The boys let out a muted gasp when they saw that the bus was leaving for Utah at 5:00 AM. But they were all there on time and we pulled out before dawn for the trip. We all had our Tefillin on before we reached the freeway, as we were davening shacharis on the bus. (See Weekaton Begins post for some pictures.)

Our first stop was at Quail Creek Park in Utah for tubing, paddle boarding, kayaking and much more. (See our Day One post for more.)

We continued on to the Zion Ponderosa Ranch & Resort that would be our home base for the next three nights.

The groups broke up with some going canyoneering on the first day and the other half going to Bryce for ATVing and Horseback riding. Everyone switched activities the next day.

You might find surprising that one of the highlights of the trip was … the food. Two quotes from some boys, “They feed us better here than at home!” “The food here is better than my mother’s.” (We will keep their names private to avoid the wrath of their mothers.) Maybe that fact the the second night dinner was sous vide rib-eye roast and smoked brisket (prepared by Moshe Nafisi), or that one of the lunches was cold-cut subs (all you could eat), or maybe it was just the abundance of food that impressed them (sorry moms).

We left Utah early on Thursday and stopped in Vegas for lunch. The buses arrived back just as scheduled. The boys are already looking forward to the next Weekaton.

The boys took a tour of Bryce on Horseback.

Canyoneering was one of top highlights of the #UtahWeekaton. You can see why from the photos below.

One of the highlights of the Utah Weekaton was the day a Bryce Canyon. The boys went horseback riding and ATVing. We stopped at Bruce Point to enjoy the view.

One group went to Bryce Canyon. While another group went canyoneering in Zion (they will switch tomorrow).

The canyoneering group fought their fears as they repelled off the cliffs into deep canyons. See the pictures below.

It was a long ride to Quail Creek Park in Utah. But, the boys really enjoyed the tubing, kayaking, paddle boarding and much more (the grilled burgers were quite tasty as well). We arrived at the Zion Ponderosa after dark and everyone turned in for the night.

The boys started to board the buses at 5:00 AM this morning for an early departure for our Weekaton to Utah. We will be visiting Bryce and Zion. The schedule is packed with boating, canyoneering, ATVing and much more (see schedule below)

We left very early, so we davened Shacharis on the bus.

We will post updates here as the trip progresses.