The Camping House

The first full week in June we took a overnight trip down to Escalante.  My parents were considering purchasing a vacation home and had a home inspection scheduled while we were down.  Our kids loved what we now call the "camping" house.  When we first arrived we walked down to the river on the property.

We also had lots of time to relax and enjoy the glorious views.

The wrap around porch was one of our favorite places to hang out.

Millie and Phin pretended that these large pots on the porch were cauldrons and got busy making potions.

We used the grill to make some yummy steaks for dinner and had our dinner out on the porch too.

Then we went on a walk up the dirt road above the property.  The property borders BLM land and this dirt road leads to several reservoirs.

Phin and Millie loved scrambling up the hillsides.

The next morning we spent more time out on the porch with the three bears.

This is by far my favorite photo from the trip...baby bear with my baby bear.

We had some time before the home inspection so we drove up the dirt road to a lake.

There was still some snow on the ground around the lake.

Millie and Phin searched for the perfect hiking sticks while we were out.

During the home inspection the kids kept Nona company and watched some shows on her bed.

Then we drove along Hell's backbone to Boulder, Utah.  We had a yummy burger for dinner and then drove back to Lower Calf Creek Falls trailhead.

We got a later start on the trail than we were hoping, but decided to give it a go.

The first part of the trail was very sandy.

  

The cacti were in bloom and were so pretty.

The kids also found some fun caves to explore.

We started to run out of daylight...and Millie's legs got tired so we turned around before making it to the falls.  Next time we will have to get to this trail early in the morning.

The sunset as we hiked out was spectacular.

The next morning we stopped at the reservoir close to the "camping" house.

We also stopped at the Visitor's Center.  

We decided to stop at Bryce Canyon and hike to Mossy Cave and and the nearby waterfall. 

Seth always tells the kids stories while we hike.  This time they were talking about the wizards and goblins that had created the landscape during one of their battles.

   

My parents ended up closing on the property near the beginning of July.  So we have many more trips down to Escalante in our future.  We can't wait for our next trip to the "camping" house.