The Reynolds Turkeys!: Round Valley Draw: The Family that Lived

I should be clear. The reason our little trip down to Escalante was so unforgettable was because we came home having survived a near death experience (or so it seemed). Take a look at that crack in the desert floor. We had to lower ourselves down into the belly of the earth...sent my heart skyrocketing! Fortunately the kids are brave of heart, so I couldn't really cower in the face of danger. We wandered down this amazing little canyonland, only encountering one other group hiking as we went. The kids climbed and climbed and climbed. I would venture to guess that they couldn't be happier if we were in the heart of Disneyland! Exhileration and lightheartedness seemed to dwindle as our hike opened up into the Round Valley Creek bed (dried up), and we started to feel the pressing heat of the day. We could see that our hike was coming to an end; a tall caryn marked the end of our slot hike and the steep ascent out of the canyon. We looked up dubiously, staring a mountain path of shale & cactii in the face. Our water supply was coming to an end, so we were looking forward to the trail emptying us out into the parking lot (as our guide book assured us), where our car and cooler full of more icy cold water was waiting for us. We began the climb upwards, which was not easy with the little ones; we couldn't help but step in cactii prickles, slip slide through the shale, withering in the heat all the while. At one point, Jake stopped under the shade of a Dr. Seuss looking tree and said a little prayer for rain; he was so hot and tired. We finally made it to the top and could see down below to where we had been hiking. But we COULDN'T see any sign of a parking lot. We started to walk, looking for any sign of our trails end. We kept walking, and walking, and walking. Two miles later and still no signs of a parking lot, or life for that matter. It seemed we were walking down a road that hadn't been driven on for ages. We stopped under the rain clouds that started to gather (thanks, Jake) and we said another prayer. I was worried, Mia was whimpering. Jake picked up a big stick and drew the words "I'm tired" into the powdery desert clay. Thys offered to run ahead, Ryan back the way we came. We waited a while. They both came back without much luck, and with a couple of extra miles to add to tuck under their belts. The afternoon was waning on. I started to envision tragic headlines in forthcoming days, at which Ryan just laughed and encouraged us to hop up and we would simply go back the way we came. I wasn't sure how we would manage...our water was pretty much gone and our littles (and grownups?) were spent. But turn around we did. And we walked, and we walked, and we walked...about 10 miles in total that day...fortunately without any covered wagons (I thought of the pioneers more than once). And we went back the way we came. And somehow the kids skipped and jumped and enjoyed the meandering back...waterless and exhausted. And some of us learned good lessons that day and threw up a few prayers of gratitude for life and loved ones that night.