The whole fiasco with Covid-19 left us feeling really cooped up inside. The problem was we couldn't really go anywhere to get away and relax. So instead of going somewhere different for a vacation, we decided to head to St. George and enjoy some sun and outdoors. Yes, Covid was still around and we had to be careful but we got to go out and do some fun things while also spending time with family.
We decided to spend a whole week down there as opposed to only a couple days. For the first few days we stayed at Grandma and Grandpa Farnsworth's house. We got to do quite a few fun things with them. We decided to bring down all of our play things like our kayaks, four wheelers, and bikes.
Usually when we go to St. George, we just hang out and don't do much. This time we told ourselves it would be different and we would go have fun at some places we had never been to before. Our first adventure took us to Fire Park and Ivins Reservoir.
This was a small little pond/lake but perfect for the kids and their kayaks. The water was not very deep either so the kids could swim around. They loved just splashing and playing in the water. When we first got there, we realized this was a popular place because the parking lot was full. We debated on even stopping but then we found a spot to park and got out. Luckily there was a spot on the beach for us to gather and play. After a couple of hours, we started getting bombarded by other people so we decided it was time to go. This was a fun place.
The next day we headed to more water fun. This time we decided to go to Lower Sand Cove. This place was perfect because we had the whole lake to ourselves. As we arrived, another family was leaving so we did not have to compete for space. Tyler and Ashley came along and we all had a good time.
Once again our kayaks were a hit but with the water being so shallow, the kids preferred to just swim and wade around. Near the shore was kind of mossy but they didn't seem to care about that. I actually preferred to kayak out to the middle of the lake and just relax in the middle of no where. After swimming for a while, we decided to walk around and explore the area.
We found this cool tunnel that went under the mountain and out the other side. This tunnel allowed the river to flow through the mountain to the lake. We decided to explore the tunnel and wade through the river from one side to the other. This was pretty cool but kind of perilous. Even though it was a short tunnel, it was pitch dark inside and there were rock and boulders everywhere. We kept tripping or stubbing our toes on rocks. A few of us also fell in the river when we tripped. Thankfully we came out unharmed.
The next day, we took advantage of the cooler temperatures and went on a few hikes. Our first hike was to the
Aspiration Trail. This was really fun for the kids as they looked at all of the
cool rocks along the way. This is a new hike in St. George. It was a really simple walk designed for kids and the whole trail is lined with painted rocks with different inspirational or funny quotes on them.
Each kid found their favorite rocks along the way to pose with. As we made our way to the top of the hill, we loved reading each rock. There were more and more rocks as we got closer to the summit. At the top there were piles of painted rocks and an awesome platform and American Flag. It was pretty awesome to make it to the top.
Also at the top there were some great views of the surrounding desert. We could see forever in all directions when we got to the top. This was definitely an inspiring and aspiring trail!
Next we drove to Arizona! We thought this would be a really good trip but the kids were not impressed...
For our last hike of the day, we took a short walk up to one of the old Aviation arrows on the
mountain. These aviation arrows were used way back when to guide the mail and passenger planes between Salt Lake and Los Angeles.
There are three other Aviation Arrows like this one in St. George. The arrows are placed 10 miles apart all along the route. In the past, these arrows were lit with coal or oil lamps during the night. I have lived in St. George my whole life and I had never even heard of these arrows until this year! It was pretty cool to see some history in real life. We hoped to get to the other arrows while we were here this week but we were not able to. Another trip definitely.
When we got back to Grandma and Grandpa Farnsworth's house, we were able to go swimming in their neighbor's backyard pool.
This was something the kids had looked forward to all day. They are just like fish and love the water! They loved floating around, spending time in the hot tub, and especially making fun of Uncle Tyler and Dad as they had belly flop wars.
While at Grandma Farnsworth's, Emily figured out how to climb the tree in the front yard. She used this tree to escape from the boys and have quiet time to read her books.
Before heading over to Grandma and Grandpa Morwood's house for the rest of the week, he had to take a few pictures in the tree. Climbing this tree has been like a rite of passage at the Farnsworth's. Once you can climb it on your own, you are considered grown!
While at the Morwood's we decided we needed to take the four wheelers out for a ride. Together, with Grandma and Grandpa in the dune buggy, we rode up to General Steam.
While there, we enjoyed the cooler weather and had a picnic. Sometimes it is just nice to get away from everything and get into the mountains. Social distancing is not all bad. After lunch we continued on up the dirt road to try and find new trails. We knew that this road led to Gunlock Reservoir but we were not really sure how to get there. We drove around for a while and didn't find anything but new scenery and fun. We finally decided we had picked the wrong trail and headed back. Even though we didn't find what we were looking for, we still had a great time. We need to do this more often!
The kids kept begging us to play with cousins so that's what we did for the next two days. First we had a blast with Cole, Cash, and Jessica at Virgin Falls. We had never been here before either so we were so glad the Jess showed us this place.
The kids had a blast just swimming and wading in the warm water. We had this place to ourselves too which was really nice.
While we were here, the kids caught about a million tad poles. These little guys were everywhere! They were really easy to catch because there were so many of them.
The kids were even brave enough to go cliff jumping for the first time! I was really surprised that they were not scared at all to jump off this cliff. It was about as high as the high dive at the swimming pool which they are terrified of. I guess that is the security of their life jackets kicking in.
Even Cole and Cash jumped off! Cole was a little apprehensive at first but then he did it. Cash on the other hand was not afraid at all. In fact, he was trying to jump off the cliff even before he had his life jacket on. We had to catch him before he went over. Then, once he had his jacket on, there was no stopping him. He was crazy!
Another day we decided to do some science experiments with the cousins. After searching the Internet for something cool to make, we decided on Elephant Toothpaste. We read and re-read the instructions and put all the ingredients together and waited for the results.
Well we had to try a few times but finally the "toothpaste" started oozing out of the bottle. The ooze was much slower that we thought it should be but it was cool nonetheless. We will have to keep experimenting with this to try and perfect it.
After a fun filled week, it was time to go back home. We were sad to leave but happy we were able to see family, get out and enjoy nature, and kick off summer with a fun mini vacation.
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