Sand Hollow

Here are some pictures from a day at Sand Hollow a few weeks ago. I wanted to share these with Jamie. (By the way, your kids are doing great! How are mine?)

Jena, Rachel & Jamie

Sammy & Carly (what a sweet big sister!)

Playing in the water before it got windy & cold

"Look directly into the sun and smile!"

My little clean freak (Not!)

Sand Castle Engineers

Sand People

The Subway

The Subway. The quintessential Zion backcountry hike. No hiker or scoutmaster or Zion-lover is worth their spit if they haven't been there. Photographers love it. People who've done it brag about it. People who hear we like hiking and canyoneering ask if we've done it. Until today, the answer was no. No one wanted to here about Behunin or Mystery or Spry if we hadn't done The Subway. You also need a permit to go. Which involves entering the lottery months in advance or spending the night in line outside the visitor's center. Matthew came home from Woodbadge last month with some sweet hook-ups & got himself invited to join a group who had a permit for today. I told him of course he could go, feeling slightly (read: totally) jealous. Two days ago, they called and said they had an extra spot, so if he knew anyone else who wanted to go... Turns out he knew someone - ME!

We dropped of our sleepy girls at their Grandma's house at 5:30 A.M., met our group (a couple of prosecuting attornies from St. George and their sons & sons' friends) at Farmer's Market and drove up to the trailhead by 7:oo. We got home at 5:00 tonight. One of the teenage boys commented that The Subway is 8 miles of fun and 1 mile of torture. That pretty well sums it up. It's a scenic torture though! The last mile is incredibly steep and hot. It's part of the canyoneering adventure to go from shivering uncontrollably after a swim and seeking out any sunbeam making it's way to the bottom of the canyon, to sweating in the 100 degree plus weather on the hike out & wishing for a bucket of that cold water. The Subway is not the hardest or most technical canyon we've ever done, no rappelling to speak of, but it is an incredible place to be. And there were some long exciting swims through the slot. The scenery is majestic and beautiful and unique. The Subway is in a remote part of the park and the hike there and back is strenuous, but it was worth it, as always. We had a great time! Thanks Mom, for making this trip possible!

Pics: (some are a little blurry - like I said, we were shivering!)

Better pictures than I took are here.

10 points

Where did we go today?

(More pictures later, after I shower.)

Kanarra Creek

Matthew & I got to go hiking last week with the La Verkin Stake's priests and laurels. After years of taking turns staying home with the girls while one of us attended mutual, scout camp, etc., it was really fun to get a babysitter and go together. It was such a fun and easy hike in a beautiful slot canyon that we decided to go back with the whole family later. So Friday, we filled up our Camelbacks, grabbed some Twizzlers and snap peas, and loaded up the girls for a quick little evening hike.

Little did we know the danger and excitement lurking around every bend.

Look closely under the rock at the bottom of the tree. See it? Bethany and Gwen hiked right past it, but when Cate and I walked by, he gave us a short warning not to come any closer. Cate screamed and ran back to me and I was pretty nervous until I saw the snake. A rattler that you can hear but not see is infinitely more dangerous than one you can keep your eye on as you pass by in a wide circle. After the girls and I were safely out of striking distance, Matthew took a few pictures. I was so excited that I got to see it. I have never seen a real live rattlesnake before and I've only heard one once. (Just a few weeks ago on another hike with the girls. Good thing they have rattles!)

The dirt road we were walking on ends in a stream and we waded for a mile or so in the water.

There is a small section of narrows that is just gorgeous.

Check out my daughters' faces in this picture. Before I had kids I used to wonder if I would always get a kick out of my children, even after I had three of them and they were the ripe old ages of 7,6 and 4. I don't wonder that anymore. They crack me up!

This was the next danger we encountered:

For some reason this part was not as terrifying when we were here with a bunch of 16 & 17 year olds who I did not give birth to as when we attempted to lead our own small offspring up this rickety ladder.

We all made it up safely and reached the waterslide that marked the end of our hike. By this time, the sun was behind the walls of the canyon and the air was pleasant and warm, but the water was getting cold. Matthew and Bethany were the only ones brave enough to slide in. Gwen and Cate thought they wanted to, sat down in the water at the top, then changed their minds. (Don't worry, I slid in when we were here with the youth, can't let a bunch of teenage boys show me up! Actually, I can't let anyone show me up, it's a character flaw really. I had to play minesweeper for an hour yesterday because Matthew beat my fastest time and I had to set a new record.)

Looks like I'm raising a girl with the same attitude. Yes!

The hike out was without incident. The girls were chilly and hurried along talking about a warm bath and pizza at home. We got home at about 10 o'clock and called to make sure Little Caesar's was still open. The girls hopped in our big tub together for their warm bubble bath and got out just in time for a slice of $5 Hot 'n' Ready pizza. (Which is now $5.99. Sheesh!) The only time that kind of pizza tastes good is when it's 10:30 P.M. and you're starving and there are no other options for an instant dinner. We scarfed it down and loved every bite.

Next time we'll go in the middle of the day. That water would feel much better in one hundered degree weather. Carly and Jacob, does that look like fun?

Playing Catch-up

To see a little of what we've been up to lately, check out my sister-in-law's blog here and here. Jamie was kind enough to post a few pictures of her nieces along with her own kids, so I'm sending you over there, since my blogging has been seriously lacking.

Young women's camp, scout camp & youth conference are now over & the rest of the summer is for our FAMILY! Too bad I used up all my vacation days hanging out with teenagers. Just kidding, I love love love the youth, especially my laurels, but I am looking forward to some time with my very own little Lowe girls.

& in case you hadn't heard, the next little one in our family is a BOY! (Due Nov 12)