A KIDS PARADISE!

We left Thursday for the west desert, namely Antelope Springs and Topaz Mountain, but upon seeing all of our "stuff," we decided to go to only one spot - Topaz Mountain.


An interesting mountain top!

Encountering stiff winds, we finally made it to our destination, got camp set up, and started a campfire.


It was a great 'biffy.'

Mike was busily setting up his homemade "biffy," while the kids waited anxiously. 



Matthew, Rachael, Jenna & Erin



Why does food taste so good when cooked outdoors? 

Even the hot dogs we roasted were so delicious. Of course after dinner, we had to have our s'mores.  Roasting the marshmallows was a fun thing to do with the kids, as the coals were not to hot and not to cold, but "just right." 

We tried to look for topaz that evening, but the cloudy skies and chilly wind made this activity quite unbearable.  So we waited around till dark, entered the family tent and played fish, and double down.  We bravely survived the cold, windy night, and were glad to awaken to a beautiful, clear, sunshiny day.

Friday was the perfect day for hunting the little crystals.  Mike had made framed screens for sifting the sand, so loaded with these, and a couple of shovels, we made our way to the dry creek, and went to work. 

We were all successful almost immediately!

 


In the afternoon we made our way up to the massive rock above the dry creek, but soon became discouraged, as chipping was extremely difficult; however other rock hounds were there and showed us some real nice pieces they had extracted from the solid rock.

Soon the kids found that the Topaz Amphitheater is a "kids paradise," and they enjoyed wondering all over the place, looking for adventure.

Erin had a 'big moment' when she lost a tooth, and an even bigger moment when shortly afterwards she lost a molar.



Erin before losing her teeth!



Erin after loosing her teeth!

  One activity I enjoyed was teaching Erin and Jenna how to properly use the walkie talkies.  I could spot a sparking topaz up on the hillside, and send Erin up to it by giving her directions.  The girls had given themselves the handles of Erin Bear and Lulu.  I was Low Bass.  They learned how to do a couple of the 10 codes, namely 10-4 and 10-20.  This activity was a lot of fun.



"Yo, Lulu.  What is your 10-20?"

After dinner, which consisted of hamburgers, the best I have ever had, and all the fixings, we continued our Topaz searching, and prepared a spot for the Noorda tent. 
Darkness was approaching quickly, so we hiked down the dirt road until we found a high place looking over the massive desert floor below us.  Where were the Noorda's?  The girls were desperate for the arrival of the "crazy boys."

We spotted 3 sets of headlights off in the distance, 2 of them turning toward us, so we hurried back to camp. I got into the truck and with Jenna, headed down the road to try to intercept the Noorda van, and sure enough we did.  They were mighty glad to see us, as the road back to our camp site would have been impossible to navigate, especially at night.



The Noorda boys' tent!

 Saturday was an overcast day, but the wind was calmer than the day before.  During the middle of the day it actually snowed, but not enough to stick to the dry ground.

All the crazy boys had a good time with the Mckea kids, exploring the surrounding areas.  We did get a lot of Topaz this day in spite of the lack of sun.  In the afternoon, Jeff and the kids hiked up to the top of the west mountain, where Jeff found the largest topaz of the trip.  Nick now has it.

Enjoy the following photos.



"That's all, folks!"