We had such a good experience with Red Canyon, that we decided to go back. Jacqueline was able to get going early in the morning as we wanted to make sure to get a campsite. It was a good thing, because when we pulled in, there were only a few remaining. This time we didn't choose our campsite from before and instead went with one a little bit further up the hill. It was good this time, though, because we already had a plan together about where we were going to hike. There was a trail that left right from the campground and went up, but continued back with a loop. We got going rather quickly and soon I was hauling Zyla up the hill.
Jacqueline was getting a little winded also because she was now halfway through pregnancy. We all did rather well and eventually popped out above the trees on a nice open plateau. It was lunch time, which I quickly finished. Jacqueline and especially Zyla were going to take a bit more time. I let them eat on this flat place among a sea of hoodoos and red rocks. I continued up the trail to go to a viewpoint. It was a nice spot, but only a short distance, so I was back before lunch was done. I tried to get the two of them moving, but a two year old has a mind of her own on how quickly lunch will be over. '
Besides, we thought that we had the entire day anyway, so there shouldn't have to be too much of a rush. But this was July, so as we passed the noon hour, we knew what likely could be rolling in, big thunderstorm clouds. At this point, we had blue sky, but that was likely to change. We started hiking again as the trail immediately dropped elevation then began climbing again. Sure enough the wind started to pick up and the gray clouds rolled in. We worried a bit because we were so exposed with not much vegetation in this area. But as we kept moving it soon became apparent that turning around and going back again would give us no advantage over continuing the way we came.
We came upon what could be called the Golden Wall. Along the entire trail were interesting formations including a gravity defying rock perched like a golf ball on a golf tee. This trail was excellent and there were no other people on it. Maybe that was just because they were smart enough to realize that the strong winds and dark clouds out to the east were a good sign that just maybe this wasn't the best time of day to be out hiking. Zyla was enjoying the wind and just kept saying, "It's windy," over and over again. I tried to keep us moving quickly, but Jacqueline had to take it at a good controlled pace because there was a baby in her belly.
The trail seemed to go up and down as we traveled mostly to the south. Eventually it took a turn to the west, but it continued climbing and we were open and exposed to the elements. Jacqueline, of course, was giving me advice on how bad of an idea this was, while I was just trying to get away from the high exposed elevation. Still, we were not too nervous as the storm clouds were not producing much rain or much cloud to ground lightning. They just looked rather intimidating. We finally made it around the Golden Wall to what looked like the high point of the entire hike.
Then the trail finally began to go down hill. The weather also began to clear up. We still decided not to take the turn off to Castle Bridge, which sounded like a nice spot, but we had to stay aware that the weather could still turn on us. We ran into the only people that we saw on this hike and talked to them a bit. From the high point, the trail continued to go down until we ran into the road. We always hope that Zyla will sleep on these hikes, but instead she was awake the entire time. Most of my time hiking is spent with Zyla constantly singing in my ear. She is fun, but it makes for a much louder experience for me and sometimes makes conversation with Jacqueline challenging. There was an excellent paved bike trail that we were able to follow back to the campground. That gave us the ability to spend the rest of the day just hanging out reading books and playing with rocks. Zyla was rather interested in the crazy squirrels that were rather aggressive. We had a yummy dinner and then bed time. We were prepared this time for the cold, but July was sure a lot different then June. It was very humid out and Zyla this time was rather sweaty in the tent. Instead of her down coat to sleep in, she was just in a pair of pj's. We did end up sleeping well, but once again when morning hit, we had to be quick with our packing to get Jacqueline back for work. We enjoyed having at least this one day off for going camping together as a family was just such a fun time.
We had such a good experience with Red Canyon, that we decided to go back. Jacqueline was able to get going early in the morning as we wanted to make sure to get a campsite. It was a good thing, because when we pulled in, there were only a few remaining. This time we didn't choose our campsite from before and instead went with one a little bit further up the hill. It was good this time, though, because we already had a plan together about where we were going to hike. There was a trail that left right from the campground and went up, but continued back with a loop. We got going rather quickly and soon I was hauling Zyla up the hill.
Jacqueline was getting a little winded also because she was now halfway through pregnancy. We all did rather well and eventually popped out above the trees on a nice open plateau. It was lunch time, which I quickly finished. Jacqueline and especially Zyla were going to take a bit more time. I let them eat on this flat place among a sea of hoodoos and red rocks. I continued up the trail to go to a viewpoint. It was a nice spot, but only a short distance, so I was back before lunch was done. I tried to get the two of them moving, but a two year old has a mind of her own on how quickly lunch will be over. '
Besides, we thought that we had the entire day anyway, so there shouldn't have to be too much of a rush. But this was July, so as we passed the noon hour, we knew what likely could be rolling in, big thunderstorm clouds. At this point, we had blue sky, but that was likely to change. We started hiking again as the trail immediately dropped elevation then began climbing again. Sure enough the wind started to pick up and the gray clouds rolled in. We worried a bit because we were so exposed with not much vegetation in this area. But as we kept moving it soon became apparent that turning around and going back again would give us no advantage over continuing the way we came.
We came upon what could be called the Golden Wall. Along the entire trail were interesting formations including a gravity defying rock perched like a golf ball on a golf tee. This trail was excellent and there were no other people on it. Maybe that was just because they were smart enough to realize that the strong winds and dark clouds out to the east were a good sign that just maybe this wasn't the best time of day to be out hiking. Zyla was enjoying the wind and just kept saying, "It's windy," over and over again. I tried to keep us moving quickly, but Jacqueline had to take it at a good controlled pace because there was a baby in her belly.
The trail seemed to go up and down as we traveled mostly to the south. Eventually it took a turn to the west, but it continued climbing and we were open and exposed to the elements. Jacqueline, of course, was giving me advice on how bad of an idea this was, while I was just trying to get away from the high exposed elevation. Still, we were not too nervous as the storm clouds were not producing much rain or much cloud to ground lightning. They just looked rather intimidating. We finally made it around the Golden Wall to what looked like the high point of the entire hike.
Then the trail finally began to go down hill. The weather also began to clear up. We still decided not to take the turn off to Castle Bridge, which sounded like a nice spot, but we had to stay aware that the weather could still turn on us. We ran into the only people that we saw on this hike and talked to them a bit. From the high point, the trail continued to go down until we ran into the road. We always hope that Zyla will sleep on these hikes, but instead she was awake the entire time. Most of my time hiking is spent with Zyla constantly singing in my ear. She is fun, but it makes for a much louder experience for me and sometimes makes conversation with Jacqueline challenging. There was an excellent paved bike trail that we were able to follow back to the campground. That gave us the ability to spend the rest of the day just hanging out reading books and playing with rocks. Zyla was rather interested in the crazy squirrels that were rather aggressive. We had a yummy dinner and then bed time. We were prepared this time for the cold, but July was sure a lot different then June. It was very humid out and Zyla this time was rather sweaty in the tent. Instead of her down coat to sleep in, she was just in a pair of pj's. We did end up sleeping well, but once again when morning hit, we had to be quick with our packing to get Jacqueline back for work. We enjoyed having at least this one day off for going camping together as a family was just such a fun time. 
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