Take Advantage of the Snow

What else can you do when the weather is not predicted to get above 0 and it is Christmas break? Go sledding.  Here are some fun pictures of a day on the hill with me and Jadeyn, Jen, Joe and Finn.

Thanksgiving 2014 - Melanie's House!

Thanksgiving 2014 - Melanie's House!
There is no better way to spend Thanksgiving than with a few of the people you love!  We headed to New Mexico to spend the holiday with Melanie and family.  Just the day before, Jadeyn had started to get a bit sick and we wondered if it would still be okay to go.  Melanie graciously welcomed us in despite what Jadeyn sounded like.  He did surprisingly well on the drive there, sleeping most of the way, but boy, did that ever change when we arrived.  He was so ecstatic to be with cousins that he quickly disappeared as they raced around the house chasing each other with Nerf guns.  The funniest thing is that normally when he is with cousins, he is the loudest one there.  We didn't hear a peep out of him as he dashed around the house having a blast, but not making a sound.  Hum. Shortly after we arrived, his breathing took a really bad turn and we realized that we really needed to take him in.  Better on the day before Thanksgiving than the day of.  Off to the emergency clinic.  Diagnosis: a good case of croup.  Eew.  He really improved with the steroid they gave him, and it still didn't slow him down much, but he was able to really enjoy himself.

Lots of food! and pies!!!  Thanksgiving dinner was filled with tons of food and fun in the preparation of it!  Everyone pitched in and it was delicious!!!

 We spent an afternoon hiking in the Bisti Wilderness area nearby.  It felt like we were in Goblin Valley with all sorts of strange rock formations and crazy caves appearing out of nowhere.  It was a kids play haven!  It still blows my mind that you can find chunks of petrified wood just laying around out here.  They say that the weathering of the rocks exposes new petrified wood constantly.  Wow.
 


Playing at the parks and out in the back yard was another highlight.  They have built a magnificent greenhouse in the back! So cool.  An early Christmas present of a computer game was a hit!  All the kids crowded into Nathan and Brendon's bedroom and battled it out.  One night, Melanie pulled out a few photo albums and we walked down memory lane looking through family pictures, pictures from high school musicals, etc!  So fun.

We have always felt welcomed with Melanie's family and were so happy to spend the Holidays with them!

And on a side note, I just love these last few pictures.  Jadeyn jumping into a massive pile of Maple leaves.  Then Kevin's attempt to "need" a new lawn mower by mowing over too many leaves.  He's a little disappointed that the mower still works after that!

October Days 2014

National Park Trip Oct 2014

Ready for some more National Parks!!  We are adding three more to our list!

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Big Bend National Park

Friday Oct 10

We scooped Jadeyn up from school and hit the road just in time for Denver Friday traffic.  Dang. We should have pulled him out of school a few hours early.  It was a solid 6 hour drive.  Jadeyn entertained himself, and decided to watch Frozen and finally fell asleep around 8:45.  Kevin and I got to listen to Killing Kennedy.  We pulled into lovely Las Vegas, NM right at 10pm.  Welcome to the southwest.  Christmas lights, lighted icicles, cactus's, bright colors, random yard statues inside the hotel.  Our room had hot pink pillows on top of turquoise sheets.  The towels in the bathroom will sure wake you up in the morning.  Dark blue on canary yellow!  But the beds were comfy and we slept well.

Saturday Oct 11

We woke up in our hotel room to Jadeyn's questions: Does this place have a bathroom? Wow, I can't see a thing (as we hear him start to go to the bathroom and we cringe hoping he is aiming) Can I tell you something? Lazer tag is really good in the dark! Then he jumps into bed and snuggles up to Kevin then: Dad, are you cold yet? "Cause I'm trying to steal all your heat!  Well, I guess it is time to wake up.  Breakfast: nice to eat, incredibly helpful service, and okay food. The front desk guy poured our drink mix apple and orange juice, made our very crispy waffles, etc.  On the road again!

We passed through Roswell, NM on the way.  We are staying there on our way back, but it was a blast to see just how many little green aliens we could spot!  Jadeyn became obsessed with UFOs!  We played 20 questions for quite a bit of the drive and man it was fun to hear Jadeyn's questions: is it alive, is it a squid, is it made out of wood, is it a doofus? So funny.

 We finally made it to Carlsbad Caverns National Park!  Something from my bucket list!!! Yay!  We found out that all the ranger programs were full, but the self guided tour goes all the same places but you just don't experience the blackness and ranger stories.  So we decided to do it.  We started Jadeyn on his Junior Ranger program and had lunch.  Beautiful and strange country out here: yucca plants, spikey Dr Suess looking things, cactuses for miles and miles.  So, all the focus is on the bats so we really hadn't thought a whole lot about what the cave would be like.  We were amazed. It was massive! And the formations were spectacular.  Stalactites and stalagmites 15 to 30 feet long, soda straws that were longer than us.  Draperies and cave popcorn all over.  There was even a really strange formation we had never seen before called a lion's tail.  A long stalactite with cave popcorn only on the end. The cave just kept going and going and kept being spectacular.  All in all we walked about 2 miles throughout the cave and were amazed at every corner.  Just thinking about the early explorers of the cave blew our minds.  Looking up made us dizzy.  Wow!  

After the cave, Jadeyn finished his Junior Ranger book and he received his badge.  He did much better on his pledge this time we are happy to report and the ranger added that he pledged to eat all his vegetables too!  So we had an hour to kill before the bat flight program, so we walked up and down the nature trail testing out our pedometers.  Mine it totally messed up counting only half of my steps.  I must walk weird!  So everyone gathered in the bat amphitheater to await the main event.  Barn swallows were swooping and circling and showing off for us at the mouth of the cave. I think they were trying to steal the spotlight or else they were the pre-program.  Ranger Rick arrived and started talking about the rules to watch the bats: no cameras, cell phones, noise, standing, etc, but he did it all with hilarious jokes.  We were all excited, but along with all the awesome information he was giving us, we got the feeling he was killing time.  Oh no.  All the sparrows went back into the cave and still no bats.  He said that last night had a good showing, but this morning people waiting for the bats return didn't see any bats.  Oh please don't tell me that they left this morning and we missed them by one day!  It would be so disappointing.  They have most recently been coming out by 6:15 and 6:25 at the latest.  It was 6:45.  I was looking bleak.

 Finally, we saw two little bats pop out and make a circle above us. Here they come!!  Out they poured in bursts, each time the group circled in a swarm right at the mouth of the cave before flying out.  We had so many swoop mighty close to our heads, it was exhilarating!  It was perfect!  We stayed and watched them as long as we could until we couldn't even see the little guys flapping around anymore.  What a day!  Back to Carlsbad to our hotel.  Much nicer than last night's. Jadeyn busied himself with bouncing and flipping between the two beds.  He did belly flops saying he was a sugar glider!  Spectacular day!

Sunday Oct 12

Up for breakfast which was a little better than yesterday's and on the road for Guadalupe Mountains National Park. 

Now this is the one on the trip that we know the least about, but we have two nice hikes planned out.  During breakfast we had watched the news coverage on the Albuquerque balloon festival on its final day.  I guess the winds were really high which prevented the mass ascension.  Well, we discovered that the wind really was amazingly strong.  

Our first hike was McKittrick Canyon.  The most incredible thing that was so new to us was hiking through so many cactuses and yucca plants.  All the Prickly Pear Cactus had large dark red fruits on them and the branching cactus had their yellow pointy fruits.  None of the yucca were in bloom, but the remnants of their heavy blossoms still loomed 12 feet above our heads.  We were so surprised to still see so many wildflowers still in bloom.  Bright oranges and yellows!  So we are in the Guadalupe Mountain range.  The mountains weren't massive, but the steep sides were all green, covered in shrubs; with a pure blue sky and rapidly moving white puffy clouds, it was really beautiful!  The hike lead us along a canyon edge and occasionally we would drop down into a riverbed which sometimes had water, sometimes didn't.  It was a mystery each time we crossed it: where did the water go? We finally came to a place where the river was flowing and then simply disappeared in the rocks!  It went completely underground.  Our destination was the Pratt Lodge.  A stone cabin in a beautiful tree filled oasis.  We had lunch on a picnic table, caught some giant beetles and started back.  We saw many lizards, two snakes a heart shaped cactus.  4.6 miles round trip and Jadeyn did great.  He was dragging a little by the end, but we started telling him stories about World of Warcraft and Star Wars.  By the time we finished the hike, Jadeyn said he was ready to fall asleep and couldn't believe we were planning another hike!  

We only had about 45 minutes reprieve at the visitor's center and then we hit the trail again.  This time Devil's Hall.  The end of the trail is a natural staircase that is supposed to be really cool, and there are a lot of boulders to clamber over along the way.  The cactuses were plentiful at the beginning of this trail and Jadeyn was fascinated by the big red fruits and wanted to collect them.  He proudly carried several along the way, we cut one open to discover a beet red mushy inside filled with black seeds and it was actually sweet smelling and would make a tasty meal for lots of creatures.  We chucked some at a rock and there was a big red explosion splattered all over!  Well, soon Jadeyn discovered that those little devils had a microscopic defense: tiny hair-like spines and Jadeyn had a ton of them embedded in his little hands.  Kevin and I got quite a few ourselves but nowhere near as many as him!  Poor guy!  We made it only a few minutes at time before he would insist on stopping to work on the spikes which were "hurting like insane!"  It made for some slow going at first.  The second mile dropped us into a dry river wash and that was a blast.  Massive boulders and rocks that we had to scramble over.  Jadeyn got his second wind and chose all the most difficult routes.  We caught a nice little lizard with yellow, green and blue on his belly.  Big bugs and even a dead tarantula! 

This place is going to be breathtaking in about two more weeks when the maple and oak and madrones change color.  Several had already changed and had perfect puddles of color on the white rock.  We almost made it they full second mile in the wash, following the cairn piles, when Jadeyn desperately needed a break.  It was about 4:30 and the wind was coming in intense gusts that would knock our hats off.  So with Jadeyn being worn out and the sun starting to go behind the mountain, we decided to turn back.  We were really proud of Jadeyn.  All in all, 9.2 miles.  Not bad for two little feet.

On the road again, said goodbye to Guadalupe and headed toward Van Horn, TX.  It took us in a straighter than straight deserted two lane highway.  There was nothing for miles.  Kevin tried out 100 mph a few times just to feel it.  Even going 75, we started noticing little critters crossing the road.  What were they? We slowed way down a few times to get a closer look.  We are certain one was a small black scorpion, a few tarantulas and so many giant 5 inch long hoppers.  We have no idea what kind they are, but they had a giant golden yellow and black cape.  We saw several snakes crossing the road and several dead ones.  Entertaining drive.  We arrived at the small town of Van Horn, TX and despite the look of the town and the outside of the hotel, we were so impressed with the service and the room.  Very nice people and a nice place to stay.  It was still so windy that we didn't want to grill outside so we went through the McDonald's drive through.  Jadeyn was very excited about his happy meal, until we got back to the hotel and he opened it up to find a girl toy!!  A Monster High coffin.  He seriously almost cried!  He can't stand MH.  So after dinner, we went back and traded it out and got some hot fudge sundaes.  Jadeyn was much happier with his wind up hex bug!

Monday Oct 13

Breakfast was the best yet!  Hot chocolate, real sausage and Texas shaped waffles!  Funny.

Three hours to Big Bend National Park.  Driving in the middle of nowhere with random run down houses and trailer homes really made us think we had jumped into the middle of the movie Tremors, totally.  Our welcome to the park led us on a dirt road (Old Maverick Rd) and a beautiful falcon flying overhead.  We saw an old homestead built of rock and mud with a cactus roof, only about 4 or 5 feet tall.  

Santa Elena Overlook: Jadeyn's first look at Mexico across the Rio Grande River.  We walked down to the river and crossed cracked mud with chunks 2 inches thick.  We found a trail that climbed up and up switchbacks until we were about 800 feet above the river and then back down into a different world.  In the shadow of the canyon, the temperature dropped about 15 degrees and suddenly we were walking through 15 foot grasses and vines, it was like a tropical oasis.  It was beautiful and there were butterflies everywhere!  We discovered tracks in the mud that probably belonged to coyote, racoon and all sorts if birds.  It was so pretty. 

We had heard that this park has the most varied of landscapes and we were about to witness it.  From the complete deserts of Texas, to the oasis of the land near the river, to volcanic mounds of white turned to ash with black pumice protruding out, to beautiful mountains covered in green.  We made our way toward the Chisos Basin nestled in the middle of the park where we would be staying tonight.  The drive was so beautiful as we entered these steep mountains and felt like we were not at all in Texas.  Granted the mountains were only about 6,000 feet, but they were beautiful!  We were lucky enough to get two nights at the Lodge and it was worth it.  The room was perfect and felt just like our own cabin.  We walked down to the Window Overlook where all the rainwater from the whole Chisos Basin rushes down to a V shaped valley called the window and spills out to the desert floor below.  Beautiful.

Tuesday Oct 14

Up and at 'em early: 6:45, but 5:45 in our minds.  Funny thing was it was still so absolutely pitch black outside.  The stars were still brilliantly bright, but with the addition of the moon, the Milky Way had faded.  You know the saying that the early bird gets the worm...well, the early hikers see the bears!  On our way to the trail head, not 15 feet from the road was a beautiful black bear happily munching on the prickly pear fruits.  He delicately bit off the end of each fruit and sucked the innards out leaving the rest of the shriveled pod.  We were able to watch him for about eight minutes as he dined and destroyed the cactus, then he ambled on up the hillside!  Wow, pretty awesome! 

There was only one other car at the trail-head, so we practically had the mountain to ourselves.  The entire hike was uphill with switchbacks, but so beautiful.  We had to hike fast to get warm since it was only about 55 degrees and the sun hadn't come up over the mountain yet.  Wildflowers mixed with cactus lined every step of the path.  We kept our eyes peeled for any more amazing creatures along the way.  As the sun crept higher in the sky, the mountains across the way began to illuminate and burst with color.  Magnificent.  We made it to the top and were greeted by amazing mountains and cliffs on all sides to take our breath away.  So rewarding.  

The way down was completely entertaining.  We played: what is your favorite or least favorite?  Everything from color to Star Wars character, fruit to roller coaster.  We played it the whole way down.  All in all, the hike was 4.3 miles.  What did we see on the way down? Jadeyn was bounding downhill and somehow miraculously managed to not step on a pile of reptiles.  Kevin jumped so high because it seriously looked like a coiled snake and it was between him and his boy!  It turned out to be two big alligator lizards, the largest lizards found at Big Bend.  We only just learned about them last night reading a trivia card and then we find two of them!  We missed a tarantula as reported by fellow hikers, but hopefully we will get to see a live one!!

We happily piled back into the Jeep completely rewarded by such a fun and amazing hike.  Off to Panther Junction visitor's center to ask questions and pick up a Jr Ranger booklet.  They had two dinosaur skulls bronzed (a T-Rex and a giant alligator).  Jadeyn really thought they were cool to climb on.  We found a nice place to have lunch where there was a small watering hole that early settlers had rigged a windmill to pump the water in and keep the source consistent.  It was a little oasis in the middle of the hot dessert.  Songbirds, bugs and all sorts of things flocked there.  We grilled chicken quesadillas in the shade of a huge cottonwood and then walked through the nature trail.  Then we went on a hunt for scorpions.  I'd still never seen on in the wild and Kevin was determined to find one for me.  It didn't take flipping over too many rocks for him to startle a big black juicy one.  He was not happy to be discovered either.  He put up his pincers and strikes again and again at a stick with his tail.  It was an impressive display. 

Back on the main road, we again searched for any wildlife.  Up ahead, in the middle of the road, we saw a smallish bird and all at once we shouted: road runner!!  He ran to the side of the road as we got closer, flew about three feet and then ran again and watched us.  They really are speedy little devils.  

Off to Ernst Tinaja.  It is a five mile Jeep trail that seriously led us out into the middle of nowhere.  No sign of water, people, civilization...nothing.  Along the way, we scanned both sides of the road for Javalinas since Jadeyn said: now this is pig country!!  We made it to the trail head (not another sole anywhere) and hiked up a wide wash of strange layered rock and sandstone.  Several of the rocks were riddled with fossilized mussel shells.  We built cairns to guide us back, but then realized we were deep in a canyon and there would only be one way to go.   It was hotter than blazes out there!  As we neared our destination, the layered rock walls, oranges and browns, slanted every which way as if a giant layer cake had been dropped on rocks and bent to form around the rocks beneath.  Then we saw our first pot hole.  The first two weren't too deep of wide, but the third was so deep and the sides so steep that there would be absolutely no way to climb out if you fell in.  The murky water was teeming with insects too.  We hiked further up the canyon beyond and found that it had been created by years and years of flash floods barreling down the canyon.  The rock directly above the hole had been worn perfectly smooth and sloped down so fast that anything dropped would slide right in.  

In the midst of this scorching desert though, we found startling beauty tucked away in this canyon.  Bright yellow honey suckle or a trumpet type of vine and then a plant that simply exploded with color!  Yellow flowers with tons of yellow fringe shooting out of the center!  As we hiked back, we overturned quite a few more rocks in search of the illusive tarantula, or at least another scorpion.  We were finally successful when Jadeyn and I found a pale beige scorpion and a nice juicy millipede. 

After that, we headed toward another visitor's center to grab some hot chocolate for the morning.  As we were getting out of the Jeep, another road runner came right up to us.  He paused, watched us and then lifted his tail feathers and came closer.  He went very purposely towards the Jeep, went around to the front and immediately started serving himself dinner: he pecked all the bugs from the front fender.  He knew right where the good stuff was!

We were trying to find a Rio Grande overlook and it had us on a roadside where an irrigation canal ran along the road.  Way up ahead we saw and animal figure at the edge of the canal.  From a distance it looked like a fox or something.  I stuck the camera out the window and started taking pictures,  It heard us as we got closer, so Kevin stepped on the gas.  That's when we recognized it: a mountain lion!!!!  It perched there on the side of the canal trying to figure out how to jump it, then it leaped and disappeared in the grasses.  Wow!  We never thought we would be lucky enough to see a mountain lion.  There are approximately 24 of them in the park which is 1,252 square miles.  We realized from the size of the cat that it had to be a youngster because it was so small.  We talked to another couple who saw it in the same place and they got to see the whole family:a mom and two cubs!!  A little later we drove the same route in hopes of getting another glimpse, but instead we happened upon a beautiful large coyote!  Beautiful animal!

We did a nature walk that lead us to the banks of the Rio Grande and into the cool oasis of 12 foot high grasses and cattails.  We saw turtles and fish as we crossed a dock surrounded by a jungle of grasses,  And then the trail switched: oasis on one side cactus on the other and then soon all desert as we overlooked the Rio Grande and a little Mexican village complete with burros grazing the hillside.  Along the trail, a Mexican craftsman had placed little figures made of sire and beads: scorpions, roadrunners, snakes and also large pained walking sticks and then a jar for payment.  Jadeyn picked out a scorpion, of course, for $6.

Next stop was the hot springs along the Rio Grande.  We hiked along a cliff face with pictographs and giant grasses on the riverside and came upon a break in the grasses.  A small stone wall had been built out into the river to collect the hot spring's run off.  It was about 2 feet deep, perfect for sitting.  We stripped down to our swimsuits and joined a couple and a family with a two year old little boy.  We relaxed as the rapids of the Rio Grande flowed swiftly past with just a  few rocks separating us.  It was so cool and very fun.

When you moved, silt stirred up murking up the water.  We stayed til the sun went down then hit the road again.  It was dusk so we thought for sure we would spot my illusive tarantula on the road, but nope.  Instead we had a young coyote run out in the road right in front of us, lead around and bound back the way he came.  And we also startled a large desert hare.  By the time we got back to the lodge, Jadeyn had fallen asleep so we tucked him in.  As we got ready for bed I mentioned that we forgot to pop popcorn again tonight.  Jadeyn's eyes popped open and he said: what mom? What did you say about popcorn!?  Oh dear, he was awake now!  We took him out on the balcony to see the Milky Way and eventually he fell back asleep.  Great day.  7:30am to 8:45pm.  Full day and boy we were lucky with the animals!


 

Wednesday Oct 15

Well, our last morning in the National Parks.  We have been so impressed by this park.  We had no idea what to expect and were impressed at every turn.  It had everything from wet grasslands, river bottom lands, deserts all the way up to mountains. 

Stepping outside into the brisk morning in our shorts and jackets, we literally ran to the visitor's center to keep warm!    This morning Jadeyn had dutifully worked on his Jr Ranger Book to make sure he got it done before we left.  As the Ranger graded his booklet, he watched intently and added in the details telling him all about the mountain lion, the bear, coyote, even the road runner pecking the bugs off our car.  The ranger thought he was adorable.  They gave him his certificate, badge, sticker and even a boy scout badge!  He has no idea how much that badge will mean to him when he is in scouts. We bought our mug at the shop.  While we checked out of the lodge, we decided to take one last look at the beautiful basin so we hiked the trail to the window overlook.  Such beautiful country, we decided that we would definitely like to come back in several years and see it in the springtime.  The wild flowers in the fall are so beautiful, they must be incredible in the spring. 

One of our stops on the way out of the park was the dinosaur fossil exhibit. They had told us that they are beginning construction on a completely amazing fossil exhibit, so this one wasn't that impressive, but we had fun with it.  W raced up the pathways to read the exhibits and then we went on an expedition to interpret the various footprints in the sand. Finally one last scorpion hunt.  We found a small beige one.  Right before we were ready to leave, I discovered a little chubby horny toad sunning himself on the sand!  He was perfectly camouflaged and groggy from the sun!  We caught him and he flattened his body out trying to make himself bigger.  He was really sweet!  We did a road nature trail too which lead us through the desert and gave excellent descriptions of the cactuses and other plants.  The last stop was the final visitor's center.  I felt this one was the most informative.  we checked out a display that showed the main uses of each of the desert plants, like making candles from candellia, rope from sotol or the shin dagger plants.  We told Jadeyn to look at the last giant plant that looks so mean it could pierce you through.  We asked him if he remembered the golden stuff he puts on his cereal every morning: agave comes from the agave plant.  First words out of his mouth were: thank you plant!!

And off we go, had to say good bye to Big Bend and face the 6 hour drive to San Antonio.  Kevin was amazing and drove the whole way.  Interesting points along the way: so many border patrol stops (they made Jadeyn a little nervous), lots of Border Patrol SUVs.  We got to see Texas the way we thought it would look: pretty dry and desolate, then we got closer again to the Rio Grande and saw green again.  We played Jadeyn's version of Rock Paper Scissors, complete with T-Rex's, nuclear bombs, sharks, electricity, etc. We are staying at the StayBridge Suites at SeaWorld and wow, each hotel has been getting better and better. This one even had complimentary dinner and breakfast! So we enjoyed burgers and hot dogs tonight.  Our room is sweet and we wrestled and chased Jadeyn all over.  It took him a long time to settle down and finally fall asleep!

Thursday Oct 16

Enjoyed yet another delicious breakfast at the hotel and then set off to explore San Antonio.  We already know that we really aren't city type people.  We would much rather be out in the wilderness than have everything at our fingertips but surrounded by buildings and people.  We hadn't realized how much we had already passed that on to Jadeyn.  He actually seemed a little afraid of the city, well, nervous anyway.  We saw the Spur's stadium, pretty cool.  

We found the Alamo.  On the way, Jadeyn had asked what the Alamo was all about.  I started telling him all the details I knew: General Travis, 13 day standoff, 185 against 5000, etc. Then Kevin blew my secret.  He told Jadeyn that I was getting all my info from a Marty Robbins song!  Busted, but at least I was accurate.  We have to admit, we were a little disappointed by the info at the Alamo.  I guess they have displays that are rotated every few months.  So there was a display of weapons, then a brief section on the full history of the Texas area from the 1400s to present.  So there was hardly any info at all on the actual story of the Alamo.  There was supposed to be an informative movie, but the theater was under construction so we didn't get to see that either.  But, bottom line, the grounds were beautiful, trees were amazing and the crumbly buildings made a very picturesque background. 

So, on to the River Walk.  Prepare to be impressed. We first found a sign that brought us into a kind of mall, but there was a river like fountain flowing through it.  We followed the fountain as it wound around and around and cascaded.  So beautiful.  Finally, we stepped out to the River Walk itself.  The river is located "below" the city by about one story.  The history is that the river repeatedly flooded the city and in 1921 the city had decided to pave over it and make it an underground river.   Some advocates defended the river and it ended up becoming the crowning jewel of the city,  They created stone walls to border the river and created stone bridges and pathways.  They created flood gates to close when the water levels rise too high.

The river area felt about 10 degrees cooler than the surface street. Restaurants lined both sides with waterfront tables.  We took one of the river boat tours and completely enjoyed learning about the history of the place and all the unique details about the buildings and areas.

Lunch was entertaining as Jadeyn was thrilled by all the pigeons and ducks that surrounded us picking up tiny scraps of food.  We saved dessert for the Rainforest Cafe especially for Jadeyn.  What a treat.  We had the towering volcano dessert: a mountain of brownies and lava fudge covering vanilla ice cream and whip cream on top.  Wow, we were stuffed!!

Friday Oct 17

SeaWorld!!!!  We just couldn't set foot in Texas without a trip to SeaWorld.  Because they are on winter hours, they didn't open until 12pm so what did we do to entertain ourselves?  We went to a car dealership and checked out a few vehicles and then went to Toys R Us.  Jadeyn hasn't been in a massive toy store since he was little and he was blown away especially by the Lego section!!  So were we.  We had fun looking at all the stuff and making plans for Christmas.  SeaWorld was so much fun as usual.  We decided that while the exhibits weren't quite as good as the other ones (no underwater viewing areas, or manta ray petting areas) the shows were top notch!  We got to see a performance that we had never seen before.  White sided dolphins and beluga whales were in the shows.  The Belugas are amazing creatures and can really show their personality.  We were quite impressed.  The best show was the last one where they brought out the orcas.  We sat in the splash zone of course (Jadeyn had been disappointed that he hadn't gotten wet on the first show, so we sat nice and close).  He loved the pre-show entertainment of the clown in the audience.  The show was fantastic and it never ceases to amaze us to watch the grace of these magnificent creatures!  Well, when the splashing time came, we really weren't prepared for the quantity of water that these big guys could throw!  The first wave hit us, Kevin hit behind Jadeyn while Jadeyn and I caught it right in the face!  I ducked for the second wave, so I got soaked front and back!!  Jadeyn was in heaven, licking the salt water off his face!  There was a baby orca who followed her mother around during the whole show.  The mom would do her tricks and the little one would simply follow her around.  Sweet.  Well, the sun was starting to go down and that meant that the Halloween part was soon to begin.  There were places marked out on the map where the halloween stuff would be happening so patrons would know where to avoid if they didn't want to see any of it.  Well, since it was still daylight and they were still setting up, we walked through it.  Um, bad move parents.  It was really quite scary already.  hospital set first, graveyard next, carnival clowns, zombies and at that point we escaped into the penguin exhibit for a break.  Jadeyn didn't want to go back out, but thankfully, there was just the pirate section left, and the actors were really just pirates, nothing freaky thank goodness.  Well, we learned our lesson tonight and ended up sleeping in Jadeyn's bed with him.  We felt terrible!

Saturday Oct 18
What an amazingly fun trip, and we filled it jam packed with awesome stuff.  On the road home now.  We are spending the night is Roswell, NM because honestly, with the route we took, there was not much else that was remotely interesting along the way.  After last night's little adventure in haunting, we decided to steer clear of any alien stuff just in case.  We didn't want to somehow manage to traumatize Jadeyn two nights in a row.  So we found a local free zoo!  It was a pretty cool one.  Very spaced out with nice enclosures for the animals.  We just wandered around, read about the different animals and enjoyed the evening. We even got to watch two brown bear wrestle for quite a while.  There was a funny park inside the zoo too with ancient equipment.  I mean ancient!  So old I even took pictures!  We found our hotel proudly sporting a nice green alien out front and a downed space ship inside the fish tank.  Nice place.  We took a dip in the hot tub and swimming pool before bed.

Sunday Oct 19

Well, it was nice to split the return home into two 8 hour sections, it seemed to go quicker than we expected.  Jadeyn is the best traveler!   It helps that we have been doing long trips with him since he was born.  Most kids would have gone crazy doing 2700 miles and 29 hours of driving, but this boy never once complained!  We were 40 minutes from home when he made his first complaint: how much further is it 'cause I really have to go to the bathroom!  He read and did math in the back seat and was happy as could be.  When we are gone that long, its always a little strange to come back home.  It was a beautiful day outside so we opened the windows and were practically knocked over by the brilliant reds and oranges in the back yard.  All the leaves had changed while we were gone.  Beautiful!

Last Fling of Summer Aug 7-17, 2014 Sand Dunes, Zions, Bryce, Grand Canyon and a RZR Rally!

How much can we cram into the last vacation of summer?!? 
We filled it with as much as we could:
August 7 - August 17, 2014

Coral Pink Sand Dunes 
 
North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Grand Escalante National Monument

Zions National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park

Paiute UTV Jamboree

Friday August 8, 2014
To the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. Wow, the sand really is coral pink!! We set up camp in a beautiful spot shaded mostly by Junipers and then we hit the dunes. One thing about camp that was so funny. We had just arrived at camp and Kevin was still trying to figure out where to put the tent when Jadeyn discovered some flat leaf cactus that had all of its spines broken off. He was so excited to be able to touch it, he felt it all over; I’m surprised he didn’t rub it on his cheek! Well, five minutes later: Ouch! Ouch! His little fingers were covered in microscopic hair like spines. The cactus’s secret weapon!!

From a distance, there really is no way to tell just how massive they are until you get right up next to them and wow, are they steep and huge. I have to admit, I’m not the best dune person. I get nervous and I start expressing my apprehension and then Jadeyn latches on to my fears and he starts saying stuff too. Oh dear. I’m nervous about the feeling of being out of control. But away we went. Up and down, spraying sand in all directions. The sun was hot, the sand was flying and so were we. 
Well, we came to a really steep hill and we were okay. I was uncertain about going down it and told Kevin that Jadeyn and I wouldn’t be doing it. Well, I guess I started a chain of events. We backed down from that steep hill and chose another route. Kevin had scoped out the downhill and knew that we could make it. Well, I guess he was hesitant on my account, but he slowed down at the crest of the hill just enough to get us high centered right a the peak of the dune! Crap. We were totally stuck! We tried to plow through and sent up such a roster tail of sand that our tires dug in deep and were halfway buried by the time we stopped. We got out to survey the damage and saw that our entire belly was flat on the sand and our front tires were spinning in the air. What to do? We had to dig ourselves out. We began scooping and scooping. The texture of the sand is perfectly smooth and moist after about 6 inches of dry. But it was packed hard against the belly. We dug for about 15 minutes before giving it a try. We progressed about 6 inches and were dead stuck again. Humm. Plan B. We rolled out the winch and Kevin started to dig a trnch as an anchor while Jadeyn and I dug out some more. We worked for another 20 minutes because we figured we had a one time shot at this. Right before we were ready to try again we finally saw three 4 wheelers come across a dune. Yay! So while Kevin tried out the winch which didn’t end up being deep enough, me and three other people braced ourselves behind the machine. The sand sprayed, and we were just enough strength to pushover the crest and down Kevin went! Success!! I was so happy, I gave one of the guys a great big hug which made him all uncomfortable. We were out. We thanked them, they took off and Jadeyn and I raced down the 50 feet of dune to join Kevin. Whew! Needless to say, we took the easy trails out and straight to the visitor’s center to get better maps. The lady took one look at Kevin and said he needed to buy a specific shirt. It said: Got sand? I got it in my eyes, my face, my teeth, my ears, my nose… His entire cheek was still coated in red sand! Jadeyn’s shoes were FULL of about a half a cup of sand each! 
 
We got some info on some cool trails that we hope to do this week, then we checked out the 'overlook' and realized how beautiful the whole area is, but at the same time, how minuscule the dunes look from a distance. Back to camp for a nice dinner of tortilla pizzas and soda since we were famished. We took advantage of the luxury of having a shower and his the sleeping bags.
 



Saturday, August 9, 2014
What perfect weather. The evening last night was calm and cool and we were able to sleep just under a light fleece blanket and even wear shorts first thing in the morning! Hot chocolate and blueberry muffins for breakfast. We got everything ready and were one our way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon by 8am. 
 
We chose the north rim since we have been to the south, its much less busy and it ended up being totally amazing. Forested and aspen trees. We chose several overlooks and short hikes and weren’t disappointed. Each different angle of the canyon was picture perfect. On the way here we had tried to describe the canyon to Jadeyn and its hard to describe just how huge and massive it was. He was impressed. 

One of our favorite areas was Cape Royal. We say angel’s window through which was the first time we were able to see the river and view it right through the hole in the rock. The Cape Royal lookout reached way out over the canyon. We described it as the perfect landing spot for massive birds or even dragons! We ate lunch near this spot.   We said goodbye to the Grand Canyon and headed back toward the dunes. 

We played the 3 Word Game where we give each other three random words and have to come up with a story using those three words. It kept us entertained on the way back to camp.  We hit Kanab and Kevin got the craving for ice cream for dinner. We found a small quaint ice cream parlor called The Three Bears. I got wild huckleberry, Jadeyn got Mud from the Moon, and Kevin had Peanut Butter and Pralines and Cream. We ate outside in the heat a completely spoiled out dinner. 

We got back to camp at 7:15 and decided to take advantage of the last scrap of sunlight and set off to discover the dinosaur tracks. The guy at the info desk was very descriptive of the trails we would have to take, but since virtually none of the trails are marked (because the cows keep knocking the signs down) there was a high potential for getting lost. The first part of the trail dropped us into a winding sandy bottom mini canyon that wound back and forth and was totally awesome and fun! We found the right place: out of the sand rose amazing slickrock. The dinosaur prints were sweet. They weren’t marked, so using the map, we discovered them on our own and walked in their very steps. It was pretty cool and special. One set of tracks even looked as if the dinosaur was slipping down the hill and you could see where he dragged his feet. There were at least five different dinosaurs represented in this small space. The sun had set by the time we started to head back but there was still plenty of light to see. Fun trail back again. 

A beautiful full moon had risen so we rode out on the dunes to watch it brighten. Wow. Back to camp, corn on the cob for dinner, a fire and a quick peak in a neighboring camper’s binoculars to see the moon up close. Wow.

Here is a glimpse of a few seconds of our trip!

Sunday, August 10, 2014
Up and at ‘em to head to Zions National Park. Jadeyn was dead to the world even when we shook him. Guess we wore him out! We finally got him to wake up by turning on Angry Birds Star Wars on the Kindle! One funny this morning Jadeyn and Kevin headed to the bathroom and saw a stink bug. “Don’t get close Jadeyn, that’s a stink bug!” What does he do? Picks it up and get blasted! We called him stinkbug all morning and he didn’t think it was funny!
On to Zion’s. So cool that when entering the park, the moment you pass the sign, the road changed to red to match the canyon walls. You forget just how towering the canyon walls are. Wow! Magnificent. 

 We decided to do the Emerald Pool trails first. The hike to the first lake was paved but still winding and inclining. Red rocks towering over our heads, desert lizards scampering across the trail, feeling the heat of the sun on us and then suddenly coming across an oasis among the rocks. A beautiful green pool of water and high above us coming from the cliff was a thin spattering of waterfall dropping probably 40 feet to us below. Green ferns and plants grew everywhere the water splashed. We walked behind the waterfall to continue the trail to the middle pool. The trail difficulty increased and stairs were carved into the rock. Our little mountain goat Jadeyn plowed ahead and we loved every second. It was amazing that temperature difference from the sunny path to the shady spots. Up and up this time to the 3^rd pool. This part was a nice steep climb up the rocks and in the sun. This time the oasis was even more rewarding. We opened up into an alcove in the rock where the pool was nestled. Trees and green vines and shrubs were everywhere; it was lovely. A brief snack and then back down. Jadeyn had his second wind by now so we had to hold the reins on him a few times to remind him to slow down. We don’t want an injury at the beginning of several hiking days. Hiking on sand and rock takes getting used to.

Back to check out Zion’s lodge, get refreshed and head to the highlight of Zions. I’ve wanted to do this hike for so long and am so happy that Jadeyn is big enough that he’ll be able o do some of it. Our plan is to go as far as we can and then hike back out. The Narrows start at the one mile River Walk hike where we hike beside the river along with so many other people. It was pretty busy but we were able to see all the incredible foliage up close: vines, ferns, trees, weeping rocks, amazing. There is a strange chubby squirrel called a Kaibob or Albert squirrel that is almost spotted and doesn’t hold its tail upright. They were everywhere and the tourists were snappy happy with them! We also saw three deer up close. At the Narrows trailhead, we changed into our Keens and packed up our hiking books and plunged in! Whoa, the river was chilly, but for only about the first 2 minutes, then we got used to it. The canyon walls rose at least 200 feet up on both sides of us: reds, browns and blacks. Incredible! 


Hiking was sweet! About every 50 feet we had to enter or cross the river. At the deepest point we went through it was above Jadeyn’s waist. Small steps were the key and making sure your first foot was secure before moving your second foot. Some areas were sandy bottom, or small rocks, the most precarious were the larger boulders which were slippery. Jadeyn only went down a couple times and there were several close calls with me and Kev. Watching Jadeyn tromping through the canyon with his little leather Indiana Jones hat, so excited every time he got to go back in the water was priceless. His favorite part was when the water would go up to his belly button. The deeper we got into the canyon, the narrower the walls because and the more magnificent! Parts were sheer straight up, others times the walls curved like the waves of water had carved them out. At one place, a 50 foot waterfall cascaded down a sheer wall in a narrow stream. Jadeyn and I waded over to it. He took his backpack off and leaned right up into the waterfall. He loved it!

 We stopped for lunch at an area that seemed like a big play area for everyone. Here’s where there was a little incident. I’ll spare the details, but Jadeyn had to poop and he and I had to take care of it and get ready to pack it out. Ewe. That spot will always stay in our memories. We were at the point where we needed to decide to press on or start back. Since we got Jadeyn taken care of, we could go on! Yay! What a fun experience. We went on for about an hour and a half more until we came to the point where the canyon divides. We went to the narrower way and watched some people wade up to their waist, grab onto someone’s hand and have to be hoisted up over a huge boulder. We were tempted, but finally decided that it was 3pm and we had better turn back. 

We were so proud of Jadeyn to have gotten so far. At this point in the canyon, there were only a very few kids this deep in. He is a trooper and got a lot of smiles and comments from fellow hikers. He was our trail blazer on the way back and remembered every route we took on the way up: wait guys, go this way, we went in the river around that rock, remember? My favorite comment from him: This is way way treacherous and so cool! We went fast on last because we thought that it would be a three hour hike out. Nope: 90 minutes and we were out! We couldn’t believe it. So much fun though, great accomplishment and so rewarding. Once away from the water crossings, when we were on the mile walk back along the river, Jadeyn started to drag. We did one more short hike to the Weeping Rock Gardens. Short, but very steep. I wasn’t even sure he was going to make it. Beautiful hanging garden and then back down where he practically ran the whole way. We hopped back onto the shuttle for the 45 minute ride to the Visitor’s Center and he fell completely asleep on my lap! When enjoyed Zion’s so much this trip!
Back at camp, we were famished. Burrito dinner and then a shower. Tonight we were too exhausted for a campfire so we crawled into our sleeping bags and read Harry Potter. Hot night tonight. We were all so hot, we opened the tent windows and all slept on top of our sleeping bags. 


Monday, August 11, 2014
Its always good when it’s a Monday and Kevin is with us! We packed up camp so fast and were in the Jeep by 8am. Nice going. Off to Bryce Canyon National Park!! We set up camp and headed straight for Grande Escalante National Monument so we could do Spooky and Peek-a-Boo Gulch, the slot canyons we are so excited for. At the Vistor’s Center, we were told they strongly warn against it today. There will be rain this afternoon and a flash flood watch is in effect! Oh no! We were so disappointed. Jadeyn was devastated. So, instead we did a scenic loop on highway 12. The first part was gray desolate rocks on both sides stretching way out, so surreal. We stopped for lunch under some wild oak trees at a trail head and Jadeyn had a mighty battle between acorns! The next part of the trail was on dirt through a forest for about 30 miles. Pretty, but we would rather be doing the slots. There was an amazing bridge spanning a gap on The Devil’s Backbone that was built 130 years ago by dropping two pine tree logs across the chasm and a guy driving a bulldozer across with only a rope around his waist! Crazy.

Back to Bryce Canyon National Park and we finally got to show Jadeyn what a Hoodoo was. There is nothing on earth quite like Bryce. It is breathtaking. We hiked Navajo Trail. Wow. Switchbacks down and down into the beautiful depths of color. Blue sky above to highlight the red rocks and green pines. Formations everywhere (and people). We were surrounded by so many different languages that we counted only a handful of English speakers on the whole hike! Wall street was amazing again as well as the really intense switch backs to get out! 

We watched a video at the Visitor’s Center. We wanted to do the night program at 8pm and didn’t have time to make it back to camp for dinner, so we ate bagels and cream cheese and pears outside the general store. The night program was supposed to be on dinosaurs, but it was actually on geology. Not as exciting we all admitted and we left at 8:30 and straight to be in preparation for an early morning tomorrow. We decided that if the sky was clear in the morning, we would go straight the slot canyons and do them first thing before the afternoon rains. As we got into our tent tonight, the rains came accompanied by the lightning and thunder. We came to Bryce early to escape the heat of the dunes. We weren’t expecting what the forecast planned: tomorrow, a high of 60?! Whoa!

Tuesday, August 12, 2014  
Well, it rained most of the night. Our alarm went off at 6am ready for us to head to the slot canyons. Last night we had decided that if the sky was blue, we would head to the canyon. Well, as we lay there, we could hear the drizzle start again. Dang. Jadeyn had rolled clear off his sleeping mat and was twisted up in the middle of the tent! We crawled out of the tent at 8am (no rush) and were finally able to enjoy a leisurely breakfast of pancakes and eggs instead of rushing off. Saddest thing is that it’s simply too dangerous to try the slot canyons and we were all looking so forward to doing them…but with the rain all night and morning, there’s no way we should attempt it. 

As soon as we finish breakfast it started to rain again, and rain hard! So what to do? We went to each of the overlooks that we hadn’t been able to do yesterday cloaked in our rain gear. Seeing Bryce in the rain: the colors were just as vibrant and beautiful! We hopped back into the Jeep to determine the next plan of action. We seriously contemplated driving to Cedar City to go to the movies. TMNT was playing, but 90 minutes of driving one way was a little much today, so we made the right decision. We went to the Visitors Center, picked up a Junior Ranger workbook and headed back to the trails! We are so glad we did. It was still raining hard, but we ended up completing Queens Trail, Navajo Trail and a good portion of Peek-a-Boo! Probably between 5-6 miles total. Not bad for a sloppy, muddy mess. The trail was slippery in places when the rain saturated the red dirt and a bit precarious footing but we all managed to stay on our feet. The rain just kept coming down and by the time we were done we all had red dirt almost up to our knees and our boots were caked in it! We had to strip Jadeyn down and change him before letting him into the Jeep. 

Our favorite part of the hike were the beauty, solitude, crispness of the air, being together, and the candid pictures. I had Jadeyn bring a few of his Star Wars guys and we posed them and took pictures of them all over the place. Up on rocks, in front of the hoodoos, in the trees….it was a riot! Yeah, I had as much fun as Jadeyn doing it. Kevin kept Jadeyn entertained and climbing when we go to the steep parts by getting him going about Harry Potter! 


We were famished by the time we finished at 3pm. We decided to eat at the lodge, but found out that h soup and salad bar was ending, headed over to the Pizza part and their buffet was ending too! So we headed into town for a buffet at Ruby’s Restaurant. Not the best buffet, but it was warm and tasty. At this point the rain had stopped, but it was still only 60 degrees! Back to the Visitors Center to get Jadeyn’s Jr Ranger badge. Part of the badge was to hike three miles of trails and take pictures of the “I Hiked the Hoodoos” medallion on the trail. Jadeyn was proud to show his three. But, he did a pretty pathetic recitation of the oath: wiggling, licking his lips, fidgeting and mumbling. Oh my. Back to camp to get all cleaned up and ready for tomorrow, but Jadeyn discovered little chunks of charcoal and had a mighty battle with his Star Wars guys. It went for at least another and a half and his battle echoed all over the campground! Very pleasant evening without heavy rain. Nice and chilly so we made a campfire and had yummy s’mores finally. To bed.
 
Paiute UTV Jamboree

   
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Well, it started raining hard again in the middle of the night and didn’t let up. Oh man, not much fun to have to pack up camp with a wet tent, let alone currently raining! We read Harry Potter for awhile (we are holding off reading at night since Harry is meeting the basilisk). At about 7:45, the rain lessened and we dashed to get as much done as we could. It became apparent pretty son that it was hopeless in the drizzle so we just kept going and wiping off the mud. Right at the front of the tent there was about an inch and a half of mucky clay that coated our feet. The tent was a muddy mess to stuff too. When we got everything in, we walked to the bathrooms and did our best to washing off the caked mud before getting into the Jeep. On the road again.
We reached Marysvale and found our Bed and Breakfast. It is the oldest functioning hotel in the state of Utah! It is adorable. Our room wasn’t ready since we were so early so we unloaded the RZR and headed to register for the jamboree. It’s strange going to a rally and knowing that you probably won’t know a soul there. We have gotten used to Taylor Park and Moab and this was a whole new crowd. I’m sure we’ll get to know some great people, but the majority are retired age and only a few kids. We signed up for our trails and then headed back for lunch. Funny side note: the B&B offered to let us stay in one of the cabins: less $$ and available now. We asked to see it. It was the Lonesome Dove/Miss Kitty’s House of Pleasure! The very room that Jadeyn and Kevin were freaking about before! We kindly declined and we love the Hitchin’ Post Suite. Very quaintly decorated.

We hit the trail at 2:30 since we weren’t sure how long it would take to get up the mountain. Tonight is the whole group gathering for the Dinner on the Mountain. We were hoping that the rain would hold off for tonight. 15 minutes up the trail and it started to drizzle. We went with our rule: if we put on our rain gear, it won’t rain. So we did jackets and rain pants and all. It only rained off and on the rest of the night! Bt tea in did interesting things: the clouds came in way low through the trees and valley and were beautiful.
 
And at one part, the road was so muddy, golf ball sized chunks of mud were flipping all over and on us. It felt like frogs jumping into the RZR. It was fun to have a mini mud fight! The mountain we went up was quite beautiful. We all met at 9,940 feet elevation. Dinner on the Mountain. Circling the 9 foot across bonfire, everyone chatted and enjoyed the evening. Dinner was a tri-tip roast (okay, but not the best, corn, rolls, potatoes (yummy), and peach cake for dessert. A very nice event. There was a raffle held at the end and Kevin won a coupon packet. When we got home, we got a good chuckle out of it. There were handwritten coupons from some of the local businesses, like a $10 off a little hair salon. We were her for a rally, am I real going to go have my hair done?



Thursday, August 14, 2014
First day of the Paiute UTV Jamboree. Well, we had signed up for Tip Top. At 7:30am we headed downstairs for some breakfast. With our B&B room came a breakfast of hard boiled eggs (Jadeyn’s favorite), bagels, muffins and cereal. While we were eating, we met a man from Texas. This was his first time coming anywhere close to the west. He had just visited Ourey, CO and Arches, UT and was amazed at how beautiful the mountains were. It’s hard to believe that there really was a grown person who had never really spent anytime in the mountains before. We are so lucky. After breakfast, we went to get in line for our ride. There are 30 machines exactly on our ride including a few 4 wheelers. They had a really nice system at this rally. There were six guides and every time we got to an intersection, one of the guides waited there to make sure every vehicle went the right way. We have to admit, the first half was pretty ho-hum. Flat gravel road. Then we finally made it across the highway to the beautiful country. Up the mountains we went. It was truly beautiful country. We stopped at a 10,000 peak with overlooks over all the surrounding mountains. While we stopped, we met a lady from Orem who was there all by herself on a 4 wheeler. She was quite nice and does rallys all over. Pretty brave. Jadeyn got to know all the dogs on the trail too. Each of which had a set of doggles; so cute. We stopped for lunch and got to know a few more people including the Red Dirt T-shirt guys who did all the T shirts for the ROT last year. The trail was quite nice, but not very technical. We got back about 4pm and by then I had a pretty intense headache from who knows what (glasses, hat, dehydration). I took some ibuprofen and covered my head while Kevin read and Jadeyn romped all over the room with his army guys and piled the cushions up and jumped around until he was out of breath. Whew! We headed down for dinner of tortilla pizzas before going to the evening’s raffle. We played on the playground with Jadeyn and on the swings. Fun. Then up to the B&B and read Harry Potter then to bed.
 


Friday, August 15, 2014
So today is all activities around camp; no scheduled rides. We woke up, had a nice breakfast and headed out to figure out where the parade was going to be. It took a bit to figure out where the parade route was going to be, but we finally fond a good spot right on Hwy 89 and soon about 30 machines headed our way. Some were decorated, others were carrying dogs and then there was a truck pulling the “crazy people” (as Jadeyn called them) wearing all pink. About every 3rd vehicle threw candy so Jadeyn made out great candy-wise! Kevin even caught two packets of zip ties! Fun. Next we browsed though the vehicles entered into the Show-N-Shine and we all decided that we should have entered ours covered in mud! We talked to several vendors about their stuff and then a couple who had a 2015 RZR 4 1000. Wow, pretty machine. Good to talk to them about it. I think Kevin is leaning about 75% towards selling our RZ and buying the 1000. His other 25% is leaning to selling and taking a year off. Jadeyn was all mopey and complaining while we talked so I whispered to him that this is how dad gets excited about a new RZR, otherwise we may not got one. All of the sudden, Jadeyn started asking Kev all these grown up questions: so dad, which of these new accessories would you like to buy if you got a new 1000? So cute.
Next event was the blind man’s drive which was pretty hilarious to watch. The driver was blindfolded and his partner would have to use a microphone and direct him around barrels and over ramps and finally to a giant tire that they would have to push. We got to hear all the directions and interactions between the blindfolded and the director so it was a riot. We came home for lunch d then back for the obstacle course. It was a pretty tricky looking one. A giant hill, giant puddle, huge pile of tires, 90 degree turn, another hill, moguls, log obstacles, and then some launch hills. It was great fun to watch them fly through the course and one guy wiped out and flipped. Men ran out there, rolled him back over and he took off and flew through the rest of the course! Pretty fun, but at the same time, I wouldn’t want to put my RZR through that kind of abuse! Next was the belly flop. They dug a huge hole and filled it with muddy water and made a big real out of recruiting kids and adults (floppers) to the belly flop challenge. It was hilarious. They stood on some bales of hay and basically launched into a swan dive belly flop right into the muddy water. The kids were adorable, the adults were a riot! 
 
Jadeyn decided that he would do the mud run. It was a big 40 foot trench of muddy water that gradually got deeper. The kids would plunge into it, run across then climb a huge dirt pile and back again. I was so proud of Jadeyn for wanting to do it. He did great, fell once completely over his head, but finished right in the middle of the pack and was proud of it. After the race was over, he decided that he hadn’t had enough and plunged in again and again with other kids. We brought him home, muddy and soggy and got him cleaned up. Back for the drag races. The tractor pull was still going on, wasn’t too exciting and showed no end in site and it was so hot that we left and cooled off on the lawn at the inn. Jadeyn read to us and then we finished the 2^nd Harry Potter book. We had chicken quesadillas for dinner on the grill and went back for the raffle at 7:30. No luck tonight. Back home again. We discovered the ice machine and got re-hydrated!
 


Saturday, August 16, 2014
Last day of the jamboree. The trails are leaving at 8:30 so we had to hurry a bit to get breakfast. Last night Jadeyn seemed to be coming down with a cold! Can you believe it!? He hasn’t even been around kids, let alone kids who have been sick! His nose is all plugged up and since it has been months since he has been sick, he is being all dramatic about it! Our trail today is Monroe Mountain. As we were leaving the inn, the inn keeper guy told us that this was his favorite trail, so we had high hopes about this one. We have the same trail guides as Thursday and they were great. Well, 48 minutes later of dusty gravel and asphalt and roads smooth enough for any vehicle, we finally made it to some trees and a bit of mountains. We were hoping that maybe now we would get off the road and be on trails. No such luck. The mountain was nice, but going through it on a wide dirt road wasn’t what we were expecting. The “peak” was at 11,227 feet and was a mountaintop with a bunch of radio towers on it. We stayed for a few minutes before driving 10 minutes to the next radio tower covered peak! But in that 10 minutes, we hit 4,000 miles on our RZR! Pretty col. We drove again on the same stuff until 1pm, stopped for lunch near a lake. Back on the trail and then the same thing on the way back. The best way to describe the jamboree is kind of disappointing. All the other rallys, we have had great trails, great events and great people. We just felt that the people were all of a different generation and they weren’t our crowd. Yes, we found people that we could relate to and talk with, but overall, it felt awkward. The trails were just not what we expected either. We had hear there were 1,000 miles of UTV trails, but they felt more like flat county roads that the UTVs can share with cars. The rumor we had hear was that this rally has been losing attendance and we can tell that any newcomers probably won’t be back, like us. Bummer. We decided that as soon as we got off the trail, we would get cleaned up, pack up, and start on the trip back. Might as ll split up the drive over two days so we don’t have to do it all in one day (the day before school starts too). Lightning fast showers and then pack up, said goodbye to the inn keepers and hit the road. Jadeyn wined the whole drive, claiming he can’t breathe and what would happen if he didn’t make it! The only time he wasn’t whimpering was when his army men were attacking the Star Wars guys! But, the second we made it to Jennifer’s house, he was bounding around happy as can be. We are so glad that we stopped so we could end this amazing trip on a good note!