Gawdamn it is cold. The first night we mostly slept separately in each sleeping bag. Ella was completely miserable and rolled around howling all night (as previously noted). The second night required some serious snuggling. Ella and David were in one sleeping bag until I crawled in while Ethan remained in his own sleeping bag. Ella stayed tucked in with "mama" the rest of the night while we both struggled to find comfort. The best position for all was typically on our backs with the sleeping bag completely covering our faces—not exactly pleasant to have cold air in our lungs and kissing our faces. I woke up numerous times to either the roaming pack of coyotes howling or someone walking by on their way to the restroom, which subsequently caused me to check if 1. Ella was still next to me and 2. to see if she was breathing or completely frozen over. She was sleeping, by the way, in the best way possible—quietly. The best decision of the night was to open up one of the oversized sleeping bags to use it as a blanket for all of us. The best decision of the trip... those sleeping pads. By no means comfortable, but very much rock proof and cold hard ground proof.
Instead of jumping out into the cold hard morning as we did the morning before, we hid inside the warmth of the tent for a good chuck of the morning while the frozen tent and ground thawed a bit. Ella was great about wearing a hat throughout the trip but refused to wear gloves and having cold frozen red little hands and fingers were tough on her. Once thawed, we loaded up on coffee, oatmeal, bananas, and fire. The plan for the morning: to pack most everything up, head out for another hike, return for lunch, finish loading, and head home.
We ended up at what we'd guess was the more touristy part of the park called Penitentiary Hollow, a mini canyon better known for attracting beginner rock climbers. More rocks, great weather, and everyone loved it, particularly the kids.
Poop stories aside, we will be camping again.