Palisades Trip

The last couple of years we have taken a little mini-adventurecation inside our vacation with the Merrill family. The time leading up to them can be really stressful, and we are never really sure who is going to come, but you know what I have loved doing them. I know it is kind of mean to pull Grandpa away from his farm in the summer, but it is so great to have his undivided attention. I know he worries about the farm still, but he does it a little differently when he isn't right there. I know it is a lot of work for Grandma to get everything packed up and ready to go, and it sometimes takes major convincing from her to get some of the others to come. It gets kind of crazy getting everything packed up, cleaned up, arranged and ready to go. However, when we actually get there it is AWESOME!! It is so awesome because when we go on these adventurecations we take EVERYONE out of there normal routine and place and we do it all together. The kids play really well together even at there houses or the farm, but the play is different when we are all out of our homes. However, my favorite part by far is when we do these we are a family with very few interruptions for about 24hrs. Yeah its crazy and it doesn't ever quite go as planned, but it is perfect in its own way.

Last year we went to Bear Lake and this year we went to Palisades. This trip was all organized and sponsored by Heidi and Jeff. They did a great job. They reserved a group site at Big Elk Creek. It was a site for about 115 people or so. It was a little or major over kill for us our needs but it worked out great and fulfilled all of our needs. We all set up our tents in the tent area of the campsite and picked the firepits closest to Heidi and Jeff's tent for the cooking and eating. The campsite was great becuase we could kind of spread out from each other, but it had running water and we had our own personal vault toilets. We also had plenty of parking, tent space, tables, and firepits, plus a big open meadow for us to play games in. Then only downside is it was right by Big Elk Creek and James would run for it every time you let him go.

Anyway, we left for Palisades on Thursday after lunch. It was a nice drive. Going up to the country sure is pretty. Although, I did miss some of it because I took a nap, but naps are beautiful too. Anyway, we got there and Heidi and Jeff were already there and setting up camp. We picked out our tent pad and set up there. Then we hung around and visited and helped get things setup and stuff.

The setup at what we used as the main hub. Aaron, Jeff, Tia, Melanie, James, Arlin, and Heidi.

Then we went on a little hike. Being me I would have probably pushed my kids to go farther, but we hiked until the pregnant lady (Heidi), a few kids, and Grandpa said they were done. Which is totally fine. There were no tears shed on this hike which I think is a first for me. Also the part we hike was so pretty. There were quite a few place you could see the river, and all of it was grassy green with beautiful wild flowers. It really was a nice hike. It wasn't too steep or anything, but the trail was a bit narrow and the part we hiked had quite a few sunny spots, but oh it was really pretty still.

Gaupo (the blue dot ahead), and Kylee on the trail. Tia is with Gaupo but you can't see her.

At the turn around point. Gaupo, Tia, Glen, Naomi, and Heidi.

Me, Katelyn, Melanie, Blaine, Arlin and Kylee. We were on top of a big rock to the side of path.

After we hiked for a little bit, and took a break we hiked back and the kids played in the area were a spring ran to catch the river. They had a great time dipping fingers, feeling the water rush over there hands on the little falls. They also loved how cold it was. I was super impressed by how clear it was.

Heidi, Arlin, Katelyn, Blaie, Melanie, Gaupo, Grandpa, Aaron, James, Grandma, Jeff, and Jarom.

Arlin, Tia, and Kylee a little further up the stream.

After finishing with all that we headed back to camp and played there. I taught the kids how to play stop/go aka Red light/ Green Light. We played that until the kids lost interest. Actually Arlin and Kylee loved the games I played and would have kept playing, but thing are only so interesting when there are only two that want to play and we have to keep track of 4-6 others. However, after some game playing and more visiting it was time for dinner. We built a fire and had hot dogs, polish dogs, and somores. It was so tasty. I think I post about this almost every time I talk about fire roasted hot dogs, but they really are so good and somores. I mean the whole thing is just summer in meal. Plus there was watermelon, chips, and pineapple, so it was so good. Then I got Jeff to help me and we played Johnny, Johnny Butcher Boy with the kids. They were  a little young for that one, but I thought it was still fun and Jeff was such a sport to play with me/us. Then we just visited and the kids played there own games. While sitting there, Grandpa spotted a bald eagle sitting in a tree. Jeff had brought his binoculars, so we looked at it through those. Then Aaron had his spotting scope out which hooks to his phone (which is super cool), so he had it on there and we could see it really cool. It was quite a bird to behold. Then it still wasn't getting dark and it was like 9:00/9:30, and the kids were getting really tired, so we decided it was time to go to bed.

Saturday dawned not too early. About 6:30 which for sleeping outside I think is really impressive. The night wasn't too bad. Tia had a bit of a time falling asleep, and some how ended up under her sleeping bag. Kylee said she slept good. Apparently I slept alright because Gaupo said in the middle of the night Tia was on top of me and he had to move her back. (Gaupo says we are not sleeping in our little tent anymore.) Gaupo said he slept alright, but at the end of the day he was really tired. He went to bed at like 8:00ish. Anyway, Gaupo got up and got the fire going. The girls and I got ready in our tent and then we went out. Pretty much everyone was up by about 7:00,  so breakfast and hot chocolate were being made about that time. We had breakfast burritos. So bacon, eggs, and cheese on a tortilla. It was a really easy and simple and filling. Then we had to take down camp. While that was all getting done and we were kind of waiting around we played Spud. Alrin and Kylee really like that game. Even Tia enjoyed it a bit. It took Gaupo and I awhile to get our tent put up, because we needed to wait for the dew to dry, but finally did and we got it put away. Once we were all packed up we drove just around the bend to Little Elk Creek.

There we met up with a Brother from Heidi and Jeff's ward who brought some wood kayaks that he made. Heidi and Jeff had bought this trip at an auction their young women held for a fundraiser. Anyway, we met him there and he let us kayak on Little Elk Creek. Oh man it was so pretty and his kayaks were so awesome too. They handled really nice. Me and one of my girls could actually fit in one pretty easily and the girls also like sitting together in the two person kayak. So we just floated and paddled around for a couple of hours until lunch. We had sandwiches, chips, cookies, and watermelon for lunch. Then we went out and kayaked again. I did talk to the brother about how he made his kayaks and he says he read a book on it and then did it. He builds them on a form and glues all the many, many pieces together one at a time. It is quite the process and he says on average it takes about 300 hours. He chuckled and said "It's a good winter project." This brother has such a great personality and was such a joy to be around. Anyway, we paddled more on the creek until about 2:00 when Gaupo was ready to leave. So, we came to shore and ended up letting the girls play in the water for another 15-30 minutes and then we left. I slept a lot of the way, but it was nice.

Kylee and Tia playing in the two person kayak.

Me, and Kylee and Tia out in the two person kayak.

Naomi, Arlin, Tia, and Kylee playing in the water.

Kylee and Arlin with squirters.

The crew at lunch. Aubrey, Grandma, Arlin, Grandpa, Tia, The Brother, Naomi, Kylee, Aaron, and Melanie.

Then we stopped at Grandpa-Great's on the way home to visit him and my mom. We were dirty, and a little travel worn, but they gladly welcomed our visit. It was great to visit with them. It was really hard to say good-bye for the final time, but I am really glad Gaupo let us stop for about 30-45 minutes. Then we headed home and got a few things unpacked and had dinner. Then Gaupo got ready for bed and I played a little disc golf with Gary, Melanie, and Aaron. Then I put the kiddos down and played 5 Crowns for a little while before we all headed to bed.

It was so great to go spend sometime in the outdoors and to do it with family. My girls totally enjoyed camping and getting dirty. It was defiantly time well spent I think. I should probably get some other opinions, so if we do plan an adveturecation for next year we know if people really like it or not. As you can see all part of our vacation were great. We learned a lot, played a lot, enjoyed family and each other. Our kids loved the freedom of the country. They loved playing with their cousins and attention from Grandma. I am so glad we made the trip and did what we did. It was a little crazy, but so fun and good memories and bonds were made.