Valley of Death

Last weekend Zach, Lucy, and I jumped in the car and drove 4 hours north.

We met up with Zach's parents and the Floyd's for a camping trip in Death Valley.

Woohoo! Camping!

We love spending time with family so camping with them was a real treat.

I've driven through Death Valley but never have I stopped to see all of the beauty that it holds.

Who knew there were so many amazing sites to see in the middle of no where?!

I sure didn't know!

The whole gang

I've always loved camping. 

Whether it be with family, friends, at girls camp, on trek, at ward camp outs, etc.

I love the outdoors. 

Singing and talking around the campfire is euphoric.

Looking up at the night sky drenched in thick amounts of stars that you can only see when you're out in the middle of nowhere is one of my absolute favorite things.

And I can't forget going to sleep to the sound of crickets and coyotes.

Lucy looks appalled

We admired the desert in full bloom. It was gorgeous and it looked like a sea of gold.

Zach took this amazing photo right when the sun was setting (and all of the other flower pictures).

twin flowers

I look so cool when I run, haha

Katie and 5 of the 6 (you can barely see Mallory)

We hiked a canyon with a sweeto natural arch and carried Lucy because we thought the Ergo would be just too dang hot. It was quite the exercise.

This pregnant woman wanted to keep going and going!

I love them.

Checking out where the waterfall cut through the rock.

Lily is so brave and didn't even need my help, but it made me feel better standing under her so she wouldn't fall to her death.

Thanks for letting Lucy borrow your hat, Mallory! Haha

We also got to see the golf course that the devil made. He did a pretty awful job.

Good job again with the pictures, Zach. Jolly good.

Salty, yet satisfying.

Those eyes get me every time.

Death Valley is nothing new for the Howe family. They went every year growing up and the highlight was the sand dunes (at least for Zach it was). Zach always told me how they would climb to the highest dune and throw themselves off and roll down the sand to their heart's content. They would also use sides of barrels to sled down the dunes.

The dunes were HOT but the sledding was oh so fun.

Grandpa Howe to the rescue! (Katie captured the moment)

Such a cute picture. Nicely done, Katie.

We didn't quite make it to the tallest dune, but we found a good one for sledding. Zach, on the other hand, was determined to make it to the top. He asked Kaylee if she wanted to go with him and she agreed because she "Is not a quitter".

After successfully reaching the top, Kaylee zoomed down the dune with lightning speed! 

The adrenaline rush and all that walking made Kaylee pretty exhausted.

Zach walked the whole way from the tallest dune to the car with Kaylee asleep on his back and the sled tied to his belt, dangling behind him

There they are in the distance before making their journey (a little dark but that's okay. I'm learning the photography way of life).

A tired girl and an amazing uncle.

The last thing that I want to share that we did is Artist's Drive. We drove it twice. Once under the stars with the windows down, listening to the sounds of the outdoors at night (which was magical). We drove it again the next day and we are SO GLAD WE DID! The scenery is fantastic and the mountains are purple, bluish green, and all sorts of other colors! 

SO pretty.

Probably my favorite place that we visited and no pictures can even do it justice.

Well, there you have it. Death Valley in a nutshell.

Thanks for the fun weekend and lifelong memories, Death Valley. We'll see you again soon!