Last year I went on a Young Men’s campout to the San Rafael Swell area and we hiked Ding and Dang Canyon. (Here is a post on that trip: Ding and Dang Canyon. ) It was one of those places that I really wanted to come back to and bring the family.  Sometime this last winter, we were planning out trips and things we wanted to do this summer and this trip was up at the top of the list. Plus, it’s the kind of place that you want to go to in the spring before it gets too hot.  We ran the idea past Stan and Kevin, and they were both in for the adventure, and thus the trip was planned.

Campers are something I’ve never experienced, and never really understood. You see them all over the place on the highway, in peoples yards, and in huge lots jut filled with them all for sale. We’ve also seen the Cruise America campers driving around and always been curious about the prospect of renting one.  So, we looked into it for this trip.  We saw that they had a trailer you could get so we decided to go for it and try it out.  In the end, it only cost us $242 bucks. Totally worth it. Flushing toilet and bed, oh yeah.

Here we are, all packed up and ready to roll out in the morning.

Our biggest and littlest explorers all ready to go.

I’ve always just driven through Price, and this time we had time so we decided to stop at the Prehistoric Museum. It was really fun and educational. It was great to learn more about the prehistoric origins of the region and some of the factors that created the amazing geologic features in area.

They also had 1/2 of the museum dedicated to the Native Americans which was interesting to learn more about too.

We then completed our drive down into the swell and to our campsite at Temple Mountain. The area is so named due to this interesting rock feature that looks like a temple on the top of the hill. The scale is difficult to judge, but it’s actually quite large. This was also the site of a small uranium mining village in the 60s.

There is also the Temple Mountain Pictograph that the area is known for. This one has mostly spalled away, but they said the it was originally over 100 feet wide, and 6 feet tall. It was created in different eras, with the earliest additions possibly being 2000 or more years old.

It’s just a really interesting area!

Here is our campsite.  It’s just the most incredible little spot nestled up against the rocks on three sides.  I was really glad that no one else was here and we were able to get it.  This is where we wanted to camp with the Young Men last year, but it was already taken.

Another angle looking up at the backdrop. The kids just absolutely loved this spot due to all the climbing options. Look close and you can see Ashely and Eliza up on the hill.  Basically, no spot was left unexplored by the time we left!

Lot’s of fun places to play!

All the kids proved to be remarkable climbers and explorers, but Eliza seemed to enjoy it the very most. She was a delight to hike around with.

We got in lots of fun cousin time on this trip.  Zoey is growing up!

The sky was so dark and clear and presented an incredible display of starts and planets. That is Venus that is standing out so brightly.

Cooking a triple batch of pancakes for the hungry crowds!

Goblin Valley.  What a bizarre place.  I can see how this could transform into a maze of Goblin nightmares if you were here at the wrong time and got lost in the dark. In the daytime, it was quite the playground to explore.

The moms with their kiddos.  Moms are tough.

After Goblin Valley, we headed over to the Little Wild Horse slot canyon for the big hike. All told, it was about a 4 mile hike. I was very impressed with the kids!

Mission accomplished.

It wouldn’t be a proper campout without some good late night fire talk.  Kathryn thought this log looked like Baby Groot on fire.  Two little black eyes and the smiley mouth that would blow fire out of it.

Then we broke down all the logs into this intense bed of coals. This was putting out some intense radiated heat. Felt good.

Kathryn got me this shirt.  This last season of the Mandalorian was great if you haven’t seen it yet.  These were wildflowers that Landon and Eliza picked.

For our last adventure, we hiked to the Wild Horse Window.  This was another really cool feature.  So unexpected.  Basically a large cave where the center of the roof caved in.

Love this shot of Eliza.

I took the kids and we hiked up on top of the cave.

The kids were sad that we were going to leave and go home. So we baited them with the thought of getting ice cream on the way home which cheered them right up and they started making up hiking songs. So funny.

What a great trip! Peace out.