Snow Canyon State Park

We came to Southern Utah to 1) wait out the snowstorm that is happening at the pass in Colorado and 2) to see the wonders of Zion, Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef. However, as soon as we entered Utah, we marveled at the low gas prices, the open space, the courteous drivers and the fact that nobody gawks at a family with 3 kids out here. Utah is very orderly and tidy compared to California, which was literally catching on fire when we drove out of there. They fix their potholes and have wonderful, spacious, cheap laundromats. Personally I'm a fan of the low alcohol Mormon beer, too.

I took the kids to Snow Canyon State Park, where we walked through pink sand dunes and looked at hundreds of animal tracks. They were so clear, it was almost as if a museum curator had arranged them, but no, that's just the real animals running around at night. The kids loved tracking the prints and figuring out which animal went with which print. Marko then built himself a little print-maker out of sticks and went about laying his own crazy footprints. This park also has a small slot canyon that is a short hike from the parking area. It was kind of scary to look up and see the boulders wedged directly above us. We saw some people rock climbing. We also saw a hawk hunting and Marko found a print of his wings brushing through the sand. The canyons were beautiful. Not as high as Zion's but just as colorful.

We really need to start driving home, but each weather report is worse than the last. We are keeping our furnace running high and unplugging our hoses at night when it freezes. We made some impulsive Halloween costume impulse buys so we are ready to have some Halloween fun, although it will be really different from our usual Halloweens. Happy Birthday to Mary and Grandma Cake!