Snow Canyon Spring Break

For Spring Break this year, Annika, Eli, NomiAnn and I all headed down south to St. George. Jason would have liked to come but was swamped with work, Brooklyn and Talia had school, and Papa Kay had an important medical appointment. So in the end, it was just the four of us but we had a great time.

Here we are grabbing ice cream in Beaver.

We had a little time before checking into our campsite, so we stopped off at the nature gardens on our way through St. George.

I'd reserved a walk-in tent site at Snow Canyon months earlier. While not large, it worked great for our group, particularly with the shade structure that provided some relief from the afternoon heat.

The background scenery is another fantastic perk.

Packing and setting up camp is always a lot of work, so it's nice to put your feet up once you get there.

As for Annika, she preferred the hammock.

Setting out for an evening hike. We saw a huge rattlesnake being shepherded across the road by a park employee during our drive to the trailhead. Annika was thrilled, but NomiAnn was less excited, especially since it was being guided to the side of the road nearest our campsite.

Annika may not have been permitted to pet the rattler, but she found a pet beetle to make up for it.

We'd intended to hike to the Whiterocks amphitheater but took a wrong turn and ended up here instead. A beautiful Oops.

On our way back, we took one more jaunt to the top of the Upper Galoot as the last rays of light faded. 

The next morning we set out for another adventure after breakfast. This main canyon loop went from the Whiptail Trail...

...for a quick detour along the Tortoise Walk...

...up into the Petrified Dunes...

...over onto the Butterfly trail (where we met another rattler)...

...down into the lava tubes (how had I never fully explored them before?)...

...across the Lava Flow trail...

(unlike the prickly pear, these guys are actually soft...)

...down the West Canyon Road to Red Sands...

...and finally back through Hidden Pinyon. Hidden Pinyon is  family favorite that we've hiked for years, but I guess I was tired of taking pictures by that point. But hey, here's a photo from when we were there over Jason's 40th birthday.

Meanwhile, NomiAnn hiked the Whiptail trail with us, stopped to read a book for a while, then took a bonus hike back to the campground where she overshot the turn off by a mile or two and had to walk balk. But hey, she definitely got her steps in!

Later that day, we headed into town to eat some Peruvian food at Viva Chicken (yum!), followed by a showing of Project Hail Mary from a nice air conditioned theater. Craziest thing--our seats were in the very same row as our Salt Lake neighbor Courtney Martin who was there with her grandmother! Small world. It's also a kind world. My Mom accidentally left her phone in the theater and someone turned it in. Tender mercies.

From there, we headed to Pioneer Park for a picnic dinner and some rock scrambling.

Eli took this beautiful photo.

After seeing the temple gleaming in the distance, we headed over to the St. George temple to walk the beautiful grounds. It's so much more inviting following the renovation!

Naturally Annika stopped to bond with the lowliest of God's creations.

The inscription: Holiness to the Lord, the House of the Lord.

Back to our own little wilderness home.

Eli was a great sport and got up early with me the next morning so that we could hike Cinder Cone volcano. It's just a few miles from the main canyon, but I'd never been before. Plus, the Wilhoits were hiking volcanoes in Hawaii that day, so I wanted to join the club.

Eli and I decided that a sign stating Dangerous Animals--Access at Your Own Risk sounds more like an invitation than a deterrent.

Views back into Snow Canyon from the top.

If we hadn't walked a little farther, I would have missed the crater entirely! Glad Eli was there to straighten me out.

Down in the bottom of the crater you could add your stone to the top of the mini-mountain. It felt quite Moana-esque, minus the slightest hint of an ocean.

Afterward, we had time for a leisurely breakfast before breaking camp.

But wait, the Wheelers don't vacation without embarking on every last possible hike! Before beginning the drive home, we headed out to the Whiterocks Amphitheater one more time. This time we knew which path not to take and got there by default.

We lost track of Annika for a little while. Unsurprisingly, we found her up a tree.

Gotta admit, the tree had a pretty spectacular view.

Before leaving, she told me that she wanted to hike "just one more hill." Apparently she meant the highest peak in this photo.

Many thanks to Eli for joining his sister on the journey.

They made it! Sometimes it's all I can do to stand back and marvel at these kids of mine.  I'm in awe of all that Annika's beautiful heart allows her to do, literally climbing mountains and reaching new heights. And Eli, your heart is just as miraculous--generous, insightful, and oh-so-kind. To everyone who was able to join or who would have liked to join our mini-campout adventure, we love you! Thanks for the beautiful memories.