Saturday, October 20, 2012

International Stomping Grounds

Have I mentioned I have a travel bug?  I can be a homebody from Monday to Thursday but come the weekend I have to GO SOMEWHERE. A change of scenery can put everything into perspective. If I can't go somewhere far--as is most often the case--then I like to play tourist in my own area.Who knew we only had to drive a couple of hours to experience Europe?! We heard German, French, Japanese, Spanish and ?.  I don't know if the kids appreciate the completely jaw-dropping amazing scenery of Bryce Canyon National Park but I hope at least the exposure to all that culture soaked their minds with some international intelligence and yes we did have FUN!!
 Wundervoll!!
 Je suis un petite Americain
We hiked the Navajo Loop trail as well as Queen's Gardens which lived up to it's claim as the "Best 3-mile Hike Ever."  That explained all the tour buses.
 Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
  Entering  "Wall Street"
 
 I thought some of these trees looked like twisted wrung-up wet towels. We just had to hug them.
 One can't pass through Queen's Garden without planting their own precarious rock sculpture. (Bud's highlight of the trip)
 The only thing that possibly could have made the hike better was a "bano."  I thought I might have to be airlifted out of the canyon for relief but luckily dehydration compensated.
 Cannon in his man-suit. Somehow being half-naked gave him the extra energy to climb the last stretch.
 Almost there...
Voila. We made it back to the top.  Phew!!!    Indian legend says this valley used to be filled with people.They turned bad and were consequently turned into STONE by the coyote god.   Looks like they knew what was coming.
 Old Bryce Town
 
 Nowadays if you're bad you end up in JAIL so of course after a full day our kids ended up in there. Kate posted bail with some Hi-Chews--our new favorite candy (made in Japan)

The proper way to conclude this Western adventure was,  you guessed it--an  Old Time  Photo Shoot.

Of course I can't give a full disclosure here-- you'll have to keep checking the mailbox  for your cheesy Christmas card...

2 comments:

Sherie Christensen said...

What a beautiful day to see a beautiful place. Thanks for sharing your awesome pictures of your terrific family!

Megan Goates said...

This stay-cation looks completely magical. The combination of the darling pics and your witty captions is pretty much perfection. I can't WAIT for my old-timey Christmas card!