Chocolate Factory Tour

When our kids were young, I would read them this Curious George Goes to a Chocolate Factory book. I found out Utah has a chocolate factory that gives tours, and we walked in and felt sentimental when we saw this book.

The tour was really fun, and they gave us samples of their chocolates all during the tour. They showed us different videos, let us watch a worker dipping chocolate on the other side of the glass, and took us upstairs to get a good view of the factory and see an old machine.

We've been to Utah for so many years and done so many things there, but this was new and different and I highly recommend it. We brought my mom along because she loves and appreciates chocolate, and we all had fun.

Colby's Old Desk

Colby took two days off work but had to work the rest of the week from my parents' basement and then would join us at night. One of his days off, he wanted to walk all around the BYU campus since he hasn't been there for a while. He showed us all the places where he spent time, like the newer engineering building and this room. That computer and chair closest to the wall is where he worked as a TA and would hold open hours where students would come for help. It was the first time I've been in that new building which was finished when Colby was on his mission. I loved getting some insight into his time as a student there.

Racquetball at BYU

Of course they made time to play some racquetball on our trip.

There was an injury. Colby didn't jump out of the way fast enough from the ball Dan hit. Racquetball is the wildest sport - the ball can come at you from anywhere in front or behind or to the side, it's so fast-paced, and that ball hits hard.

Kanab Sand Cave

We decided Carson needs to see the Kanab Sand Cave too. You have to climb up a steep sandstone rock face, then across the top. We're pretty high up from the ground in this picture but it's hard to tell. The street level is wayyyy down where the grass in the corner is. Dan called Colby a mountain goat because he's always finding a harder way to climb, as this pictures proves.

Flagstaff Lave Tube

Dan, Colby, Carson, and I drove two cars to Utah so one could stay there. Leah flew to Utah from her conference, and we picked her up at the airport. Paige stayed behind because she was starting an in-person class for her Master's Degree, and also she works two jobs.

Outside of Flagstaff and down 4 miles of dirt road, there's a giant hole in the ground created by lava 700,000 years ago. We scrambled over lots of rocks and down into the hole. There were four people coming out as we went in, but for the rest of our hike, it was only us in that hole.

It was a steep descent, and then it opened up. The ceiling was smooth from the lava, but the ground was rocky and treacherous from the lava pushing through.

In some spots, the ground was smoother, but it never lasted long. In some places, the ceiling was shorter than we were, but in other places it was 30 feet high. Sometimes we all turned off our flashlights and it was extremely dark.

We hiked 45 minutes over rock to reach the far end. 

It was one mile deep. And then we hiked another 45 minutes to walk that same mile back. My legs were shaking by the end, and my muscles were sore for days. Sometimes one of us would be so focused on walking through the rocks, we didn't notice the ceiling got shorter and we'd hit it with our heads and yell. Sometimes I landed wrong and my ankle would hurt for a while. This was such an interesting hike, and it was great to freely explore instead of being on a cave tour where you can't touch anything and have to walk slow with the group. It was also eerie to be in there all alone, but not positive we were alone until we walked the whole length back and didn't see anyone else. It felt like we were going to run into a creepy person just sitting alone somewhere in the cave waiting for us.

Again, look how smooth the ceiling and walls were - in contrast to the rocky ground. 

We made it out! It was a steep climb back up to the hole.