Camp, Hike, Soak

Our first camping trip of 2012 was at the end of Spring Break week, which also coincided with General Conference. We watched/listened to the Saturday morning session and then drove the truck and trailer to Elk Bend. We camped at a little spot near Dug-Out Dick's caves. There were some fishermen around, but other than that, we had the place to ourselves! On Saturday afternoon, we took a hike into Goldbug Hot Springs. Josh hadn't been there for 15 years, and the kids and I had never been there. Now that Kanyon is 5, we knew we could make the trek together as a family.

The hike up to the hot springs took us about an hour and a half. The first half of the hike was fun and relaxed; the kids played in the creek that follows the trail, and they climbed rocks and trees when we took breaks.

The second half of the hike was steeper and more intense (for me, anyways) and I had to take more breaks than the boys, so I got further behind them. There was one part where you hike up a giant pile of shale rock, and a sign in the rocks said "Half-way there", and I just started crying. My legs were already hurting so much by then and I didn't think I could keep going the distance that I'd already come. But, since I knew the boys were ahead of me, I HAD to keep going. And thankfully, it was only 10 minutes later that I arrived at the hot springs site. When Josh saw the same sign, he said he laughed because he knew it was just a joke!!!

The hot springs are glorious and beautiful. There are multiple pools at different heights, and they are all connected by little waterfalls. Some of the pools are hot, some are warm, and some are cool. We soaked for one hour in 3 of the pools, and really enjoyed ourselves. It was so peaceful and soothing.

When the weather started turning cold, we decided it was time to leave. So we got dressed, and began our trek back down the mountain. I stopped to take a few photos of some of the naturally beautiful waterfalls, and I was left behind once again, but I eventually caught up. It took us 45 minutes to walk down and back to the place where we parked the truck.

It rained on and off that evening and through the night, but we were so happy to be camping, it really didn't damper our spirits. The boys explored spots around our campsite, and found some pretty shells by the river and gathered sticks to throw in the fire. I worked on a school project inside the trailer, and Josh tried a new dutch oven recipe. Then we roasted marshmallows over the campfire before going to bed.

We returned home on Sunday afternoon just in time to watch/listen to the last session of General Conference. We all had such a great time on our first camping trip of the season! And although my legs were stiff and sore for 4 days after the hike, it was well worth it and we look forward to going there again!