OK, first thing: we didn't try to kill the children. I know they will tell you differently, but it was simply an honest mistake. Besides, they didn't actually die, so what are they still complaining about?
The plan was simple. Take the shuttle bus to Sunset Point, hike what we were told was an easy trail, Queen Victoria's Garden, & end up at Sunrise Point, where we could re-board the bus & continue on. Then we were told about how Wall Street, a narrow passageway between two huge canyon walls, had suffered a landslide, closing that trail. The ranger told us we could still hike down to it & see it, we would just have to re-trace our steps back to the original trail. No problem.
Except, the trail down was basically like our 4-wheel drive down the canyon wall - all steep switchbacks, which are OK going down, but really not so OK going back up, especially when it's really sunny, hot & dry.
Now that we were "warmed up", we stuck to the plan & hiked on. Except that Queen Victoria's Garden trail is the easy middle section that is connected at each end to, yup, steep canyon walls with many, many switchbacks. What we expected to be about an hour, tops, turned out to be 2 1/2 hours of mostly moderate level hiking, made more intense by the fact that it brought us into high noon in the high desert. Thankfully, I carry a Camelback, a backpack that contains a water reservior, & the kids each have a large strapped water bottle. Phil had a waist pack with water. We also had snack foods, which we ate in a shaded area.
Kimi & Shaun alternated from tears to glares by the end of it all. They made us promise not to make them hike for a few days. They threatened to sell us. It was not our family at its best.
Much later, after the yummy late-day lunch buffet, after the ice creams, we set up another campfire. It was a little earlier than when we set it up the night before. The sky was dusky, the moon shone behind the ponderosa pines, when Shaun said, "Look!" Right next to us was a herd of deer. Our site was in the very back of the campground, overlooking a huge meadow (actually, Dixie National Forest). It was quiet & very private. Apparently, the deer thought so, too! They passed along, some of them gracefully leaping, others just strolling & staring at us (What do they think when they see us humans? "Those poor weird deer, no fur, no antlers...keep moving, Honey, & don't stare! It's not polite...)
We asked Kimi & Shaun what did they think about this place - did they want to come back? Expecting their answer, we were pleasantly surprised when, without hesitation, they both said, "Yeah, we should come back". Kimi then added, "but to go to the stores, not to hike!"
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