Utah Road Trip day 3

Wow it is cold today.  Of course we have a morning outside tour scheduled so hopefully the sunshine makes us forget how stinking cold it really is outside!  I booked a half day tour with Dreamland Safari Tours to visit two places.  These places require a 4x4 vehicle to get to them and well I am not an experienced driver in a 4x4 so the tour was my only option.  Since it is winter we were the only two people on the tour so it ended up being a private tour which was awesome for us!  Our first stop was to Peekaboo Slot Canyon.  So after riding with our guide to get there I can so see why you need a 4x4 vehicle.  The tour was worth every penny just so I didn't have to drive . . . that in its self was an adventure!  So we arrived at Peekaboo Slot Canyon . . .

Some times I forget to look up . . .

It was back in the 4x4 for a stop at White Wave.  We climbed to the top . . .

. . . and wandered around.  Colin played and had fun even though if you ask him I am sure he was bored.  We saw some petroglyphs . . .

. . . and then you see graffiti that someone decided needed to be etched with history!

It was fun to try to figure out what they might have been trying to communicate.  Our lesson of the day was the difference between pictographs (images painted usually in caves or areas protected from the elements) and petroglyths (images carved or scratched in stone).  We enjoyed hiking around and enjoying the views

It was back to the hotel to grab a quick lunch and head out to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.  Colin was so excited we were finally going to do something fun.  Of course we had a problem . . . the ranger station was closed which meant we could not rent a sled.  So we drive back to Kanab.  I stopped at the visitor's center and the lady was insistent that no one in town sold sleds that you could only rent them at the park.  I immediately took it as a challenge and went to the grocery store and found half a dozen different sleds.  So back to the sand dunes we went with our $12 neon orange sled.

About this time Colin made the comment sledding is a lot of work and not much reward!

I laughed but back up the hill he went over and over and over . . .

 . . . and down again!  Apparently there was enough reward to keep doing it.

I continued to stand around and be bored but enjoyed the scenery while he seemed to be having a blast and wearing himself out.

He gave up on trying to slide down with the sled.  Off came the pants legs and shoes and he had the best time just running around going crazy!

The moon was out so we knew we had to get back to town before dark but had fun with some pictures . . .

The walk back to the car was painful . . . sand is so hard to walk in, but we got back and had at least a gallon of sand in our shoes and pockets and just about every crack of our body.  While it was a huge pain in the end it was worth it.  Of course someone was starving and insisted we go back to Vermillion 45 . . . no complaints from me.  As we arrived back in town I was considering stopping back at the visitor's center to donate the sled but decided to just let it go!  We quickly changed because we still had sand coming from every inch of our clothing.  A quick walk to Vermillion 45 where Colin ordered the most awesome looking filet mignon which he ate before I could snap a photo.  It was at least 3 inches thick and cooked perfect.  I ordered Beef Bourguignon which was very good . . .

We decided to end our meal by sharing three scoops of gelato; espresso, chocolate, and cinnamon.  The cinnamon was amazing!