Moab Trip

With Alex being in 4th grade, he was able to get a National Parks Pass for the whole family to get in any National Park for that year.  So we took advantage of it and went to Moab to do some hiking around Canyonlands and Arches National Parks for a couple days.  Randy's always wanted to go and we didn't want to go when it was hot so we thought the end of September would be a good time to go.  My foot was getting better but it was still weak and I knew I'd have to take it easy and might be slow but I was able to handle it pretty well.

Halen had a PE test during 2nd period that Friday so we let him go do that then we picked him up and checked Alex and Mia out of school and got on the road.  We decided to make a quick stop at Dead Horse Point State Park first on the way to Canyonlands National Park.  We stopped at the visitor center and asked about some quick hikes we could do in the couple hours we had before dark and set out to enjoy some nature.

This was the view from the visitor center

Dead Horse Point

Dead Horse Point was beautiful and it's mind-blowing to see just how vast the land is.  We then drove into Canyonlands and went on a short hike to an arch that overlooks the valley.  It was incredible!  

We then drove over to a lookout spot that we were told was a good place to watch the sunset.  It was a great spot and the pics just don't even come close to doing it justice.

Once it got dark, we got some dinner and checked into our hotel and of course the kids wanted to swim.  The hotel had an indoor pool that was pretty big  with a nice hot tub and no one was there the first night so it was nice to have it all to ourselves.

Saturday morning we got up and had breakfast and head to go do the Delicate Arch hike.  We probably should have started earlier than we did because it got pretty hot by the time we were done but it wasn't too bad.  There were lots of people on the trail but it was spread out enough that it didn't matter.  It took us about 2 hours to hike up to the arch and about an hour to come back down.  I thought I did pretty well considering what my foot had been through.  I'm sure I slowed everyone down a little bit but I was proud of myself.  I was really proud of the kids too...especially Mia.  Her little legs had to do a lot more steps than the rest of us but she was a trooper.

Halen was good to Mia to help her along

The boys got brave and hiked up to an opening to look at the arch

Delicate Arch through the lookout

We finally made it to Delicate Arch!  I don't know what I was thinking it would be like, but it wasn't what I was expecting.  I thought we'd come out a lot closer to it than we did but it was still an amazing view to see.  There was quite a long line to hike over to the arch and we were content to take some pics from were we were so it was fine.  It was super windy once we rounded the corner and we were all literally holding on to our hats so they didn't go flying off.  I saw one guys hat fly off the edge and was gone and mine just about went but I caught it just in time.

Not sure what the poses are all about but whatever :)

This little cabin was just off the trail that we stopped to investigate

After Delicate Arch, we drove around the park to see what other hikes we wanted to do.  I don't remember what this one is called officially but it was something like the Valley of Fire.  It had some amazing formations and hoodoos.

Mia dancing on the rocks

We saw this arch from the road & started to hike to it only to find the trail was on the other side :(

Mom, Halen, Alex & Mia

Isn't she beautiful!

Alex & Mia playing in the sand

After stopping for a quick rest and some lunch, we drove over to balancing rock.  Randy got some fun pics with this rock.  I could see it from the car and my foot was a little swollen so I stayed in the car while they hiked over.

Lift it Mia!

Alex had a bloomin' rock

Wow Halen, you're strong!

We drove around the park for a little longer just looking at the incredible formations.  Randy & Alex decided to hike over to one more arch to take a couple closer pics.  The rest of us were about done with hiking and I was ready to just be off my foot.

Double Arch

We headed back toward Moab around 6:00 and went to get some dinner before going back to the hotel for more swimming.  We pretty much had the pool to ourselves again that night and it felt so good to get in with the kids and get some weight off my foot.  The hot tub felt wonderful too.

Sunday morning, we slept in and got some breakfast before packing up and heading for home.  It's about a 6 hour drive and not the most scenic drive surprising, so we were eager to get that behind us.  It was just nice to be together as a family and to explore some of nature while we made memories together.