I went out for a birthday brunch with my friends. Tried a new place in downtown Raleigh, Madre , that was really good. The turkish eggs were my favorite. Also, fall weather in Raleigh is really divine.....
Scotia turned 17! Since she is tired of all the meals I cook we made a dinner of yummy snacks. She got a fancy new tech suit for swim ($$$), nice pajamas and of course, food, shelter, transportation, entertainment, travel etc. Scotia has a great sense of design, cares deeply about people who are hurt and suffering, is an excellent babysitter and an amazing cook! She makes funny tiktoks and loves her siblings!
I'd rather wash toilets all day than go to the State Fair. But Tyrone and Blythe happily go every year and have a great time! Blythe came home with an absolute treasure this year. Dear god, it does not fit in with my house aesthetics, but she is very much in love with it.
On our last day we headed back into Escalante, on a dirt road off the main dirt road that ended up just driving over rock. First rappel was 300 feet. This was Jaxon's first time and I asked if he thought he was going to do. Yes! He was crazy nervous but made it happen. And me too. Then squeezed and crawled and climbed through the slot canyon. The weenies forever! Whew, we did it! I loved getting to spend so much time with Jaxon. He's such a cool kid. Another great adventure.
On day 3 we headed into Peekaboo and Spooky slot canyons. Drive an hour down a dirt road, turn left and drive further down another dirt road, park and then hike in a for an hour. Totally worth it! Jaxon was happy. It was a wild adventure and he was totally into it. Spooky is still too snug to be comfortable but I know I can get through and I enjoyed it a lot more this time. Ended with a quick cold dip in Zebra Slot Canyon.
On our second day we headed south to the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. It's not a national park with all sorts of services - just 1.8 million acres of protected land and a few very bumpy dirt roads. Our first hike was to Jacob Hamblin's spectacular arch. Hike in a few miles, use a 200 foot rope to help you get down a steep hill and then glory in the sites. Some year I'm going to hike in and stay overnight down there. It's a little oasis in the desert - shade, stream, trees. Just a magnificent spot. We made it back to our car just as it turned night. I don't want to be stuck out there - it's dark, dark. We stopped on the drive out to look at the stars.... it's a perfect dark sky (no light pollution of any sort) and it's unreal. You can see the Milky Way. I don't have words for how awe inspiring it is. (This is just a picture from online - but it looks like this.) Wrapped up with a wild game of nertz.