The weekend before we went to Duck Creek my sister, Marla, made tie dyed shirts for all the kids to wear while we were there. We had them all wear them on Saturday and got a picture of them all in their cute shirts.
Sunday morning was nice and slow. Dave brought his whole computer, wireless extender, huge monitor, (and more I'm sure) so the kids enjoyed watching movies in their room.
Chris and Paul had to leave on Sunday to head home so that they could be at work on Monday so we had an early dinner before Paul left (Chris left before that) then we had the rest of the day. We decided to do things that were near Duck Creek so we went to Navajo Lake with the intentions of having a picnic dinner there but the kids were too busy playing to care about food.
When the kids were done playing in the water there was a sign right by Navajo lake that said "Cascade Falls" with an arrow. We decided to go check it out. Janeene stopped to read a sign that said that Navajo lake was formed by ancient lava flow. There were rivers that flowed into the lake, but the only water that flowed out was through lava tubes. Cascade falls was one of those lava tubes that the water comes out the side of the rock face. It sounded really cool and the hike said that it was an easy hike round trip 1 1/4 miles. So we decided to do it. Well, it's an easy hike if you aren't hiking with 7 kids, oh and most of us were wearing flip-flops. It was a beautiful hike though and the view was totally worth it.
When the kids were done playing in the water there was a sign right by Navajo lake that said "Cascade Falls" with an arrow. We decided to go check it out. Janeene stopped to read a sign that said that Navajo lake was formed by ancient lava flow. There were rivers that flowed into the lake, but the only water that flowed out was through lava tubes. Cascade falls was one of those lava tubes that the water comes out the side of the rock face. It sounded really cool and the hike said that it was an easy hike round trip 1 1/4 miles. So we decided to do it. Well, it's an easy hike if you aren't hiking with 7 kids, oh and most of us were wearing flip-flops. It was a beautiful hike though and the view was totally worth it.
The waterfall was HUGE, roaring, totally worth the hike!
Hudson wanted to climb right into the water. Spencer had a hard time keeping him back, he was trying to climb right over the fence. Roman on the other hand found a place that he could climb under the fence. Good times. Luckily no one went into the waterfall.
Monday we all went to Zions National Park with everyone that was still there except Brenda and Dave. They needed to leave on Monday and Dave wanted to stop in Kanab on their way home. So the rest of us drove to Zions together so that no one ended up in the wrong place. In Zions you park in a main lot then take the shuttle through the park. As we were waiting for the first shuttle Roman claimed my Camelbak and wore it the rest of the day.
Monday we all went to Zions National Park with everyone that was still there except Brenda and Dave. They needed to leave on Monday and Dave wanted to stop in Kanab on their way home. So the rest of us drove to Zions together so that no one ended up in the wrong place. In Zions you park in a main lot then take the shuttle through the park. As we were waiting for the first shuttle Roman claimed my Camelbak and wore it the rest of the day.
He found that not only was it convenient to have water everywhere he went, it also worked great as a pillow too.
Hudson was traveling in style in the backpack. We had actually forgotten to bring the backpack with us and were going to have to carry him through Bryce Canyon had we gone on Friday. We had my brother, Chris, stop at our house on their way down to pick up the backpack and our Camelbak's.
We went on one short hike then we stopped at the lodge for lunch. After we finished eating we wandered into the gift shop to look around. We got the boys matching Park Ranger hats. They had the cutest Jr Ranger outfits that matched the hats, but they were $45 each, so they just got the hats.
We went on one short hike then we stopped at the lodge for lunch. After we finished eating we wandered into the gift shop to look around. We got the boys matching Park Ranger hats. They had the cutest Jr Ranger outfits that matched the hats, but they were $45 each, so they just got the hats.
After our lunch/gift shop break we went on the hike to the Emerald Pools. About half way into the hike Roman was complaining that his feet hurt. So Spencer carried both boys the last little bit of the hike.
Roman remarkably recovered when we got to the top and saw his cousins playing in the water.
I wore Hudson in the backpack on the way back down and the lack of sleep and the steady rock caught up to him and he fell asleep in the backpack.
We only went on one more hike that day because it was over 100 degrees and the kids were dropping like flies. In fact, Gabby was the only one that hiked to the weeping rock. All the other kids stayed behind with Israel and Melissa. We were joking that hopefully they would all survive. Luckily all the kids (and both adults) were alive and well when we got back.
The weeping rock.
Gabby, Marla and Mom cooling off in the water.
Tuesday was another lazy day. We were getting ready to head home the next day, and we were kind of tired from Zions the day before so we did Boondoggle, played games, let the kids play on the playground, then that afternoon we went to the Mammoth Caves. We didn't know what to expect, and were a little disappointed when we pulled up that it was just a hole in the ground. Then we got down into it and found that it was more then just a hole. It had caves that went off to the sides. To the one side you had to climb up onto a ledge and the cave narrowed very quickly.
Tuesday was another lazy day. We were getting ready to head home the next day, and we were kind of tired from Zions the day before so we did Boondoggle, played games, let the kids play on the playground, then that afternoon we went to the Mammoth Caves. We didn't know what to expect, and were a little disappointed when we pulled up that it was just a hole in the ground. Then we got down into it and found that it was more then just a hole. It had caves that went off to the sides. To the one side you had to climb up onto a ledge and the cave narrowed very quickly.
Then Spencer and I went the other direction with Roman and Jaren. It just kept going. We just had 2 tiny flashlights that my parents had brought with them, but they were enough that we could see directly in front of us. The flash from the camera makes it look much lighter then it was.
It was SO DARK in the cave, and it kept getting narrower and narrower but I didn't want to get down on my hands and knees because I was wearing white pants. We kept going until we could see the light at the other end. Spencer wanted to climb through but it was so tight... and I was just wearing flip-flops...and white pants...and we had 2 little boys with us, so we turned back.
After we were back out of the cave we found where the other end let out and it was a tight squeeze. While we were looking around there Roman and Kaylee found a little tiny cave that they were playing in. Roman found a place that he could climb up out of the came between some boulders so Roman and Kaylee were running around going through the cave then climbing out the top.
Wednesday morning we all got up, had breakfast and on the road home. It was a fun week with my family. Roman was so sad that his cousins weren't there every morning when he woke up, and he couldn't play with them all day every day. We are looking forward to three years from now when we get to do it again!
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