Round-up, Part 1.....

So yeah....it's been a month...

I've had all sorts of plans for posts to catch up the rest of our summer.....but, they obviously haven't materialized. So, I'm just going to throw everything together here in a big mish-mash post, or posts!

The rest of our days in Duck Creek (July....):

Along with lots and lots of 4-wheeling, we also went to Bryce one day. I had never been, although I'd heard much about the beauty found there, and wasn't disappointed.

I read the funniest thing on a sign at one of the overlooks. It was talking about the first settlers around that area. He was (not surprisingly) named Bryce, and was a Mormon settler that had his home and ranchlands at the eastern base of the canyons later named after him. There was a quote from him about the canyons that he lived near, and it was, "It's a hell of a place to lose a cow." I absolutely busted up! Maybe because it reminded me so much of what my ranching uncles and grandfathers would have said about it!

After being in the quiet of the mountains in Duck Creek though, the major busloads of crowds at Bryce were surprising. We went to a couple of overlooks, and did a hike down into the canyon on the Navajo Loop trail. Something I'll have to remember for next time I go....the beginning part of the hike is easy, with a lot of switchbacks all heading downhill.....it's the hiking of switchbacks UP to get back to the car that STINKS! I think we should get some of that government stimulus $$ to Bryce and install a ski lift or something to get you back up out of that hole! ;)

Top of the Trail....

The bottom of the trail....at the base of the very, very tall and tenacious Douglas Firs that grow in this quite small and almost constantly shaded slot canyon.

The 4wheeling at Duck Creek was fabulous. There were hardly any people there in the middle of the week, and the trails were a lot of ATV-only trails through the forest. OUR FAVORITE KIND! We saw so many deer(including adorable twin fawns), and beautiful scenery, and the smells of the ponderosa pines and douglas fir made my week. :) We took a long ride out to a cave that was created from a lava floe that was very cool to explore around. It is called Mammoth Cave. It was open to exploring when we were there, but in the Fall they close it up as it is the home of hibernating bats (including a couple of endangered species) in the winter. We also found a fun creek to ride through and see how high we could get the water up around us...always a favorite thing for the kids! We will definitely visit Duck Creek again.

Here's a video we took of our little creek crossing. You don't see Riley since she doesn't like to get wet and muddy....we like water crossings for that exact reason!