The Janke Family

Monthly Archive: June 2015

Birch Hollow 2015

Imagine an impossibly narrow canyon with sinewy curved and twisted wind-swept paths, lit with mysterious shadows and hints of light, that tempt canyoneers to wiggle, slither and climb to its finish. Birch Hollow is such a canyon, yet it’s a forgotten gem in the canyoneering world, because it doesn’t hold the stigma of being within the Zion National Park boundary. Not only does Birch Hollow offer some of the best canyoneering to be had anywhere, it can be combined with two of Zion’s magnificent classic canyons, Orderville Canyon and the Zion Narrows.

California Surprise

We planned a surprise whirlwind California trip with the kids. We got everybody packed and ready to go on the down low, then woke the kids at 6:00 A.M. on Saturday morning with the news we were going to Knotts Berry Farm! The teenager objected a little, but we were shortly on the road and excited. We drove straight to Huntington Beach, and spent the afternoon in the surf. We spent the night at the Knotts Berry Farm Hotel, and spent Sunday at the park. We had never been to Knotts Berry Park, but we found it to be a very refreshing change to Disneyland. After the day at the park we hit the road and made it home in the wee hours of Monday morning. The whole round trip was just short of 42 hours! It was an epic adventure!