The Swell

Conor's been planning and waiting to go camping with Hazel since she was born. Maybe before. This is one of the reasons we moved back here--to enjoy nature, camp, hike, etc. We took a trip the end of September to Moab and have been dying to get back out. We went to San Rafael Swell the last weekend in March.

Yes, we camped. In a tent. With Hazel.

It was awesome!!! The weather was beautiful and we all enjoyed it. Hazel loves to be outside. The area we went to was 5 or 6 miles from Goblin Valley. It's BLM ground so it's free--yeah. You also take your own water. With a baby now taking up a portion of the backseat of our car, we were worried about space and hauling everything, including all our water. Conor built a trailer and it worked perfectly! He still has plans to pimp out his trailer, but it was finished just in time to get on the road. Hazel was a real trooper for the entire trip. She went 7 1/2 hours without being fed the first day, and also slept a lot. She did wake up in the middle of the night (or at least it seemed like it) to eat.

We arrived at dusk so I fed Hazel and then she hung out in the car while we set up camp.

Here's the trailer Conor built.

Good thing she's not mobile yet! Easy to set her in the  chair.
It was around 40 the first night--got a little chilly. But we all had warm clothes.

Conor thought this was cute since he put Hazel in his bag after he got up.

Hazel is smiling so much now. Since she was less than a week old I have said the word "smile" and then smile at her. Looks like she's catching on. At least she's happy for the little camera! : ) And, yes, the Bumbo made the trip with us!!!

DAY 1: Hiked from Bell Canyon down into Little Wildhorse Canyon. Fun and easy slot canyons to hike. Total of 8 miles.

On the road between the two canyons.

Our nephew, Ryker, taught him how to smile like this a few years back.

Horrible pic, but the bright white spots are stars and a planet.

DAY 2: Hiked Crack Canyon from the top and went down and back up. Definitely a little trickier, but fun. We had to take Hazel out of the pack and pass her back and forth. I didn't love some of the spots. We enjoyed this area more than the other. Unsure how far we hiked, but we both got blisters from our hikes. Time to get the callouses back!!!

Isn't she cute?! Haha! This is where we stopped for lunch.