Day 3: Arches National Park!

I have never seen something quite so stunning as Arches National Park. Despite it just being rocks...it is INCREDIBLE! It's so awesome to think about how each one was formed from wind and sand and elements of the weather! We hit the road nice and early and Balanced Rock was our first stop!

Then we headed to the 3 mile round trip hike to see Delicate Arch! The weather was pretty great with just a little chill in the wind. I was unsure how this would go since the trail is marked as difficult! And seeing all these people climb up this giant rock was a little intimidating!

The kids really had fun and did great! Bri struggled at first but got stronger as we kept going. I think she just wanted her snacks! The last leg of the hike is on a cliff edge that only seemed a food wide. I was freaked out and didn't know if I could do it. I had no idea what majesty was waiting on the other side of that rock though! We rounded the corner (no one fell to their death) and there it was! The wind hit us like a ton of bricks and it really was hard to just stand without feeling safe! Its right on the edge of a huge cliff too and many people were going down right in front of it to get pictures. I was very content on this side of the wall!

Chad took the big kids down closer but he said that made him a little nervous with the wind too. 

Brielle stood up just for 1 second on a rock for a picture. 

But we made it! And it was SO worth it!!!

After lunch, we hit several other short hikes. There is so much to see there, I wanted to do them all!!!!

There were a few slot spots...not a whole canyons worth, but I've always wanted to be in one! Its so chilly in between those rocks even when the sun is blazing. Mollie is ready for some canyoneering!

One of the most magical places was Sand Dune Arch! Its this quiet protected little place you walk back to and it has deep warm sand and its just beautiful! The lighting is so bright and the kids took their shoes off immediately to feel the sand in their toes. I couldn't resist it either, and I joined them. It was the finest sand I have ever felt! 

We then hiked to double arch and windows. Seriously, aren't these creations amazing?!

This is Mesa Arch. Another famous one. Perfect for sunrise, but we weren't up that early!

Rylee was SUCH a trooper! She never once complained and something that kept her happy was looking for all the trail markers along each path! She made several of her own too. She was out in front of us most of the time being the leader! Her little legs worked so hard keeping up AND being in front of us! 

This little pedestal was right next to a huge cliff. Here I am facing my fears with Mollie standing on a ledge!

Handsome hub with all the rocks.

And how I really felt most of the trip!!!! :) I really have some height fears!!!!

 I'm so glad we tried something new! I love new adventures and seeing new things. The whole Moab experience was all new to us! But we did it and survived and  had a blast! We all came home sunburned and tired! We had wanted to stay one more half day to do some hiking but the wind was freezing and since we had 1 day to unpack and repack and get to Idaho, we slept in Tuesday morning and then hit the road for home. I'd say it was a 10/10 trip!!!!

Day 2: Dead Horse Point & Canyonlands

We wanted Sunday to be more of just a sight seeing day..nothing too intense...just relaxing. We went to Dead Horse Point and learned about how cowboys corraled horses on a narrow little way with cliffs on each side and left them there. They could see the river below but had no way of getting out or getting water. They all died there at that point. Super sad story. No one knows why. But the vast views of all these incredible rock formations & cliffs were breath taking! 

Colorado river

Right next to this point was a path that lots of people were going down. We decided to follow! Come to find out it was a really long path! So we went for as long as we felt like it and then turned around. It was next to a cliff edge and I felt my chest and teeth clenching many times!

After some dinner, we headed back to the hotel and just relaxed for the evening. A beautiful sunset to end a beautiful day! We stayed in Green River so we had a 45 min drive home every night. But it wasn't too bad to just have some wind down time. 

 

Spring Breaaaaaaaak!!!!! Day 1

We hardly ever do something for spring break but this year i really wanted to. The last year has not been easy on us moms and so any chance we have to get out of the house, I really want to have! So I talked Chad into planning a trip. Mid March we got news that Chad's Auntie Sharon wasn't doing well and didn't have much time to live most likely. A few days before we left she did pass. When we got news of when her funeral would be, we decided to go to Moab anyway and go to Idaho as soon as we got home. Mollie had a late friday night game in Lehi so we got a hotel and went for ice cream after the game! 

The next morning bright and early we took off to Moab!  Our first new adventure in Moab was to rent a 6 person side by side! We had no idea what we were getting into, but we were all SO excited! 

The first trail had some steep drop - offs that made me pretty nervous but I thought I was the only one. All of a sudden, Brielle burst into tears from the back seat because she was scared to death! We pulled over and put her between Chad and I and kept on going. This trail was more of a road. But we did see some pretty amazing views!

Our next trail was called Finns and Things. It was a pretty crazy rock crawling experience for us. To pros, I'm sure it was mild but to newbies it was terrifying! Chad even got out a few times to try to figure out the safest way to climb down the rocks. We were scared. But as soon as we were done with it, we kinda wanted to do it again! 

We had to clean and return our ATV by 6 so we finished up about 5. It was a good time. We went to a really yummy pizza place and got right in and loved our food. Mollie found this treasure hunt sign and was so excited and was begging to go. But we didn't. We don't need more treasures currently. 

We got to our hotel and the kids immediately wanted to swim! Packing for 6 for several days to cram into a hotel is no easy task! 

The pool was awesome but super chlorinated or something. My kids started coughing like crazy so we didn't stay too long. Even just sitting in the hot tub my eyes were burning! We got all cleaned up and snuggled into bed. Our room was perfect for us with a bed for everyone. We got a good nights rest to tackle the next day!