Hike: Grotto and Bridal Veil Falls

For our hike last week we went down to Payson Canyon to hike the Grotto trail. My mom came along with us. 

Of course Abi was off in front of us most of the time.

It was a pretty easy hike but there were quite a few places where you had to cross the river on boards. Some were easy but some were wobbly and thin. That was a little scary because Maddy wouldn't do it herself so I had to carry her across and watch Abi hoping she wouldn't fall off into the rocks and river. 

Plus I did something stupid that day. I got out my hiking shoes and put them by the door when I was preparing to go.  It wasn't until we were in the canyon that I realized I had put on my flip flops. Duh.

When we got to the Grotto there was a little cave like area. The rock walls went up pretty high. 

A little waterfall came down into the grotto.

After this hike we drove to Provo Canyon and did the trail to Bridal Veil. It was a beautiful walk.

I had never been to the bottom of the falls before. It was really cool.

Hike and Pick a Park: Provo Canyon plus Seven Peaks

This week our hike and park were just me and Abi. 

She got a free ticket to Seven Peaks and I bought myself one with a groupon deal so we sent Maddy off to zoo day at my niece Mckenna's kid's camp and Abi and I went for a day of fun.

Seven peaks didn't open until 12 for us so we drove up Provo Canyon and did a little walk along the river for our hike.

Then we stopped at this park to play until it was time to go.

We went to Seven Peaks and swam for awhile.

We ended up having a great time. I'm not a huge fan of seven peaks but Abi really liked it.

Hike: Lisa Falls

A week ago we went on a hike to Lisa Falls up Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Luckily I was given really good directions because it is an unmarked trail. We parked at the parking lot across the street and hoped the trail would be easy to find. It was. 

When we got to the trailhead there were all of these cairns making a kind of entrance to the trail.

Abi decided to build her own.

Then we started the hike. It was pretty short- maybe a 1/3 mile- but very steep so it gave them a good challenge.

Abi is always the little mountain goat staying far ahead of me and Maddy...

At the top it was completely rocks. It was a little slippery in some spots so we had to be careful. Maddy was scared so I had to carry her over most of the rock to get to the waterfall.

It was a really cool waterfall. It came down the rocks and then cascaded sideways down the rest of the way to the little river.

This was a very fun hike.

Hike: Battle Creek Falls

For this week's hike we went to Pleasant Grove and did the Battle Creek Falls trail.

It was a great hike. It was very steady uphill but not too hard for the girls and ended up being only about a mile and a half round trip. The weather was perfect.

Abi always offers to carry Maddy's water bottle for her. 

When we got back down we saw this memorial and found out that it is called Battle Creek because it is the site of the first battle between Mormon pioneers and native americans in the area. Sad.

Hike: Silver Lake

It was almost lunchtime by the time we left so we headed straight to Big Cottonwood Canyon and drove up to Silver Lake. Technically this is more of walk than a hike but we are calling all of our nature walks hikes.

I got out our picnic and before we went on our hike we had our lunch.

There were chipmunks and squirrels everywhere and we were getting a real kick out of watching them chase each other around and stand up.

Abi accidentally dropped one of her snap peas and this guy quickly ran over to steal it.

Making our way around the lake...

As always it was so beautiful there and we had a great time.

Hike: Devil's Kitchen

This week our hike was on Tuesday. We went to Devil's Kitchen in Payson Canyon. My parents came with us since it was in their area. 

My mom packed a picnic for us and we had our lunch first.

We had picnicked at this spot a few years ago when Abi was Maddy's age and I was pregnant with Maddy. We didn't even realize at the time that it was a trailhead. 

I took a picture of Abi on this stump so we had to do a few pictures on it again. First, Maddy got up there...

After lunch we did our little hike. It really wasn't a 'hike'. It was more of a stroll. The trail is paved the entire way and was less than half a mile. But it was beautiful!

And when you get to the end, out of nowhere is this little mini Bryce Canyon...

Walking back up the trail...

This last picture cracks me up because my dad's car wouldn't start when we got back in. After a few minutes and a bunch of attempts Abi said a little prayer that it would start. My dad didn't know that because he was looking under the hood. He came back right when she was done and pushed the button start and it started right up.

I looked back at Abi and this was the look on her face. So funny.

Hike: Hidden Falls and Donut Falls

Our hike days are going to be Wednesdays usually... but both last week and this week we have done them on different days.

Last week we did our hike on Friday. We drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon to visit Hidden Falls and Donut Falls.

We did Hidden Falls first because it really isn't a hike. You walk up some stairs from the parking lot, cross the road, and walk a few steps down to see the waterfall. 

It was really pretty though and fun to see since you can't see it when you drive by.

Then we drove up the canyon a little more to the Donut Falls trailhead.

This was more of a hike for the girls but it was still only 1.5 miles round trip. 

It was a perfect hike for the girls. Maddy was able to walk herself the whole way and Abi loved it.

Abi really likes to trailblaze. She takes off while we get stuck going Maddy's pace...

I learned from the hike we did with Brent and Karen last month that the girls love having oranges on hikes so I brought some along. 

Abi liked this little bridge along the way. We had to sit there for a few minutes each way. On the way back down we sat there to finish the orange slices and have some trail mix muffins for a snack.

Beautiful!

When we got closer to the falls we had to climb down a little rock wall and over parts of the river to get to a place where we could view the falls going through the "donut hole". Some people hike up really close but once we saw it we decided it wouldn't be very safe to do that.

Abi going back through the river...

and climbing back up the rocks...

I made these little drink holders for the girls to wear on our hikes. Abi wore hers and Maddys. 

I didn't realize until later that it was National Donut Day. So, we didn't eat any donuts but we did hike to donut falls and that was pretty cool.

On the way home we stopped at a shaved ice hut and got the girls their very first snow cones. They LOVED them.