Mini Vacation

I have been MIA a little bit lately.  I actually had a weekend off last week and decided to take the kids to our cabin.  My parents and my youngest sister and her 2 boys also came.  We decided on Saturday that we were going to take a little road trip to Bryce Canyon National Park.  I haven't been there for many, many years and my kids have actually never been there.  It is so ironic that people travel from all over the world to see the National Parks in Utah and my kids (oldest 17 years old) are just now seeing Bryce.  Better late than never, I always say!  Here are some fabulous pics of our adventure:

Here is their first look at the towers of Bryce.

While on the shuttle bus, the driver said Ebenezer Bryce

said something to the effect of this being a lousy place

to find a cow.  Kazen thought that was funny.

I believe Jaggyr is a bit dumbfounded.

Absolutely gorgeous scenery!

If you click on the below pic to enlarge it you can

actually see people walking on the trail below.

Now that's a hike!

Trevin and Kazen were the only two that were

willing to pose for pics.

This picture was taken at Bryce Point.  This lookout means

something special to me as my grandparents were

actually married on this exact spot.  My grandma grew

up in Tropic, the little tiny town you can

see down in the valley below.  My grandpa grew up in Hurricane,

but both of them were working at Bryce one summer when

they met and fell in love.  Because this was where they

met, they decided to get married here.  My grandpa has since passed away, but

I think about him often.  I have such fond memories of my

grandparents from my childhood.  It was a special feeling

to actually stand where their wedding took place.

Here is Mammy and 4 of her 11 grandkids.

If you haven't already noticed, Dax hates

posing for pictures.  I just have one thing to say to him,

WAAAAAA!

As we were walking back to the shuttle stop, there were

a whole bunch of tourists stopped at the base of this tree,

looking up and taking pictures.  I followed suit and

this beautiful bird was waiting for his close up.

Here are Ella and her little cousin, Brody.

If you have never been to Bryce, you really should make the time to go visit this magnificent place. 

This is from the NPS website http://www.nps.gov/brca/historyculture/index.htm:

Bryce Canyon is a small national park in southwestern Utah. Named after the Mormon Pioneer Ebenezer Bryce, Bryce Canyon became a national park in 1928.
Bryce is famous for its worldly unique geology, consisting of a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters carved from the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in southern Utah. The erosional force of frost-wedging and the dissolving power of rainwater have shaped the colorful limestone rock of the Claron Formation into bizarre shapes including slot canyons, windows, fins, and spires called "hoodoos." Tinted with colors too numerous and subtle to name, these whimsically arranged rocks create a wondrous landscape of mazes, offering some of the most exciting and memorable walks and hikes imaginable.
Ponderosa pines, high elevation meadows, and fir-spruce forests border the rim of the plateau and abound with wildlife. This area boasts some of the world's best air quality, offering panoramic views of three states and approaching 200 miles of visibility. This, coupled with the lack of nearby large light sources, creates unparalleled opportunities for stargazing.