Bryce Canyon National Park

It's starting to look and feel more like fall here. We are enjoying cooler temperatures! We're really looking forward to Todd's parents coming to Utah in a couple days. It will be great to see family and share part of our lives in Utah with them!
This past week we discovered that one of our neighbors has plums and apples in their trees that are free to anyone willing to climb and pick them. So, we got a bag full of apples and plums. Since it was fall break for me, I had time to make an apple pie, apple bread, peanut butter apple cookies, and crock-pot applesauce. Yum!
I had the opportunity to do a trail run with 3 other Calvin XC alumni--Christina Overbeck, Camille Medema, and Laura Holtrop. Laura's wedding was this past weekend, so many Calvin XC alumni were in town. It was great to see familiar faces!
We went to Todd's high school musical--Annie--on Friday night. It was great. I got to see one of my favorite musicals, and Todd was able to support several of his students who had parts.
We spend Saturday and Sunday in Bryce Canyon National Park. We went with Mark and Jenna Moffatt, a couple we met at New Song Presbyterian Church. We hiked the Riggs Spring Trail loop--about 9 miles long. We camped at the halfway point. It was quite cold at night! Since Mark and Jenna had a 4 person tent, we all sat in our sleeping bags with headlamps on and played cards. We got an early start hiking in the morning in order to warm up. Once we completed the trail, we drove through the rest of the park stopping at the overlooks and small hiking loops. One particular hike, a 1.3 mile loop (the Navajo trail), was very scenic. We hiked down into the slot canyon and saw many hoodoos, natural bridges, and unique trees. It was a great trip!
Here are some pictures:

View from the trail

Sunrise on Sunday morning

It was quite the climb up--but the view was stunning

Hoodoos

Natural Bridge

Slot Canyon

the "Spectacles"

the "Needle"

Inspiration Point