Life in the Gjerde family has been one big party since Lily got out of school in June!
On June 24th we headed out to Utah for a family vacation. There we visited Zion, Bryce, Grand Escalante, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Goblin State Park, and Moab. It was an awesome family time filled with lots of adventure!
In Zion, we rented bikes and rode them down the canyon, took a few mini-hikes, and hiked up the Virgin River into the slot canyon called the Narrows.
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| Along our bike ride route in Zion |
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| The family at Zion |
In Bryce, Lily and I went horseback riding down into the base of the canyon. Lily's horse wasn't interested in going anywhere quickly no matter how much he was encouraged by the guide or Lily.
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| Lily and her stubborn horse |
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| Lily and me riding down Bryce Canyon |
In Grand Escalante, the family humored me and went on a 6-mile hike (3 miles in and 3 miles out) in the hot desert to a waterfall. It was a lot more difficult than I imagined, hiking in the sand and rocks and the heat! But everyone was a trooper. It ended up taking us 1:40 minutes to hike in 3 miles, and then 1:40 miles to hike back out and we all drained our water packs! The waterfall was unexpectedly freezing. Probably around 50 degrees...brr...but Lily braved it and went the furthest in!
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| My hiking troopers |
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| Lily at the freezing base of the waterfall |
At Capitol Reef, we saw a one-room school house and some petroglyphs.
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| Petroglyphs at Capitol Reef |
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| One-room school house |
We took a little side trip, at a recommendation of a friend from work. to Goblin Valley. The kids enjoyed climbing the hoodoos but I think we were all super tired from the Grand Escalante hike the day or two before!
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| Climbing the Goblin's |
By the time we got to Moab, the kids were "rocked" out. But we dragged them to Arches and Canyonlands because we were so close. They enjoyed them, but I am sure they were glad we didn't spend all day there and only made them do little hikes of .5 or less!
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| Kids at Arches |
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| Lily near double arch |
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| Family picture under double arch |
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| Scenic Overlook at Canyonlands |
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| Family at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands |
On our last day in Moab, we went four-wheeling on a famous rock called "Hell's Revenge". Lily really enjoyed it! Daddy has a new 4-wheeling sidekick.
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Four Wheeling on Hell's Revenge
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We returned home for one day only to hit the road again, this time to Ocean City for an impromptu day visit with a group of our friends who are moving away. The Best family to Tennessee and the Helmick family to Texas. That evening we went to my sister's beach house in Bethany where Lily got to hang with her cousins Aly and Hannah.
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| A day at OC with our friends who are moving |
At Bethany Lily tried surfing and I got to give her credit. Out of all the girls that tried, she definitely showed the most perseverance. She tried several times and almost was able to stand up. I was super proud of her! Plus with a storm coming in the water was really choppy and rough that day!
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| Getting a lesson |
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| Preparing |
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| Lily and Hannah headed out | |
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| She almost stood up |
I think Lily enjoyed her time with her cousins, but there was another young lady there as well, so I think she was ready to come home and have some quiet time.
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| Friends, Cousins and Ice Cream...the Best |
We leave for the beach on Monday with Abuelita and Carter, hopefully, a good time will be had by all!
