Grand Canyon, Zion, South Lake Tahoe, Redwood Forest, Crater Lake, Smith Rock, City of Rocks, Jackson, Yellowstone, Cody, Thermopolis, Devil’s Tower, Mt. Rushmore, the Needles……..whew!

I realize looking at my list how long it’s been since I’ve taken the time to write. We’ve covered a lot of ground in the last 3-4 weeks and I think we’re all actually looking forward to wrapping up our trip and heading home.

Our first week back with Alex consisted of a less than impressive visit to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (meaning the South Rim is definitely more awe inspiring) and a fantastic couple of days in Zion National Park.

Alex freaking himself out with no rope.

Alex was so tired after being on the mountain. Anna was massaging his head with a stick.

So happy to have Dad back.

Zion NP

One of the few multipitch climbs we were able to do with the kids.

My sister and I had been trying to figure out a good place to meet in northern California and we decided to skip Yosemite (a total zoo in the month of June) and King’s Canyon which was still getting snow and cold temperatures. So upon the brilliant, albeit lucky, advice of my brother-in-law, James, we settled on South Lake Tahoe. Tahoe was the perfect culmination of sun, climbing, hiking and beach-going. Alex and James were able to climb and my sister and I had some quality time both with and without the kids. And most importantly I was able to love on my niece, Hazel to my heart’s content. There’s just something about your sister’s kid that has a hold on your heart like nothing else. It also helps that Hazel is saucy and hilarious and as articulate a two year old as I have ever heard.

James, Hazel and Annie in South Lake Tahoe.

Love this kid 

Hazel by the lake

After the typical tearful goodbye between sisters living on opposite ends of the continent, we headed to the Redwood Forest, upon Anna’s request. I figured it was somewhat compulsory given that we skipped the Sequoias. The trees were big and beautiful, but we had the most fun camping right on the beach. Now, I’m not one to be an alarmist. I tend to blow off warnings of natural disasters that may affect whatever area I’m in. But the tsunami warnings at our beach campsite gave me some serious heebee geebees, and after one restless night, I was ready to head to higher ground.

Campsite right on the beach

Our Crater Lake visit was brief due to record snowfall this year and continued road closures. So, much to Alex’s delight, we headed to Smith Rock near Bend, OR for a few days of cragging. I must say, Smith was one of my favorite places on this trip. Super family friendly, lots to offer climbers and just a great vibe. Climbers are generally cool people to chat with and Smith is like the Disneyland of climbing. It was here that we were able to see lots of families, just like us, with small kids all having a great time climbing with Mom and Dad. The approach was simple and it was just climb after climb after climb. Everyone was happy. Anna was able to climb all the way to the top to the rap rings on her own for the first time and her smile lasted all day.

Teaching J-man how to tie in at Smith Rock

Anna.....all smiles on this one!

While we were at Smith Rock, we were talking to a lot of people who planned on heading to City of Rocks from Oregon. Neither Alex nor I had heard of this place so we pointed our wheels in the direction of southeast Idaho. When we got there it was better than Christmas morning. We found an area full of granite that was a lot like Joshua Tree, but even more remote and a lot cooler.

City of Rocks, lots of sticky beautiful granite

It's been an awesome month, needless to say. To be continued...........