Lava (too hot) Hot Springs

We drove to Lava Hot Springs for Independence Day. Its about a three hour drive and everyone got to sleep most of the way(except for me, of course). When Axle was awake he exclaimed "horsey!" at least two hundred times as we passed by field after field of horses and cows. Who needs a dvd player?

The town was crammed with campers and tents, but we were lucky to get a spot after a cancellation. (They must have heard about the coming rainstorm). We got our brand-spankin-never-been-opened tent set up before the wind started bringing the dark clouds in. I should have got a picture of the tent completely flattened from the wind! Luckily, it wasn't time for bed yet so we just hung out in the van while it blew and down-poured. When Frank couldn't take all the togetherness anymore he tried to save the fire. The rain did let up enough for us to roast marshmallows. When we went to bed we found our bedding to be wet from our new apparently- not-so-rain-proof tent! I swore I would not do this a second night. (I also swore this tent was going back to Walmart.)

The next day was much brighter and we all got sunburned at the pools. We stopped at the actual hot pools first and couln't stand the 112 degree water, go figure! The olympic sized pools with slides and diving boards were much more our style. Colin and Frank braved all three of the diving platforms (18', 25', and a scary 33'). Again, no picture to prove it, but you can see how high they are in the photo of Sydney below. I did the 25' and was satisfied enough to call it good. Now I won't feel like I have to jump off any cliffs at Lake Powell this year.

By the afternoon, the clouds were rolling back in. I suggested we go back and take down the tent before the rain hit again. We were back on the road by 4:00. Talk about a short vacation. But, you know, it was what we needed and the kids are still talking about the fun they had! I was even happier when my husband agreed to eat at the Olive Garden on the way home. Yum!

Since we missed the firework show in Lava, I took the kids to Thanksgiving Point for their big show. Axle stayed home with Dad since he found the fireworks a little too loud.