San Rafael Reef March 2011; Day 2

We froze the previous night and Bailey slept well. We were so worried about both her and Caiden that they were going to freeze to death and we would never know it, but they were fine. Since it was so cold on Saturday morning, we just stayed in the tent for a good hour trying to stay warm, hoping the sun would break through and help us out. I finally got the courage to climb out of the sleeping bag and get some breakfast made along with a fire.

After that we decided to head off to Ding canyon, which is another great canyon. Someday I'd love to do the whole loop (up Ding and down Dang), but Bailey can only do so much. We packed her in her Kelty carrier all the way to the canyon opening (about 3/4 mile), then she got out and did all of the hiking the rest of the way.

I forgot to mention how well the dogs were such good hikers too. There are about 7-8 climbing obstacles in this canyon and they were relatively good about allowing us to pick them up and hand them up to continue on. Bailey was able to hike the entire canyon all the way to the back of the canyon.

Approaching the reef





Alene with Dexter and Debra



Alene and Bailey found a bed



Approaching the slot







We showed Bailey how to make bridges





Bailey's attempt at making a bridge under Caiden



More of the slot







Me, chilling with Debra



Passing by the big pothole section









Dexter, sacked out at the back of the canyon before heading back



The dogs finding a nice drink in a pothole



After getting back to the truck we had been expecting to meet up with some friends, so we drove to an area with good cell phone coverage. They were not able to make it due to multiple issues, so we considered the fact that the weather was getting worse, that it would be best if we just went to Goblin Valley, back to camp for dinner, then head home. It ended up being the best decision because for the last 20 min or so of putting camp away, it started to snow. It would have been miserable to stick around

Bailey climbing on a goblin



Bailey and daddy not happy about the rain at Goblin



Bailey found a chair



Daddy and Bailey



Bailey wanted to carry the umbrella and she wanted everyone to get under it....at the same height she was standing. (side note, after singing "under my umberella" by Rhianna, 5000 times and annoying Alene to death, Bailey started singing it. It was the best part of the day.





Bailey loving the view from above



Caiden jumping off a rock (backward)



All in all, it was a good trip. I would have loved to be able to stick around and do more on Sunday, but it all was for the best.

San Rafael Reef March 2011; Day 1

Note: Some of these pictures were taken with my iphone's "hipstamatic" camera, which I really like. Sorry if they don't look like traditional pictures.

This was the 6th year in a row that we've done a camping trip to the Swell in March, but this one was cut a day short due to weather. Still, we made the most of the opportunity to be down there.

We had been watching the weather report and for at least a week out, it was looking pretty good, then doom and gloom (i.e. cold and rain/snow) started showing up on the forecast and things weren't looking so good. Still, we carried on with our plans because part of us (me) were optimistic that the weather man would suck (as usual) in his forecast, while the other half of us were just hell-bent on continuing the tradition.

On our way down we encountered heavy rain/snow all the way until we reached the green river area. Things were looking somewhat hopeful when we started to see some blue sky, then we arrived at the Reef and it started to hail like crazy.

This is what the ground looked like at our favorite campsite (which we always luck out and score when we go there)



We even experienced seeing some awesome run-off of water and realized how quickly an amazingly a flash flood starts. No, we didn't see a flood, but in the short amount of rain/hail that happened, there was quite a bit of run-off off the reef into little ditches all around. It was awesome.

The wet slickrock around our campsite



Like typical Utah desert fashion, it dried up quickly and blue skies started showing up. We quickly set up camp and hung around for a bit.

Caiden and bailey played in the sand for a while













We also explored around the reef. The dogs were loving their new freedom







My new all-wood Proof sunglasses



We decided to head north to Farnsworth canyon to do a little hike. I forgot how much I LOVED Farnsworth. It's easy for kids and there are some really scenic spots in this slot.

The trail going toward the canyon



Farnsworth canyon in the background



Dropping down into the canyon and looking East



Bailey taking a ride



Caiden







Bailey found a little chair



It starts to narrow up







So cool to see how much flash flooding can change a canyon. A year ago we came here to this spot and had to scramble around multiple potholes of water. This time they were full of dirt and rocks





Under the large rock and choke stone







Same spot that was full of water last year (reverse angle), along with last year's picture



(last year)



Selfies on the way out







It started to get pretty cold, so we headed back to camp, made dinner, sat around for a bit, then hit the sack