Caprock Canyons - Thursday

Thursday morning we rose early, and had tasty Daddio Burritos! There is nothin' tastier than a breakfast burrito... eggs and bacon over a campfire, smothered with cheese and salso tucked into a warm tortilla!

Then we were off for our morning hike. We chose a new trail, this one told of a rocky ascent that was challenging... but was supposed to have a big payoff. The weather couldn't have been nicer... cool but clear, great weather for hiking. Once the backpack was loaded up with water and snacks we set off for our hike. About a mile in we were to merge off the main trail for the rocky up hill. Wow, this was definitely more tricky than we planned. Going up wasn't too bad, but I was more worried about heading down... and for good reason as it turned out. We didn't make it all the way up, but it was a good try. Back at the main trail we continued on and enjoyed the amazing landscapes, huge rock formations, and interesting plant life... and a few creepy crawlers that caught our attention. When all was said and done and we were back at the car we clocked in about a 2 hour hike which with crude estimation was somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 miles (images from this hike).


We headed back to camp for removal of some of our layers of clothing (the sweaters and long sleeves were no longer necessary), and to get lunch underway. Unfortunately our fly problem from the night before (yeah, I don't think I mentioned that... um, the tent was filled with them) had not gotten any better, and we were out of ideas of how to get rid of them... not only were they in our tent, but EVERYWHERE! So we made an executative decision to go a short drive into town for a bug response, and lunch in doors!

What was the answer to the flies... you nature lovers will just love this one... BUG BOMB! We removed all contents from the tent, the we bug bombed those darn flies... gathered more water (we wouldn't be able to go back into the tent for a few hours), and headed out for another hike. Usually this would be the time we would put the boys down for a much needed rest and Daddio and I would catch up on some reading, have a beer, and take a little siesta ourselves... but that was a no go.

Back to the next hike... this particular trail was one we were slightly familar with having hiked a short ways into it last time we were there. This time we went much further and enjoyed it even more. Every 30 minutes or so we would stop and enjoy the cool refreshing water and a snack of some sort... and then hit the trail again... and much like the morning we found our hiking abilities last about 2 hours and some change (again about 3 miles or a little more). This particular trail (intended to go all the way to the lake at the enterance of the park) is much more up and down, and by the end Daddio and I's feet were ready to fall right off at the ankle! But it was well worth it!

After this hike, it was back to the campsite to check out the bug situation and start getting the fire ready for dinner... oh and sit back and enjoy an ice cold adult beverage while we try to entice our feet to stay attached to our bodies! As Bubba would say "The bugs got DEAD!", and the tent was filled with our belongings once again! Dinner as usual was amazing, steaks and baked taters for the grown ups and hot dogs for the boys... and then SHOWER TIME.

Before the boys this is actually something we rarely did on our camping trips... but they sleep so much better (and so do we as it turns out) after they've been all cleaned up and are snug in their long underwear jammies. To bed they went while we enjoyed some star gazing... and were soon tucked away in our sleeping bags as well listening to the hum of the heater and drifting away!