July 17 – 22, 2024, Trip days 108 – 113
Randal turns 11 months! Despite his best efforts at resisting, Meagan did manage to capture him for a photo!
We had some spectacular views of the clouds rolling in. We didn’t get any rain where we were, but we saw some lightning off in the distance.
We headed over to the Capitol Reef NP visitor center, where the kids got to work on their Junior Ranger books.
Ducky picked out a walking stick. All set and ready for adventure!
Arya and Evan complete their books and receive their badges.
Jarek got his badge a bit later. Being older, he had more stuff to do. Also, he is very aggressive about our incentive program. If the kids complete the whole book, they get a sticker.
18 July
The next day we headed out to do a hike to the Rim Overlook. This was a fairly challenging hike for us. Fortunately, the weather was accommodating.
Headed up the trail, Alan carries Ducky and Meagan has Randal in a kid carrier pack.
Up at the top, we took a break to eat some snacks and rest a bit. Randal enjoyed being out!
Family photo at the top! Randal, despite his best efforts to run to the edge, was contained.
You can see the trip log below from the Garmin watch:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/16484502246
We did not bring enough water, as we ran out about 1/2 way down. Fortunately, the clouds were in and kept it cooler. We made some changes after this hike and carried additional water and toned down the hikes a bit to better accommodate the littles.
19 July
While Alan does some maintenance, Randal inspects the tool kit to see what things he can ‘fix’.
The truck’s air filter after several months of operations in the southwest dust.
A happy Randal plays with his bucket and the rocks.
Ducky is looking to fill Daddy’s shoes! Still has a little bit yet before he’s there, but he’s taken a few steps in that direction!
20 July
Ducky plays in the roadworks at our campsite.
Meagan and Randal ready to go! Today we headed back to Captiol Reef and visited the historic orchards that they maintain. You can eat your fill off the trees for free. For a small fee, you are welcome to pick fruit that is ripe to take with you. When we were there, Apricots were ripe and the kids enjoyed picking 13 pounds of fruit. It was a bit of struggle to stop them – they would have picked the trees clean if we let them!
Jarek on a ladder picking fruit.
Randal explores the orchards, happy to be free of his restraints!
July 21
Anasazi State Park and Scenic Byway 12
We drove out along scenic byway 12 and stopped in at the Anasazi State Park. Jarek learned a lot from the staff about the dirt roads and flash floods. There was a road Jarek wanted us to take that became a 4 wheel track, and he wasn’t quite getting it why we didn’t want to go down it in the minivan!
Anasazi State Park is a site that has examples of ancient Puebloan and Fremont culture existing together, around the years 1200-1300 CE.
Foundations of the stone buildings.
A pit house reconstructed at the site.
A reconstructed structure that the kids were able to explore. It was built for people much smaller than us!
Complete with their books, they receive their badges from the park staff.
Scenic view from Scenic Byway 12.
Scenic view from Scenic Byway 12.
Back at the campground for a beautiful sunset!
Meagan and the kids went for a walk from the campsite to the nearby entrance of Fishlake National Forest.
July 22
After our adventures, we had a rest day. The kids built themselves a fort using folding chairs and blankets. Here, Evan plays with Randal.
Randal enjoys a freezie pop!
Alan did some maintenance on the van, an(other) expeditionary oil change! Part of the challenge of a trip like this is staying on top of the maintenance requirements for the cars.
All set for the next leg, tomorrow we head out to Moab!
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