Timp Cave

Thanks to Paul's Mom for some early planning, we got to hike to Timpanogos Cave during our stay in Provo. Peter was really excited when he learned he could get his first official Junior Ranger badge. Benjamin earned one about a month ago with a friend at the St. Louis Arch, and Peter has envied that little plastic pin ever since. They both hunted for trash to pick up, answered all the questions, and interviewed a ranger.

 It was a pretty strenuous hike for little legs, so we opted to leave Nora behind. One of her most frequently used phrases these days is "I'm too sweaty!" which is her excuse for whenever she's too tired to do something or just doesn't feel like it. I predicted that that would happen about one switchback in, so she got to have a little one-on-one time with Grandma instead. Paul probably could have carried her part of the way if he hadn't had Lydia in the carrier.

 Patrick joined us with Gloria, and I was impressed with her tenacity. He carried her some of the time, but mostly, she just wanted to walk.

 We made it to the cave!

 Lydia's hair...awesome.

 The cave itself was really cool, literally. Lydia started screaming the moment we went in, so I did some sly ambulant-nursing to keep her calm. The boys really enjoyed looking at all the stalagmites and stalactites. I think this is the heart of Timp Cave.

 Helictites! These were fascinating.

I was glad we could do this hike. It was one that I had never done before, and the weather wasn't too bad- especially since we were on the shady side of the mountain most of the time. Maybe next time Nora's little legs will be able to handle it too!