The last day in Utah - Canyonlands and Arches

Our first stop on our last full day in Utah was Canyonlands. We enjoyed driving to scenic overlooks and doing a short hike to Mesa Arch. We then had a nice slow lunch at Moab Brewery (if you are in Moab, get the oatmeal stout!) The restaurant also had a gelato counter. Juliet got a little mixed up after hearing Joshua order a veggie enchilada and asked if they could get engelatos 😊. We entered Arches around 3pm when it was still 99 degrees. We stopped at a lot of arches and at Balance Rock (photo below) on our way to our campground called Devil's Garden. One funny thing - Juliet was giving us the business about hopping out at the various overlooks. Joshua said anyone who fell asleep did not have to get out of the car. Decision made, Juliet crashed within minutes so I stayed with her to keep her cool (and snap the photo). The campsite was amazing. We got there when the sun was setting but had enough light to set up camp. We went to a nighttime ranger presentation about arches and national parks around the world. The campsite photo is from this morning when the light started to hit the rocks all over the campground. Today we hiked to Landscape arch which is the longest sandstone arch in the world. The hike also included 2 other arches and made a nice finish to our time in Utah.

Utah continues to deliver!

After camping in Zion, we headed to Bryce Canyon and Great Capitol Reef National Parks. Everyone was pretty tired from the 6ish mile round trip hike in the Narrows but we rallied to do the 1.3 round trip Navajo hike down into Bryce Canyon to marvel at the hoodoos. The last photo is chimney rock at Great Capitol Reef - we drove through this "bonus" NP on our way to our stop for the night.

Zion National Park

We learned yesterday that Zion is the 3rd most visited national park (after Great Smokey Mtns and Grand Canyon) and we have no doubt why that is the case. The high was 103 but the best way to beat the heat was a hike called the Narrows which involves hiking through the Canyon and in the Virgin River that created the canyon. They didn't have much snow this season and there wasn't a flash flood warning so we were good to go. To say the girls enjoyed the water part of this hike (which was almost all of it) would be a huge understatement!

The Grand Canyon

We spent 3 nights at the Grand Canyon. We hiked down into the canyon on both mornings in the park. Our first trail was the South Kaibab trail and we went .9 miles each way to and from the OoAh Point. Our second hike was the Bright Angel trail and we went 1.5 miles each way on that trail. The second route said it should take 2-4 hours and we did it as a family in 2:10. The girls were troopers with their hydration packs and did well on both hikes (they saved the complete and utter meltdowns for later in the afternoon). We also did a lot of the rim trail and enjoyed Desert view, lots of viewpoints, and the sunset on night 1. The elk in the campground were a big hit and the squirrels on the trails were a big nuisance. Joshua caught 2 sunrises (and Sydney joined him for 1). The rest of us slept in until about 5:30 when we started gearing up for those hikes or to head out for good. Other than issues with bus availability and dealing with other people, the Grand Canyon lived up to our expectations. Most photos are on our nicer camera but here are a few cell phone shots including Joshua and I toasting successfully guiding our kids in and out of the canyon safely!

3 Bonus National Monuments

We made good use of our stopover in Flagstaff to see 3 National Monuments. We did a short walk (275 steps each way) into Walnut Canyon to see dwellings carved into the canyon walls from 800 years ago. One of the volunteers at that site really earned his keep fielding questions from our curious kids for well over an hour. The girls are really getting a lot out of the junior ranger program at the national parks. On our way to the Grand Canyon we saw Sunset Crater Volcano and the ruins of Wupakti.

Night 3 in NM - Apache National Forest

We camped for a night just south of Quemado, NM. On the plus side, we had researched and found a no fee campsite, we had those campgrounds to ourselves, and having the bathroom on site was a perk after our backcountry experience the night before. Since nothing is ever simple, Juliet backed up her stomach complaints by vomitting. Ick. Cleanup at a campsite without running water was not ideal. It could have been worse - she perked right back up and seems no worse for wear today (as evidenced by her face as she enjoyed Joshua's demonstration of the ins and outs of mummy sacks on a cool morning). The girls really enjoyed having the place to themselves so they tested the range of their walkie talkies and saw hummingbirds (who loved our bright swim clothes that were hanging up to dry), geckos, woodpeckers, a rabbit, beetles, tarantula hawk wasps (look them up- they are intense), and cool caterpillars. At night we could hear coyotes and I heard something rummaging around the campsite (most likely a deer...but I was too chicken to peak). One other funny noticing is that it's a good thing we got a big tent so we can fit the girls and their camping pads separately (see photo of Sydney). Part of the learning curve is learning how to stay on the pad!

En route to NM destinations

On our way to White Sands we drove through Roswell which is clearly embracing the alien/UFO theme. Notice the light post in front of the flying saucer McD's. We also could not resist mailing some notes from the R2D2 mailbox. Near Alamargordo the pistachio industry is marked by a giant roadside pistachio.

Officially hardcore

We went to White Sands National Monument and our girls earned hardcore status. How do you do back country camping with pretty young kids? Easy enough, you need a pack mule (in our case Joshua who packed in our not light tent and 4 sleeping bags) and you promise them sledding, sunset, stars and sunrise. We took nice photos with our camera we'll try to add after the trip but here's a taste with photos I took with my phone this morning. Simply amazing place.

First impressions of New Mexico

We arrived in New Mexico late this afternoon but in enough time to enjoy dinner at Leal's based on a recommendation from friends who used to live here. The restaurant was great (yum, freshly made sopaipillas) and we could walk there from where we were staying. We hit up the hotel pool and are calling it a night.

Bandaid approach to OK and TX

When planning this trip, we decided to brace ourselves for a rough driving day and get from western Arkansas to eastern New Mexico. We managed to squeeze in a few very random stops to mix things up. The girls wanted to do a silly photo with the horse at the tourist info center in Midwest, OK and enjoyed the ego boost from the bathroom mirror. Midwest is home to Tinker Air Force Base. We also stopped for a photo op with Rex Randall, a 47-foot, 7 ton statue in Canyon, TX. Seemed apropo on a "go big" kind of a day.

Catching winks

With some long days, late nights, and early mornings, the girls are needing to get rest when they can. Of course, that doesn't mean they are all resting at the same time (see Evelyn!)