Zion National Park 2009

One of the last places we visited was Zion National Park. It was beautiful!

To get to the canyon through the east entrance, you had to go through a tunnel that was a mile long. You had to wait for a while to get through sometimes, because if a motor home was going through, they had to be escorted through the center of the tunnel and took up both lanes.

I was really impressed by some of the formations, especially the Checkerboard Mesa.

We hiked up to Weeping Rock and saw formations that were called things like, Angels Landing, The Three Patriarchs, The Alter of Sacrifice and The Temple.

The girls and I spent the majority of our time on our own while Luc and his dad hiked The Narrows. Most of the hike was through the water and I knew I wouldn't be able to make it. Instead, the girls and I visited a museum, a visitors center and watched a movie about the canyon and rode the shuttle up the canyon. I enjoyed it, but the girls didn't really start having fun until...

...we went and started playing in the water at the foot of The Narrows. Water is always a good way to pass the time. :)

On out way out of the park, we passed a Doe with TWO babies! It was so fun to see them! It was really strange, because she was with them in this little island of trees and brush surrounded by roads and trails and people, yet she was calmly taking care of her young. I'm glad I got to see it.

Duck Creek 2009

Duck Creek was a really fun place to camp. Other than having to put a jacket and shoes on to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I loved it. When we weren't off at a National Park, we took turns with the rest of the family riding ATVs.

We explored lots of different trails and visited an ice cave. I didn't go down inside the cave because the climb was too steep, but Auralee and Luc enjoyed it. Of course, Taryn fell asleep while driving around. I don't know how she does it, but it happens every time. :) We were also able to go fishing on one of the off days at a big pond near our campground. Everything was GREAT!

Auralee's auntie Nancy took her horseback riding one of the days we were there. She had a blast! They put her on her own horse and then let her ride ALL BY HER SELF! What a great thing for her! I was told she did a really good job and was even able to get her horse to go fast when she wanted him to.

At the campground everyone had lots of fun as well. The kids spent lots of time digging in the dirt and playing with the buckets we brought (a total life saver and completely worth bringing) and exploring around the camp site. They played with cousins and had a favorite log they liked to climb. Luc spent a lot of time playing horseshoes with his brother and dad and we all enjoyed dutch oven meals. MMMMMMM, yummy! I got some reading and relaxing done as well.

After playing in the dirt and getting pretty messy all by herself, Taryn's cousin Dwayne helped her out a little more by dumping a bucket of dirt on her head. This photo op was so great, we couldn't miss it. :) Thankfully, we had access to showers a couple times during the week, so we all got cleaned up from the grit and grime we collected.

Every time we ate at our campsite, we had several visitors of the furry kind. They knew exactly what was going on when we got the food out and would come right up to us, ready to dash away as soon as we moved. Much to my kids dismay, I would not let them feed the animals. They were fun to watch though.

Bryce Canyon 2009

Our next stop on our camping trip was Utah. We camped outside a little place called Duck Creek. It was great because it was just a short distance to two National Parks. One of those parks was Bryce Canyon. I had never been there, so it was a new experience for me as well as the rest of my little family.

The formations were amazing. There were these huge strangely shaped protrusions called Hoodoos. They started out as solid formations and then over time, the outside soil was washed away by wind and rain. Lots of the earth was rust colored. That's because there is a lot of iron in the soil and when it was exposed to the air and water, it rusted! Pretty cool huh?!

We were at the same camp ground as Luc's family and were able to spend part of our day with them at Bryce before separating and seeing our own sites.

We had lots of fun, and, of course, Taryn fell asleep.

The Grand Canyon 2009

At the end of June, we started our 10 day Engstrom Family 4th of July camping trip. Our little family decided to start at the Grand Canyon. Luc really wanted to take Auralee there since she had mentioned several times that she'd never been. We camped just outside the park at a nice little camp ground. We slept in a tent and Luc and I had an air mattress. I wasn't sure how I would do, being pregnant, but surprisingly, I did quite well.

The weather was beautiful and the canyon was gorgeous!

We walked all over the place. Up and down trails and to lots of overlooks. The places we couldn't get to quickly offered a shuttle. They were always crowded, but since I'm pregnant, I always seemed to get a seat. We spent quite a bit of time there and enjoyed it all. We packed our lunch and snacks and water as well. It was a wonderful experience and I'm so glad we went. I'm also glad my girls has a great time :)