The Janke Family

The Janke Family

Yearly Archive: 2010

The Janke Family > 2010

The Spruces

August 15, 2010 0 Adventure, Camping

The boys & I did a little camping up at The Spruces in Big Cottonwood Canyon this weekend. Mo passed on all the fun and excitement because pregnancy & mummy bags just don’t mix well. That, and it was a boys trip, Henry summed it up best when he stated “you have to have balls to go…”! Leave it to Henry to state the obvious in a hilarious manner. We lucked out and got an awesome spot without a reservation. We got camp set up (Erik & Henry were very helpful), had a great dinner of hot dogs & cheetos, then enjoyed the campfire and an astronomy lesson courtesy of Google Sky Maps. The boys have their own mummy bags and sleeping pads, but everyone ended up on the air mattress Mo & I use because of a midnight barf-a-rama. It was awesome! Sunday morning was beautiful in the mountains. We rustled up some sausage, bacon, pancakes & Mountain Dew for breakfast, packed up camp, then headed up the canyon for a hike around Silver Lake. It was a quick short getaway, but anytime away in the mountains is worth its time exponentially.

San Diego Zoo

June 9, 2010 0 Adventure, Travel

We went to the San Diego Zoo yesterday. What an epic place! The animal exhibits are amazing, and the flora & fauna around the park is incredible. We had a great time! It was hard to decide which pictures to share in this post, I hope you enjoy them…

By the way, there was money exchanging involved with the face painting events!

Beach Day

June 7, 2010 0 Adventure, Travel

We hit the Beach today in Carlsbad. Of course it is June, which means June gloom in the San Diego area. But, despite being overcast, it was a beautiful day. We had such a blast combing the beach for treasures, and building sand sculptures! We also discovered that Uncle Matt’s alter ego is the Swamp Creature!

Dinosaur Rides

June 5, 2010 0 Family

We stopped at Grandpa Craig’s on our way to Carlsbad. While we were there we visited our good old friend Rex, Tyrannosaurus Rex! Here’s a picture and a video from our play time at Grandpa’s park…

Memorial Day

May 31, 2010 0 Family

I thought of Grandpa Lee today as I passed by a cemetery full of flowers. That led me to think of his military service, and of those in our family who have served in the armed forces here and abroad. As far as I am aware, we have not had any family members not come home from military service. Although I know there have been close calls and scary moments. I wanted to take a moment and thank all of those who have served us and paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we enjoy everyday. You will not be forgotten. We will always remember and cherish the gift you have given us. I hope you will join me this Memorial Day in praying for the safe return of our Sons and Daughters and for the families who, over the generations, have born the responsibility and felt the loss when their loved ones did not make it home. God bless our fallen hero’s, God bless you, and God bless this great country of ours.

Moab for Erik’s Birthday

May 25, 2010 0 Adventure, Jeep

Erik turned 8 today! He is an incredible boy, I am so lucky to be a part of his life! Erik’s birthday wish was to go to Moab. How could I deny that request?! We hit the road Friday morning, and visited the Sego Canyon rock art panels, and Sego ghost town on the way. The Sego Canyon rock art panels are very impressive. The panels span many Native American cultures, with some paintings dating back to 7000 B.C. A couple more miles up the canyon are the remnants of the mining town of Sego. There is an interesting graveyard, and a very well preserved two story rock building. Most of the other structures have collapsed. After checking into our lodgings for the weekend we headed to Arches. We had planned on going to Tower arch because it is off the beaten path, and requires four wheel drive to get there. But we were running out of daylight because we spent so much time in Sego Canyon. So we took some short hikes to Sand Dune Arch, and Broken Arch. Saturday morning found us preparing for a day on the trail. We ran the first section of Fins ‘n’ Things, then headed over to Hell’s Revenge. What a great trail! We stopped at the Colorado River overlook for lunch, and a little exploring. We explored Hunter Canyon later that evening. Hunter Canyon is a side canyon along Kane Creek Road. It is a beautiful box canyon that is approximately 2 miles long. It is a pretty flat bottom canyon, with great cottonwood trees and tons of desert flora. Approximately half a mile into the hike, way up on the side of the canyon is Hunter Arch. It is very impressive, but a little camera shy. I did my best, but was unable to capture the fullness of the arch. Sunday morning we packed up and checked out of the hotel. We headed back to Arches for some more exploring. We spent some time at the Arches National Park Visitor Center, which Erik thought was fascinating. Then we headed for the windows section, and a short hike to Double Arch. The boys like Double Arch because it is in Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade. We took the Willow Springs Road out of the park instead of heading back to the entrance. Along the way we stopped to study the dinosaur tracks, we do have a Palaeontologist in training that made sure of that. We had an incredible time celebrating Erik’s birthday. We love the desert, and can’t wait to get back for more exploring.

Little Sahara

February 23, 2010 0 Adventure, Jeep

The boys and I played hooky and spent an awesome day exploring Little Sahara sand dunes with Uncle Dan! What fun! Everything i was ever taught, or ever believed about driving off-road was thrown out the window! Instead of taking it slow and keeping the vehicle horizontal, I was encouraged to gas it and race around the sand dune bowls tipped forty five degrees to the side! The boys had a blast launching themselves off the sand dunes. When we got home they were as caked with sand as the Jeep was!

Most of the sand at Little Sahara is the result of deposits left by the Sevier River, which once flowed into ancient Lake Bonneville about 15,000 years ago. After the lake disappeared, the winds that flow across the Sevier Desert picked up the sand. Sand Mountain (a 700 foot tall mountain of sand) in the middle of the dune field, deflected the wind upward, causing it to slow and drop its load of sand. The quartz sand particles fell downwind among the sagebrush and juniper around Sand Mountain creating a 124-square-mile system of giant, free-moving, sand dunes.

Here are some pictures, and a video: