fun in the sun

I really didn't want to start this blog saying, "we went to Goblin Valley". I'm not sure why, but I feel like that is obvious from the pictures so I don't want to say it, but...

we went to Goblin Valley.

we had some fun in the sun. also the cray wind that would whip through there. Saturday night was spent laying awake hoping our tent trailer wouldn't knock blow over and hoping Smith would sleep through it. the tent trailer didn't blow over, and smith kind of slept through it. It was a rough weekend as far as nights go, but other than that, we had a lot of fun.

I love the desert and the desert heat, however, packing a baby in the desert heat is not that much fun. Smith and I were both sweating like crazy when I would have to pack him around. Craig and I would switch off, but being the paranoid mother that I am, I mostly carried him because I kept thinking, "Craig is going to drop him", even though I knew he wouldn't...maybe.

We did some hiking and we even went on a night hike. Not recommended from me, especially if there's no real trail for you to be on. I was following my dad and he would stop and say, "uh oh, we're supposed to be over there...I think". Anxiety levels were through the roof for me. My brother and Cody could've cared less because they were looking for scorpions (in case you didn't know, scorpions glow under a black light so you can easily find them at night. here is proof).

We wish we could go back already. Sometimes I wish I could just run away to the desert and never come back, but something about that also scares me a bit. Maybe someday, I will just move to Arizona and that will be good enough.

Here is a photo overload.

 ^ someone didn't like his shark hat. Too bad, little man. No one wants a burnt head.

 ^ Desert sunsets are amazing. I wish I could watch one every night for the rest of my life.

 ^ this. this is my husband.

hardware ranch 2014

Last weekend, my family and I headed up to Hyrum to a place called Hardware Ranch. My family has been up there a few times and we love going. If you aren't familiar with Hardware Ranch, it's a Wildlife Management Area that is a popular spot to view elk when the animals are wintering in a large meadow. At times, 500-600 elk can be seen there, including some large bulls.
During winter, elk are fed at the ranch to keep them in the high country, out of farmers' fields. Feed is taken out into the meadow on horse-drawn wagons and sleds. The elk become use to the wagons and sleds and are not startled. During the winter, people can ride on the sleds and get quite close, providing great opportunity to view and photograph the animals.

The wind was blowing and there was a storm warning all day for the area, but the storm never came through, but it was still freezing. I was worried that Smith would be too cold and cranky, but we bundled him up and he quickly fell asleep, so he was quite comfortable.

Here are a few pictures that I took. 

 All in all, it was a fun day trip even if the wind was blowing and we were all freezing by the end of it. If you've never been, I recommend going. Its $5 bucks per person for the ride and it's about 30 minutes long.