This August we were able to take a trip to Vernal with the Middletons. We've done several small trips with them and they have been some of our very favorite adventures. I dug up a few pictures from past trips and have been dying over how cute and little our kiddos (and we) were.
(Maple Canyon)
(Uintah Monutain Cabin)
(Timpanogos Canyon; City of Rocks, ID)
(Timpanogos Canyon; City of Rocks, ID)
Oh man, I just love these people so much.
Vernal may not seem like a high-class tourist destination, but we'd both been wanting to go for a long time and this was the perfect year for it. Austin and Andi are both going to be in the Utah History class this year and this was the perfect kickoff to our Utah History year.
Vernal Temple
We started our adventure with a visit to the Vernal Temple. It was such a lovely, historic, tiny temple.
Our Airbnb was so fun - a zipline, goats, trees, swings. But lets talk about the goats. They were so cute and fun - until the food came out and then they were SO aggressive. They would try to eat food out of our hands (and not like we were hand feeding them, but like they would try to take it as we were feeding ourselves), out of the packages, and any other food (attended or unattended). When we woke up in the morning, they would be staring in through the front door. It ended up being a running joke. When we were packing up to leave, we even found a goat in both of our cars after turning our backs for just one minute. We ate delicious food, we painted, we relaxed and enjoyed the wide open spaces.
Moon Arch Cave Hike
This was such a cool cave at the end of a hike. We spent a lot of time exploring and playing on the rocks and in the sand.
Red Fleet State Park
This was the absolute highlight of the trip. The state park was technically closed for the season, but we called and the workers said that you could still come - you just couldn't use the boat ramp. So we parked around the edge of the lake and carried our kayaks and paddle boards down to the water. No problem, right? I can't even describe the situation with words, but my first experience was hearing the dismay of the kids walking ahead of me, wondering if they had discovered a dead animal or something, and then experiencing the grossest path of my life. The shoreline was covered in dried plant matter that overlaid the yuckiest, muddiest, area I've ever walked through. The combination of the mud and the fragile crackly plants was ridiculously horrible! Making our way through the muck up to our shins we finally made it to the water and were able to start our real adventure. We paddled all the way across the lake to this neat little cave in the water, where we grouped up and ate lunch together right on our paddle boards. It was magical and the epitome of true fun.
We finished lunch then paddled down the lake to look at some really neat cliffs, then back to the cave, where we spent a good amount of time cliff jumping. I don't know that our kids have done a lot of cliff jumping before but they LOVED it.
It was so fun to do this kind of adventure with our families now that our kids are getting bigger. They were able to paddle their own kayaks/paddle boards the whole time, and it felt like the opening of a whole new level of adventuring together. Lucy still rode with David or I, and at one point she fell asleep which was the sweetest thing. Everyone else was self sufficient and we had a blast. We had plenty of snacks, packed plenty of water, and spent the whole afternoon out on the lake!
Petroglyphs
Our airbnb was right by the McConkie Ranch and we went to see the petroglyphs. It was so cool, and honestly - the best kickoff to a Utah History Year ever.
Dinosaur Quarry
We followed the Petroglyphs by going to the Dinosaur Quarry. It was cool.
Walker Pictures of Vernal
I particularly wanted to go to the Dinosaur Quarry because my parents had taken us when we were young. The whole way to vernal we chanted "We're so excited for Dinosaur Land" over and over. My parents were a little wary, because although they were excited for the trip, they hoped we wouldn't be unimpressed. But the whole trip was the best ever and we loved it! On on way home we chanted, "Thank you for taking us to Dinosaur Land" and I think that's one of my parent's favorite memories of traveling with us. I tracked down a few pictures from our old school film-developed-and-printed photos.
Jenna and I at the Dinosaur Quarry, ages about 5 and 3? (maybe 6 and 4?)
All the kids at the Quarry when I was about 10? (Jenna, 8, Matt and Melissa 5, Jacob 2?)
I specifically rook these pictures so we could post them side by side of my kids at the same place.
I also wanted to post these screenshots of Ali's Instagram posts because they made me laugh and then cry and then feel so much gratitude for such good and amazing people in our lives! So glad we were able to make this trip happen.
"This was how we had to get to red fleet since it is closed for construction. Looks like normal sand but it is actually super nasty spider infested dried weeds covering even nastier lake slime. All of Mike's worst nightmares and a true sign of his love that he initiated trudging through without a word."
"12 years of friendship with these amazing humans. Met in the church foyer while out with baby Henry and baby Lydia. Been through all the growing family stages with them. Putting toddlers to bed at each others homes for game nights, the Daniel Tiger era, blogging, play dates, summer camping trips, homeschooling and all the in between. @shantelelise"
"One of my favorite parts of visiting other temples is the artwork. Look at that stained glass! This one also had the most beautiful picture depicting Christ seeking after the lost sheep. Loved the cozy feel of this temple and learning about it's history."
