Fall Break

I woke up at 5 am today with a blasting migraine, sore back and pained knees. After a handful of Excedrin, half a sleeve of saltines and two Mounds (yum!), I decided, "What better way to spend my morning than blogging about Fall Break." Naturally.

Here's the deal about Fall Break. It happens in Utah every fall (!) and magically coincides with the start of the deer hunting season. I told the girls we were going to do whatever didn't cost very much money, and one of the days had to be a hike.

We (mom, girls, Jacob, me) went to Timp Caves early Thursday morning to hike. I called ahead and was assured that we could hike and it wasn't too full that day (they only allow a certain number of people to go through the caves at a time, so you have to make reservations). We drove an hour to get there and they said it was too full. Argh!! We took Jacob home and went with Plan B.

They wanted to ride Trax (again) and go to Temple Square (again). See the Spring Break post. It wasn't as blissful this time around--I got lost on the way to the Trax station, didn't bring required cash and couldn't buy a ticket, Leah threw a world-class tantrum on the train, we missed our stop...and I'm sure there were some more interesting tidbits that I've blocked out. 

i'm making this sound like a disaster. It was for a while, but we pulled it together and had a good rest of the day. 


They love the Reflective Pool: 




Little nut ball: 



She took about a hundred pictures of the Christus. I love having a digital camera and I don't have to say, "Stop wasting film!"


Me with a fake smile, "This is so fun, girls. RIGHT?!"


The next day, me, girls, and Jacob returned to Timp Caves for our now-reserved hike. It was MAHVELOUS. Plus, Jacob was so incredibly helpful. He walked with Leah most of the way while I drug Hannah's slow rear end up the hill. The hike it 1.5 miles and makes an elevation gain of 1100 feet. 


"Does this ever end?"


The scenery was stunning. I kept telling Hannah we would get pictures on the way down, but it poured rain on the way back. I didn't get very good pictures :(. 



Posing:


Posing again:



Jacob the Wonder Uncle hiked to the top with Leah, the came back part of the way to carry Hannah on his back. And she let him:


Great sign!


We made it to the top. Note to self: Those jeans gotta go. We waited for a bit for our tour of the caves to start.


And....posing again:



Who let me leave the house in those pants?!


And...posing again:


Obligatory cave shot. Honestly, the caves were impressive and fascinating. Or maybe I just really like geology. They weren't Carlsbad Caverns, but pretty dang cool for Utah County.


Stalactite, meet stalagmite:



That's about all I have the energy for right now. Thank again, Jakey, for the hike and the enormous help. We wouldn't have made it without you. 


"Whose idea was it to do that hike? With kids?"



Comments

Jacob said…
I had a blast! I've always wanted to see the caves and it was great to listen to Leah talk so much.
October 18, 2012 at 9:05 PM
Unknown said…
Let's go to Goblin Valley. I don't wanna go alone.
October 21, 2012 at 9:04 AM
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