Oh-Bla-Di

 

Last weekend we trekked out to the Valley of Fire State Park for an all-day outdoor adventure. For this adventure, we actually planned ahead—most of the packing was done the night before so we could leave first thing after breakfast. Valley of Fire State Park is a short 1.25 hour drive from the house.  After we arrived in the park, we quickly realized that the Valley of Fire “current temperature” from the Interwebs was off by about 10 degrees and that “breezy” was an understatement.

 

 

 

Our first stop was a quick one at Atlatl Rock to see some petroglyphs and look for a hiking trail. After Atlatl Rock we opted for “Mouse’s Tank” hiking trail. Ava loved the hike! We didn’t make it very far from the trail-head because Ava was so busy exploring every nook and cranny of the rock formations. She clambered up and down the rocks looking for “houses” (little caves in the rocks). Noah slept for most of the time in the Moby—far superior to the Bjorn.

 

 

 

We all worked up a pretty big appetite climbing the rocks, so we set up our picnic to cook some hot dogs and rest from our morning adventures. During lunch, several chipmunks visited Ava and her lunch scraps which the wind had stolen. Ava would chase after the chipmunks which naturally scared them into the scrub. When Ava continued her pursuit of the chipmunks farther away from the picnic area, the chipmunks would return to pick at the peanuts from her trail-mix.

 

 

After lunch, we decided to tackle the “White Domes” hike—a 1.25 mile hike through white-capped sandstone rocks. The White Dome hike started off pretty tough—tons of loose, fine sand, high winds, and a tired, fussy pre-schooler. The view from the hike was spectacular and definitely worth braving the rough start. Throughout the hike, Ava repeated, “Hey, guys, I just want to walk on the rocks. Can we go walk on those rocks?”

 

 

 

 

  

By the end of the White Domes hike, we were all pretty tired and ready to head home. Ava was a trooper, but she needed help finishing the course—it turns out she was carrying most of the sand in her shoes.