Life and Times of The Johnston family: Camping at Bryce Canyon!

Over the long Labor Day weekend we went down to Bryce Canyon National Park. Tony took Thursday and Friday off work and we packed Thursday morning then after lunch we loaded up into the van and off we went! We got to our site and got to setting things up, then had a late dinner of hot dogs with chili and corn on the cob. We let the kids stay up past dark as they were super excited about being there, but they went down for bed pretty easy. Devin had a little bit of trouble adjusting, and that first night he woke up a few times during the night wanting to get up. Elizabeth slept like the princess and pea! Friday after a good breakfast we stopped by the visitors center, rode the shuttle around it's loop, Devin didn't make it very long before he passed out in his seat....it was adorable! Elizabeth really enjoyed all the sights. We had lunch at our campsite, then put Devin down for an attempted nap(that he never took) in the tent. That afternoon we wandered the lodge, and some other scenic outlooks. Then went to dinner at Ruby's Inn, they had a fantastic buffet! It rained that afternoon and into the night, but we stayed warm and dry! Saturday another great breakfast, since the weather was still insisting on being wet, we took a scenic drive through Red Canyon. We stopped and wandered there visitors center, and the kids had lots of fun there! Then we drove into the nearby small town of Panguitch, and stopped in there brand new Family Dollar(it was there grand opening) to pick up a few little things we needed...and ended up finding a few other things of course! Then we drove to the local park and had lunch and let the kids play on the playground for a while. Then we drove back to camp, and let the kids play in the great outdoors, had dinner, drove back to the lodge and bought Elizabeth a deer stuffed animal she had seen the day before and had earned with good behavior, and we bought Devin the cutest little stuffed hiking bear. We went back to camp let the kids play for a bit more then went to bed. Sunday morning after breakfast(delicious as always), we drove up the section of the canyon that the shuttle only does twice a day, and stopped at the the beautiful and amazing scenic lookouts. By the time we got to the top, we were literally IN clouds, and on our way back to our car the rains started pouring down, and a huge storm moved in. Devin fell asleep on the way back down the canyon so we just drove around the different campgrounds, scouting them out. After he woke up we drove back to camp and had lunch. Then let the kids play some more....they got a ton of good quality playing in nature with there own imaginations time!(I was proud of them for entertaining themselves so well! I had brought "entertainment bags" for each of them with toys and such, just in case but they never needed them!!) Then the storm got down to our campground and it was INTENSE! I mean down pouring rain, lightening, thunder the whole shabang! Devin didn't take well to the serious thundering and once I saw lightening and heard the thunder about a second later(a mile is way too close for me!!!) I made a quick executive decision to get in the car and go for a drive. Just after we had the kids in the car and starting to calm down, our camping neighbors who were from Belgium, explained to us that they couldn't find compatible fuel for the stove they had brought from Europe, and asked if they could use ours to cook some noodles, we of course told them to use whatever they needed, they were two very nice girls! Then we drove back through Panguitch, and by the time we got back to camp the storm had subsided and we had dinner, helped our sweet camping neighbors with there pasta, and visited with them while they insisted on doing our dishes(since Tony insisted they use our hot water instead of the cold water from the pump by the restroom). It was a very nice visit! The kids played some more then it was off to bed. It rained all night so we had to pack stuff wet, Monday morning. But when we got home it was hot and sunny here so Tony set it all out to dry before putting it away for the season. It was a great camping trip! Enjoy the pictures!!

Thursday night