Utah Trip 2019 - Day 2

When we got up Sunday morning, it was COLD.  Even in the tent.  This was our first time using our new 6 person tent (Marmot Limestone 6P) and it has a much higher ceiling than we are used to (I can easily stand up completely).  So the heat that rises isn't as close to us and we need to stay snuggled in our sleeping bags to not freeze.

Since it was so cold, when we all woke up, we just got in the car and started driving to our first hike as we munched on Cheerios and Fruit Loops. We even forgot to fill our Camelbaks and water bottles. Luckily we passed the Escalante Interagency Visitor Center on the way and were able to get water there.

With rain/snow in the forecast for Monday, we decided to hike some slot canyons east of Escalante on Sunday while it was still dry.  The drive was just under two hours with 26 miles being on the very rough and bumpy Hole-in-the-Rock Road.

Our first hike was to Peek-a-Boo and Spooky Slot Canyons. 

I actually did this hike 20 years earlier when on a trip with the Caldwell Fellows Program at NCSU.  On that trip we did a 4-day backpacking trip up Coyote Gulch and then a day hike in the slot canyons.

Once we arrived at the trailhead it took us awhile to change into hiking clothes, have breakfast (bagels for the boys and granola, yogurt, & strawberries for Brian and I), and get our daypacks ready for the first time.  If we'd been about 30 minutes earlier, we wouldn't of had to deal with nearly as many people in the slots.  Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend isn't the ideal day for any hike.  Oh well.

At the Dry Forks Trailhead at about 10 am ...

The trail descends from the trailhead into the Dry Forks wash for about 0.5 miles.

It's hard to imagine slot canyons being down here somewhere.

We decided to go up Peek-A-Boo and down Spooky to make a loop (this is actually the recommended direction and it would have been very helpful if everyone did this when it's so crowded because there were several "traffic jams").  The loop is about 1.6 miles.

The entrance of Peek-A-Boo has a 12 foot climb to get to the slots.  We didn't have much trouble with it but the people ahead of us struggled (they were a group with several children and a large dog).

Peek-A-Boo is curvy and wider.  The sun filters in well for beautiful colors.  There are arches and twists but nothing difficult after the initial climb up.

 

 

Anyone see Gray?

Gray did great climbing through everything.  Which was great because it would have been really difficult with the backpack, especially in Spooky.

 

 

 
Near the end of Peek-A-Boo ...

 

We were generally able to move through Peek-A-Boo at our own pace.  We occasionally met up with people and would wait as they took some pictures, but we mostly were by ourselves (this was not the case in Spooky).

There is a connector trail above the slots to get to Spooky.  Here we stopped for a snack and a short break.  You can see the crack that is Peek-A-Boo from up here.

Entering the top of Spooky Slot Canyon.

Spooky is darker and much more narrow (especially at the end when doing the loop).  There are a couple of challenging spots which we had to wait to get through because of the number of hikers, two-way traffic, and people bringing dogs or hikers that probably shouldn't be attempting the hike.  It was frustrating at times but the boys kept a really good attitude.

Avoiding the "Toilet Bowl" as this hole is nicknamed ...

Getting tighter!!!

Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures in the most narrow section as Carter was leading and racing through this area (granted, we'd just been stuck waiting for a couple with a dog to get through this section for about 20 minutes)

 Leaving Spooky ...

After we made it out of Spooky, we hiked up the wash a little bit until we found a shady spot and had lunch (salami, cheese, & crackers).

Before heading back up to the trailhead, we hiked a little ways up another slot canyon called Dry Fork Narrows.  The entrance is very close to the entrance of Peek-A-Boo.  This canyon was a little wider and taller than the others.

Gray was done hiking and took a ride on Brian's shoulders.

Beautiful walls ...

While not as impressive as Peek-A-Boo and Spooky, this was still a neat slot to explore.

I love this picture of Carter ...

It got really muddy and wet before we reached the end of the slot but we thought we were close so we went ahead and turned back (Brian had turned back with Gray a little earlier because it was so hard with little man on his shoulders).

We got back to the trailhead a little after 2 pm.  We piled in the car and drove back toward Bryce on Hole-in-the-Rock Road.  After 14 miles, we stopped at Devil's Garden Recreation Area.  Gray had fallen asleep on the drive and was a bear.  Brian dealt with him while the big ones and I explored the area.  There aren't any trails here - just neat rock formations to climb around on.

 

Metate Arch ...

Mano Arch ...

Brian and Gray eventually joined up with us ...

Mr. Cool ...

This was such a fun area to explore.  We spent about 45 minutes here.

After this we headed back to our campsite.  We made quesadillas for dinner and prepared for the rain soon arriving.  As the sun was going down, it was getting cold so we went ahead and got in the tent for the night.  We played some games and the boys worked on the Junior Ranger booklets before going to sleep.  We expected to see snow by the morning!

Twins Win!

Carter played with Coach Jeff again this season with Brentwood Ball Club (this was Carter’s 10th season with Jeff). Like last spring, they were the Twins. The team consisted of a lot of players we’ve had on the team the last few seasons as well as some new players.

Carter had one of the older teams in the 9/10 year old league (while Rylan was also in this league and had one of the youngest). Carter’s team ended up at 12-3 for the season and second place behind the Cardinals.

The Twins did well in the tournament and got to the final game against the Cardinals. Somehow our team’s request to play the semi-final game on Friday night was granted so the Cardinals had to play a double-header (their semi-final and final game) on Saturday while the Twins only had the one game.

The Cardinals beat Carter’s team twice in the regular season and have some really great pitchers so we knew it would be a tough game to win and considered it a win that our boys made it to the final game.

The game stayed close. In the top of the 5th inning, the Cardinals were winning 4-3. Then, the Cardinals made a throwing error trying to catch an advancing runner and the Twins went ahead 5-4. And amazingly, the Twins held the Cardinals in the bottom of the 5th.

TWINS WIN!!!

Our boys were so excited!!! And we are so proud of them! We have a great group of kids and parents. While they are all always improving, we didn’t have the most naturally talented players but we do have hard working boys with great attitudes.

At the end of the season, Jeff did superlative awards for each of the boys. Carter received “Most Valuable Player”. Wow! We are so proud of him. He loves baseball and did great at both catching and pitching this season.

These three have played with us all 10 seasons (Gavin, Jack Henry, & Christopher) ...

Now we have a couple of summer tournaments and summer ball with Brentwood Ball Club. Carter and Rylan are playing on the team Brian coaches and Gray is actually going to play on a 4/5 team also coached by Brian.

Swim Meet #1

Carter and Rylan had their first swim meet of the season on Tuesday.  They hadn't had much practice since we were in Utah the week before.  They had a practice the day before and 3 after school practices the last week of school.

And they did AMAZING!  Rylan was very nervous because Coach Jim put him in breaststroke and butterfly as his two individual events (and the IM) and he thought he'd DQ.  But he didn't!!!  And the boys each set 3 PRs!

The meet was at the Fairview Rec Center (which is about 45 minutes from our house).  Fairview's team was super small and our team easily won the meet but it still took a REALLY LONG time.  Warm-ups started at 8am and we didn't leave until after 1pm.  Luckily it was mostly overcast and not too hot so it wasn't a bad meet.

Rylan's events and times:

Boys 7-8 Years Old - 100 Yard Freestyle Relay - 1:26:14 (1st) - Best time by 13.1 seconds
Boys 8 & Under - 25 Yard Breaststroke - 38.87 seconds (4th) - Best time by 2.16 seconds
Boys 8 & Under - 25 Yard Butterfly - 35.38 seconds (3rd) - Best time by 6.8 seconds
Boys 7-8 Years Old - 100 Yard Medley Relay - DQ
Boys 8 & Under Old - 100 Yard Individual Medley - 2:42.76 (2nd) - Best time by 39.7 seconds

Carter's events and times:

Boys 9-10 Years Old - 25 Yard Freestyle - 18.62 seconds (5th) - Best time by 0.83 seconds
Boys 9-10 Years Old - 100 Yard Freestyle Relay - 1:18.90 (2nd)
Boys 9-10 Years Old - 25 Yard Breaststroke - 27.68 seconds (5th) - Best time by 0.52 seconds
Boys 9-10 Years Old - 100 Yard Medley Relay - 1:38.25 (1st)
Boys 9-10 Years Old - 100 Yard Individual Medley - 2:06.91 (9th) - Best time by 8.34 seconds

The boys' next meet is Tuesday in Murfreesboro.

Utah Trip 2019 - Day 1

We headed back to Utah last week for another week of hiking.  This time we did southwest Utah and also camped the whole time.  It took a lot of planning (and packing) but it was a great trip!

We left Nashville at 7:40 am on Saturday (5/25) and flew to Las Vegas.  We packed everything we needed except groceries (and a cooler and propane).  So it was a little challenging anytime we had to move all our bags around.  We had 6 large (and heavy) duffles and the kid carrier (as well as a small backpack each).

When we got to Vegas, we got our rental car (a Nissan Armada) and then grabbed some lunch at Chick-fil-A before heading to Walmart for groceries.  Then we got on the road and drove to Bryce Canyon National Park (about 4 hours away).

We headed straight to our campground when we arrived.  Bryce Canyon NP has two campgrounds but one is currently closed and the other doesn't take reservations.  So we stayed at Ruby's Inn RV Park and Campground that is just outside the park (about 2 miles from the entrance).  We arrived close to 6 pm so there weren't many sites left to choose from.  We took one on a pond next to group camping area #12.  It worked out great here - it was adjacent to Ruby's Inn which had some exterior lights but limited the campground noise that can get loud sometimes.

We set up our tent and then made dinner.  I did a lot of meal planning before our trip but kept everything very simple since the boys are generally still picky.  So our first night was macaroni & cheese and hot dogs.

Geese with their goslings ...

After dinner we went into the park to check out some overlooks as the sun was setting.  Since Carter was in 4th grade this year, our family gets free admission to all national parks this year - yay!  We did a quick stop at the visitor center to pick up Junior Ranger activity books for the boys to start working on and then went over to Sunset Point.

 

Next we drove over to Bryce Point.  On our drive over there we got our first view of mule deer.  They pretty much look like the deer at home except they have massive ears and thicker coats.

It was getting pretty dark as we were leaving the overlook but not dark enough for a lot of stars yet.  We were on the western edge of the Mountain Time Zone so it stayed light really late (until after 9 pm).  It was probably our best night to stay up another hour or two and try to get a glimpse of the Milky Way since it was a clear night. But we decided to get some sleep since it was going to be a long week.  I now wish we'd stayed up but now we have another reason to go back!

That night was the first of three very cold nights.  It got down to about 28F.  None of us probably wore the best clothes that first night but we figured it out and were much warmer the last two nights.

Yearbook

Both Carter and Rylan's drawings got on the yearbook again this year!!!

Carter's is the title page ...

Rylan's is on the back cover ...

A total of 8 drawings were picked this year (the cover, title page, and 6 on the back cover).

Here are my posts from previous years when the boys' drawings also got on the yearbook ...

2018
2017
2016

NSC 2019 - Games 4 & 5

Nashville Soccer Club played Memphis 901 FC on April 13th.  Memphis is a new team this season and the only other team in Tennessee.  After a long day of soccer and baseball games, we rushed downtown for the game only to have it be delayed multiple times because of lightning.

Luckily though the Predators were playing in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and they were showing the game on the jumbo guitar.  We got some popcorn and found a perfect spot to sit out of the rain to watch the hockey game.

The Preds won in overtime just a few minutes before the soccer game got started!  The fan section even set off some smoke for them :)

We ended up not sitting in our normal seats since it was pretty empty and still raining for a bit.  We found sideline seats that were covered and perfect for us.

The extra late game was a little too much for Rylan and he took a nap during the middle of the second half.

Nashville ended up with a 2-0 win!  It was a great game and we were glad we staying for it!

On Wednesday night Rylan had a make-up baseball game at the same time as the NSC game against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.  Carter, Gray, and I decided to skip Rylan's game since we already had the soccer tickets (I felt a little guilty but we did follow Rylan's game on GameChanger the whole time).

It was a beautiful night with perfect weather (finally!).  Carter and Gray even decorated their faces.

And there was even a giveaway - these super nice koozies from Mill Creek Brewery (which is about 10 minutes from us in Nolensville).

Carter and Gray had to use them for their waters.

On the way in we stopped at the team store.  The boys still had some money left from Easter so they bought NSC mini soccer balls.

Gray showing off his cheer (too bad NSC never scored).

Carter and Gray did catch these tiny soccer balls with the new MLS logo during half time (they've been skipping our section all season).  Now we have to get one for Rylan!

Tampa Bay won 1-0.  They haven't lost this season and their steak continues.

Carter's Song

Carter had a field trip today to the Country Music Hall of Fame.  I didn't go because I couldn't go to Rylan's field trip last week since Brian was out of town and I didn't have anyone to watch Gray.  Rylan wasn't happy so I told him since I was missing one of his field trips, I'd also skip one of Carter's. 

Before the field trip, each of the fourth graders at Carter's school composed a song and submitted it to the Hall of Fame.  Then a song writer would choose the best ones and perform them during the field trip.

Guess whose song got picked?!?!  And I wasn't there :(  Carter's song (along with 10 others - there are about 130 kids in his grade) was performed by this guy ...

Here's a video of him performing Carter's song ...