Momma Katie's Random Thoughts: Ha! They Couldn't Convert Us!

We got home from our Utah trip on Saturday, and we're very glad to be home, and have our family back together! We were unable to take Dargan, as dogs aren't allowed on the trails in National Parks, so we had to leave her with my dad. Here's a summary of our trip:

Saturday, we left for Bakersfield, and stayed at Mike's dad's house. Mike's brother's birthday was Monday, so we had a BBQ to celebrate on Sunday. We FINALLY go to meet our newest nephew, Brody, who was born in February, and holding *almost* made me want another. Almost. I still need to get a job to afford the kid we have before having another one!

We left for Utah on Monday morning. It took about 8 hours of driving, though we had to stop a few times to let Shannon stretch. We stayed in a Travelodge in Hurricane (pron. "Hurcan"), and the next day, we drove to Zion National Park. Rather than driving through the park (which is optimal for hiking with a baby because then you can nap in the car when she needs to), visitors park at the visitor's center and take a shuttle to different points in the park. That meant packing everything we would need for the day into our backpack and carrying it all the entire day. We hiked from the visitor's center to the second shuttle stop. Along the way, we walked through the campground, along the river, and saw some gorgeous sights. We also saw a 5-foot-long snake that Mike really wanted to take a picture of. I've seen plenty of snakes in my life, but this was the one snake that Mike was not afraid of. I didn't feel like taking a picture of it, so needless to say, no picture.
The contrast of the green vegetation and the red rocks was much more spectacular than I remember from the last time I was there in '97 or '98. Possibly because our trip then was in the dead of summer, while this trip was in the middle of the spring.
Some of the more memorable sights were "Weeping Rock," which would allow water to seep down through the limestone; and "The Narrows," which is a thin canyon along a stream. Typically, hikers can continue past the end of the trail through the Narrows into a narrow canyon (hence the name) that is only a couple of feet wide in parts. However, the stream was too high, and we were unable to hike any further than the end.
Shannon is a great little hiker, and was in a wonderful mood the entire day. Around lunch-time, we stopped at the Zion Lodge for a bite to eat, and Shannon met a horse for the first time. She was infatuated with it, and stared at it, unblinking, for several minutes. When she got tired, she would fuss a little, then fall asleep. We kept her facing out in the backpack until she got tired, then turned her around so she could sleep against our chests.
By the end of the day, we were exhasuted, and I think we fell asleep at 8 pm, Central time, which was actually 7 for us. We're getting old.

The next day, we left Hurricane for Moab. The 5-hour drive took a bit longer , as we had to stop to let Shannon out of her carseat every few hours. We checked into a Best Western suite and began to search for the Moab Brewery. Our TomTom took us in the completely wrong direction, so instead, we walked to the Broken Oar Restaurant. I highly recommend this place, though it is a tad more pricey than what we were looking for. The food was wonderful, and the decor was exactly what Mike loves: log cabin-ish with heavily-hewn tables & chairs.

Thursday, we drove to Arches National Park, and spent the entire day hiking and driving through the impressive monoliths and spires. We visited the Three Gossips, Petrified Sand Dunes, Balanced Rock, The North & South Windoes, Landscape Arch along with Tunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch, Sand Dune Arch and Broken Arch, and finally hiked to Delicate Arch. Shannon did really well again, though she didn't nap quite as well as at Zion. When we got up to Delicate Arch at the end of the day, she was pretty pissed off. We stayed only a few minutes so we wouldn't annoy the other hikers.
I was pretty impressed with myself when we hiked to Delicate Arch. I had done the 3-mile hike with my dad 3 or 4 years ago, when I was out of shape, and I remember how difficult it was then. The only difficulty I had this time was on the steep slickrock in the second third of the hike. I had every confidence in Mike, since hes in great shape, but I was worried that I would have a hard time, since I'm not in the best shape after having Shannon. But, I guess the 2- and 3-mile walks we do every day up the hills around our house helped out a little.
That night, I put Shannon down, and Mike went out for pizza and beer (yes, you CAN drink in Utah! Ha ha!), and we ate in the dark to the sound of Shannon's ocean wave CD. This time, we passed out at 9 pm Central time.

We left Friday, and it took about 14 hours total to get back to Bakersfield. As you can imagine, Shannon is not exactly thrilled with her carseat by now. We got to jim's house around 11 pm and immediately went to sleep. Saturday, we visited a bit, picked up Dargan from my dad's, then drove back to San Diego. We are so incredibly glad to be home! But now, the house is thrashed with the unpacking efforts that will surely go on for days. I really wish I could see my couch & coffee table right now.

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Shannon Update:
She is now 7 1/2 months!
While we were on the trip, she began to stand up while only holding onto our fingers. She has also started to stay up on her knees and hands and rocks a bit. This is big, since it is the precursor to crawling. I'm not sure if she will walk or crawl first, but one of these will happen soon! She has also started throwing temper tantrums. Yesterday, I took a toy out of her hands to change her diaper, and she screamed at me. It's pretty funny to watch her little face contort in anger until you give it back or give her something else. She also likes to play peek-a-boo, and can cover and uncover her face to play.