My parents came to visit, so we decided to explore a part of Utah none of us had been before.  

Byrce Canyon.


Holy Crap.  Might be my new fav. National Park.


It was amazing to hike down into the canyon and see all the changes in the landscape.  




There were tons of places to climb around and play.

Crew liked to make his own Hoodoos every time we took a break. 


The kids were awesome hikers and there was actually very little complaining once we got started.  


And I could not stop taking pictures.  It was just too perfect.  



Even the hike back out wasn’t too bad.  


And Raffy joined us for the first time.  He loved it.  And that is Thor’s hammer behind my head, a favorite part of the hike for the boys.  

(it wasn’t as cold as this picture makes it look.  Ruby would not allow Paul to put his hood down.)

The 2nd day we checked out The Grand Escalante Staircase at Kodachrome State Park.


I think the kids liked this place even more than Byrce.  

There was barely anyone there and just open space to explore.  


They loved climbing and playing on the slick rock.  

 


One reason I love hiking is the kids can be as loud and crazy as safety allows. They get to be free and I don’t have to stress about the glances of other moms wondering why I can’t keep my kids under control. :)  


I think Ruby liked it better here too, as she didn’t have to be in the hiking backpack quite as much.  

Crew was a little worn out, due to all the hiking the day before. So, on the last hike of the trip Pop-Pop and I had to take turns carrying him.  

To me it seemed like a mix of Bryce, Zion, and Arches.


Perfection.


 We already are making plans to check out some different areas of Grand Escalante.  

I really do love Utah.