This feels a lot like our holiday card photo for the year and for those of our friends and family who follow this blog you now know the story behind it.

By now you might be wondering what would possess a sane person to make this journey across the desert, through foul water, over a dead cow, and up and down the walls of a 30 foot deep slot canyon. If you enjoy venturing to the most beautiful natural places in the world this photograph should begin to help you understand.

 
Even Maya was not skinny enough to avoid having to climb up the walls to move forward. Kyle once again looks after the safety of his little sister. All of us had to help each other at various times and I was inspired by the teamwork the family demonstrated in order to get everyone in and out of the canyon.

 
The slot narrows considerably as we advance. In many places you must chimney up the sides because the base is too narrow for even a single foot or to create enough clearance for your body to slip through.

 
Kyle was good enough to go back for his sister and ferry her across the water which would have reached much higher on her short little body. Maya please remember to thank your brother again should you read this some number of years from now.

The rest of us had to walk through the thigh deep stagnant, slimy, stinky, and suprisingly cold water. Jeanine was way outside her comfort zone but mustered the conviction to forge on. What a trooper. The boys had advanced deeper into the canyon and were reporting a dead cow just ahead. I managed to convince Jeanine and Maya that the boys were just trying to scare them. Meanwhile I threatened to throttle the boys if they uttered another word. They had in fact discovered the skull of a cow next to a suspiciously cow like mound of debris. I saw little value in sharing this news with their mother until after she had traversed the water obstacle.

Recent rains left portions of the narrow canyon filled with water. Nicolai enjoys a unique advantage in overcoming this obstacle.

When we arrive at the entrance to the slot canyon, Kyle decides to lighten the load by emptying his sneakers of sand.

Since we were following a river wash, the elevation change was minimal, but the last quarter of a mile was through deep sand, which takes a significant amount of energy to traverse.

 
Today we ventured far off the beaten path and did a 5 mile hike to a seldom visited slot canyon. We left early in the day to avoid risk of rain the chances of which increased into the afternoon.

 
The last portion of the trail is a very steep climb and takes you past some of the largest hoodoos. The kids seemed to enjoy the day immensely and I was thrilled that they appeared to fully appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of this very special place. Our next waypoint is the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park where we will spend the evening.

As we began to climb out of the canyon, Maya became exhausted. Kyle offered to carry her and did so for quite a long distance in addition to his water-laden pack . What a beast!

Attention soon turned to a ground-based rock arch, which took more than a little effort to perfect.

As the kids complete their carin construction, Jeanine spots this interesting-looking bird, which seems confused by the appearance of large rocks in her tree.