Picture #2 Capitol Reef

I guess I better get finished with our vacation that was 3 weeks ago. Things have been so crazy busy I have 5 minutes to write so I'll hurry and throw this in. After we went to Arches we drove through these amazing rock formations and scary cliffs to a place called Capitol Reef. We took our chances hoping there was going to be an open camp spot in the campground and there was. This ended up being a very enjoyable stay. Capitol Reef was settled in 1880 I believe. The idea was had to have a perfect little community and the people that settled there started diverting rivers in order to water the orchards they had planted. I think it took about 25 years to bear fruit but they have some of the most beautiful cherry, apple and pear orchards I have ever seen. They had a little homestead where you could go in and eat fresh apple pie and an old mercantile. We were camping right next to the orchards. Apples and pears were in season and the rule is you can pick and eat as much as you can consume in the orchard or else you can pay $1 a pound for what you take. We filled our tummies up on apples and pears and was on our way. In the campground there were these dear that weren't afraid of anything. You could get within an arms length of them and they wouldn't budge. There was a river behind our camp and it was so peaceful. It was definitely one of our favorite camp spots.

Picture #3 Bryce Canyon

Picture #3 of our major road trip was Bryce Canyon. Matt and I both agreed our favorite hikes were here. Wow, it just hit me we agreed on something!! Anyway, we took the girls on a 1.2 mile hike down into this canyon and it was amazing. We were actually towards the end of our journey thru Bryce and I wasn't sure if we should do another hike but I'm glad that we did. We were actually in the rock formations. The pictures don't do it justice at how far we descended.

We also took another mile or so hike at the furthest end of the park called bristlecone loop. You feel like your on top of the world looking as far as the eye can see. We also had the opportunity to go on this little hike called Mossy Cave. I will take any opportunity to see a waterfall...I just love them!! I think people were laughing at us pretty hard because Matt wanted to cross the river and there were only the small scant rocks to walk on so he crossed and he had me literally toss Maryn across the river. She thought it was the coolest thing in the world.

When we were at Bryce Point we heard something to affect that sounded like cannons exploding. When we got to the look out in the distance there was thunder and lightning. It was so amazing watching a storm when it's bright and sunny where you're at.

Later that night we had access to a pool at the rv park we were staying at. This was by far Maryn's favorite because it didn't require walking. We had the pool all to ourselves and had contests to see who could stay under the water the longest.

PIcture #4 Arches National Park

Picture #4 was Arches National Park. This was the first stop in Southern Utah. After hours of driving on Monday we arrived at the entrance and I stated to Maryn we're here at the park. She looked at the window and asked me, "but where all of the swings and slides?". She was kind of bummed when she found out it was a park full of rocks. That night we went on some short hikes to Double Arch and Balance Rock. The next morning we took a short hike to Sandy Arch. That was really cool because it was in a cove with this beautiful red tinted sand everywhere. Maryn went sand surfing and collected about a pound of sand in her clothing and shoes by the time we left. Our next hike proved to be difficult. It was a 3 mile hike but the view was outstanding. I was very proud of Maryn for making the hike to Delicate Arch. This hike is pretty much straight up a rock wall face. About a third of the way up she was doing fine then saw other kids complaining of not wanting to go any further so she started mimicking them. I made her a deal if she would make it to the top I would piggy back her a part of the way down. She made good her promise so I made good on mine and carried her about 1/2 of a mile or so putting her down on the really steep parts so we didn't win a Darwin award. Macey was a trooper and ended up falling asleep on the way up. Her and Matt were drenched in sweat. Everyone we passed were so sweet and nice. Majority of the people we noticed didn't speak English. Through out our whole trip we were astonished at how many foreigners were here to see the beauty of the US.

Picture #5 Minnetonka Caves

I guess I'll just go backwards with our vacation pictures. Picture #5 was Minnetonka Caves. Right before we went to Bear Lake we took a tour of the Minnetonka Caves that are near Paris, Idaho. Now I can say that I've been to Paris...hee hee. If I remember right this cave goes down about 300 ft for the tour. I didn't hear much from Macey but I was with Maryn the whole time making sure she didn't fly off the path. There were caverns that dropped off from the path. Our tour guide was very energetic and my nephew who was with us of course had to be funny during the tour. The guide kept asking if there were questions and Dal asked if there had been any sightings of ManBearPig in the caves. Of course all of us Murdocks were busting up laughing and the poor tour guide looked perplexed.

Picture #6 Bear Lake

So, I'll start with picture #6 from the previous post. If you guessed Bear Lake you were right! To start our vacation out we went camping up in Idaho near Emigration Canyon. Four families from the Murdock side plus Mom and Dad Murdock were there. On one of the days we went to Bear Lake. This is the first time I'd ever been there. Maryn and Macey were in complete heaven. If you've never been there before you can walk out forever and have the water only go up to your waste. Perfect for kids that are adventurous like mine. Maryn of course couldn't resist covering her and her sister with sand. Macey couldn't help but eat the sand. The funny thing is she would put sand in her mouth then try like mad to get it out only putting more in. Then she would do it again. I have a video clip of Macey in the sand. She was like this the whole 2 hours we were there.

Can you guess where I've been?

Here's a sneak peek of where I've been for the last week and a half. Sorry sis, I thought I told you I'd be gone. Didn't mean to freak you out! See if you can guess where each of these places are. Here's a hint 2 of these places are in Idaho and 4 are in Utah. More to come!

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