. And that was fun listening to the wind ensemble piece, too. Thanks! Tom and Marci, yes, I agree about the downtime. I didn't realize that when we left, that we'd need downtime from sightseeing. Are you still on the road?
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