Capitol Reef Day 3

Ready to hike Little Wild Horse Canyon again. They were so excited!

We woke up early this morning and drove into Hanksville for over-priced gas. Then we turned north toward Goblin Valley. Mark had planned a hike for his hiking merit badge. It is the first one, and it is supposed to be five miles. He mapped it out and made all the plans, even though we've done Little Wildhorse Canyon before. It was still a bit chilly when we arrived, but the parking lot was almost full. The plan was to walk 2.5 miles into the canyon and then turn around and hike out. We loved this hike last time, and the boys have been looking forward to it for over a month. Unfortunately, the beginning of the hike has changed, and we almost got lost. But Mom found the sign and put us on the correct trail.

I love hiking with my boys!

The boys hopped, skipped, and literally climbed the walls for the first hour. They didn't even slow down or sit. The problem was, we had no idea how far we'd come because Mom's phone wasn't tracking accurately. Still, we enjoyed the narrowness of the canyon and the steep walls. We hardly saw a soul on the way in.

Seth loved being able to climb and walk on walls. 

Dax is the most daring explorer. Sometimes he scares his mother half to death all the time!

I love Seth's face in this picture. 

We love wandering back and forth through this slot canyon.

Little Wild Horse is the best!

We stopped for a quick rest. 

The canyon gets pretty narrow! 

It is awesome how tight it gets. 

Dad had to get in on the straddle pictures, too!

We were plenty dirty after this hike. 

Mom and Dad are still trying to take a picture on our hikes. 

Finally, the canyon flattened out. We'd hiked quite a bit farther than last time, but we still didn't know how far we had to go. Seth and Dad sat for a break in the shade, and Mom, Dax, and Mark walked a little farther. Just then a lady came up and informed us we were 2.65 miles into the canyon. So we ate a few snacks, had some water and began the walk out to the car. It was still just as fun, and it was slightly downhill. We passed over a hundred people in the narrow slots after we turned around! We were glad we'd started early. The hike back wasn't bad, and when Seth started to look tired, Dad began telling Greek myths. Before we knew it, we were back to the van.

The hike was a huge success!

Everyone was worn out. 

The boys really wanted to play in Goblin Valley, too. They'd finished their Junior Rangers, so we got those turned in. Then we drove to the parking lot. Miraculously, there was one spot left. We pulled in and looked for a table for lunch. There was one table left. We had lunch and then ventured down into the valley. Dad played tag with the boys until Dax fell and scraped his side. Then they played hide-and-seek, which was much less running. It was really fun to be with the Goblins again. When Dad pooped out and headed back to the car, Mom took over. She directed a game of Spy, where she was the spy, and the boys tried to sneak past her.

We love eating at the tables at Goblin Valley because there is such a great view! 

The boys love playing with goblins!

Our boys would be happy to go to Goblin Valley every weekend.

Dad is a good sport to play tag. 

It's hard to catch Mark. 

Dax is always climbing!!!

Dad and Seth conquered this huge hill. 

Hide and Seek is fun, too!

We had a ton of fun at Goblin Valley.

We had one more adventure just outside the park. This was an unmarked trail to a grotto and arch called Wildhorse Window. We had directions, and we could see the cave from the road, but it was still a long mile up the slickrock. We started down the trail and then climbed the massive stone waves. They undulated in front of us, causing us to climb up and down or change directions several times. We even passed some really cool petroglyphs. Finally, we made it to the cave. It was amazing! There was a huge grotto with a massive skylight directly above. There were petroglyphs, though we weren't sure how old and original they were. The hike back was much easier, but we were all worn out after the long day.

The trail was a steep climb up the slick rock, but we loved it! 

The boys are such good sports about all these crazy adventures. 

We had our family picture taken at the Wild Horse Window.

The window is above us. You can see how large the grotto is and the arch lets in light. 

We were moving hotels to Green River, so we treated ourselves to a nicer restaurant. It cost quite a bit, but Seth ate almost all his spaghetti, Mom enjoyed her chimichanga, and Dad had a half-rack of ribs. Everyone was really hungry! We'd worked and played hard all day!

This restaurant has a view of the Green River out the windows. 

We devoured our food. It was so good!