Natural Bridges

We had no school on Friday, so we had an extra weekend day and we got to go to Natural Bridges. It is actually really close to here, but we had never been before. It was really pretty and definitely worth the trip.

First we hiked to a ruin overlook.  We thought this sign was funny, and Spencer was very cautious of where we were standing when the clouds got darker.  It was kind of a cloudy rainy day, but it was nice and cool.

This bridges are formed in winding rivers because the water cuts through part of the rock to go a shorted distance.  It's hard to explain, but it was very interesting.

These are the ruins we saw.  They are unique because they have both round and square kivas.  Round kivas are usually found in Colorado and square ones are found in Arizona.

I don't know what he is pointing at, but he is cute.

The second hike was to that bridge behind us, kind of by the trees.

The second hike was the longest and hardest.  It was .75 miles straight down on switchbacks and stairs, and then straight up again.  the boys were real troopers and Devon carried sleeping Carrie, so it wasn't too bad.  On the way up Spencer kept talking about his salami sandwich, apparently it was his motivation

It was a long climb, but it was amazing at the bottom. 

The last hike was really easy and short.  The boys said they liked this bridge the best, but I felt like I had to like the second one best because it was a much harder hike.

Carrie liked this one though because she could get down and explore

You can't keep kids out of puddles, so I really don't try.

It was so nice  to spend the day as a family and see this beautiful place.  We bought a wildflower book and identified tons of flowers that were out there, and now we know what the flowers around here are called too.  This world is pretty amazing.  We are blessed to live by so many beautiful things!