Desert Rats, Gemstones and Pond Scum

 A couple of weeks ago, we were approached by the kids, who wanted us to take them out into the desert for a day's outing. They wanted to go rockhounding and looking for fossils. We got the two Montana vans, packed them full of kids, rock hammers, chisels and snacks and headed for Millard County. We started the day at Topaz Mountain where the kids all found topaz crystals in the washes. Sam was particularly good at spotting the shiny spots. We then went on a wild goose chase looking for garnets (supposedly found in the coves on the east side of the mountain). It was a pointless search. What exactly is a cove? When you are talking about a desert mountainside, what qualifies as a cove? Is it a cave? A canyon? An alcove? We could never figure it out and four wheeling in a minivan packed with child seats a hundred miles from a repair shop didn't seem like a very good idea.

Once we were that far out, Heather told us how they had found out that their minivan had been in a wreck and the axle had been welded together. You can't weld an axle together and expect it to stay welded! Not fully loaded on rough dirt tracks. So we headed back to the graded road for the trip to Baker Hot Springs. We had never been there before, so we were a little surprised to find them in the middle of the desert - surrounded by a herd of cows. It was the only water for miles - so the cows made it their watering hole. It was a pretty mucky mess.

That didn't deter our kids. Within a few minutes the kids had their swimming suits on and their diapers off and were splashing away to their heart's content. Only one of the three concrete tubs was cool enough to get in. I did not partake. I didn't even inhale. I swear I could see the pseudamonas araginosa having a party in the pools with the rest of the pond scum. It smelled just like the Dragon's Cauldron at Yellowstone. The kids loved to dive to the bottom and bring up big globs of algae and scum to smear all over each other. The experience was..... unique.

 On the way back Janene spotted a marsh along the Sevier River. The perfect place to find polliwogs for the kids. None were to be found here. The kids wanted to see if they could scramble up the roadside where cars were going seventy miles an hour.

 After scaring the wits out of their grandparents, " You kids get down from there this instant!", the kids then headed for some old charcoal kilns where they did some exploring.

 All we found was big sunflowers. Since the kids needed a potty stop, we headed to Nephi and a gas station for the kids.

 We topped off the day - or should we say evening - by frolicking in a schoolyard playground where we ate dinner and spun around on the weird spinner things until the grownups puked. Some of the new toys in the schoolyard are designed to scramble kids brains. It was pretty much a failure, when it came to finding gems and fossils, but we all had a great time, and can't wait to get back out there - Well, Janene could wait another year or two before we do that trip again, but I could be talked into it  tomorrow. I think I just might know where those garnets are hiding.

Did we sign up for this?

In February, we found out that we could trade our time share for a condo at Glacier National Park in September. I thought "Wow!, What a great time to go to Glacier." The fall colors, the absence of throngs of tourists, a little cooler for hiking. It couldn't be a better time to go - or so I thought. When we arrived, we found out it had snowed the day before , 8 inches to be exact. Oh well, not to worry. It will all melt. For most of our week long trip, this is what we saw from our condo balcony as it snowed all week long.

After almost a week, and after one sunny day, this is what we should have been able to see from our porch. We still couldn't see the mountains very well, but at least we could tell they were there. For part of the time, we decided to leave our comfy snow cave and headed north to Banff and Jasper in Canada where we heard the sun was out. When we came back to Glacier, the wind was howling and the mountains were socked it with clouds. So.... we left early, headed south to Yellowstone and Grand Teton.

Well, not so good an idea. When we arrived at Yellowstone, we found that 50 feet past our campsite, the road was closed because of a wild fire that was out of control. So here was where plan B kicked in. We will head to Grand Teton where the scenery should be stunning.
This is what greeted us in the Tetons. Another wildfire was burning in the Teton range and we couldn't see a thing.

This is what I expected - and I was sorely disappointed. There were some moments on this trip when we were able to see some stunning sights, but most of the time we were not able to take pictures because of the poor weather. I hope to share some of the good times later, but I thought I ought to give everyone a sense of what our trip was like. Glad to be back home again in a warm bed where we don't have to bundle up in multiple layers to go out the door.

Cool Cats Jumpin and Jivin'

Who would ever have known that Michael was a primo jazz pianist? Or that Lily could dance? Janene caught these two in the act the other day at our house when they thought no one was looking. Check out Mikey on the keyboards! Vegas - Here we come!

Cohab Fun Fest

Every time we go to Capitol Reef, we climb the cliff face and enter Cohab Canyon. The old settlers of Fruita used the canyon to hide the polygamous patriarchs from the federal agents sent to arrest them. The entrance to the canyon is hidden by huge rock slabs. Once inside the canyon, you find yourself in this cool oasis with pinion pines and hidden alcoves throughout. The kids just love this place and could play in the canyon all day long.

The kids posed for me at the entrance to the canyon while climbing on the rock slabs. Andrew cannot be seen because he was exploring a hidden way under the rocks and into the canyon. They look like cast members for a famous kids TV show here.

The other end of the canyon drops into the Fremont River. It wasn't too long before everyone decided to cool off in the muddy water.

I guess the muddy water wasn't muddy enough for some of the"kids". They had to totally immerse themselves in the 100 proof stuff. All of these mud-caked pieces of humanity then had to be transported back to camp in peoples cars. And, No, Caleb's diaper did not hold up under these severe conditions. I think a complaint letter to Huggies is in order.

Stairway to (Polliwog) Heaven

So... we're walking down Capitol Gorge and we notice a sign where the canyon gets wide. It says "<---Tanks" with the arrow pointing up the cliff. It was time to explore, so we headed up a stairway carved in the stone. Once on top, this was the view that greeted us.  If you look really carefully, you can see Andrew and Chad down in the Gorge. They sat this part of the trip out.

We found a bunch of potholes in the bottom of a canyon leading to the Gorge. It had just rained a day before, so they were full of water. The kids soon discovered one of the secrets of the desert. When these potholes fill up with water, they are soon teeming with life. The kids found water skeeters, fresh water shrimp, miniature fishes and POLLIWOGS!

T

The kids caught all sorts of little critters and soon had 20 or so polliwogs in various stages of creation. some with no legs, some with two or four, and even some that were little toads hopping around the pools. There were a few of the kids who had to be restrained from swimming with the amphibians. Elsie was particularly adept at catching  them and was totally disappointed when she found out that she couldn't keep animals she caught in the National Park. We got to hear all about her guppy that got flushed down the toilet and how she never got to keep a pet. Talk about drama!

 There was a whole series of the "tanks" going down the canyon and most had  tons of little wiggly things trying to escape. It was looking pretty dark, so we headed back into the Gorge and started to get out of Dodge. It was a little unnerving to be in this little narrow canyon with thunder and lightning upstream. Heather and Janene stayed up on top for a while longer than the rest of us. Girl talk, I guess.

Have you ever

seen two 

more 

GORGE-US 

women? 

(pretty buff if you ask me)

We ended the day with a gorgeous (no pun intended) double rainbow and an

i

Incredible Sunset over the Reef

(and a little dutch oven BBQ chicken with watermelon from our garden)

 

Capitol Reef - Once more - with Gusto!

For almost as long as I can remember, we have been going on trips with the Gerbers to Southern Utah. One of our favorite haunts is Capitol Reef. (They have a campground in an orchard, flush toilets and electricity.Why wouldn't it be a favorite?) We started before many of the kids were even born, so almost every trip has a new baby along for the ride/hikes.This year was Caleb's turn and he was a good sport about the whole thing. Mom Heather was just a baby herself the first time we went.

As is always the case, the kids had a great time climbing everything they could find. Laura and Brooklyn each tried to fit into one of the holes in the rock and found that they could each still do it - the difference being that they could only do it one at a time. Time was that they could both fit in the same hole. These four found a hole they could all fit inside with ease. The only problem was ....

That hole was about fifty feet in the air. What were their parents thinking? Probably the same thing we were thinking when their parents first climbed up to that hole. Aren't those kids cute? We were hiking in Capitol Gorge with storm clouds threatening. The sign warning hikers not to enter the Gorge when storms were imminent stopped the New York tourists, but it didn't stop us. It turned out to be a good decision - this time. The weather was cool and the hike was pure pleasure.

Capitol Gorge used to be the only way through the Reef and is famous for the Pioneer Register where the names of all the old pioneers are carved into the cliff walls. A little bit upstream, the Fremont people carved and painted their own graffiti on the same walls. Now there is a sign at the entrance to the Gorge cautioning hikers that there is a $250 fine for writing on the rock walls. I figured it was worth the $250 to let all the grandkids know how much I loved Janene. All the little girls read it and went " Ahhhh." The boys? Not so much! Their comment was "What did you go and do that for? Thank goodness for hard sand in the streambed. The next rain will wash it all away, along with my big fine. We had more fun, but that will have to wait for another post.