Spring Break Day #2 - The Hike

Day Two was the day we had planned to do our big hike through the beautiful slot canyons. David had mapped out a fun 8 mile loop up one canyon, over to the other, and right back to where we started. We made one change in our plan and reversed the loop after some good advise from a hiker coming down. There was water in Little Wild Horse Canyon and so he told us to go that way first so we could dry out on the rest of the hike. So off we went ready for a great adventure!

The water only added to the adventure of getting up the narrow slot canyon. We waded into it, found out it was freezing cold and found alternate ways to get up the canyon. Unfortunately David had to wade right through all the water because he had McKinley on his shoulders staying dry. The rest of us practiced making our way along the walls and around the rocks. It was stunning and so much fun!




After Little Wild Horse Canyon we trekked along out of the canyon, down the road, and to the top of Bell Canyon. After the beauty of Little Wild Horse Canyon and the long, long, boring road between it was nice to be back in the canyon. Bell Canyon was not near as beautiful, but it was a good hike back to the car. Next time we might find our own little shortcut between the two canyons or do 2 up and back hikes, omitting the walk between the two canyons.

We made pretty good time, doing the 8 miles with a couple stops for lunch and snacks in 5 hours. Everyone did so well and enjoyed climbing, hiking, running, and canyoneering the whole day. Once we made it back to camp we all had a little nap and spent the rest of the evening cooking, eating, playing games, and getting to bed! It was a long and productive day.

Spring Break Day 1 PM

After heading back from our Crack Canyon small hike we decided we would go to the actual Goblin Valley park and what's known as "the playground". We entered the park and found the playground area. What a fun place. All the little "goblin" formations are beautiful and it was a lot of fun playing hide and seek in the huge canyon of goblins. We ran all over and hid and yelled.



At another part of the playground there is a huge dirt hill. We spent time running and jumping as far as you could into the soft dirt. Some of us really got some air!



After hiking and playing, we illegally went to the camping area and took showers! We were so dirty and the warm showers felt really good. We did pay our entrance fee, but we weren't technically camping in the campground, but hopefully we'll be forgiven! After cleaning up we headed back to the trailer for our campfire and an early night to prepare for the big 8 mile hike we had planned for Wednesday!

Spring Break Day 1

For spring break this year we decided to take a family camping trip down to Goblin Valley. David and I first camped there when we were at BYU and dating. We had such a good time that we always wanted to go back. It's a beautiful part of the country and not too far from home. We left Monday afternoon and came back on Thursday.

What follows is our adventures there.

**Lots of pictures, but I swear I took a 100+ more!*

We arrived in the dark on Monday night and found a bluff to set up camp for the night. When we woke up this is what surrounded us:

After a leisurely morning we headed over to hike Crack Canyon. It was a short hike as an introduction to the slot canyons in the area. The kids enjoyed climbing on the rocks and the beauty of the canyon around us as we hiked in the perfect 60 degree weather.

This shot gives you some perspective of how much climbing there was to do.

Unfortunately at one point the trail came to a drop and Jag refused to go down it. Dave and 3 of the kids went on exploring and Ethan, Jag and I had a little nap in the sun.




We moved camp that day to a more secluded and beautiful off "Behind the Reef Road". There are so many places to camp on BLM land all over the area. We thoroughly enjoyed the day of fun in the sun and outside!

Rainy, snowy, wet and GREAT game!

Last night my sister, her husband, Dave and I attended the Real Salt Lake vs. Colorado Rapids soccer game. We have season tickets for our beloved Real team and this one was one for true fans. It was a very wet, windy, and cold night (in April!!) and it was rough. But we knew it was going to be a good match. Real won the MLS in 2009 and Colorado won last year, 2010. There is quite a rivalry between these two teams as well and last night was no exception. It was a well matched game with only 3 shots on goal the whole night. BUT...in the 93:00 (in extra time allowed) we SCORED!! So Real Salt Lake won the match 1-0 and all is well! What a night!!

Bear Lake Reservations

Dave's family has gone to Bear Lake each summer for over 30 years now. It's a wonderful tradition and it has grown over the years to our current group size of 50+ people. Organizing and reserving this trip is no small feat by everyone involved. Today was the first day we could call to reserve "our" spots. We ALWAYS get campspots 1-5 at Rendevous Beach. The phone lines open at 7 am and we were assembled at the kitchen table at 6:45 to start dialing. We had 6 phones calling every 5 seconds until finally at 7:02 we got through with two of the phones. The wait time was 15-20 minutes and when we got the reservation agent...our spots were already gone! Apparently they have improved the online system and now the online system is quicker than phoning in. We were able to secure 6 campspots on the other side of the bathrooms. We are all a little shaken up by the news, but somehow I think we'll have a good time still. Next year, we'll have our laptops up and ready like we're bidding on a hot item on ebay! We will get our spots back!

Grandad's Birthday!!

Last night we celebrated Grandad's birthday! We gave him presents and had cake and ice-cream to celebrate his 73 years. Grandad is looking forward to golfing today and every Tuesday during spring, summer, and fall!!

Smith Girls Retreat 2011

Smith Girls Trip 2011

After weeks of planning and waiting for the date to arrive, we all headed off to Neola to have a girls weekend away at Allison's. We had various activities planned, lots of good food to make and eat, and lots of visiting and fun to do!

While the majority of the crowd was over 18, we allowed these little ones since they were dependent on their mommies! Max provided the only male supervision we had!

First up was making our cute washer necklaces. Susan was the pro at teaching us this craft and we enjoyed picking our papers and washers and making beautiful necklaces out of them.

After a delicious breakfast of waffles with strawberry sauce and whipped cream, some of us headed of to Vernal to attend the temple. Others stayed behind with babies and moral support. We all met up in Vernal for lunch at a Mexican place. More food and conversation!

After lunch we headed back to Alli's and continued with crafts. We produced lots of hairbows and headbands. We ate Lisa's yummy chicken ranch and bacon sandwiches for dinner and had the "famous" chocolate torte to top it off. More visiting, some Zumba lessons, a movie, more food and a ton of fun!

The trip ended with all of us attending church with Allison and packing up, cleaning up, and driving home. We all agreed it was a wonderful trip and we're planning on making it an annual event! What a fun family we've got!