weekend adventure for just the two of us

Sometimes I like the way that sounds.  Just the two of us.

Apparently, the girls think the phrase has a bit of a ring to it too, because after Courtney and I got back from a long weekend adventure to Zions, Kate told me that it was like a little vacation for her too.  From us, that is.  I was just glad to here that we are all on the same page here.

We had a great time, and I admit I wouldn't have minded a few more days.  It went by much too fast.  (And lest I sound like an unloving mother, the girls thought the same thing.  It seems 4 day vacations from each other are sometimes just not long enough.) 

Our little getaway started on Thursday when I drove to Fillmore to meet Courtney.  Boy, was it good to see his smile after a long week away.  Friday morning, we woke up bright and early to go canyoneering.  Neither of us had done this before, so we booked a guide through Zion Adventure Company.  What a great day!  We loved it all!  We did a total of eight repels and about 4 down climbs (without ropes).  The longest repel was about 110 feet, the longest down climb was about 20.  I have to say the down climbs scared the pants off me.  When we got to the first obstacle that we had to down climb, saw what we had to do to get down, I told Courtney, "I can't do that."  You can see how seriously he takes me, because four down climbs later I was feeling pretty proud of myself.  (I'm not big on heights.)

I often tell the girls, "You can do hard things."  It's a bit of a theme around here.  So it was good for me to have opportunities to prove to myself that I can do hard things too!  It's been a while since I've had a challenge like that. 

On Saturday, Courtney woke up early to go stand in line for a back country permit so we could hike an area called the Subway (bottom up).  We were hoping to do the narrows again, but they're not open yet because of the runoff.  We were told about the Subway and decided to try it.  It was an eight mile hike.  Because the river was running so high, the going was pretty tough.  We had to pick our way through on an improvised trail.  It was constantly taking us up and over boulders and was so tiring.  From what we were told, up until a day or two before we came, everyone was having to turn back before actually getting to the Subway.  We were lucky to have been able to make it, but man!  Once we got to where the Subway opens up, it was pretty cool.  We were bummed that the water was running so fast and we couldn't explore it a bit more.  Next time we visit, we would love to try the top down, which which was unaccessable, again because of the water. 

The best part of the day just may have been our stop off to get ice cold, fresh pressed apple juice from a little store outside of Springdale on our way back after the hike.  Tired, tired, tired, is what we were.  We came to the absolute conclusion that we are OUT. OF. SHAPE. 

(These pictures are out of order, and I'm too lazy to try and fix it. . .Fellow bloggers- Is anyone else having trouble downloading/ organizing pictures with the new format?)
   
Dinasour tracks on the way into the Subway.  Seriously!

We hiked through the water up these falls.  So much fun!

The Subway.

Canyoneering

Zions happens to be one of our favorite places.  So many beautiful hikes and things to do.  We're hoping to take the girls down and do some canyoneering with our same guides, Scott and Stephen.  I think they would love it! 

This year, though, we loved our trip alone.  Just the two of us.