LABOR DAY RIVERS

We had a pretty fun Labor Day weekend- full of adventure, rivers, camping, and lots of fun. First off, we headed down to the San Rafael Swell to camp the first night. We love this place. It is SO beautiful and very remote, so not very crowded. It was a little rainy (and thus, muddy) but that cleared up and then it was nice.

Princess P and the 'hair extension angels.' (That's what she and Sister S named this part of the Buckhorn petroglyphs.

After dinner Big C decided some of the crew needed to brush up on their rappelling skills for the adventure the next day, so they practiced off a cliff right by our campsite. It was dark by the time most of them got down, but hey, who needs light to back off a cliff, right? (Sarcasm). Our family is crazy sometimes...

Princess P, Sister S and Companion B rappelled in the dark! New sport!

We woke up the next day and went to hike the Black Box in the San Rafael. It is one of my favorite hikes, but also holds very intense memories for our family- Sister S almost died there about five years ago. We definitely respect that place! It's a beautiful gorge/slot canyon cut out of stone by the San Rafael River, so we hike in water pretty much the entire way, even swimming sometimes (that's why the kids have life jackets in the photo).

The Black Box crew at Mexican Mountain! Ready to go!

After an amazing hike and some much needed lunch we packed up and drove to Moab to meet more friends. Moab was PACKED with people. It is a madhouse down there and I will be happy to never go there again on a holiday. What a joke! We ended up camping in a parking lot. Not the worst place we've ever camped, but not the nicest by far. 

Extra large piggy back on C Man. What a tough guy!

The next day was Sunday, so we put skirts and ties on and went to Church in Moab, then hiked, explored and played the rest of the day. We finally found a campsite by the river that opened up and go to move to a prettier spot. 

Video of Christian doing a side flip off the rocks at the big sand hill just north of Moab.

Gemini Bridges.   

The last day (Labor Day) we ran the Colorado River with some friends. Sister S and her friends went home, so it was just Princess P and C Man with Big C and I. We had a good day even though the river was pretty mellow (boring, as the kids said). It was a great last summer trip. 

Princess P in the kayak with C Man on the paddle board.

One of my favorite pics from the trip: My friend, hauling up her 'gear' from the river. hahaha

Loading up the truck after our big weekend. We were pooped!