The Noehren's

We left our mountain paradise Saturday for the trek home.  I70 though Utah and Colorado is super beautiful!  We made great time and camped in Limon, Colorado our first night and opted for a hotel in Independence, Missouri our second night since it was 95 degrees and we were road weary.  Kansas is tough to get through, but we found it's main redeeming factor - Freddy's.  We ate at this place on the drive out and back and fell in love.  It is yummy custard like Nielsons in SLC, and I learned that custard is creamier than ice cream because it has more eggs and the process it is made takes out the extra air, unlike ice cream.  I am a major fan of frozen custard.  AND, the best news??  They are expanding and are coming soon to Lexington and Louisville.  Joy!! The kids killed time playing with Fluffels and Midnight,  watching movies and playing the ipad,    and sleeping.  Brian found this gem and it was a gr...

Here we are at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.  Breathtaking!!  I think now is a good time to give my dad an apology for climbing all over the place and scaring the living day lights out of him when we came here when I was about 14.  I guess it takes being a parent to truly realize how scary that place is, and the thought of your kid falling a mile down is horrifying!  Stick to the path!!     Doesn't Brian look happy enjoying his sundae at Three Bears in Kanab?  I love Kanab - it is such a pretty and cute little town.  On our way back from the Grand Canyon, we ventured off Hwy 89 to check out Coral Pink Sand Dune State Park.  It was so worth it!  They reminded me of the dunes outside of Rexburg, Idaho, only coral colored.  We had a blast running all over the place and "skiing" down the dunes. I have to admit that this was the hardest workout of the ...

We decided to take a break and stay local for a day and explore Duck Creek Villiage some more.  We found Mammoth Cave.  It was made from an old lava flow - how random is that?  Plus, there is old lava fields all over the place up here.  Who knew!  Needless to say it was cool, but not quite so Mammoth as the Kentucky version. When we started crawling down the hole Haley asked where all of the tour guides were.  Hahaha!  I told her that she was in for her first true spelunking experience. They were hesitant at first, but after some encouragement they slowly scurried back in...but not without me far behind.  I would be sooo creeped out if our flashlights stopped working.  Next we headed to Strawberry Point further down Dixie National Forest.  It was another beautiful lookout with sheer cliffs all around.  To end the day right we roasted some marshmellows back at the cabin. Another great day!...

Here is the view from Sunset Point at Bryce.  Then we ventured down this trail for an amazing 3 mile hike on the Queens Garden and Navajo Trails to visit the Hoo Doos.  There was a cool hoo doo "garden" at the bottom that we added to.  The absolute best part of the hike was the narrow canyons on the way up with a serious amount of switch backs.  We thought for sure that we'd be carrying one or both kids, but they jimmied right on up!

We started off Zions with a great hike to Observation Point.  The view from the end was breath taking.  Later we took the river walk trail to the head of the Narrows and played in the water. The kids hiked over 4 miles all day and were awesome!!  I am loving this no-stoller and no-baby carrier lifestyle!  Here is the end result:

Hiking Cascade Falls just outside Duck Creek Villiage in Dixie National Forest.  The end of the hike where water shoots out of this rock from the lake above.  Bri found a small twig to throw into Navajo Lake.  Cedar Breaks National Monument  The boys planning our next day's adventures at the cabin.