We ended up leaving late Wednesday night (around 7:30) to head down to St. George since Adam had visits to do with the missionaries. So by the time we arrived at the condo that night it was 11:00 and we were all ready for bed!
The next morning though we were all geared up to go and have some fun! Adam had to work both Thursday and Friday so he opted to drive to a starbucks Thursday morning (where he could get free internet) to work, which left the kids and I condo bound. We made the best of it though and had fun soaking in the hot tub on our deck, playing board games (Bohnanza), and watching movies until Adam got home later that afternoon for lunch. Then it was party time!
The kids and I dropped Adam back off at Starbucks and then headed for Snow Canyon to do a little hiking. However, we only had a few hours to kill before needing to be back to pick up Adam and so we ended up finding a little hike just outside of Snow canyon called Johnson’s canyon which we assumed would lead us through some awesome looking lava rocks. However, although we did get to see the outskirts of the lava field we were hiking towards, the hike actually ended up taking us back behind a mountain into a beautiful canyon which was such a fun surprise! It was a 2 mile hike and was just perfect for the kids and I. We all had a marvelous time exploring and being in nature! Below are some pics from our hike.
Harry, Dawson & Ady all conked out from the 15 minute drive to Snow Canyon.
The entrance to the Johnson Canyon trail
My two hiking buddies who loved holding my hand as we explored.
The beginning of our hike took us through a few lava fields. Branson found this pizza looking lava rock and loved pretending he was eating it! đ
A view of Snow Canyon in the background.
Harry exploring the Lava fields
The trail unfortunately only took us on the outskirts of the lava field, but it was still very cool. It was fun to have a lot of variety on our hike.
We even found this old river bed which was the perfect little sandbox for the kids to play in!
Climbing all over the big boulders and rocks was a favorite for the boys! They were in serious boy heaven!
We ran into a nice family also out for a hike that offered to take a picture of us. They were really nice and we got some great pictures of their family for them too. đ
I LOVE this shot of these cuties! Handsome boys!
If you look closely you can see the ARCH up above the boys heads. Its probably a 40 + foot arch.
A close up of the arch (which we weren’t allowed to hike up to)
Yeah, another sand box! đ
Branson was a master climber this trip! He was all over the place on the rocks and was great at helping his brothers up and down the steeper areas.
You can see from this picture just how far up they climbed!
It really was a gorgeous canyon and the cliffs were ginormous! See little Adalynn at the bottom of this picture? She’s tiny!
Brans and Harry holding hands with each other since my two hands were taken. So cute!
It was interesting because this little hike filled me up in a way I didn’t even realize I needed. It was just so wonderful to be out in nature, to have the warm sun beat down on my face (it was snowing in Payson when we left and super duper cold) and I came home telling Adam that I understand now why people like to be snow birds. In fact, I’m pretty sure I will BE a snow bird myself someday. I could just imagine Adam and I (and the kids if they are still around) going on hikes everyday when we are retired, riding our bikes up and down the trails, and exploring the mountains around us. I absolutely LOVED it down there and it truly did my heart good to be in my mountains again and to be able to be active and in nature. I loved, loved, LOVED it. And I just couldn’t believe that a drive of 3.5 hours could result in such DIVERSE weather and temperatures. The 60 degree weather in St. George was simply Heaven sent! It felt like summer again and was sure a perfect and wonderful day spent out in the beauty of Gods creations with my darling little angels. I sure do love being a Mom and am so grateful for all the hard work Adam does so that I can be home with these sweet kids! What a blessing it is to be a Mother.
