Most terrifying moments, and most fun moments...

Most terrifying moment this week:

Hanging on a cliff, panic stricken, not able to move forward or backward. The whole family went on a hike at Loy canyon – a very easy, innocent walk, until we spotted cliff dwellings way up on the mountain. I thought it might be a good idea to check them out, so my family reluctantly followed me. It was already late in the afternoon, the kids were hungry... We scrambled up an enchanting canyon, nothing too hard. The final push up to the ruins was steep and exposed, and very, very dangerous, although Steve claims it was a piece of cake. Either way, a couple of minutes up that exposed spot, I froze and freaked out. I clutched Eva to my chest, held Luke in a vice grip by my side, pinned Kai down on my other side, and proceeded to hyperventilate.

Steve kept his calm, and so did Luke. My ten-year-old son told me to visualize what it would feel like to be back at the RV eating pizza. Is this kid wise, or what?

Steve evacuated us, almost carrying me on his back. No, it wasn't one of my brightest moments.

We found another way up, and it was all worth it. The ruins blew our minds. I can't describe it – just look at the pictures.

And an hour later, we sat in the RV eating pizza.

Looks innocent, right?  Right.

That's Eva playing with Juniper berries.

This is some of the rock we scrambled on.

I'm still smiling there.  Tense, but smiling.

This is really, really high up.

Aren't these ruins awesome?  It's worth almost dieing for.

Most fun moments this week:

Doing three mother-and-daughter only hikes, while the boys were off breaking their necks mountain biking. My girl and I went around Bell Rock one day (Barbie came too), then on a six mile hike the next day (with Eva not only being solar-powered, but also soda-powered --- gotta love sodas for bribes!), then the next day up to Devil's Bridge.

It's really special to have this alone time with Eva. We (or mostly she) talk about fairies a lot.  She is a strong hiker, and mostly a good sport.  On one of these hikes, though, she whined, "Mom, you always say it's gonna be a short hike.  And it's never true!"  Huh.  Never too early to start with trust issues, eh?

I think I'm getting old, though. Exposed places give me heart palpitations and make my palms sweaty. I watched these teenage girls walk across the narrow, very exposed stone bridge, and I had to hold myself back from yelling at them, “Girls! Girls! Come back here!” I never was that chicken before. I used to jump off cliffs in a hang glider – really!

In case it's not clear: There is a heart filled with water in the rock.  You know, like a heart rock.

In case you are wondering, this person is not me.  No, no, no, no.

I will leave you with some of my favorite images from the week.  Hope you are having fun this week!