September 27, 2013...Mindi and Will have their anniversary on September 22nd as well. Way
back in February, Mindi and I started talking about taking a trip to Escalante with our men for a celebratory anniversary trip. It is so fun that we actually followed through with it. We invited Josh and Emily to come along, and they made it a lot of fun to be with them. Will, Mindi, John and I drove down together on Friday, the 27th. We packed up in the morning and took off. One of Mindi's traditions is stopping at the
Cache Valley Cheese Factory in Beaver. I had never been there before, and it was really fun to stop by. John got some ice cream, and I got some squeaky cheese. It was really yummy. They had so many different flavors of cheese. I got a bag that had a mix of about 6 different cheeses. It was really good, and I am glad Mindi introduced us to that place. We will for sure go back next time. We always stop at
the gas station there in Beaver to get a picture on the big rocking chair, so why not stop at the cheese factory as well! It will become a fun tradition for us as well. Mindi had booked a campsite for us right on a reservoir. It was a beautiful campsite and it was quite expensive, since John and I are used to paying nothing for a campsite. We actually got to Escalante and decided to explore before we got to our campsite, so we could enjoy the daylight while we had it. We had kind of scouted things
out ahead of time. Mindi had been here before, so she was going to be taking us to some of the really cool sites that she thought were worth seeing if you only were going there for one day. She took us to Grosvenor Arch. It is this arch that is literally in the middle of nowhere! We were in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Park. You just keep driving on these back dirt roads. It was quite funny. We were
going off these small little maps that you couldn't really read too well. We found these dirt roads and there were signs that would say, "Unimproved Road." We didn't really know what this meant and thought it was so funny. The roads actually were so sandy, that they would get wiped out from the heavy rainfall. There were divots in the road that looked like giant rivers of water had flowed through them. Some of the roads had signs saying that they were closed, but we just
kept driving on them. They were quite sketchy and seemed scary to pass. Will just kept driving on them. We found out that a huge storm came through a couple weeks prior to us being there and it wiped out most of the roads. They had these huge tractors that were shoveling the roads and repairing the passageways to get across the little creeks, but they hadn't got all of them done. It was kind of crazy to see how scary
those roads could be in the rain. I couldn't imagine driving on those in the rain. They are so unpredictable and you could get stuck out there very easily if you didn't know what you were doing. I am grateful there were 4 of us together, so we had strength in numbers to push us out if we got stuck. Will did a great job making sure we were staying on safe ground. We were going to do some hikes, but the roads really were impassable, so
we couldn't get to some of the locations. I was kind of sad about that, but I guess when you don't know what you are missing out on, you can't be too disappointed. Mindi said she would take us to those hikes next time we came down. When we got to Grosvenor Arch, it was actually very large and beautiful. It was really high, and so it looked smaller in the pictures than it did in real life. It was amazing! We got done with that and drove around a little bit more. We
drove into our campsite and it was a beautiful campsite. We were the last location at the site, so we didn't have any neighbors, and it was a huge campsite. We were also right there overlooking the reservoir, and it was so peaceful. Emily and Josh didn't get there until about 11:00pm, because they couldn't get off work any earlier. Will, Mindi, John and I set up camp and started cooking. We made some yummy hamburgers and veggies over the fire. It was so yummy! We pulled out our camp
flowers and planted them by the fire. The stars were amazing out there. You didn't really have lights to distract from the starlit sky. It really was a beautiful campsite. It was pretty cold down there, so we were always near the fire and bundled up really well. Because we got there early, and we had a big family campsite, we had plenty of room. One of the rangers asked if it would be ok if they rented out the furthest family site at our campsite to someone else. We said
that was fine, and we did get a neighbor. His name was John. He was super friendly and was from Arizona. He was a talker and pretty much hung out with us and ate with us the entire time we were at our campsite. He would just wander over and chat his little heart away! He was so friendly and talkative and was appreciative of us sharing our food with him for every breakfast and dinner. We were there from Friday until Sunday, so we really did get to know him well. Mindi was talking about
being cold one night, so he went and got her some of his undergarments that were supposed to keep her very warm. He was just a super friendly guy. Anyway...Josh and Emily showed up after we had gone to bed, so we saw them in the morning. John and I were in charge of breakfast. We made a mountain man breakfast, with everything in it; eggs, bacon, ham, sausage,
cheese, hash browns, etc. It was really yummy. We used Josh and Emily's stove and the fire. We had tortillas that people could create a breakfast burrito with. It was all so yummy and hearty for our long day of hiking and exploring. Mindi took us to 3 slot canyons. We actually only ended up having time to do two of the slot canyons once we go there. It took us a while to hike down to the slot canyon, then we had to find the entrance. We did Peek-a-boo Gulch. It was AMAZING!!! I
have gone into slot canyons before, but I had never done a slot canyon this tight before. We found it and it starts out narrow and gets narrow and then wider in some areas. You can always see the sky and so it didn't get too dark in this first one. You had to take your backpack off in some of it. I was so excited to be doing this hike. I was just so giddy,
like a little kid. I had always wanted to do slot canyons like this. The weather was very clear, and there was no chance of rain, so we didn't really have to worry about rain coming and getting stuck in the slot canyons. Mindi was leading us and she just kind of ran away with Will. John, Emily, Josh and I stuck together. I was kind of sad about that, because we really didn't get many pictures with Mindi and Will
because they were just way ahead of us and didn't wait for us. We just really like taking our time and enjoying the journey and views. We would stop and take picture after picture. Some pictures turned out really good and some didn't turn out as good. It is just amazing to walk through these slot canyons knowing that they were created from nature itself, water and wind. It is literally incredible! We had so much fun adventuring through these canyons. I had never seen
anything like them before, and just enjoyed every minute of it. As we were searching for the next slot canyon, I accidentally dropped our camera. I was devastated. The sand got in it and it wouldn't open or close, or focus. I was heartbroken. Emily and Josh said they would take some pictures for us. I was just sad that I couldn't take pictures when I
wanted and where I wanted. I just was taking pictures the entire time. I was pretty sad about not having my own camera to take pictures. But, I was grateful that I was there so at least enjoy the journey and take mental pictures. Anyway...we still had fun! That second slot canyon, Spooky Gulch, was a very TIGHT canyon!!! I got scared in a few spots and was so grateful that there was no rain in the forecast, or I wouldn't have done that one. It was a lot tighter and a lot more dark. You had to pretty much carry your backpack, because you just didn't
have room to be wearing it. If you came across another group coming in through the back way, there was no way you could pass one another. There were two spots in the entire canyon that you could have possibly passed. It was crazy tight! We had cuts, scrapes and bruises on our hands, arms and legs because we had
to shimmy up and down some parts. I was a little nervous, I am not going to lie! It was so awesome though! It was hard to get good pictures in there, because it was a lot more dark and you couldn't capture some of the light very well to take a picture. Mindi and Will took off and Josh, Emily, John and I stopped to eat. They just wanted to get it done; we just wanted to enjoy our time there. We stayed together the entire time and just had fun! It was just beauty beyond what I had imagined. It was just
amazing!!! We didn't have time to do the third slot canyon, but John and I decided that we were going to come back for sure! It is so worth coming back to do these slot canyons. AMAZING!!! On our way back to our campsite, we stopped at a little spot that was just gorgeous. It was called Devil's Garden. It was crazy cool! We took a lot of pictures there, and really enjoyed just seeing the beauty. There were rocks just piled on each other, and they were huge. They looked like they were going to fall, but they were just sitting there. We found a few arches there as well. It was just an entire day of beauty all around us. I can't believe all the nature that we have been given by our Heavenly Father. I keep thinking of all the things that I haven't seen that are crazy beautiful. I am so grateful for so much beauty on this earth. We stayed there for about an hour and then we headed back to camp to clean up and prepare dinner. Mindi made salmon on the grill with salad and this yummy rice. I felt like we ate gourmet meals while we were out there camping. John, our neighbor friend said that we were feeding him better than what he eats at home on a regular basis. It was pretty funny! The next day we got up, ate breakfast, packed things up, and took off for the Lower Calf Creek Falls hike. We all kind of went at our own paces. Mindi and Will took off running practically. Josh and Emily were quick, and then John and I just enjoyed our walk, like we do all our hikes. It was nice that it was just the two of us. We really enjoyed our time together, alone. It was a beautiful hike, and I was really sad that we didn't have my camera! The end result was a gorgeous waterfall! It was definitely worth the hike. We got there and it just took your breathe away! It was just so beautiful! I am grateful that we did this hike. The whole trip was just wonderful! I only wish I hadn't dropped the camera. That was my only regret. I am excited to go back there and just take our time to see exactly what we want to see, and take our time doing it! It will be another great adventure that we will have together.
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