Desert Oasis

So Julia mentioned a St. George trip on the last blog entry, but that was somewhat of a misnomer, you see, we actually spent the weekend in Hurricane (the "e" is non-existent, it's pronounced Her-ick-an, and be prepared for the stink eye if you call it Hurricane like the storm). A few weeks ago our good friends The Melums (Justin, Amber, Grace, Asher, and little Gwyn) presented us with a proposition that we couldn't resist. A weekend getaway to a beautiful house complete with a large pool, big screen TVs galore, private rooms, mountain bikes, beach cruisers, and that was located within shouting distance of Zions National Park.
It was awesome! We left North Salt Lake around 9:30 pm Thursday night and arrived around 2:30 am in Hurricane. Justin drove the whole way on a 5hour energy drink, and some black licorice (I ate all the red). Covey slept most of the way, but would occasionally wake up wide eyed and curious at his surroundings. Jules and I couldn't believe how nice the house was when we got there.
The following day was a cold day, but Justin and I went mountain biking anyway. We rode up the Gooseberry Mesa and got a sweet view of Zion's Park. It was my first time mountain biking, and although it was difficult, I had a lot of fun. My butt cheeks on the other hand still haven't recovered. Sadly, no pictures were taken of this escapade.

Covey followed Grace and Asher around like a shadow most of the time. Here he is catching some idiot box time with his evening bottle.

On Saturday we all went to Zion's and took in the scenery. The Melums found us this carrier/hiking pack that Covey could ride in and it worked well. The weather was perfect and the park was gorgeous. We started out on the Riverwalk trail that leads to the Narrows. It should be noted that there were an abnormally large amount of squirrels on this trail, and these squirrels showed no fear of humans. Jules thought she was going to get mugged over her trail mix.

Notice while I'm awestruck by the view, Covey keeps watchful eye for the squirrels, and Asher has one cornered behind that large rock.

This part of the Riverwalk hike was cool because we were actually near the river for once. I tried to teach Covey how to throw rocks into the river, but he preferred sucking on his rock instead.

Covey's favorite part of the Riverwalk was the overhangs that had dripping water. I told him we had dripping water at home, but he still found it fascinating.

After the Riverwalk we went on the Emerald Pools trail head. Julia took over backpack duty, much to Covey's approval obviously. Her neck probably smells better than mine.

For most of the hike Covey was entertained by this water bottle, for some odd reason. I told Covey we had water bottles at home, but he still found it fascinating.

The Emerald Pools hike was much cooler than the Riverwalk, it had fun areas like this rock stairwell. As you can see Covey is wondering where his water bottle went.

After the rock stairwell we turned the corner and headed towards this waterfall. Speaking of water, here Covey thinks he sees his water bottle behind the camera.

It was fun how the trail went underneath the waterfall. It got a little muddy, but it was well worth it. I told Jules that if we had been alone on this trail I would have gladly made out with her under the falls. To which she replied "that I was gross and needed to let romance die" or something like that.

The following day we decided to have a pool day. This weekend was Covey's first real pool experience, last summer's feet dipping at the clubhouse doesn't count. He was sooooooooooo cute in his trunks and surf shirt. Here you'll see Covey and Lulu (the Melum's dog) getting to know each other better. Cov just loves dogs, he's crazy about them. Poor Lulu had Covey at her heels nonstop.

Covey even took time out of his pool day to order a mob hit on somebody who crossed him. Let's hope none of you ever see this look in your behalf.

As much fun as he had out in the water, his favorite thing was to sit in the shallow end and play with these toys.

This pool was great, and by far the crown jewel of the trip. It was fun to share this new experience with Covey and to see his eyes light up the first time we took him out in the deeper end. Jules and I just loved how his little body felt in the water and how he held on to us.

Thank you Melums for such a fun time and for your generosity. We had a blast!

P.S. "Banana" wasn't a fluke! He says it whenever he sees/wants one.