Now we are really starting to get into the heart of what I envisioned this trip to be like. Hot weather, great hikes, national parks, etc. This tent rocks hike is something that someone just casually mentioned to us. Wow! That is the thing about the southwest, there are outdoor adventures everywhere. We pushed the kids pretty hard on this hike as it was over 3 hours long and we had to climb vertically for quite some time to get to the top. Their sense of accomplishment was palpable and once we reached the summit, they bounded back in half the time. That lead us to discuss why "the way back" always seems so much shorter (ie: the back nine, driving home from a vacation, the last half of a book, etc.)