When Michelle asked what I wanted to Father's Day, I told her I wanted to go do a canyon. I also decided it was time to introduce Addison to canyoneering, and Baptist Draw, the canyon I did last year with Bri, Mason, Ryan, and Kaylyn would the perfect - a series of three rappels, each getting a little longer; some problem-solving but nothing outrageous; a gorgeous slot that will leave him wanting more. Michelle was supportive of both, and the only remaining problem was how to get to the trailhead since it's down a long dirt road in the Swell. I recruited a father-son duo in our neighborhood, since we're friends and they have a pickup, I borrowed a couple extra harnesses from our local Scout troop, and it was on. We got up early Saturday, June 18, and drove the four hours down to the trail, and then spent most of the day in the canyon. It was bone-dry this time, which made for a hot hike out, but it went nearly flawlessly. Nearly, because on the first rappel, Kade accidental...

Recently, I mean six months ago,  me, my bro- and sis-in-law Mason and Bri took Georgia visitors Kaylyn and Ryan on a real live southern Utah desert adventure. They were in town for a week to get a feel for the Great American West, and what better to show off the place than to go canyoneering? We got up at the crack of dawn, stopped at the grocery store bakery where Bri worked to get some of their famous doughnuts (which were every bit as good as she claimed), and headed for the San Rafael Swell, more than four hours away. It was a long drive made interesting by the Generation Z crowd fiercely judging Mason's music choices. We intended to do a short slot in Goblin Valley called Goblin's Lair, but just about the time we were leaving cell phone range, I decided we should instead do a longer and cooler slot deeper in the Swell called Baptist Draw. So we backtracked far enough to get service, I downloaded maps and route description and GPS, and after a pit stop at ...