Desert Roads...take me home...

For our 11th anniversary, we thought we'd go visit the red rock country again, and see some family while there. We headed to St. George (made it in 5.5 hours...from cache valley!) and drove to the first trailhead. We hiked Johnson Arch, a fun little 2 mile round trip hike.

Below: Johnson Arch, though its hard to see the arch because of the way the light is...

On the trail...

At the end of the canyon...

The next morning, though weather reports were not cheerful, the guys headed out for a little mountain biking....

After the biking, we all geared up to squeeze in some lava tubes before the bad weather hit.

Here, we have the kids entering the lava tube. Notice the headlamps.

Below: this is where they would emerge...from the depths of darkness...

WM, standing in the hole...

WG, crawling out...

WK smashed his head on some lava rock....

Aaahhh...Snow Canyon....

Next Lava cave, because one dark tunnel of death is not enough?

The weather began to get serious as we finished up our hike and had a quick lunch...we made it back to the house just in time for the hail to start pounding. WM and I took advantage of Bethany's offer to watch the kids, and we went to see the movie The Lightning Thief. The book was WAY better.

The next afternoon, we drove to Red Cliffs for a picnic dinner and some fun red rock adventures. It was still quite chilly.

nothing like soaking up the sun while reclining on slickrock....ahhh....

Below: what we call natural beauty...;)

Wildman, having so much fun!

WG's first "technical" canyon. She had no problems.

WK was also very brave, but after coming down said, "That was creepy!"

(I have video of this process above, but I'll have to post it a little later.)

While the guys did another local mountain biking trail (Church Rocks), My sister and I stayed with the kids at the picnic site and played "Sailboat" and "Buffalo Hunt". I'll post the video of the beetle sailor later. Funny stuff. Below is our buffalo. I know, it looks rather slug-like (acted like it, too) but it was our bun buffalo. The kids took turns hiding it and then "hunting" for it.

roasting hotdogs and marshmallows...

Brandon's stuff. Love it.

Looking back at Red Cliffs...

Hanging out at the house, Wildman played some catch with Mitch and Wildkid. Wildkid had never played with a glove before...it was a bit awkward for him. But Mitch, on the other hand, is a natural! It must be genetic. It didn't bother him at all when Wildman would throw the ball hard at his face. Woah.

The cousins all together. They get along really well.

We had a great trip and got to hang out with family and the desert...what more could we ask for?