Calf Creek Falls

For Pioneer Day, we took off on an adventure with some of our friends. Terral and I hate paying to camp, and frankly, any money we can not spend is a very good thing. So we found a spot by a stream on Hole in the Rock Road. We thought it fitting to camp along the trail the pioneers took.
(FYI this is in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and you have to get a permit to camp there, but it's free.)
Here is a picture of our group at the Visitor's Center in Escalante. It's a little hard to see with all the people, but there is a pretty cool giant lizard statue.

Emily (the little two-year-old) isn't looking because Jade (the white and black dog) was whining in anxiousness to get going. Emily asked with concern, "You okay puppy?" So cute! She may not have cooperated with the picture-taking, but she sure got the rest of us to smile for the camera!

We had fun at our campsite. It wasn't a "real" campsite, just a place we guessed would be pretty good from what we could tell on googlemaps. Turns out it was something of a watering hole for cattle. But none of those came around, so it really wasn't bad. We had shade and sand and a good place to set up a central meeting place. It was super hot by the time we got there, so Heather (my sister-in-law) and I changed into our swimsuits, but we didn't brave the mucky waters. We had to laugh when we saw what we were wearing. Great minds think alike! We found out the next day that we both brought bright green shirts to wear over our suits too. Random...

That evening Noah entertained us with his version of Weird Al's "Albequerque". The song is over 11 minutes long, so I only recorded a piece of it. That kid sure has some personality.

We sat around the campfire and talked and laughed. The dogs played in the water. Emily made us all smile. We were having a grand old time until it was time for bed. Everyone had a hard time getting to sleep because it was still so stinkin' HOT. Finally a little sprinkle and the tiniest of breezes cooled us sufficiently so that sleep could claim us. I fell asleep without any covers. That rarely happens.

In the morning, the Hailstones treated us to some gourmet french toast. With all the food everyone brought, it was really a feast. We used the left over sausage to get the dogs to do tricks. Emily thought that was pretty cool, so she started doing tricks for "treats" of sausage too.

Finally we were off for our hike. It's about 3 miles to the lower falls. Not bad, except for the heat. And the sand. Lots of sand. But it really is a pretty easy hike. And a gorgeous one!

The falls of course are the crown jewels of the hike.

The water was actually quite cold. Most people didn't stay in it long in spite of the hot hike. To my surprise, I really enjoyed it! Usually, I very much dislike being cold. For some reason, the cold water didn't penetrate to the core--it simply refreshed.

This was about as close to the falls as I dared get. There is quite a force where water meets water. The wind from the falling water, mist, and cold temperature all made it a bit difficult to breath.

I love the pattern of the water in these pictures!

We had a great time, and we are so glad to have such good friends to go on adventures with!