Capitol Reef Day 1

We took a much smaller trip this year for Spring Break (at least compared to Orlando last year!) We decided to spend two days in Capitol Reef and two days in Goblin Valley. We got an early start Monday morning and arrived at our first stop a little before 11 o'clock. Dad had searched on the Internet and found an alpaca ranch. The lady was offering free tours with an appointment, so Dad made one. No one was too sure what to think. But we drove up to the house and Dad knocked on the door. The nicest lady, a retired educator, came to the door and asked the boys what they'd like to do. They decided on feeding the alpacas and gathering some eggs from the hens.

First, they had to use a pitchfork to get the hay in the small wagon. Then they had to brave the two massive dogs and enter the alpaca enclosure. There 23 excited alpacas clustered around, but Seth went right in pulling the wagon. Mark hung back a little, and Dax was even more uncertain. But the dogs seemed friendly enough, and the alpacas were only loosely interested in the hay.

Mark and Dax were very excited to use pitchforks.  

Seth had no fear. He walked right through the alpacas.  

The alpacas liked Seth, too!

Next, the lady helped the boys fill buckets of pellets. The alpacas were much more excited for this treat, and several put their heads right in the buckets. Dax even lost his bucket to one crafy animal, who wore it like a necklace, munching pellets gleefully. We fed both the females and the males, and even helped her get one of the males back in the correct pen.

Dax was not sure about the alpacas.

This alpaca loved taking the bucket away from Dax.  

Mark got pretty brave and fed the alpacas right out of his hand. 

Dad had the most fun!

Mark and Dad loved feeding the males!

Mom even got a chance to feed them. It was SO windy!!

We laughed at how confident Seth was as a farmer. 

Finally, she brought out the carrots. Suddenly, everyone had a friendly alpaca or two (or three or four) crowding around to be fed. The boys giggled while the alpacas munched. When the carrots were gone, she led us to the chicken coop. The boys gathered eight eggs and were very surprised when she handed them the carton and told them to take them home. They were really grateful, though, and thanked her over and over. We spent an awesome hour at the Circle Cliff Alpaca Ranch, and the boys said it was the best part of the day (and we weren't charged a dime).

Seth was the first to feed the carrots. No fear in this kid!

Mom had fun taking pictures of these furry guys. 

This black alpaca loved Dad. They became buddies. Maybe it was because Dad fed her 15 carrots. 

The alpacas were super curious and liked to get really close to the camera.

We drove into the Visitor Center and Mom made lunch while the boys watched the park video for their Junior Ranger badges. We had sandwiches in the parking lot and drove down to our first big hike. We'd chosen Cassidy Arch, which is over three miles roundtrip. It is also steep for the first mile with some serious drops off the side of the trail. But the boys were great and hiked without complaint or incident.

We had a great time visiting this park again.

When we arrived at the arch we were hot and tired. The arch was huge! Best of all, you could hike right out on it. In the pictures it looks really dangerous, and Mom and Dad were more than a little nervous, but in fact, the top of the arch is about 50 feet wide, and no one got closer than about 8 feet from the edge. A fall from Cassidy Arch would be fatal, though.

Can you see Dax and Seth peeking out of the holes?

We had a great time finding holes to climb into! 

We loved the layered rock here in Capitol Reef. 

Dax was a great hiker on this trip. 

He even built a cairn.  

Mark and Dad always love hiking. 

Seth was excited when we came to this corner and saw the arch.

Dax instead this was the perfect spot for a nap. 

Cassidy Arch was stunning. Seth was a little nervous, so Dad had to carry him over. 

We loved being able to walk on the arch. It was so cool! 

Mom even took a turn walking on the arch. 

Mom and Dad are still trying to take pics together!

It was a long, steep hike. We were worn out! 

Capitol Reef is the best spot for pictures in holes. 

The hike back seemed much shorter, and we managed the whole trip in about two hours. We decided we'd drive down and complete the hike we failed on when Seth was a baby in the backpack. On that day, it was around a hundred degrees and Dax was only 4 years old. He couldn't make it all the way, though we found out he'd mostly made it when we did the hike today. This hike is called the Pioneer Register, and we walked along a sandy wash between two towering walls. There were petroglyphs and pioneer names dating back to the 1880s along the way. Dax had made it that far, but we wanted to go to what they call the tanks. These are large holes in the rock where water is often found. The hike was steep and dangerous, and we found no water, but the boys didn't mind. They jumped into the sandy pits anyway. They even saw a few lizards along the way.

We loved walking through the wash on this hike. It was a simple walk.

Always climbing into even hole they find! 

Dax and Seth love to get into the tiniest holes. 

Even Dad wanted part of the climbing!

We always have fun together! 

Seth liked being big enough to climb and scramble like his older brothers. 

Mom sure loves her boys!

Mom was not about to be left out of the hole pictures. 

Seth jumping into the "sandbox" we found. 

Dax had to copy!

Mark wasn't about to be left out either.

This was the only pool we found!

We got back later than we wanted to, because it was past dinner time. We had a restaurant that we wanted to try for the website called Slackers. By the time we drove all the way back to Torrey, it was 7 o'clock. But the food was great and we managed to get to our hotel in Caineville by 9 pm. The boys had showers and watched the NCAA championship. It was a fun first day of our vacation!