But Utah is opening up a little. So now that they opened state parks, and the weather is nice, we decided to go on a day trip.
It was so fun to be outside and explore somewhere new. Carla is awesome and does all the research on all these canyons and this was was fun. There were some places we had to swim across. And a few places to climb that were a little tricky! But that's what makes it fun. We didn't need to rappel until the end.
The first thing I loved about this trip was hearing my kids banter and laugh together. They are pretty darn funny. Miles and Monet couldn't be more different but it was good to hear them laughing together and I can tell they are all going to be such good friends. Riley and Miles are the same age and have been buddies for awhile now and it was fun to see her again too! She does this kind of thing all the time with her family so she's like pro now and was so helpful to us newbies.
Miles was a little nervous about the narrow slot! I wasn't expecting that because he is my kid that has never really been afraid of anything. He is kinda crazy. But he wasn't liking how narrow it was.
It was beautiful and fun because a lot of water and places where you swim through. There is even a place to jump off the cliffs.
And then at the end there was a place where I got stuck. Like for real wedged between two canyon walls. I knew it was going to be tight but it is really hard to gauge if I will fit in a certain place. I feel like I always had a good sense for that when I was younger. But my size is fluid these days. Lol. Rapidly changing it seems. And this little spot has had many search and rescue calls over the years. I knew when Monet looked nervous about squeezing through that it was a little iffy for me.
Anyway, I got wedged in and I spent about a minute trying to get out before feeling a little bit of panic start. Monet, Simone and Riley were already through and Carla was helping me and giving me instructions from below. Miles was behind me. I look back at him and he was looking pretty nervous too he was in a tight spot and if I was stuck he would also have a hard time getting out. My torso was the stuck part and I tried rotating my legs, and couldn't really move up. And was afraid to move down and get more trapped. At this point Miles was asking if he could help me and I told him to say a prayer. I could reach the rope but I couldn't pull myself up on it. I started thinking that I might be spending the night in this little predicament. I was the weirdest feeling! I tend to stay calm in situations like these, but I was definitely getting nervous!
My belay device was digging into my tummy and it was hurting, so eventually I was able to move it and then I slid down even more. Which surprisingly was what helped me get loose enough to wiggle through. Phew!
I can't tell you how relieved I felt! So now Miles had to come through and he was a little nervous after watching me, but he fit just fine.
Before heading home we stopped by Goblin Valley. I've always wanted to see the hoo doos and it was pretty cool!
It was a great experience and so much fun! I'm glad we had that adventure even if there was a tiny bit of panic. I think I actually would have been fine if I'd slid down a little more from the beginning, I was just afraid of getting more stuck so I was trying to stay higher and it was probably just a little too high. There was a big group of college age boys behind us and they got through just fine. They probably could have helped too if really necessary.
The water aspect of it was really fun! I didn't wear a wetsuit and was just fine and not cold at all. But Miles didn't and was pretty cold. I'm glad we had them!
