Kanarracreek Falls

Memorial Day was spent hiking Kanarra Creek Falls (aka mini Narrows). 

We collected snake grass and maze sticks on the way up.

The water takes awhile to get used to...our feet were frozen nub popsicles.

 Hazel loved all of it. She swiped leaves off trees and kicked Bryson in the back to make him go faster. 

Beautiful day! Hats off to Ella and Avery for completing that four-mile hike!

Ring of Fire

Sometimes the moon passes in front of the sun and your whole neighborhood is sitting outside watching. Sometimes you order nerd glasses ahead of time for said occasion. Sometimes your kids look directly into the sun anyway. 

IronSpectators

Ironman festivities are such a treat. Anyone that can swim two-and-a-half miles, bike 112 miles, then tack on a marathon for good measure deserves to be celebrated.

And celebrate we do.

I'm an Ironman groupie, and this event is the crown jewel of working at the tourism office.

This day began on calm waters...but an unpredicted sandstorm quickly turned Sand Hollow into Maui. They don't call it Hurricane for nothing.

So anyone who finished Ironman St. George 2012 is truly an iron man. The swim was brutal.

Rewind to Friday night. We entered our chillens in the IronKids fun run. Ella ran one mile! Ran/walked...but she did it, water backpack and all. Avery's sign is awesome (see below).

And Avery competed in the 200 meter dash. Avery got a little competitive in her race and took off! I missed her at the finish line but she didn't stop there anyway. She ran all the way to the splash pad and we couldn't find her for about 15 minutes. She told us that she won her race because she was the first one to the splash pad...even though that wasn't actually the finish line.

There goes Iron Ella! There was a lot of people there. It was kinda IronKrazy.

 

This was a commemorative year, being the third and last full-distance Ironman. The next two years are set for a 70.3.

At the finish line Saturday I got to hold the ribbon for Meredith Kessler when she won. It was awesome. Check it (8:07 on the video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LDTI3yhluM&feature=youtu.be

Our kids are IronSpectators. I cannot count the number of people Avery yelled out at, "YOU. ARE. AN. IRONMAN."

Ashley joined up at the VIP tent for the real party that ensues after 10 p.m. At that point in the day, everyone is screaming "You are an Ironman!" to people both in the race and not in the race, as the spectators do the YMCA in the bleachers. We got to see Meri and Rich finish together holding hands :)

Paradise Found

Oh craziness.

We have been married for 10 years.

As in: a decade. As in: 2 college degrees, 3 kids, a roller coaster of life experiences, part time to full time to career employment, and settling into the more stable (fingers crossed) 30s that are heralded as the prime of life. Cheers.

So we took the celebration to Havasupi and enjoyed a few days in the most beautiful place on earth. Being there made me want to quit my job and run away from home.

So this hike began here, on the south side of the Grand Canyon, Hilltop trailhead. The town of Supai is the most remote town in the United States. It is an 8-mile hike from a parking lot that's pretty much in the middle of nowhere itself, and all of the town's mail is brought in by donkey.

Smart people carry their packs in like this. (donkey) Note that we are crazy.

After about 8 miles hiking through desert and red rocks, you hit the town of Supai...which kind of looks like a third world country. Animals are running through yards, clothes are hung on the line, residents are digging irrigation ditches, fences are made of chicken coop, and the garbage man is riding on a tractor. Except for the elementary school: that place was surrounded by security gates and cameras and had a marquis out front announcing the last day of school. I guess if I had that many strangers walking through my town each day I'd spend the money on the kids too.
Also check out those two eroding rock pillars on the cliff face coming into the village. Our guide book told us that those were the guardians of the village--male and female--and that the legend is that when they fall, it will be the end of the Havasu people and their canyon.

Then you hike for two hot miles on a very sandy road and coming around the bend you see this...

...and that crazy crystal clear water is so invitingly blue, it's like you've stepped into paradise. People are wading in shallow pools and jumping into the deeper terraces off Havasu Falls.

After you've caught a glimpse of the awesomeness, the hike winds down and halleluia: the campground! I felt so zen.

Also we were so happy to take our backpacks off. Apparently it is harder than it looks to carry 40 pounds through sand for 10 miles. We camped on top of Mooney Falls.

You could see straight to the bottom in that water. The next day we hiked to Beaver Falls, an 8-mile roundtrip. We started off just going right through the water and hiking down waterfalls, which weren't slippery because of mineral deposits from the water that coated the bottom in a white, coral-textured surface.

And when we did have to step out, it was from one postcard to another.

Beaver Falls looked like a little Hawaiian paradise. A tour guide who arrived about the same time as us told us about the cave hidden underneath the falls. We were all too chicken to check it out though! You have to swim really hard through the falls to get there.

Heading out the last day, we noticed Navajo Falls, which we hadn't really made time to see. Love that blue-green water on the dark rocks too. Guess we needed to leave a reason to go back, right?

3 days was not enough time. Not nearly enough time.