Day 16: “Man, there’s a lot of Utah”

I look at Carter and his red welts and wonder if I should change his nickname to “Skeeter”. The girls argue that “Stink” is still the best. That’s short for Stinker, since he likes to grab and pull hair when you least expect it. He’s grown up a lot on this trip. A bit of his ornery side is starting to come out. Probably from such close observation of his big brother.

We leave Provo and drive and drive through Utah. There seems to be a lot of Utah. It’s sort of a drive through the book of Mormon, with towns like Nephi and Moroni.. I make tuna sandwiches as we drive down the road. By now I’m a pro- though I notice the Miracle Whip is front and center in the fridge and I have to dig around for the Mayo. I’m covered in bruises from bumping around in the motorhome while it is in motion. I try to keep everything in the fridge as we bump along the road. Alas, I find it. We make it to Bryce Canyon. As we drive in, we’re behind a truck with a strange looking hitch of sorts. Dave comments, “I wonder what that guy steals for a living?” Eventually, we realize it is a headstone in his truck bed. Now that’s a little ominous.

It is really beautiful. Lots of red rock. This place is hopping. We stop at Sunrise point and overhear a plethora of languages. The guys walking behind us have an Aussie accent. A gentleman from China asks if these are all my children? He holds up 4 fingers, just to confirm. I laugh and say yes…we’re crazy. On the way back up the trail, a group of chipper Germans singing a marching song gallop along. Hannah leans in and asks why everyone here is so old. At least she whispers it!

We go down the trail, which is steep without fences on the side. Jack stays true to form and throws a temper tantrum at yet another National Park. He’s screaming and it is echoing off the hoodoos (the rock formations in Bryce). A family hikes down as the father holding the hand of his 3 year old laughes and says, “That sounds familiar”.

Bryce Canyon is the perfect lazy person’s park. You get wonderful vistas right from the turnout. It works out well, since the kids could care less. Carter has finally fallen asleep. The girls come out for the the natural bridge. After our tour, we head off in search of a campground. We find one outside of the main area, which works out well. We can have a fire here. We walk to dinner and have a strange, but filling meal at the nearby .restaurant. The kids eat everything on their plate, in promise of homemade pies. We order peach a la mode and the banana strawberry creme pie. Good choices, I must say!

Later, we sit by the fire and have more smores. Hannah slips Carter bits of marshmallow and he gives her looks of intense devotion. Tatum catalogs her new collection of rocks- each one named after a family member. Jack is in the motorhome playing trucks. We head to bed. I look at how grubby my little boys are, but Dave reminds me that they showered this morning. Ok…