Spring Break Day 4

Red Reef Waterfalls were dry, but the hike was still beautiful.

On our final day in St. George we decided to take it easy. We woke up late and had a lazy breakfast in the hotel. Then we headed out to our main feature of the day, Red Reef hike in Leeds. Dad had done this hike 25 years ago, and he found it much drier. Even though it was early spring, there was only a little water in tepid pools. Still, we had a great time at Red Reef.

This hike heads up a few narrow canyons and allows you to climb up different obstacles. At a few points, the canyon narrows all the way down to what would be a waterfall under wetter conditions. Then, you are required to scale, skirt, or swim up through the pinch point. We did this several times, with each of the obstacles getting more difficult. Without Mark to pull from the top, and Dad pushing from the bottom, we may not have gotten all the way to the end! We even stopped to help other people along the way. It was really fun to work together and help each other along.

I love that Seth still wants to hold our hands54 while we hike.

Always climbing.

Mark is happiest on the trail, or birdwatching.

The canyon was beautiful.

There were quite a few fun places to explore.

The boys tried throwing rocks to guess how deep it was.

They also tried using sticks.

They were so brave to climb up without help. It was a great hike.

Since we were in Leeds, we stopped at the small CCC Camp that still exists and took a few photos. It was a short stop, but we always admire the CCC program and the young men who worked so hard. We made another stop at the Historical Museum in Washington. We were lucky to find it open. It reminded us a lot of a Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Museum, so we were happy with it. 

The CCC camp was cool, and that tree was covered in millions of caterpillars.

Mom had heard about a kiln oven at the end of a trail made especially for kids in the hills above Leeds. We drove some rough dirt roads and found the trail. It was a nice hike, but all the signs were too worn to read. Only the kiln was worth seeing. We did talk to some old codgers from Manti, though, and they gave us quite a laugh!

The kiln was cool, but the hike was kind of a bust.

There was one more stop to make at a dinosaur track site. The hike was very short, but the tracks were nice. Again, we were hoping to spot a turtle, but we had to settle for lunch out of the back of the van instead. 

Dax ran up and down the sand.

There were quite a few large dino tracks to see.

We decided to take it easy for the rest of the day. First Dax really wanted to show Mark and Dad the racing park. This park in Washington has a small track that times you, as well as an obstacle course. The boys had fun racing back and forth, but Dax was devastated when Mom beat him in a race. Mark narrowly beat Dad. There will probably need to be some rematches next time we are in Southern Utah.

Racing on the track is super fun.

Mom does not love this photo, but she is focused on winning.

Then we took the kids back to the hotel and let them swim for awhile. This time, all three boys enjoyed the pool, and we let them swim until dinner. 

We make it a point to try new restaurants when we travel, and we had never had a glacier from Larsen's Drive-in. While we ate, we made a game of complementing each person in the family, and it really affected how the boys treated each other for the rest of the trip. They got along so well after they heard their brothers say nice things about them!

After dinner and a movie in the hotel, we went to bed early. We had to make it back to Lehi by 11 o'clock for Dax's baseball tournament. It was a great Spring Break, and for once, it left us time to do a little work around the yard.

The shakes and glaciers were really good at Larsen's Frostop.

Our trip began with baseball and ended with baseball!