Canyoneering and Throwing Rocks

There is no better Birthday party than adventuring in Southern Utah. We decided to do just that to celebrate Kevin's big day. We originally had maps of the area we were going to explore. That plan was foiled when I left them in the illustrious "Stans" where we had burgers before hiking. I thought then they would know where to look for us if we never came back, the others thought it would have been more helpful to have the maps with us. So when we started hiking we weren't really sure what we were in for. The hike began so calm...



Then we came to some obstacles. We started by shoving each other up. Usually Chase went first and then sometimes he would take the rope and stick it in a crack so the rest of us could climb up. The cliffs obstacles got harder and harder until the last one we used the harnesses and were on belay incase we fell. We didn't.




The next day we went to what was deemed "mini Kipu Falls", very mini. I was the first to jump in the water. I had tested the temperature with my finger and decided it was cold, but not terrible. I will never trust my finger again, it was so cold I could hardly breathe. This is actally me jumping in the second time because the first jump only had the splash photographed. I'm so dedicated to this blog that I jumped off again just to have a good picture of it to post. (It wouldn't be fair if I didn't mention that Patrick jumped in to, but only from the side where he didn't have to swim so far to get out)




There was only one picture that had all four of the adventurers in it. Here it is. I think it's especially nifty that you can see the reflection from the water on the roof of the overhang above us.



And what kind of trip would it have been if we didn't go throw rocks. Grandpa Hal built this bridge over the Dirty Devil river right by Lake Powell back in the 50s when Kevin was just a tot. It was nice of him to build it so high so it made such a fun past time. Please notice that Patrick and Chase are looking at the camera but Kevin, always dedicated to getting the Grand Rental name out there, sacrifices to show only that back of his shirt.
All in all the weekend was great fun with great family. Now who doesn't like to end with a sappy comment like that.