Collet Canyon, Utah

The Tiptons were in Salt Lake. Jennifer was in class all day, so I begged Rob to bring the kids to Escalante. They showed up on Thursday afternoon--Rob, Harrison, Lillie, Sophie, and Madeleine. We went out to Calf Canyon for a picnic. The kids climbed the rocks while Valerie grilled burgers. Rob made a fire and I stood around with my hands in my pockets (Valerie had forgotten the beer). Ellen dropped her burger in the sand and cried about it for a while. We gave her another. It got dark fast and we went home early.

The next morning, all eight of us went out to the Collets. It was a lot of fun to ride in the back of the Chev. We climbed the slickrock, found the dinosaur tracks, and had a snack. We tried to drive up the Left Hand Collet Canyon, but the road was pretty bad and we ended up in the wash. Rob broke Madeleine's glasses, but I fixed them. Finally, we turned around and drove straight back to town: The Tiptons had to be back in Salt Lake by dark. Valerie asked, "Do you have any more friends like that? Let's invite them, too."

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