I've Been...HANGIN' WITH HOODOOS!

Fall break was nearing and I knew for a fact that I wanted to do something.  I had the "itch!"  We had thrown a couple of ideas around but nothing was really calling my name.  Finally the idea of taking Luke and Tanner to Bryce Canyon came to me. I looked online for rooms and although there were rooms on Thursday night, Friday was sold out.  George called a friend of his who is an owner of Ruby's Inn and he hooked us up!  He gave us a great deal in a pool side room, it's nice to know people in high places! 

Thursday afternoon we were on our way.  First stop along the way was BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN!  I had played the song for the kids before we left and they were as excited as I had been as a kid.  I couldn't dream of anything better than rocks made of candy and lemonade springs. 

I'll just say that somethings are better left as a fantasy!

Along the way we were taking turns telling "spooky stories."  What imaginations those two have!  They were funny because as George and I would try to end our stories they had to know what happened to every character we had ever mentioned even though we had forgotten about them.

We got to Ruby's in time for dinner.  After dinner we had fun swimming.  I'll admit that I had fun in the hot tub while the boys swam!

The next morning we started the day off with a good breakfast that even came with dessert! 

After our bellies were full we headed out for a big day in Bryce Canyon.

We looked through the guide and found a couple of hikes that we wanted to do.  The first one, had me a bit concerned because it was labled "strenuous."  The boys insisted they could do it because they were "really good hikers." 
Their goal was to go to the bottom of the canyon and be amongst the HOODOOS (the rock formations).  We started out on our 4 mile hike by going down, down, down.  I kept reminding them that what goes down, must go back up.  Once again they reminded us of how TOUGH, STRONG, & GREAT they were.  No worries!



Our little hikers taking a breather

 After 100 miles of hiking (according to Tanner) we ran into a couple from Maine and asked them how much further we had to go.  Need I say, they were dripping with sweat.  I was nervous when they said that we were only about half way.  Only another 100 miles to go, augh!

We told them about the other hike we wanted to do and they had done that one the day before.  They said that the kids would love it and strongly encouaged us to turn around while we could and go and do it instead.

After much convincing we did just that.  But, before we set out on the hike we decided to drive to the end of the canyon and take in all the sites at the different view points first.

The boys were getting eager to get down amoung the hoodoos by then and were getting tired of the view points.  We had read in the guide how Hoodoos cast a magical spell on anyone who looked at them. They were so intrigued they could hardly stand it!

George and I were getting a kick out of all the funny things the boys said as we were hiking.  They were SO into it!  They found images in every dead tree or rock formation there.  They found numerous fossils and just knew that their mom would be so proud!

As we were at the end of the hike where you go from the bottom up through a narrow canyon and then onto several switch backs Tanner excitedly said, "This is the most awesomest hike in the whole world!"  The people around us got a kick out of him too.

Near the top Luke said, "Take a look down and you can congratulate yourself!"  Some foreigners who knew enough english to understand what he said, chuckled and repeated it to their group. 

We made it to the top and gloated about what hikers we all were.  The boys took their shoes and socks off the minute we got in the car and hung their feet out the window to give them relief while the whole time laughing hysterically as people would pass by. We went back to the hotel and swam for awhile to relax our tired and sore muscles (this is what they're saying). We ate dinner in Tropic and hit the bed for a VERY good night sleep.

At the end I think we can all agree that the HOODOOS did indeed cast a magical spell on us.  We had such a great time with the boys in one of the prettiest places ever.  I love the idea that we've created memories that will last a long long time in the minds of those two adventerous hikers!