Labor Day Weekend

We had some fun adventures during Labor Day Weekend.  On Saturday morning, I took the girls to see "Daddy Long-Legs" at the our favorite local theater.  Cat and I read the book together a few years ago and I'd introduced it to Eliza, though we hadn't finished it together.  I didn't love the music in the play, but the way it was written and staged was very clever and of course the story is lovely.

We went home for lunch then the whole family drove up to American Fork Canyon to finally visit Timpanogos Cave National Monument.  This is something I've wanted to do for a while but was worried about the steep walk up to the caves with young kids.  Also, the entrance is only accessible during the summer months and you have to plan in advance because time slots for tours are available 30 days in advance and get reserved early.  So we were excited that the time had come for us to experience this hidden natural wonder.  (Actually, Ben and Cat saw the caves back when she was the only child old enough to do so, but it's different when it's the whole family, right?)

The trail wasn't as scary as I expected it to be, since it had guard chains at the steepest drop-offs.  It was steep and long at 1.5 miles each way, but since it was paved, and there were frequent benches where we could stop and take a drink of water, and it was the end of summer, it really wasn't too bad.  The national monument tour takes you through three amazing limestone caves with distinctive formations.  The tour was very informative, the path through the caves easy to walk, and the kids really enjoyed it.

Though the inside of the cave looked the same everywhere to the naked eye,
if you shine a light in different spots, the formations glowed different colors due
to the varied mineral content.

Luke was a trooper and walked most of the time, but appreciated
some help when it was time to walk back down to the visitors' center.

The fun continued on Monday with a little trip to the Olympic Park in Park City.  We had passes to use on a ropes course at the park but debated about which ropes course to do.  The older kids were hoping to go on the more advanced course but we decided on the easier course because we thought it would be better for Luke.  We were really glad we made that decision because it really challenged Luke to complete some of the obstacles on the course.  He was moving very slowly and cautiously and even needed help a couple of times.  The older kids breezed through without any help or encouragement, but they had a good time too.  Also, it was a lovely day to be outside, so we all appreciated that.