Payson in May

 Payson in May. A bit of a heatwave for Payson, it was a high of 88 and low of 55 at night. Christopher Creek by the campground was pretty shallow (but trickling along!) since we had a rather dry spring, but we drove to SEE canyon trailhead a couple miles away, where there was significantly more water.

UV index is at a 10 in May, though the temperatures were similar to our October trip (67/45), the UV was much higher (10 in May, 6 in October).

This time I remembered to bring special snacks on the hike. It is the most important tip to hiking with kids ever.

We went on a hike to SEE Canyon trailhead, choosing the SEE canyon spring (which has more water in it than the SEE canyon trail.)

We went on a hike from 10am to 4pm. 

We kept our hats on except for Irene who managed valiantly to lose a hat, despite mom running back and forth over the trail TWICE.

We burned probably half as much as we did in October. (Irene burnt about the same or maybe a little less....Not sure how to factor this in since she was wearing a hat somewhat, as I had a backup hat for her....so not sure how much was the hat and how much was the sunscreen) Whose UV Index was 6 instead of 10. Which means that Coppertone Sport Mineral is atleast 2x as effective as that other one. Which makes sense since this one was 24% zinc oxide, and the other one was only 8% zinc oxide and 7% titanium dioxide)

The burn the next day, after we came home. I think she's looking less crispy than our October adventure, although she did wear her hat more this time as well. But the UV was 10 instead of 6. 

So, I will keep using it

BUT----I need to reapply this stuff. Once at 8am wasn't enough. I need to do a noon-reapplication for the kids. Keep some in an insulated bag in the backpack. 

AND---I need to make some mineral sunscreen chapstick. [tutorial HERE when I do it]. All our lips burned. The sunscreen doesn't stay on lips.

Pine trees against the stars are one of my favorite parts of camping....

It was fun. The kids foraged for wood and built the fires. We consumed many marshamellows. 

And then we drove back into our desert valley....

And then my mother in law gave me this piece of living beauty. Pale pink roses with dark leaves, my favorite kind of rose since I was 14 and saw them growing on that old split rail fence in Alabama....

It was a good Mother's Day weekend.