Zion Canyon: Angel's Landing Oct. 2009

Brad took the Boy Scout troop to Zion National Park in Utah to hike Angel's Landing.

Just minutes before breaking camp and starting the hike, Matt Mohlman and Joshua were enjoying the smell of the smoke from the campfire.

Kirk Walker, T.J. Angilau, Brandon Jackson, Matt Mohlman and Joshua sitting around the campfire in the morning before the hike, waiting for Brad to put down the camera and start making breakfast for them. (Just kidding, Kirk.)

The hiking path to Angel's Landing started by crossing over the Virgin River.

The Scouts were lucky to enjoy a picture-perfect fall day in Zion Canyon.

One of the most famous segments of the hike is Walter's Wiggles, a series of switchbacks up the back of Angel's Landing that look a lot more intimidating than they are.

Joshua and the rest of the troop hiked up Angel's Landing. The highlight of the hike was the land bridge--a narrow pathway across to the rock formation that is Angel's Landing. A few feet to either side would result in a fall of 1,000 feet or more.

At certain points of the hike, the land bridge is so narrow that there is a chain to assist hikers.

On the way up, the Scouts caught the rare sight of a massive California Condor soaring over Zion Canyon. This fantastic bird has an incredible wingspan of 8 to 10 feet.

Joshua made it to the top! Way to go!

The Troop and other hikers rested at the top of Angel's Landing and enjoyed the scenery before heading back down the rock.

Joshua was so excited to make it to the top.

Joshua found a chipmunk and shared some of his snacks with the little beggar.

Josh and Brad on top of the rock with Zion Canyon and the West Rim behind them.

Angel's Landing provides a spectacular view of Zion Canyon.

Benjamin and Bradley's Birthday party

Brad and Benjamin's (2) birthday was on November 16th. Benjamin couldn't wait to open his presents when he awoke in the morning. Joseph was more than happy to offer technical support.

At night, we had a family birthday party for the boys. Julene made gluten-free chocolate cupcakes for Ben and bought a Claim Jumper Motherlode chocolate cake for the rest.

Ben was blowing out the candles with Brad's help.

Happy Birthday Brad and Benjamin!

Brad and Benjamin's Birthday Bash at the Mirage (The Full Story)

Earlier in the year, I won a birthday party for me and up to 25 guests at Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage Hotel. We decided to use it for Benjamin and my birthday and invite members of the family who have small children, as we thought the kids would really enjoy the animals.

First, we were given a private tour, one which included only members of our group. We started at the side of one of the pools where the dolphins live. Our guide told us a bunch of interesting facts about dolphins, but I would be hard-pressed to recite any of them now.

Next, we went below to a window where we could observe the dolphins as they swam around the pool.

Our guide told us more interesting facts about dolphins.

Then, we went to a private observation room. This was the best, because the dolphins kept coming up to the glass and smiling for the camera.

Angelina and her cousin, Nora, enjoyed seeing the dolphins up close.

The guides had the children sit down and they taught them more about dolphins.

To their credit, the children actually looked interested.

More dolphins up close.

Benjamin really loved the dolphins, and he laughed each time they came up to the glass.

After the observation room, we went to a separate pool that served as the nursery.

At the nursery, there were a couple of baby dolphins swimming with their moms.

After the dolphins, we went to the secret garden. If you have been to a regular zoo, the cool animals are always in hiding. Not in Vegas: they have to get out and perform. The white tigers didn't disappoint. This beast was the size of a small horse, and I'm not exaggerating.

They had a feeding of the tiger cubs while we were there. It was really funny to watch the "kittens" attack their bottles.

After the felines, we went back to the pools for some cake. The tiger cage was made of chocolate.

The two birthday boys.

Uncle Kris and Corbin had fun.

Cousins Aubrey and Lauren appear to have enjoyed the cake.

As usual, Angelina ate frosting first.

Joshua, Ethan and Jacob couldn't wait to eat the chocolate tiger cage.

Benjamin wasn't very excited about eating the cake with his grandmas.

The highlight of the birthday party was a family photo with the dolphin. Benjamin, who was squealing when he saw the dolphins in the pool, wasn't nearly as thrilled to see one out of the water and right next to us. At first, he looked a little unsettled, but by the time the photos were being snapped, he was certain that he did not like this. The rest of us were having a great time, as we had not previously touched a dolphin.

Boulder Camping

On October 17th and 18th, Josh and I went camping with his Scout leaders, the other 11-year-old scout and his father. We went to an area about 20 miles south of Boulder City that had lots of boulders. Pictured above is our tent, next to some of the rocks.

When we arrived, it was already dark. We ate chili dogs and s'mores, and then we started exploring the rocks nearby. As Josh and I were coming down from the rocks, my flashlight caught something on the ground, just before I jumped down next to it. It was a full-sized tarantula, and it did not appear to appreciate our presence. It arched up, and looked ready to spring, so I didn't want to get too close to the tarantula, even though I needed to get close to get a picture. I didn't have my camera, so I had to use my cell phone to take this (grainy) picture.

This was the main part of our campsite, where we had our campfire and cooked. Josh is in the white shirt.

Here is another view of the campsite.

The first order of business in the morning was to rebuild the fire from the previous night. After the coals got going, we prepared a Dutch oven farmer's omelet, with bacon, sausage, eggs and hash browns.

After we ate and cleaned up breakfast, we did some scrambling on the boulders. Josh started low . . .

and finished high.

After some practice, we set our sights on some larger rocks. Our tent is in the foreground. You can see another party's tent at the base of the large rocks, which gives some sense of scale.

Here is a zoomed picture of the same rocks. From where we stood, it looked like an easy walk up to the top.

However, it turned out to be much more complex, as many of the boulders were just too large to climb without jamming. Since we were not comfortable with making 11-year-olds learn jamming into wedges without more safety gear, we had to search for ways up that they could do, or that we could help them get over.

Eventually, Josh and I made it to the top with one of his Scout leaders.

I tried to get Josh to jump high, to make it look like he was flying. I can't quite understand why he wasn't very enthused about leaving the ground.

Above is the view of our campsite (we took down the tents before climbing).

Behind Josh and to the left is the next set boulders that we climbed. It is actually much further away than it appears in the picture.

On top on those boulders were large tubs that had been hollowed out by rain water.

Josh was hiding in his tub.

Even though our second climb was much easier, it still proved to be a bit sticky in places. However, we had a lot of fun and nobody got hurt -- my definition of a successful campout.