Spring Break hike

Today we went on a hike in the White Tanks. We hiked in to the pond at the Goat Camp. The Bishop wanted to do something with his kids during spring break and ended up inviting anyone that wanted to come. We ended up with 24 hikers, the youngest being Elle (above) at age 3 and the oldest being Rod at age 54, with me as a close second. :) I must say, Elle was a trooper and she never complained. Maybe it's because her dad had strong shoulders on the way up, and her wonderful big brother carried her on his shoulders most of the way down! Here is Becca with some of the youth at our first rest stop. As you can see, she gets quite flushed when she is hot! As we were walking along, Rod spotted the snake below. If you look closely you can observe that it had a mouse in its mouth. He decided to wait for the girls behind us to warn them. As he was telling them to step to the other side of the path, Becca thought he was saying the opposite, and she almost stepped on the thing! It rattled at her and boy, did she ever jump back! I don't think she will ever forget that little encounter. I've never heard a rattle snake buzz like that in real life...I'm glad Rod followed that inspiration to warn the girls about the snake! If you look at the very top of the cliff here, you can see two of the boys on top. This cliff is part of the little cove that surrounds the pond we hiked in to. It is filled from a natural spring that drips out of the side of the cliff.

The Sharps . . . braved the hike with their little ones. How awesome is that! And after the hike, some of the girls went to their house to swim! Thanks Jarrett and Jamie - I know the girls had a great time.

Julie shows us the value of a Pringle on the hike. We were all starving for our lunch! We (the adults) each brought some stuff for sandwiches and made an assembly line. Everyone eagerly accepted the food that was packed in. Lunch was VERY reviving after hiking 3+ miles in...

Yes... a nice place to rest for our lunch break!

We all enjoyed one another's company on this incredible and beautiful spring day in the desert. I have never seen the flower on the desert so pretty. The colors were amazing and covered the hillsides.

Here is proof that I was actually there!

This was a really fun time. Most of the kids that went will be going on the Trek in June. We have planned to hike every Saturday with the youth to get them (and us!) ready for the Trek. But just know that I am totally worn out from today's adventure. I think I will lay low tomorrow. We actually hiked almost every day this week. As much as I love it, I need a rest!