Yesterday evening we braved the Mossy Cave trail, just up the street from our campsite. I say ‘braved’ because we almost didn’t go because of the weather. Despite cloudy skies, it was a beautiful, cool evening and we had the trail nearly all to ourselves, which was nice.
We had partly cloudy skies for the eclipse, but that didn’t stop the kids from enjoying the experience. We did the old shoe/cereal box method and had great success.
This morning we hiked the Sunrise/Sunset Loop in Bryce Canyon National Park. It was really cool.
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This evening we made it to Coral Sand Dunes State Park. We were hoping to make our way to some dinosaur footprints, but the ranger told us the sand was too soft and our vehicle would get stuck. Instead we enjoyed some time playing on the dunes.
Afterwards we stopped at Kanab Drug for some huge ice cream cones.
We had a fun time at Zion National Park. By the end of the day it was much less crowded and we enjoyed some beautiful hikes. Susan makes fun of me for saying this, but it reminds me a lot of Ledges State Park, in Ames. Maybe just on a larger scale.
We had a great few days at the Grand Canyon. We arrived on Sunday, and hit the visitors center and the rim trail. On Monday Susan and the kids explored some more and then in the evening we road the red shuttle out to Hermit’s Rest, and then back to watch the sunset. On Tuesday we hiked down part of the Bright Angel trail. Susan and the kids explored some more on Wednesday before we headed out.
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We are staying at a KOA outside of San Angelo and we noticed a lot of people walking along a road near the campground. It turns out that there is a nice 2 mile loop that people like to do. We did the loop with our swimsuits on, so we could jump in the pool on the way back, but by the time we got back it was stormy.
Today we spent most of the day at the beach. Our time at the beach is interesting because the water is very stirred-up and murky. It is more brown and smelly than usual, and there is a lot of sea-life. Jellyfish, stingrays, crabs, snake eels, fish, and dolphins are all prevalent right now.
The kids are loving playing at the beach. Lucia and Rose are having fun playing at the edge of the water and the older kids are having fun digging, looking for things, and using the skim board and boogie boards.
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Today we did the Rainbow Falls hike. It is 2.7 miles, uphill, to the falls, then you have to come back down. It took us about 6 hours. The kids did great, with the older three leading the way. Lucia hiked probably 90% of it and did great. She was very hungry at lunch time and she took a nap on the drive home. Susan carried Rose in the Boba most of the day.
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This evening we visited Clingman’s Dome. It is the highest point in the park and features an observation tower where you can some nice views. It was pretty crowded and the 1/2 mile hike uphill was interesting.
