Here Jayden and Max pose next to the sign.
When you go to the cave you have to buy tickets and then hike up to the cave by your scheduled time. Only 20 people are allowed to go through at a time, and guess what we were 13 just by our selves, and then Pam had family coming. So we had to buy tickets for a tour a couple hours out. We spent some of our waiting time looking at the river the runs through the canyon below the cave. Here are the guys.
With this gang fishing is always on the mind around water! Here Brent points out several likely holes to Collin.
Finally we get to start up. They give you a start time, to keep foot track controlled on the pathway up. They give you an hour and a half.....piece of cake! Riiigghhhttt........ Here Brent, Than and Collin pause to read the sign that talks about the different layers of stone we'll see.
When you go into a cave you're headed into temps of around 60 degrees usually. So you might need a jacket, especially if you're going from 80 plus to 60 degrees! Here Brent carries the pack containing jackets and water bottles for all of our family.
Here's a clue that it wasn't an easy hike up! Yes it really was that steep at times. And that red line isn't there to show you which side is your side.....it's to warn you not to stop at that point, as a rock slide could happen and you'd be in the pathway!
THANK GOODNESS!! Somebody decided it was worth it to put a bathroom at the end of that 1 1/2 hr hike!! From here there is another short hike to the entrance, here Lee points to it.
I turned the camera over to Collin while I used the facilities and this was one of the pictures he took, not to shabby!
Lee, Collin, Carsten and I think Aubrey and I all arrived first. Carsten led the way, the entire way up and down. In the picture below I took a picture of Brent coming up behind us, and it gives an idea of the switchbacks we hiked!
Here's a look down the canyon from the top of the hike. Did I mention it was a tough hike..... That is a long way down and we went almost straight up, using switchbacks most of the way.
My camera isn't set up for taking pictures in the dark, so no cave pictures, sorry. But the boys and I have now been through several caves in three different states and we've enjoyed them all. This was Brent's second cave with us. We went through with only one other family, so it was a nice cozy group. Here is the exit area out of the cave. This picture drives home all much the boys have really grown, especially Than and Collin. Brent is standing downhill a little bit, Than really isn't taller than him......yet...... 
And then we got to hike down......so we thought, first you have to go up a bit to get around to where the entrance trail is. Did I mention there were very few barriers between the trail and the cliffs!!
Here we're still on the exit trail and that's valley down below us. Did I mention we were up a ways? In the picture is Brent, Lee in red, our nephew Carsten in green, Jayden in stripes and Max in the black shirt. And yes he fit right in. A large amount of the grand kids have blond hair and blue eyes, making them look like they could go with just about any of the family!
I stayed behind to take a picture of the next group, and so did Lee. Here is our niece Aubrey and then Collin. Merrill about had a heart attack over this picture. Aubrey kept getting closer and closer to the edge and looked like she was going to go over.....it was a little nerve wracking for a second!
My camera isn't set up for taking pictures in the dark, so no cave pictures, sorry. But the boys and I have now been through several caves in three different states and we've enjoyed them all. This was Brent's second cave with us. We went through with only one other family, so it was a nice cozy group. Here is the exit area out of the cave. This picture drives home all much the boys have really grown, especially Than and Collin. Brent is standing downhill a little bit, Than really isn't taller than him......yet......And then we got to hike down......so we thought, first you have to go up a bit to get around to where the entrance trail is. Did I mention there were very few barriers between the trail and the cliffs!!
Here we're still on the exit trail and that's valley down below us. Did I mention we were up a ways? In the picture is Brent, Lee in red, our nephew Carsten in green, Jayden in stripes and Max in the black shirt. And yes he fit right in. A large amount of the grand kids have blond hair and blue eyes, making them look like they could go with just about any of the family!
I stayed behind to take a picture of the next group, and so did Lee. Here is our niece Aubrey and then Collin. Merrill about had a heart attack over this picture. Aubrey kept getting closer and closer to the edge and looked like she was going to go over.....it was a little nerve wracking for a second! Did I mention it was steep?
Here is Merrill and Lauren. Lauren and Than formed a bond very quickly and he was always on hand to help with her the rest of our visit.
Than was so great, he also packed a backpack for Merrill, as Merrill had the baby the whole hike.
And what do you get after a 3 hr hike straight up and straight down...... One very, very tired five year old!! He didn't even make it to the Wendy's at the entrance of the canyon area. He was out! We drove up to Salt Lake City after hiking the caves and he slept the entire way.
Here is Merrill and Lauren. Lauren and Than formed a bond very quickly and he was always on hand to help with her the rest of our visit.
Than was so great, he also packed a backpack for Merrill, as Merrill had the baby the whole hike.
And what do you get after a 3 hr hike straight up and straight down...... One very, very tired five year old!! He didn't even make it to the Wendy's at the entrance of the canyon area. He was out! We drove up to Salt Lake City after hiking the caves and he slept the entire way.
We had such a good time on this hike and are so happy Merrill and Pam invited us to go along. We rarely make time to "sight see" when we visit family and obviously we need to do that.
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