Escalante

We had a trip planned down south quite a few months ago. We were going to stay in a yurt down by Escalante with my friend Brooke and her family. Well, her baby was sleeping terrible, they had some construction going on around the yurt and we bought a van that had built in sleeping accommodations. So we ended up cancelling the trip but I still had all the time off. Tanner loves Escalante. We did a trip there right before we moved to Williston and it was so great. So he still wanted to go down there so he put out the offer to some of his brothers and two of them decided to join us. Preston and Nat had a bunch of other stuff going on that weekend so Carson and fam and van and Mason and fam and van all came down. We stayed at the Petrified Forest State Park. It had showers and flushing toilets and hot water and everything. A little more posh than I like to camp ;) but it was really convenient for the whole crew and kids and little babies.

We left early afternoon on Thursday but weren't all together and were getting in late so instead of dinner together at camp, we stopped at Nemo's in Escalante. Carson and Nat made it there soon after.

We all met up at the campsite after and found out that Mason and Carrie had hit a cow on the way down. Everyone was okay but it smashed their van up pretty good. So sad. Luckily it still drove and they didn't have to get a tow truck in the middle of nowhere! Stupid cows.

The van was still good for playing in!

 The next morning we woke up and took it easy. Had a yummy breakfast and just hung out. Harvey was in absolute heaven. Payne brought his strider bike and some other trucks and toys and literally the whole weekend that we weren't otherwise camping, these boys were riding bikes all over and playing in the dirt and doing boy things. It was so fun watching him have so much fun!

 

About lunch time we started packing up lunches and getting ready for the hike to lower calf creek falls. The weather was perfect. Sunny and warm (even a little hot at times) and just beautiful. Fall leaves still throughout the canyons and it was just gorgeous. It was a LONG hike for all the kids. 3 miles to the falls and then 3 miles back. They all did awesome. I think we all did :) Lot of kid carriers as well. Totally worth it though!

Heading out

He's cool and ready for this!

20 seconds later.

 

We hung out at the trail head for a little bit and relaxed. Harvey had a little bit of sand up in his pants.

Pooped pooches

That evening was more enjoying the campsite. Kids playing, fire, dinner, s'mores, etc. All the good things.

The next morning was also slow and steady and about lunch time we got ready to go hike Peekaboo and Spooky slot canyons. I had done them like 10 years ago but no one ever had. They are supposed to be kid friendly and we thought it would be pretty cool. It was about an hour drive down a really crappy washboard road and then a steep hike down into the canyon floor where some of the slot canyons were.

Have to includ both of these becasue the kids faces are just funny in the first one and then I just love Harvey's smile in the other one.

 

So the slot was a little more technical than I remembered. And it definitely is small kid friendly, but probably not tiny baby friendly. Nat and I both had babies on our bodies and that made maneuvering and crouching and climbing a little more sketchy. Luckily no babies or other hikers were harmed in the process. It was so cool and so beautiful, though. Unfortunately it was nap time so Harvey was a bit whiney and more nervous by things than I think he otherwise would have been. We were told that Spooky was even more crouching and crawling so we didn't think kids with babies would do well. So we ended up walking over to where the canyon would start and thought some would do it and others would find a way down but somehow we all ended up on a sandy trail that went down and fed back into the river bottom and back out. So, kind of a bummer that we missed that part, but it was an easy way down for everyone :)

Harvey CRASHED on the drive home. It was so funny. And we had been promising everyone a stop at Nemo's on the way back for ice cream and he was so excited about it. So he was extremely passed out when we finally got there and we tried multiple times and ways to wake him up and he just wasn't having it. Finally we got him stirring and we said we were at the ice cream place. SPRING loaded - he FLUNG up to sitting and said OK!!!! and was ready to rock and roll. And for a kid who 80% of the time wakes up incredibly grumpy, it was HILARIOUS. So funny. And then he had about 4 bites of his ice cream.

 

Another evening of hanging out and dance parties in the van :)

The next morning we just leisurely packed up camp. Mason and crew were anxious to get the van home and to make sure they could actually make it. So we cleaned up, played, etc and then Harvey and I walked down to the little reservoir for a little bit while other people were getting ready.

It was such a perfect trip. Minus the cow incident. And minus not having Nat and fam. But I hope that we get to have lots more Niederhauser Van Adventures. Capitalized so it's a thing :)