San Rafael Swell Camping

Last weekend we camped in the San Rafael Swell for Friday and Saturday nights.  Once again, we had an amazing camping experience!  We ended up staying in the same primitive camp site in which I stayed a few times when I was young camping with my family and cousins.  The second the boys got out of the car they were scaling the rocks and pointing out every cool thing in sight.

I followed them (mostly Timmy) around making sure he knew what he could handle in terms of free style rock climbing, while Mark single handedly set up our entire trailer and camp site.

After Mark set up the trailer the boys couldn't wait to explore a shallow cave close to our camp.

We were the only people in the canyon and we realized we could create some pretty awesome echoes that bounced off the canyon walls for minutes.

Friday was a very very cold evening.  I think it got down to about 30 degrees that night, so we came back to camp and Mark built a beautiful perfect camp fire.  I was so pleased to see Brian and Timmy roast and eat their own hot dogs.  First time making their own dinners!

Because we have a sweet awesome tent trailer, our little heater kept us warm and the boys slept the entire night without a peep.  The next morning was really cold outside of our cozy trailer though, so we watched a movie on the tablet after breakfast as we waited for that sun to finally reach down into the deep canyon.

You can see the sun almost reaching us.  By this time it had warmed up enough to do some more rock climbing and exploring.

We determined that it was finally warm enough to head out on the bikes.  I am so glad we brought the bikes.  Buckhorn Draw Road was the perfect road for excursions with the kids.

Our first stop was only about a half mile down the road to the Buckhorn Wash Rock Art Panel.  I loved seeing these pictographs and the boys were surprisingly interested in them as well!

Then we continued on a few more miles down to the San Rafael River where we ate a picnic lunch and checked out the only remaining suspension bridge in Utah.

After riding back to camp and relaxing our tired legs, we headed out on a drive to see the "Little Grand Canyon" in the Swell.

 

The kids got their naps in as Mark and I enjoyed the scenery.




Back at camp we did some playing in the sand.  Brian could play in this desert sand for hours and hours.


But, we convinced him to go on one last bike adventure in order to find a secret dinosaur footprint located close to the road off an unmarked path.  We found the footprint after a 3 1/2 mile ride, in which Mark wanted to pull both boys with the hopes that I could maybe keep up with him on my bike.  If you're wondering, I still couldn't keep his pace, but I got some good exercise while trying.

I thought the ancient footprint was fascinating and yes we put a little water in there to make it more visible.

After our adventure as pretend paleontologists, the boys couldn't even wait to get their bike helmets off before they dove into the sand play one more time before dinner and bed.

There is nothing better than a campfire with my family on a cool desert evening.  It was heaven. And the heavens were bright with stars, which was a real treat for Brian and Timmy, because they rarely get to experience a glorious starry night.

The next morning we took it nice and slow.  We relaxed around camp and I stayed with the boys for an hour while Mark got some "real" mountain biking in on his mountain bike.  Mark and his bike are built for way more than just pulling the kids on a groomed dirt road.  I'm glad he got a little bit of extreme mountain biking in before we left.  He rode up a side canyon, which I hope we can explore further the next time we are there.

 Brian and Timmy spent the morning using up all the remaining water we had making rivers, lakes and "hot cocoa" according to Timmy.  He seems to be mesmerized by that huge "pond of hot cocoa".

Mark packed us up and we enjoyed a fast drive home listening to General Conference.  It had definitely been a trip filled with happy campers.  Brian especially did not want to leave.  Thanks Mark for all the work you do to take us camping!