Family Vacation 1999 - Bryce Canyon

My family went on our vacation to Bryce Canyon over UEA weekend in 1999. It was a little strange to go on vacation after school had started, but it was fun.

As was our tradition, we got up early and drove out of the Salt Lake Valley before the roads became congested. We drove south on I-15 until Spanish Fork Canyon where we got onto Highway 89. It was early in the morning and still partially dark. As we drove south down Highway 89 we neared Manti Utah. I remember peaking out from the blankets I was wrapped in and seeing the Manti Temple through the windshield of the van. It started out as a small bright spot, but soon the full beauty of the building could be seen. We stopped for gas in Manti. At the gas station my mom woke us up and we all had breakfast in the car. We could see the temple from the gas station. It was so bright in the early morning light.

There was something to the atmosphere of Manti and all of Sanpete County that I loved. I couldn't put it into words, but I felt like the area was special to me. I must have fallen asleep after we left Sanpete County because I don't remember anything until we got to the Big Rock Candy Mountain. The mountain looked exactly like it sounds – a big piece of rock candy. From there it was on to Penguitch Utah where we stopped at a KOA. At the KOA my parents rented a Kabin.

KOA Kabins have a full size bed next to one wall and a twin size bunk bed along the other wall. So there is room for 4 adults to sleep. There is a small aisle between the beds. There is also a small open area in front of them. Some how we figured out how to fit all seven of us into that tiny space. It helped that we were pretty young and small. I was 14, Lindsey was 12, Emily was 10, Billy was 8, and Hillary was 6. We also set up a small tent to use as a supply tent. That tent had been given to us by some friends. We didn't have instructions to put it up so it was kind of a challenge to figure out how the poles connected.

I think that we went to Red Canyon after getting everything situated at the KOA. My dad has always considered Red Canyon as the welcoming committee for Bryce Canyon. In red canyon we drove though some arches that the road went under. We have some family video of my grandparents driving under these same arches so my Dad made sure to get a picture of our car going under the arches. (When I went through Red Canyon with Brandon we had just climbed Angel's Landing that day so we were content to just get a picture of the arches as we drove under them.)

We parked and ate lunch at a picnic spot in the canyon. We looked around at the tall Ponderosa pine trees. My dad sang us a song he made up when he first came to Red Canyon as a 4 year old. It goes:

Ponderosa Pine

Just Want to Climb

Ponderosa Pine

We started singing the song too. Near the picnic area was a small incline with lots of loose rocks on it. We played on the incline for a while. The rocks were really interesting. They looked a lot like the funny shaped money-rocks on the “Flintstones Movie.” They even had a sort of plastic sheen to them. At some point we saw some horse manure on the road. We called it “Biscuits on the Road.” Then we started making up a song about it. The song went something like this (the melody is a little bit more complicated then the lyrics:

Biscuits on the road again

Biscuits on the road again

Biscuits on the road again

Shoveling up those biscuits

Shoveling up those biscuits

Shoveling up those biscuits

There were probably 10 versus that took the “biscuits” from the road to a field where they were used as fertilizer to grow hay. A horse ate the hay and then through natural processes there were “biscuits” on the road again. What clever kids we were.

We left Red Canyon and headed back to the KOA. My dad and I put together the best tin foil dinners we had ever made. We discovered that the secret to making good tin foil dinners is to chop the potatoes thinly and divide up the hamburger into small pieces. I've made amazing tin foil dinners ever since.

After dinner we probably stayed up late burning things around the fire and talking. Then it was time for bed. At first it was fun to get into the cabin and have all 7 of us in one room. But as everyone started falling asleep it was no longer very fun – at least for me. There are certain noises that drive me crazy and breathing is one of the main ones. As each of my siblings fell asleep and started breathing heavily I started to get more and more on edge. The final straw was when my dad started snoring very loudly. I moved from my spot and went out to the porch to sleep on the swing. I sat out there for a while, but I couldn't sleep because I could still hear my dad snoring. I eventually went to the van and slept soundly on one of the benches.

In the morning we had breakfast. Then we packed up and started driving to Bryce Canyon. We drove though Red Canyon again. My dad said that Bryce Canyon was just a little ways away from Red Canyon. It seemed like a long time between the two places. Also the landscape was very bleak. I felt like we were on the edge of the world. I wasn't sure there could be anything spectacular out there. Eventually we made it to the turn off for Bryce Canyon and within a few miles we were driving though a Ponderosa pine forest again.

We drove to Sunset Campground and got a campsite. We set up our big green canvas spring bar tent and the little tent with the mystery polls. The little tent was still our supply tent, but I planned to sleep in it that night.

Once camp was set up we were able to go see the sights in Bryce Canyon. I don't remember the exact order we did things in but we made our way along the road and stopped at the natural features along the way. Somewhere I have copies of all the pictures we took, but I looked and looked for them last night I finally gave up. If you really want to see what Bryce looks like you can read about my vacation there last summer. Click here.

My parents were a little concerned about how warm we would be. We had come in October to avoid the summer heat during the day, but at night the temperature could get very cold. We must have packed the right amount of warm clothes and blankets because I don't remember being cold at all.

One day during out stay we decided to go on a hike on the Navajo Loop Trail. The trail is a short trail distance wise, but elevation wise it is very long. It takes you from the rim of the canyon, down among the hoodoos via about 20 switch backs. Then you walk about half a mile between the hoodoos and then back up a different set of switch backs to the rim. It sounds easy enough – and it is – unless you are partially paralyzed. My dad has been paralyzed on the right side of his body since he had brain surgery in 1995. He has never let it get the best of him though. When he couldn't drive he took the bus; when he couldn't write with his right hand, he learned how to write (and type) with his left; and he wasn't going to let a little think like paralysis keep him from enjoying a hike with his family.

So undaunted he started out down the switchbacks. I helped him keep his balance by holding his right hand the whole way down. It was very slow going and lots of people passed us, but gradually we made it. Once on the bottom the trail was flat and we were able to look around and appreciate the distance we had traveled. We stopped and took this picture which is one of my favorite pictures of our family.

Soon it was time to start heading back up the switch backs. This was harder than going down. It was also complicated by the fact that we had either run out of water or forgotten to bring it at all. Still we knew the only way out of there was to go up so we kept on moving step by step. Many people passed us, but they seemed inspired by my dad. If he could make it down and up the switch backs then certainly they could too. At long last we made it to the rim again and my dad was able to get to the drinking fountain. I learned a great lesson in perseverance that day. (And I think my mom learned a lesson in reading the trail descriptions herself before letting my dad pick the hikes he could go on)

The second night in Bryce Canyon we rearranged our sleeping arrangements. My mom and dad slept in the supply tent while us kids slept in the big tent. This arrangement worked so well that we used it for every subsequent camping trip. I remember that they came into our tent for scriptures and prayers at night and then they went into their own tent. Most of us were still young enough that they had each of us say our prayers out loud (I think I was allowed to say mine silently). Looking back I am grateful for their example in teaching us the importance of scriptures and prayers even on a camping trip.

I don't remember how many days we stayed on our vacation. It may have only been three because we went over UEA weekend, but it might have been more. However long it was we eventually had to take down the tents and go back home. We went back the way we had come. I remember looking forward to seeing Sanpete County again. It had that same magical feeling – almost like the place was calling to me. I didn't yet know that Snow College was in Sanpete County, but I would soon find out. All though high school I had a little voice in my head reminding me how much I liked the area. The feelings I had for the area on this trip were part of what made me decide to go to Snow for college.

After passing through Sanpete County we stopped at the place where the town of Thistle once was. We looked at the little information plaques that told about the land slide which had covered the highway and railroad tracks. That same landslide dammed up the river which flooded the few homes in Thistle. We also drove past some of the flooded homes that remain next to the road.

After Thistle we drove a few miles through Spanish Fork Canyon. About a mile out of the canyon we stopped at a restaurant named “The Little Acorn.” Here we had the best hamburgers and fries we had ever tasted. This is a picture of us at the Little Acorn a few years later.