Bryce Canyon: the ginormous hike

Remember how I had a blog that I updated every other day? HAD?

Someday I will be back on schedule. I told you this month was going to be a killer, and it totally has. So let's get on to the hike we did a week ago!

Well, first of all, Mark and I didn't sleep a wink the night before. Partly because the beds and pillows were too hard at the hotel, and I kept waking up to find Luke like this. (This pic was at 5:34 am....) The kids were quite chipper when they woke up, though. Oh, to be young again!!

 

We went to the General Store at Ruby's Inn before we checked out. They had some fabulous Indian jewelry, which I pined over for a long time. It made me miss New Mexico a lot.

 

Luke got a bag full of hematite magnets (probably not the best idea), we squished some souvenir pennies, and Madelyn got this creepy fur covered cat:

  

She calls it "Fluffy" and I think it's made with rabbit fur. It's like having our very own dead, stuffed kitten!....

There is a row of super cute little mini shops across the street from Ruby's Inn that includes an ice cream parlor, a rock shop, and a Christmas store, but they had all closed for the season the week before. :/ We'll have to go up earlier in the year next time.

(postcard I scanned in)

 Then we finally went up the road a mile to Bryce Canyon National Park. It's this geologic anomaly  of Claron limestone that has been eroding (via ice freezing/melting cycles) for the last 8 million years or so into these vertical hoodoos. The Paiutes have a legend that the hoodoos are formed from bad people who were turned into rock.

It was cold and windy, and our original plan was to just get out and look around and then drive through the park, because Mark and I were so tired and the hikes aren't exactly kid friendly.

Luke was snapping pictures like a paparazzo with his SpongeBob camera (which doesn't actually take anything but he has picked up the photog habit from his mom).

 Madelyn looked down and saw those tiny ant-like people on the trail and said, "I want to go down THERE!" Of course you do.

But first we had to go back to our car, double up on coats and sweaters, pack snacks and water, and use the bathroom. Then we were off on the Navajo Loop trail, which is a 1.3 mile round trip.

I know--1.3 miles doesn't sound like a lot. You would be wrong.

At first it's all right--nice sturdy rails and such.

But then they just abandon all pretense and you have to go down these steep, hairpin switchbacks (which are about 5 feet wide) with nothing whatsoever on the sides. I should mention that two of my biggest fears are ledges and slippery rocks....

And it was so freezing that I distinctly remember thinking, "I've only been outside of the car for 10 minutes and my thighs are already numb from the cold. This should be awesome." And then 10 minutes after that, my thighs were shaking from exertion from going straight downhill, which was also awesome.

This caution sign warns of ledges, landslides, falling rocks, and something about the potential of people falling like anvils on a Wile E. Coyote cartoon. The phrase"injury or death" is thrown around a few times for good measure. Perfect for taking your 3-year old and spacey 7-year old who never pays attention to where she's going!!

One of the first things we came across was this little arch--turns out freezing air was shooting through it like a hurricane. The kids were a little freaked out.

 

 

These loose rocks are what the cliff walls are made of, and they crumble off onto the path. Gah.

 

 

"Wall Street"

All alive so far!

Stuff is so tall in the canyon that I couldn't fit it into one frame. It was really pretty down there--once I had a chance to actually look around and not worry about sliding off a cliff!

We took a snack break for Madelyn, who had hardly eaten any breakfast and was suddenly ravenous and demanding food.

 Luke: "Look, it's a dinosaur!"

 

I had Madelyn take a picture with me in it to prove that I was there.

  

At the halfway point, we were resting and saw this pretty tree swallow.

 

 Madelyn was whining a lot by this point....

  

 

 "Two Bridges"

  

On our way back up....

 Oh look, the sun!

 Luke started throwing a tantrum just around the curve of a switchback. He didn't want to be held, he didn't want to walk holding Mark's hand--he just wanted to do his own thing. (Which was not going to happen where we were...) So he kicked and flailed and carried on while Mark and I struggled to get him back up the mountain. You should have heard the echos.

 "Thor's Hammer"

 

 LEDGE. I was so dizzy.

 We're almost there!! It's a miracle!! I was huffing and puffing like crazy. We were at 8,500 feet, so that plus the steep climb and the cold and carrying a squirming 30 lb. kid (plus my tiredness to begin with) was beginning to kick my rear.

A nice lady took this family picture of us in the same spot we had a family picture taken 7 years ago when we were there:

 

Page I scanned in from Madelyn's scrapbook. Look at her!! She was only 9 months old. :)

 So glad I got to have this time to spend with my family!