Thompson Mania!: Like A True Nature's Child

SO UT 2015! Wes and I wanted to take Clint on a pre-mission road trip and he chose to hike Angel's Landing in Zion National Park. We decided that we would try to see a few other spots we had never been to before while we were in the area. It was a wonderful trip! We had beautiful weather, nothing was crowded, and we saw some incredible parts of beautiful Utah. We live in a seriously amazing place, with its richly diverse landscapes and spectacular scenery.

Day 1:
Wes and Clint started right off on the Angel's Landing hike! They loved it!!

This was my view of Angel's Landing.

I have an intense fear of heights, so I chose to do all of the lower hikes in Zion while the boys were gone. Zion is one of the most gorgeous places on the planet, and we had an excellent day there.

There was a plein air art festival happening around the park.

Day 2:
We traveled to the town of Escalante, where we hiked through the Petrified Forest. And yes, it really is full of petrified logs! Wes was in Geology heaven!

The geologist in his natural habitat.

And his model son.

The petrified wood is so cool! It is rock, but you can totally see the bark and everything that used to be a tree!

Day 3:
We had two big hikes in the Escalante area. The first one was supposed to be to the Zebra slot canyon, but somehow we missed it. We took a wrong turn and went too far. We'll have to go back sometime and find Zebra. But hey, we did see a bunch of other cool stuff, and it was a really nice hike!

This was after I fell in the slippery clay. Boo.

Walking on the rocks and logs so we don't leave footprints!

Our second hike of the day was my personal favorite of our whole trip, Lower Calf Creek Falls. Gorgeous scenery the entire way, a diverse trail with lots of ups and downs, sandy spots, rocky spots, a creek, petroglyphs, and then the reward at the end of this incredible waterfall!

Can you spot the petroglyphs?

Agua Es Vida

Uh-oh, Clint picked the wrong paw. Next time beware!

Wes found us a dinosaur track, a nice 3 toed one next to Clint's hand.

I loved all the sand here! It kept changing color. The difference doesn't look as dramatic in the pictures, but you can see how fine and nice it was.

And one more of Clint just because he's so cute.

Day 4:
The long drive home. We did manage to take in a few more sights on the way. First up, Goblin Valley. We've always wanted to come here, and it did not disappoint. We didn't find any Beryllium Spheres however. :)

Wes tried to take this one for a ride.

Wes's HULK moment.

Clint said this one looked like a duck about to take flight.

Very little vegetation here, but what we saw was so pretty.

So amazing, nothing like this anywhere else!

We drove through Capitol Reef. Oh how I wish we would have had a few more days to explore it further. Next trip! My eyes were bugging out of my head as we drove, the beauty was unreal! And it just kept getting even better every turn of the road.

Last stop Fish Lake. The lodge has been in business there since 1911! It is definitely showing some wear and tear, but it's still an impressive building. It was closed up for the winter, and it reminded us of a place where Scooby Doo might find some ghosts! The lake is so pretty, but brrrr... I bet it gets super cold here in the winter time!

We finally made it home to 1. a hole in the living room where our piano used to be! Karlee and Colton moved it to their apartment over the weekend. That piano is so happy now that it has someone who will love it and play it! And 2. happy happy animals who wouldn't leave us alone! We missed them, and we were sure glad that Cider didn't have any hoar frost like in my dream!