Mountain Mom and Tots

Utah State Park: Snow Canyon, Petrified Dunes

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One of our favorite hikes at Snow Canyon State Park was the Petrified Dunes. When you think of hiking red rock terrain, this is what comes to mind. Stair like sandstone formations create endless hills and valleys to explore. Tenatious desert plants, like sagebush and cactus, cling to life in the crevices. Lizards dart across the way and the world around you is the color of fire.

The trail from the parking area to the dunes is short, sandy and clearly marked. Once you’re on the dunes, however, the rock surface hides any semblance of a trail, so we just picked a direction and climbed a while. Big E needed help up the steeper sections of rock, but did great over all. Another mom commented, “He’s like a mountain goat, the way he scrambles up the rocks.”

Little g was held by me constantly, mostly because she cried when I tried to put her in the hiking pack or down to walk on her own. The hike is only about a mile round trip and was easy, even with young children, assuming your young children don’t go to the very top of the dunes. If your preschooler is anything like Big E, however, you will be climbing to the very top. He wasn’t about to let the big kids have all the fun. I was nervous about him slipping off from way up high, but luckily his aunt held tight to his hand the whole way.

We visited the Petrified Dunes in the evening, to enjoy the sunset and the cooler temperatures. The watercolor sky was truly a sight to behold. The red rocks lit up with golden light until night slowly overtook it all. It was a beautiful scene, but once we were plunged into darkness the absence of a marked trail was scary.

After the light faded, scrambling on the rocks was a whole different adventure. I was grateful for the key chain flashlight hooked to my keys, and for the headlamps of my fellow hikers. Without them, I would’ve fallen several times with little g in tow. The trail was completely lost to us in the dark. We moved slowly down the rocks, choosing our foot placement carefully. We walked in the general direction of the road, took a few detours, but eventually found a safe route back to our cars.

Even in the dark, the trail was fun. So fun, in fact, that we returned during daylight hours to explore even more. Snow Canyon State Park Petrified Dunes hike was a fun place to play with kids of all ages.

Utah State Park: Snow Canyon Cinder Cone

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After a morning playing in the sand, we headed back to camp. Big E had peed his pants at the Snow Canyon Sand Dunes, so after cleaning up that mess, we got on with our day.

The thing Big E liked best about our trip to Snow Canyon State Park was playing with friends. We went on the trip with my sister-in-law’s family and various relatives and friends of hers. Between all the families we had a gaggle of kids, all more entertaining for Big E than I could ever be. Since he was happily entertained, and my sister-in-law was there to watch him, I left with little g to explore the Cinder Cone hike.

This hike is described as difficult, with steep slopes and loose, uneven surfaces. It’s also described as only 1.5 miles so I figured I could handle it, even with little g in the hiking pack. If you’re headed on this hike, be aware that you pass the north entrance to Snow Canyon and drive about a mile north on Highway 18 to get to the trail head. And I use the term trail head loosely, it’s actually just a gravelly pull off on the side of the highway, marked by a sign.

We started on the trail, enjoying the breeze, butterflies and wildflowers. Spring truly is the perfect time to visit Southern Utah. The beauty of the red rocks can actually be enjoyed, because you aren’t sweating a gallon of water an hour while trying to make your tots happy. In the summer, with highs regularly above 100 degrees, it’s just not a fun vacation. In the spring, it’s a beautifully stark landscape with amazing views and unique activities.

Cinder Cone trail winds through blackened lava rock to the backside of an ancient volcano. It’s been inactive for thousands of years (I don’t actually know how long it’s been dormant, but it’s been a heck of a long time) but it still left its mark. Sharp, black lava rock surrounds the cinder cone, and can be seen in several places in Snow Canyon State Park. Because of this I would suggest not falling while you’re hiking. Seriously. It would hurt.

Also, be careful with your footing, they weren’t lying about the uneven surfaces. I was nervous about falling with little g in the pack, so on the steepest parts I asked my hiking companions for a hand, literally. It was reminiscent of a gentleman taking a ladie’s hand to help her out of a carriage, only instead of a light touch and graceful moves, I clung for balance with my sweaty palms and unstable footwork.

From the top of Cinder Cone trail, you can see the indentation of the cone, and hike into its sulfuric stench if desired. OK, I don’t know if it’s truly sulfuric, but there was an odd smell at one point that was slightly reminiscent of personal body odor. I blame the ancient volcano, not the pools of sweat under my arms from hiking uphill with thirty extra pounds on my back. Regardless, it’s cool to say you’ve been inside a real volcano, so you might as well.

I could see some amazing views from the top of the cone. The city of Enterprise, UT is located to the north, and the white and red cliffs of Snow Canyon State Park loom to the west and south. I would suggest NOT taking tots on this particular trail unless they are strapped to your back. Little g did great, she especially enjoyed chasing butterflies at the top, but I doubt Big E could’ve handled the climb on his own. Older children, even as young as nine, would be fine with a little help from an adult.

The hike back down was more treacherous than the hike up. Part of the treachery was the fear of falling and impaling myself on the dark rock shards. The other, more insistent part, was the constant wailing of little g, who hated getting back into the pack after the freedom of chasing butterflies. I ended up taking her out of the pack half way through and carrying her in my arms the rest of the way.

Back at the truck I realized the cause of her discomfort was not the pack, but a stinky diaper. What was with my tots and their bodily functions that day? At least the hike was short and I had a clean diaper in the car this time.

Utah State Park: Snow Canyon, Sand Dunes

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Day two of our Snow Canyon State Park adventure was full of fun. We started the day with a bike ride to the Snow Canyon Sand Dunes. We went in the morning, before the sun baked everything crispy, and the sand was cool in our toes. Our group of campers bought along a ball, Frisbee, cups and a shovel in order to truly enjoy our time. Big E was happy to just dig, dig, dig. He was so happy in fact, that he forgot to mention that he needed to pee and unfortunately peed in his pants, only fifteen minutes after I had taken him to the bathroom. Here he is, standing proudly, in his pee stained pants.

Since we had biked there from the campsite, the closest change of clothing was a twenty minute huff and puff up the trail, lugging my tots in the bike trailer behind me. I considered my options. Either I could bike back up to camp, or strip him naked from the waist down and traumatize all the other park patrons. Since neither option was that appealing, and since E seemed to not care even a tiny bit that he was wet with pee, I decided to do nothing. This may not be my best mothering moment, I’ll admit, but E seemed to be just as healthy, happy and developmentally adjusted before the event as afterward. So hopefully there’s no harm done.

While Big E dug some more, little g and I played in the sand too. We saw lots of animal tracks, most likely from birds and snakes. One of our fellow campers thought there might be scorpion tracks as well, but luckily we saw none of those.

What’s great about the Snow Canyon Sand Dunes is that it’s easily accessible, the whole family can enjoy it and you can spend as much time there as you want. Me and my tots thought it was a lot like going to the beach, only without the ocean. I only wish I had brought my book, since E was distracted by building castles in the sand and little g quickly fell asleep on my lap.

If you’re looking to visit Snow Canyon State Park and don’t mind getting a little sandy I would definitely suggest stopping here. But beware, there is no shade and it gets hot. Also, may I suggest bringing a change of clothes for any preschoolers you may have with you.

Utah State Park: Snow Canyon Day 1

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This last week, me and the tots spent spring break down at Utah’s Snow Canyon State Park. Now, don’t be confused by its name. Snow Canyon has probably never actually had any snow in it, since it is located just outside St. George, Utah, one of the warmest places in the state. Snow canyon is named after Lorenzo and Erastus Snow, early Utah pioneers.

Our first day was spent mostly in the car. As any parent of young children know, sometimes the car can be synonymous with torture chamber, but luckily for me little g slept most of the four hour trip down and Big E was easily entertained by my Kindle Fire tablet (Hooray for Blues Clues and Angry Birds!) Because of this, our first stop was just outside of St. George, at the very classy Minute Mart establishment.

Although stopping for gas and ice cream is not that exciting, it seemed that this, our first stop on our Snow Canyon State Park adventure, would prove prophetic. E was content climbing on the rocks. G ran around the outside of the store as fast as her little legs would carry her and I spent most of my time preventing her from running into the road.

After, climbing, running and chasing was over I reached in my bag for my car keys and to my horror could not find them. They were not in my bag. They were not in my pockets. They were not on the rocks, sidewalk or road. I had them when I drove to Minute Mart and I distinctly remembered locking the car, therefore, they had to be there…somewhere.

After chasing g back into the store, and calling for E to follow, I finally found them in the crevice of the baby changing table in their restroom. Hint to future travelers: Do not put your keys on the baby changing table when changing your baby. A better place would be your pocket, your bag or even on a rope around your neck.

With that potential tragedy averted we continued to our destination: Snow Canyon State Park. We were lucky enough to be staying in the only campground in the park. Not only that, my sister-in-law had booked the group site Cottontail for us, which was fenced, close to bathrooms and showers and had plenty of parking. But, more about the campground later. For now we were just happy to be out of the car and in the warmth of Southern Utah.

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