AMAZING Weekend!!

For the long weekend, we decided to take off to Southern Utah to do some major hiking!  It was amazing, beautiful, and just nice to hang out with my boys all weekend. Here is a review of the weekend.  WARNING: It was a 1000 photo 3 days (well, actually just 998), so prepare yourself for photo overload!

Day 1

Buckskin Gulch

This hike was amazing!!  National Geographic ranks it one of the Top 10 hikes in the world.  Now, Tim and I have not had the opportunity to hike all over the world, but it was definitely one of our top hikes of all time.  The majority of the hike is through slot canyons.  In some spots the canyon get so tight, Tim had a hard time getting through with Carter on his back.  We hiked back for about 5 miles.  Only later did we find out that the last canyon went on for 20 miles!  No wonder we could never find the exit!  There were a few obstacles where we had to help Kenai up, but all it all it was wonderful fun for everyone!  There were also some cool petroglyphs on the canyon walls.  It was fun pretending to figure out the story they were telling.  I would recommend this hike to anyone and everyone, it was AMAZING!!!  Make sure to check the weather report, because it would be bad news if you were hiking when a flash flood decided to come around!   

Toadstool Hoodoos

Toadstool Hoodoos was more of a relaxing hike after Buckskin Gulch.  It was only about 2 miles round trip, but really had some neat things to see.  Hoodoos are always fun to look at.  I always wonder if that rock is going to fall...

Day 2

Perry Lodge

We stayed in Kanab, Utah to rest up between our hikes.  The Hotel we stayed at was called Perry Lodge AKA "Utah's Little Hollywood".  A lot of old western movies were filmed out in this part of the country, and the stars would stay at this hotel during the filming.  I thought it was very fitting for Carter to be staying at the same place that John Wayne once stayed at.  The OR staff in Missouri would be very proud of us!!

The Wave

The reason we were interested in hiking in Southern Utah was because of this hike right here.  I have seen pictures of the Wave, and knew I wanted to go there!  It did not disappoint.  They only allow 20 people a day into the Wave, and there is really no trail to it, so people can not sneak into it.  At the beginning of the hike, we started talking to a man about his plans for the day.  Turns out he was headed up to the wave also, so we ended up hiking the whole way with him.  Now the best part of the story: he is a professional photographer!!!  Yeah, it was amazing talking to him about photos and all the different settings on my camera.    He gave me some really good pointers that I am excited to try out.  Plus, he was so willing to take some family photo's for us along the way with my camera.  Ahh, I am still in heaven thinking about it.  If you want to check out some of his pictures and website, click HERE.  Ok, back to the hike.  It was a round trip of 5 miles, not easy ones mind you, through sand and rocks.  But, in the end, it was so worth it!!!  We actually hiked into Arizona, so it was Carter's first trip to that state.  Words can not express this amazing sight that we got to see.  It was a good reminder of beauty only God could create.

After the wave, we packed up and headed home.  We got home about 11:00pm on Sunday night.  It was such a wonderful weekend.  We saw some spectacular sights and had a great time just hanging out as a family.  Hope you enjoy the photos!