We headed down south to Capitol Reef for spring break last week. Kind of had a rough start. We got down there much later than we had planned and the campground was almost full! We had to just pull into a spot we weren't thrilled with. Funny thing - a ton of people left the next day so we were able to move to a much better place.
Never get tired of looking at these mountains!
That night, Jarod started throwing up. That continued most of the next day. We're talking all over all of our bedding (don't worry Grandpa - only the bedding, not the camper). We ended up having to find a place to wash. Laundromats aren't exactly plentiful down there! It was also FREEZING and windy, so we ended up spending most of the day stuck in the camper with a puker. I was about ready to call it quits. He started feeling better, but the next night he coughed all night! Sleep was not in our plans apparently. Next morning was cold and windy again, so we decided to find a scenic drive. We have always wanted to go to Cathedral Valley and decided this was as good a time as any. Well, because of all the moisture they have had down there, the road to Cathedral Valley was washed out. We looked at a map to decide where to go instead and found out that Bryce Canyon was only 90 miles away, so what the heck.
I don't know if the mapmakers measured the 90 miles in the air or what, but it took us 3 1/2 hours to get there! Not exactly what we had in mind for a scenic drive. Keep in mind that we started out at about 1:30. At least the views were fantastic! I have never seen Bryce before so it was really cool, but VERY cold.
Well, now we had a 3 1/2 hour drive back home! Man! 7 hours in the car! With sick kids! By the time we stopped for dinner, we didn't get back to camp until about 10:30 pm. We all just kind of fell into bed.
Day 3 things were looking up. Jarod was still coughing, but feeling a lot better. We decided to stop by the nature center. We actually had to drag the kids in - they didn't want to go. But they had a blast. So much fun stuff to play with and explore. We discovered a fun "new" game to play - pick up sticks. It surprised me how much all three of them loved it. We ended up buying our own set to play back at camp. Another pioneer game for the camper Grandma!
Then we headed down into Capital Gorge and hiked up to the tanks. Oh crap. Who is behind the wheel? She was SCARED TO DEATH! The roads are narrow and bumpy. But she did really good behind the wheel. Dean thought if she drove he could look at the scenery, but he was to nervous with her driving to look at anything!
Day four was the Easter egg hunt at the Gifford House. Jarod woke up FIRST THING in the morning because he was so excited. They had some games for the kids to play before the hunt. This was some kind of race where the kids batted boiled eggs down the driveway and back. The eggs came back looking a little gross!
Finnaly the hunt begins. Don't know how I got a picture of just Jarod running around. There were a TON of kids everywhere. Jarod thought he ought to be able to go to the "under 2" hunt. The eggs were a lot easier to find!
I got up early for THIS!?!?! He found 5 eggs. For some reason he thought there would be money in the eggs. The candy wasn't so exciting. It was kind of funny.
Day five was Easter. Here is DJ looking for eggs in our camp. Dean hid them pretty good. They had a hard time finding some of them. Just for Jarod we put a dollar in a couple of them. He thought that was pretty cool.
Later that day we took a hike up to Hickman's Bridge. It was the nicest day of the whole trip, even if it was still a little chilly. Here is Mr. Junior Ranger Jarod. He was really into the whole thing. We had to keep stopping so he could fill out his book. Check out the ranger hat. Now he is looking to buy the whole uniform. Any idea where to buy a child's forest ranger suit?
This child is just not into camping so much any more. By day 5 she was done and ready to go home. Of course, I think she caught what Jarod had and wasn't feeling well. You must be sick to want to take a nap on a rock!
I think this picture was actually near the tanks, but I don't want to move it so just pretend it is at Hickman's Bridge.
The view outside the camper. Everything is just so beautiful down there. We love it!
Here they are all digging in.
DJ managed to get chocolate ALL OVER the place. I think he just started dipping his whole hand in the chocolate.
Lindsie had it all over her face. Notice she is no longer dipping the strawberries - when they were gone she just got out a spoon!
Jarod just dipped the strawberries and licked the chocolate off them. I thought he was just eating slow and enjoying it until Dean pointed out that he wasn't actually eating any strawberries.
