I Like Utah! Our "staycation" - right in our own back yard.

We got a four-day weekend! And boy we made the most of it:

Thursday, not too exciting - Riley got shots. She was so mad about being held down she didn't notice when they stuck her. So that was good... We did a little shopping and relaxing and Dave had softball games.

Friday:
 We finally visited the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake! There was...

Carousel riding

SCRAT!!!

Shoulder-riding.

 Quality time with Aunt Andrea.

 My favorites: sea lion and polar bear. Love, love, looove! Could have stayed here all day.

This guy knew how to work an audience - I got knocked on the head by one of his groupies at
the window, not even kidding! But I might have knocked into someone myself, scrambling for a good view.
 

We found a nook to relax in.

Speaking of relaxed...

Elephant family dancing to African safari music. It was awesome.

 These next two pictures were NOT from the zoo, but driving into the city we saw Jafar and Eago. And guess what! They drive a BIG AS-TRO! (If you aren't a McClure, that was a joke from 

back in the day when we had a big as-tro)

Saturday:

We packed a picnic, purchased the new "Mumford and Sons" and "Fun" albums, and ventured out to Nine-Mile Canyon. Which is actually more like 160-mile canyon - the name has a story but it's boring.

The nickname is much cooler: Longest Art Gallery in America. It has tons of petroglyphs (Native American rock art) that are right by the road and if you aren't too lazy (we mostly were) you can even get out of the car and TOUCH them! I guess the rangers figure that if the art has survived the elements for hundreds of years, it can survive your curiosity.

FYI: those ancient artists were really, really cool. They created the trippiest depictions of deer you ever saw.

Onward!

The landscape was gorgeous, if you could remember to pause from scouring the rocks for petroglyphs.

                               




                              "Balancing Rock." But you can call it,
                                           "The Laughing Piggy."
                                                      We did.

 Our wildly inaccurate interpretation of the Native American gang grafitti. I mean art:

"Better step off before I pop a cap in your, ahem, bum."

"I killed all these antelopes."

"Psht - I killed REINDEER. In friggin UTAH."

"I killed so many goats that I couldn't even draw em all. Also, these tall turtles."

Indiana Jones' aliens. And "The Scream" on the right.

This is just craziness.

"My parents are wierd.  I don't have the heart to tell them they're just looking at rocks.

Riley and her daddy in Daddy Canyon.

                                                                                       It got cold unexpectedly. Luckily we had a Snuggie in
                                                                                     the back. Coincidentally, the ancients made Snuggie art to
                                                                                                                            pose by!

TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR!!!!!

Riley likes to bump up that base:

Then it cleared up as quick as it started. Weather!

"The Great Hunt"

Puddles! Finally - something to be excited about! She is so silly.

I don't know where she gets it from.

Whew - sorry for the longest post ever! It was the longest drive ever, though. Riley showed amazing stamina for a toddler, but apparently her limit is fifty miles less than what we drove. There was extreme melting-down. Till we fueled up at Wendy's and then she got her 2nd (or 26th) wind and became so hyper it took about an hour after we got home to get her to go to sleep. Now, my turn! xoxo