Day 4: Timpanogos Caves and Lake Time

It was a “get up and go” kind of morning. At exactly 8 a.m. we tried, but failed, to get tickets to a Mesa Verde cliff dwellings tour. Tickets go on sale 14 days beforehand, and we’ll be there for two days, so we have one more try tomorrow for tickets on our second day. Wish us luck!

After our ticket failure, we drove an hour to Timpanogos Cave National Monument. We arrived about an hour before our 10:45 tour time, but we needed to be at the top of a 1-mile trail with a 1500′ elevation gain by then. Our rockstar boys did it with at least 10 minutes to spare! The boys didn’t complain once, highly motivated by the specific tour time. We promised to stop to read the signs on our way down, Cooper’s favorite part.

The cave tour was cool both figuratively and literally (45 degrees inside). We saw one stalactite (hangs from the ceiling) that weighed 2 tons. The drops from the stalactites that form up from the ground are called stalagmites. Many of the formations had fun names from cave bacon, to curly fries, to straws (hollow), and mud flow.

After the 45 minute tour, the hike down was a breeze. We had some snack breaks and read all the signs. Nicholas was in the best mood walking down because he spent the whole time telling me about Minecraft and having me guess how to craft things in it.

Once back to the RV, we had some rest time reading, then packed up for the lake adjacent to the campground. The boys love the water and digging at a lake. We had fun floating in the inner tubes, too. The Jordanelle lake is currently at 75% of its normal level, which exposed a lot of shoreline and islands.

Giggles continued as “mom guesses how to make Minecraft items” continued over dinner. Rob took a shot at making dinner outside on the electric griddle with mixed success at best. The air conditioner in the RV can’t keep up on a warm day in the full sun, so Rob was exploring cooking options that don’t involve heating the inside. Perhaps some microwave meals are in our future.