Coyote Gulch

Lucy, Seth, and Warren at one of the Waterfalls

  For fall break this year, my family went backpacking in Coyote Gulch which is located in Grand Staircase Escalante. We spent about 48 hours backpacking about 12 miles total.  We started hiking mid-day on Thursday.  With our packs on, we hiked for about 2 miles, getting to the canyon.  We dropped in through "the crack" which got many jokes through the course of our trip.  We lowered our backpacks in tied to a rope and hiked through a narrow crack of rock.  We then hiked through sand for a while till we got to the river.  We took our shoes off and hiked through the cool sand which felt amazing.

Another beautiful waterfall showing the cool canyon around it. 

Black Lagoon - Arrowhead Pond

  The first night, we got into the gulch and set up our tents on a small river bank.  We then walked to the confluence where coyote gulch meets the escalante river.  There we also got a spectacular view of Steven's arch.
  The next day, we started hiking and saw all the very cool land features.  The hiking trail was through the water, so we were in choco/teva sandals most of the time.  A series of beautiful water falls made for some great pictures.  For lunch, we went on a small side trail leading to Black Lagoon or Arrowhead pond, which was a Native-American place of worship.  We saw many arches on our journey as well.

Coyote Natural Bridge - super cool to walk through!

Dad walking through some walls in the gulch

Jacob Hamblin Arch

Hiking through the petrified sand-dunes

  On our last night, we camped right next to Jacob Hamblin Arch.  It was so cool to look out in the pitch-black night and see all the stars through the arch.
  On Saturday morning, we woke up around 6 am and started hiking out.  We hiked out of the gulch on the petrified sand dunes.  It was super dark and started with a 500 foot descent pretty steep.  There was a rope to help and some foot holes, but it was a little sketchy in the dark of morning.  As we continued hiking in the morning, we experienced the beautiful sunrise on the petrified sand dunes.  It was a beautiful hike and a super fun experience.

Lucy and Seth having a good time

Best Photos From the Summer

Here are some pictures of flowers.  I used some filters on my camera.  This first pictures is of Pink Peonies using the macro lens which helps create a shallow depth of field in your photo.

 On this picture of a Day Lily in my front yard, I used my camera's filter called "Super Vivid" which is used to shoot images with super vivid color.  I used the same filter on the next picture of the Rose of Sharon or Hibiscus.

 This summer I had fun in my yard taking pictures of the plants and flowers in my yard in my neighborhood.  I really love the outdoors and some of the beautiful things we get to see every day.

My family got to take a trip to McCall, Idaho and stay at my grandpa's cabin on Lake Cascade.  We also visited Ponderosa State Park on Payette Lake.  This picture was from a hike in Ponderosa State Park which ended up at Lily Marsh, which I took many pictures.

My family spent many hours diving into Lake Cascade, right behind the cabin. It also made for some fun pictures. 

Best of Hawaii

 One of the prettiest sunsets out of our 10 day vacation was the night we drove to Haleakala Summit to watch the sunset.  There were lots of people there but that did not detract from the beauty.  The wind and elevation made it a bit chilly but we bundled up and took lots of pictures.  There was an amazing view of the sunset, the rest of the Maui island, and we could also see several other islands from this peak as well.  The long, winding road drive was well worth it as well as the memories made in the car ride.

Highlights of the Trip:

• Swimming in the Resort Pool
• Going to church on Sunday
• Snorkeling with Turtles and seeing them washed up on shore
• Old Lahaina Luau with the whole family
• Family Pictures on the Beach
• Sunset at Haleakala Summit
• Road to Hana and waterfalls in the bamboo forest
• Maui Plantation and Zipline
• Food: Aloha Mixed Plate, Local Boys Shaved Ice, Coconut's Fish Tacos
• Boat ride to Molokini Crater and Snorkeling
• Beach Time: Body surfing and Skim Boarding, Snorkeling, and Sand Castles
• Spending Time as a Family
  

Oh boy, do I love my cousins.  We had lots of bonding time on this vacation and we enjoyed living within a one-level elevator ride of each other. When the time came to leave, everyone was sad to say goodbye to each other and the beautiful island.  And I think we all dreaded the long plane ride home.  I am very grateful for my family and I know they are always a 5 1/2 hour drive away anytime I need them.
Goodbye Maui! I hope to see you again someday.

Driving Around Maui

 In Maui, there were 2 drives that a lot of our family did.  There were other activities as well that included driving around the island but these were two big drives. The first drive is shown in the first 3 pictures.  We drove around the outside of the island after hiking the IAO needle area.  This drive included many small native villages, lookout points, and a short hike down to a well known blow-hole.  There were incredible views of tropical plants, huge cliffs, and rocky beaches.  

 The second drive we did was on the road to Hana.  This famous drive was gorgeous even though we only made it half way to Hana.  We drove through the beautiful jungle with amazing cliffs and many waterfalls that we hiked to as well. Something cool was these rainbow trees with bark colored brown, red, and green, on giant foresting trees.  The road to Hana did not disappoint. 

Hiking in Hawaii

 There were a few hike that we did in Maui. I chose my favorite pictures to talk about them. The first two pictures are from the IAO Needle. This little walk up over 100 stairs led to a beautiful view of these Hawaiin volcanic mountains.

This next picture is of a little stream running in the middle of the jungle in the mountains of the IAO Needle.  This was a beautiful walk through some very beautiful jungle.

These next few pictures are from an interesting hike through the bamboo forest along the Road to Hana.  The bamboo shown below created a very cool hike and some cool scenery followed by crossing a cool river and many waterfalls to swim in.  The first waterfall was the first in a series of many waterfalls that a swimming holes underneath them.  We swam in this for an hour and it was so beautiful. The next waterfall is located in the bamboo forest as well and was a beautiful sight to see.  

Honua Kai Resort - Hawaii

In June this summer, my grandpa took my whole dad's side of the family to Maui, Hawaii for 10 days! It was so much fun.  This first picture is the sunset from our resort on our first night.  It was so beautiful. 

The resort we stayed in also had a super fun pool area with several pools, hot tubs, a lazy river, and a water slide.  Right behind the pool was the beach, and it was super beautiful.