Fabulous Weekend at the Cabin! (Part 2)

We made our way down to the cabin by Friday afternoon. Stopping along the way for small town ice cream and yard sales. Oh baby! I got a few goodies that made me giggle that day. Small town economics is fabulous! Great deals!

We hit the cabin and the temperature was 89 degrees and no wind. In the time I have known Brian and went to the cabin, this has NEVER happened for me. It was gorgeous! There was only one minor draw back to the heat. THE FLIES!!! It was insane as we were making dinner. We had to drive down to the Otter Creek Marina store and buy fly strips and a can of poison that I ended up not allowing Brian to use around us. After that, the flies settled down and the fly strips became quite the entertainment. More about that later.

We headed off to bed early as we wanted to get an early start for our morning hike. So, off to bed we went in the heat of the night.

There is only one word that can describe hiking Calf Creek Falls for me:

Calf Creek Falls is a six mile hike that is just a few miles after Escalante. After seeing Bryce Canyon, going through Henrieville and few other small towns and the Escalante Grand Stair Case on the scenic byway 12, you will see a small exit to Calf Creek Falls! If you are ever by there...TAKE IT!

Brian and I have hiked Calf Creek Falls quite a bit when we dated and in the first years of our marriage. We always try to talk friends and family to go with us at the cabin, but it seems to never happen. This year, we made sure that it happened because we knew that Shae is old enough to walk it. Well, mostly old enough, I had to make a few games with some treats to coax her along the way, but she was a great sport and had a great attitude the entire time.

It is a beautiful hike with a guided map to explain the history of the area. Below you will see some pictographs drawn by the Fremont Indians. Very Cool!

This kid did an amazing job! As we walked along the trail, people would comment at what a great sport she was for doing the 6 mile hike. She did get a bit chaffed on her legs the way back and Brian had to carry her back a couple of miles. I could see in her eyes that her gas tank was empty and she was running on fumes, but she got up every time I told her that we can do hard things and she will be proud of her accomplishment when she was done. She never really complained and she did it! She was so proud of herself when she was done. Mom and Dad were super pleased with her hard work and not giving up. Huge lessons that only this kind of experience could have taught her!

After walking 3 miles in the heat, you will eventually feel the air cool, the vegetation pick up and then a glorious moment later you will see the lower falls of Calf Creek.

ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!

You can't help but run for the water to cool yourself and feet down. It is so much fun to play and eat and spend time in this little piece of heaven. For a good 20 minutes, we had the falls all to ourselves!

The rocks are slimy and slippery from the water which also make fun water slides!

Shae's mini slide!

The water is really cold! Brian wanted me to take a picture of him swimming in it. I would have died. I hate being cold!

Shae hitching a ride because her legs were chaffed from the wet jeans.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this hike! It is not an intense hike, it is fairly moderate and it is very doable for children (with lots of drinks and snacks). When we reached the truck we were so exhausted but also on a high with the work that we had done.

We drove into Escalante and ate at a local cafe called the Circle D. It was an organic cafe with locally grown beef and fresh food. IT WAS DELICIOUS!! I had a whole wheat turkey panini, Brian had a home grown hamburger and Shae had homemade mac and cheese. For dessert Brian and I shared a slice of home made key lime pie and Shaeler had a blueberry/pomegranate smoothie! They had BBQ smoking in the back and Brian almost shed a tear when they told him that the BBQ was for dinner. We had to hurry back to the cabin to meet up with the Dority's and would not be able to stay for dinner. Oh well!

Hiking Calf Creek Falls was the best time of my life!