Day 4Jul 5, 2009
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Hoodoos
Clint and his pack mule.
| Lilli was dying for the “Chuck wagon” pancake breakfast (that’s KOA talk for serving pancakes in the side yard). So she was up encouraging everyone to get ready so we would be first in line. The “Chuck wagon” cakes were a little undercooked…..but we had the experience. Headed for Bryce Canyon today….and started the visit with the 20-minute video explaining the 20-million years it took to form what we were about to see. Clinton was patient for about the first 15-million years, but then he lost interest and Linda hooked him. After the video, Elli asked if we could go back to the KOA to swim…..I explained to were on the verge of what the information desk told me was the “Most Beautiful 3-Mile Hike” in the world….not sure she bought the hype. Unfortunately Clint didn’t really understand when Elli suggested we skip hiking and go straight for the pool, they really didn’t believe there was a chance of that happening. He really thought it was a possibility……so his eagerness to hike was sorely lacking. He made the first half mile before he decided it would be more fun to ride on my shoulders than hike. So with the exception of a few areas of low rocks (I had a tough enough time without trying to squat down and carry him), he rode on my shoulders for the last 2.5-miles. The trail went down into the canyon, wove around at the base and then climbed back up. The information desk wasn’t too far off about how beautiful the hike would be…..it was very nice and with the temps in the low 70’s, and a nice breeze, it wasn’t too bad of a walk. The 1,700-foot climb to get back out of the canyon wasn’t “just like stairs” as the information desk indicated it would be, but it was a worth the effort. The girls were a bit horrified when Clint announced at the bottom of the canyon he had to go potty…..and his mom let him do it right there in the wild. I was just thankful for a chance to catch my breath (he isn’t that heavy, but he constantly pushes down on my head when he sits on my shoulders….and twists my head so I can see which way the trail goes)…….and I was thankful he spoke up about the potty urge since he was riding on my shoulders. We noticed that parked next to our RV was an RV with European plates. It had France on the back…..and everyone who stepped out of it was speaking French…..so I suspect they might win the award for having brought their RV the furthest. The girls also noticed on the hike that more people spoke a different language than English (I noticed, from my two years of high school French, that none of the French speaking tourists were looking for cheese). So the girls thought it would be fun to make up their own language on the hike…..so the girls and their mom spoke some type of language for a large portion of the hike (I noticed that even though it was gibberish, it didn’t cut down on the chatter). It was good to see the girls all laughing together. Clinton eventually joined in with all the Spanish he learned from Dora…..he said “Hola” everyone we passed. After the hike, we did the 18-mile scenic drive. We found a pull-off overlooking the canyon that we ate lunch. It was nice and cool and we spent quite a bit of time after eating staring at the scenery. Heading back to the KOA, Linda and I actually had some time to talk to each other without constant questions (one was sleeping….the other two were just quiet). We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming…..which seems to make the crew the happiest. The water was extremely cold…..but the kids didn’t seem to mind. Seems like each of my kids at one point in their life thought splashing dad in the face was fun….and with each one I showed them how it wasn’t fun if you were the one being splashed. Today was Clint’s turn to learn the lesson…..fortunately mom had stepped away from the pool during this lesson (I don’t think she would approve of my experiential pedagogy). |
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