We've been down a couple different trails there, but they were always up high. We wanted to go into one of the canyons, so Pete talked to a guy at work who suggested the St. Louis Canyon. We had to take Tater with us on this trek, of course.
The fun thing about going down into the canyons were all these rock formations we came across. This one had basically a natural bench. The kids loved climbing in and sitting for this picture. Getting them to take pictures is sometimes a chore, but today they loved getting them taken. They wanted pics of themselves by all the "cool stuff" as they said.
We've never been to the park in the fall and we have missed out! The leaves were falling in the breeze today and the colors were changing. So pretty!! You'll notice that some of the walkways into the canyon were very narrow. Livie got a little nervous ... and so did MOMMY!
But, look at how pretty that is! And, that wasn't even the half of it!
Madie took this one of the mushrooms. Thought that was a pretty cool picture myself! Haven't seen a lot of yellow mushrooms before.
Pete lead the way with Tater most of the time, but the kids couldn't stay behind once we got into the canyon. They were so excited to see what lay ahead (is it lie ahead? Lay ahead? Laid ahead? I never know what form to use!)
Um, does Pete have 4 children or is that one in the black shirt a grown-up? ;-) Wonder what I'll look like once they all pass me up?!
This is a cave we saw in the canyon. Livie said it was the Yeti Cave. She was so excited!! Well, she was until she realized that there is no way in the world we could climb in there and find them! She said we need to bring a ladder next time. Ssssuuurreee....
A nice mom walked up while I was taking the previous picture and asked if I would like a group shot of all of us. Yay! Totally took her up on her offfer. :-)
Now, THIS was one cave they COULD go in and that is a picture of them all doing their yeti calls. My kids are strange.
Here is the canyon's end. The picture of the yeti children above this was taken in that cave on the far right. I'm standing at the top of a natural sand dune created by the rock face. The kids LOVED playing on it. Heck, they loved this entire area. Had a ball!
And, they weren't the only ones. Tater got to run in the water/mud and had a fantastic time!
At the back was a small waterfall. They kids managed to climb across broken branches, across the mud, to the waterfall. It was really cool back there!
However, as you can, our shoes got a little muddy. Livie actually lost a shoe in the mud. I had to fetch it for her. I, of course, thought it was hilarious and was cracking up at her trying to wobble through the mud in one shoe. She didn't find the humor in it.
Even with Noah's unique obsessions, he is still a very typical boy. He dind't mind the mud and ran on back there and played in the water and just generally made a muddy mess of himself. But, like I told them, it isn't a good day until you've got some mud on you!
Eventually, I just took of their socks and shoes, rolled up their pants, and let them have at it. That little boy in the picture just wanted his picture taken too. :-) He liked Tater.
Can you SEE the smile on this dog's face?! That is a mud-covered, water-soaked, joyful puppy! He splashed in every little bit of water he could find. And, totally submerged his face and body in the deeper pool by the waterfall. It was so fun to watch!
We had about 10 min where we were the only ones there, so the kids (and Tater) had a ball playing in the water.
Madie even stood directly under the waterfall - completely soaking herself.
Isn't this a beautiful area? And such an easy hike too!
It's like this hidden oasis of cliffs. Just gorgeous!
Once more people started coming in, we took our cue to head out, so they could enjoy some time there without our crazy family ruining it for them.
Can you see why I took this picture? As we were walking out of the cave/waterfall area, we saw a bride and her bridal party coming in for pictures. We stepped WAY off the trail, so there would be no chance that muddy Tater or muddy children could touch that beautiful white dress of hers.
We decided to climb up the mountain and go to the top of the canyon. We saw lots of cool rock formations up there too. Madie's a pirate in this picture. That's why she's so serious.
Noah found this cool tree to hide in.
While we were walking, we saw lots of wild turkeys. They didn't seem bothered by us at all. We probably saw 2 dozen or so throughout our afternoon there. :-)
We were about halfway through our walk at the top of the canyon when we decided to head back. Wanted to take a couple pics first though. I've got such a great family, don't I?!
Another fun family shot on a cool rock formation. :-)
One good thing about diabetes is when you have a child that is low, it's imperative that you get him a snack. And, what better snack than ICE CREAM! Once we were finishing up the trails, Noah said he was low, so we checked him and knew it was time for a snack. We had snacks, but we figured we were so close to the end, we'd just walk back to the van and head to the nearest ice cream shoppe for some goodies. I wish I had a picture of Noah's face. That boy does NOT know how to eat ice cream like a normal person! He had it all over his face AND his hat! Cracked me up. Guess he wanted to bring his sugars up fast!
My sweeties! All 4 of them!
On the way home, we decided to hit Buffalo Rock and see the buffalos. They only have a couple of them, but the one was right by the fence! The kids thought that was awesome!
I mean, look how close he is?! We went for a short walk after that and when we got back neither one was in sight, so we were very lucky that we showed up when we did. :-)
We had a really great day getting messy and enjoying this beautiful October season. :-)
And, we wore Tater out so much he feel asleep on Pete's backpack on the way home! It was a good day, Tater!
1 comment:
LOVE everything about this post! You are so funny, and your kids are so quirky. Great pics, too! Glad your family enjoyed your long weekend!
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