This is the first hike we took. It was the Neck Springs Trail which is going down the canyon. It's isolated and we're the only ones on the trail. There were rocks piled on top of each other called "rock cairns" and it's the "only" marking for the trail. We hiked down for 1 hour and decided to go back up because I got spooked when Bill mentioned that there were animals here somewhere because there's dried poops all over.

It's funny how I have winter coat on and my husband in T-shirt and my kids in light sweater. I can take the hot weather but I hate to be cold. Bottomline is, dress in layers and bring lots of water. This time of the year that we went, the weather they said is unusually cold here (we actually liked it, I can't imagine how hot it can get in the summertime) . As we're driving, we even experienced hail for a short time.

This is what my kids love. We went to get a Junior Ranger book at each park (available at the visitor's center) which they have to answer and after our visit, they present it to the ranger and they get a badge and a certificate with the park's stamp. The rangers were excellent. They were so good teaching and asking the kids what they've learned.