“Capitol Wreath”

Last year, I listened to a podcast describing what researchers at UC Berkeley explain as the power of awe. They found that being in nature, taking in moments to notice the big beautiful world, can support the wellness of an individual’s mental health. These awe moments can take place anywhere outside: on a walk looking at the mountains, jogging through the woods, staring up at the sky when you take the garbage out, watching the sunset from your doorstep, taking a hike through desert plateaus. Noticing the miracle that is the complexity, beauty, and vastness of earth is medicine for the brain.

Upon hearing this, I thought to myself, “People have known nature is good for the soul for eons, but to prove it scientifically, well that’s just the cherry on top.” And with that, I’ve noticed more fully those awe moments. 

We had many of those on our latest trip with cousins to Capitol Reef National Park this month. Celebrated as the least visited National Park of the five housed in Utah, the place is less busy, and even more so in January. Seeing the white snow against the red rock was magnificent. 

Elsie got a comfy ride sitting in the backpack and seeing the sights with Jess. 

We looked like billy goats hiking the trail. 

I kept telling the kids to “wear layers!” and not to “forget hats!” I harnessed my inner Julie Ann Johnson, and made sure all kids were warm from head to toe. We started out in winter coats. Turns out, the weather was perfect, in the upper 50s, and I ended being the coat goat (it’s similar to being a bag lady but carrying coats, so like a coat lady),

But I’ll be the coat goat any day if it means we hike in perfect weather. 

The kids loved sitting in the alcoves in the sandstone. 

And we loved seeing natural bridges. (I love Ian in this photo with his “hiking stick :)

And walking (and dancing) on the frozen creek. The kids loved throwing rocks on (not in) it. Ha!




We called Elsie “the spider baby” because she was crawling up rocks and over sticks like it was no big deal. We’d bring her back to where we were eating lunch and then she’d take off again, over the smooth rocks. 

We stopped to look at petroglyphs. I love this kind of stuff. 

We hiked up to Cassidy Arch which is no easy feat. Ian did the whole thing without complaint (although, the last quarter required some fun discussion about his preschool’s Teddy Bear Picnic to keep him moving). 

We had myriad awe moments. We’ll have to tell Elsie about this one. 

It was a wonderful time. Due to the short nature of the trip, we decided we’d better go back soon.