Hiking the Narrows! It's an exciting adventure for children who've never done it. It's exciting for adults who've done it again and again. Camille and Steve met us in St. George on July 23 for a weekend of hikes and picnics in red rock country. We prepared for our assault on the Narrows with a picnic at the deli/restaurant just outside Springville.
We ordered sandwiches and smoothies and sat at picnic tables on the grass, surrounded by apple orchards.
We hiked a mile to the base of the Narrows.
We paused to talk with the Jagers, friends of Camille and Steve from Boston whom they met unexpectedly. We also checked out the squirrels. The whole Ebert family hiked across the first crossing of the Virgin River,
Steve and I took Ezra and Mia back to the trailhead soon after, where Ezra played happily among the rocks.
Dave, Camille, Emilie, Jono, Annalise, and Sophia trekked farther, to where the water was thigh high and moss grew on the red-rock walls.
Next day, we drove to Cedar City, where we found the Nellie Unthank statue on the University of Southern Utah campus. I told the kids about Nellie, a pioneer with the Willey handcart company, whose feet froze and were amputated. She moved to Cedar City, married, raised six children, and was a devoted church member her whole life despite her disability. We also stopped by a pavilion full of statues of distinguished scholars. Each child chose a favorite statue, from Socrates to Madam Curie to Shakespeare.
We ordered sandwiches and smoothies and sat at picnic tables on the grass, surrounded by apple orchards.
We hiked a mile to the base of the Narrows.
We paused to talk with the Jagers, friends of Camille and Steve from Boston whom they met unexpectedly. We also checked out the squirrels. The whole Ebert family hiked across the first crossing of the Virgin River,
Steve and I took Ezra and Mia back to the trailhead soon after, where Ezra played happily among the rocks.
Dave, Camille, Emilie, Jono, Annalise, and Sophia trekked farther, to where the water was thigh high and moss grew on the red-rock walls.
Next day, we drove to Cedar City, where we found the Nellie Unthank statue on the University of Southern Utah campus. I told the kids about Nellie, a pioneer with the Willey handcart company, whose feet froze and were amputated. She moved to Cedar City, married, raised six children, and was a devoted church member her whole life despite her disability. We also stopped by a pavilion full of statues of distinguished scholars. Each child chose a favorite statue, from Socrates to Madam Curie to Shakespeare.
At Cedar Breaks, we savored the stunning views over the red rock canyon face.
We had a picnic near the canyon.
We then hiked the flowery fields to a mountain lake.
Dave, Camille, Mia, Ezra, and I brought up the rear, moving slowly so Ezra could blow on dandelions.
3 comments:
What a great time. By the way, that picture of Dad with the sandwich is very flattering.
It is obvious looking at the picture of me that I had been poisoned.
Such fun memories! Thank you for taking the time to be with us!
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