Colorado/Utah Trip Days 4-6: Moab!

Continuing on, since I already sorted these pics and am in a Utah state of mind…

Sunday, August 11, 2019

I lied- I just realized we actually had 4 nights in Moab, not 3, giving us 3 full days there. But like Emily commented on my last post, I still totally feel like we really only scratched the surface!!

The main plan was to see both Arches and Canyonlands National Park, plus Dead Horse Point State Park.

First up- Arches! We ultimately dedicated ~1 1/2 days to Arches, though there were still some trails and arches that we missed.

I believe we hit up a McDonald’s for a quick breakfast in Moab before heading to the park. Moab is small, so everything is super easy, and our condo was just a few miles from the park entrance. Another reason I loved Moab! Easy.

Driving in:

I had identified in advance a few trails/ specific arches to start with. I had also read that the parking lots fill up FAST and that can be an issue. I think we mostly lucked out and didn’t have major parking issues, but this was 2019…. I feel like travel in general has exploded post-covid and everywhere is crazy busy now?! Especially popular national parks.

Not the best pic, but this is Balanced Rock. We just drove by and didn’t do the little loop around the base.

My MUST DO arch was Delicate Arch, so we headed there first. It was hot, being August, but this wasn’t terribly problematic. I mean, we Wisconsinites like to say, “But it’s a dry heat!” when talking about the Southwest. 😅 (We get a lot of humidity when it’s hot here!)

I do recall some occasional whining about the heat, but we took breaks in the shade… if this was a big issue, time has healed my wounds, because I honestly don’t have any negative memories of this part! The boys were at very easy and agreeable ages, too, I think.

I think Asher was the biggest whiner, of the two. Also not surprising! 😆

The beginning was very wide open. As our first hike, I was lovin’ it. So vast and the wide open spaces and the rocks… I’m such a fan!

Found some shade. Yep, it’s hot…

They perked up on this section since the terrain became more varied and was more “dangerous”, lol.

I love this arch, because you basically come around the corner above, and then

there it is!

Delicate Arch– probably the most famous “arch” of the Arches!

We took a long drink/ snack break here and just took in the views.

We had to wait in a little line to get pictures underneath the arch:

Such a cool shot, though! You can really see how massive the arch is.

The boys climbed around some and we lingered… just the most beautiful spot!

I think this may be my all time favorite pic from the trip:

On the hike back out. The boys were scaling up and down everything and it was great fun. 🙂

From side off-shoot/ opening there was this alternative view of the arch from a distance- I also love this picture of me and Ivan!! I wish I had more places to display prints in my house!! This feels like a print-worthy one.

We then made a stop off back at Balanced Rock to do the loop! (eyeing it suspiciously and hoping today isn’t the day the rock decides to topple off…)

We then stopped at the Visitor Center. (I’ve mentioned this in other recaps- the Visitor Centers are usually so interesting!)

We checked out the exhibits, etc… can’t remember if this one had a movie or not! We always watch the video if there is one.

This part gets a little fuzzy. I assume we must have needed some lunch by this point… I have a vague memory of maybe leaving the park and running back into Moab for a quick lunch? Subway maybe? Not sure! I assume we ate something, lol!

In the afternoon we explored the Windows section of the park.

This is another of my all-time favorite pics! It has been on our digital refrigerator screen since 2019!

The Arches National Park is awesome because you really don’t have to hike very far to get to many of the arches. So, it’s quite accessible and generally very family friendly.

Can you find Ethan in this pic?

My memory is honestly fuzzy about which arch is which. I know in this region there’s North and South arch, Turret Arch and Double Arch. The whole area is super cool!!

And then, after a full day of sunshine and rock climbing and walking, we called it a day! A very good day.

I do not seem to have photos of where we ate in Moab! Which is unfortunate, because I know there are tons of great and fun restaurants.

I think we went back to the condo to rest/ clean up a bit, and then I am 99% sure we ate at a place called The Spoke, a trendy bicycle themed restaurant. I don’t have any pics, but here’s one from the internet:

I am sure we probably went in the pool/ hot tub again before bed, and that would be it for our Sunday.

Monday, August 12, 2019

On Monday the plan was to go back to the Arches to finish up (part) of the 3rd large section that we hadn’t covered yet before we had EXCITING PLANS for the evening!

We had breakfast in the condo. (At some point someone went for groceries! Not sure when!)

I loved our bright, sunny condo so much. Also, I think it’s funny that we apparently packed Asher’s bathrobe? 😆

We headed back down the road to the park entrance.

Up first was the Devils Garden area, I believe. This section is called the Fiery Furnace.

Its name is very fitting. 🙂 The spiky rocks look like they’re “growing”.

I’ve always liked the pic of Asher and his yellow shirt popping against the red rocks. 🙂 Cool dude.

After that, we drove to the parking lot for the Landscape Arch trailhead. This part was a little trickier, as it involved a longer hike to 3 different arches. It was… hot… and some of the trail was sandy.

I believe this is Pine Tree Arch? I could be wrong, though.

From the trail head to Landscape Arch (below), it’s 1.6 mile (per the Arches website). This is another iconic arch, so definitely worth the trip. There are some other arches even farther out the trail, but we turned around here.

I do remember it was HOT right here!! haha. The boys finding some shade…

After our hike, we were done at the park for the day. We had some evening plans, so this afternoon I had left open for some relaxation/ pool time.

It was lunch time, so we went to this fun, popular (permanent) food truck in Moab- Quesadilla Mobilla. Very cute and good!

This afternoon was awesome. The pool was nearly empty and it was PERFECT swimming weather.

I remember loving this pool time! Felt so good.

By 4:00 we had to head out for our evening adventure, something I was really looking forward to!! I had booked a canyoneering experience!!! My mom was staying back to continue relaxing (she later confessed that she had the best afternoon just lounging by the pool alone, then taking a bath and reading her book. Haha!)

The rest of us got suited up to rappel down cliffs. 🙂

Here we are at the place in Moab, before boarding the van that would take us out.

At the trailhead!

This was a small group excursion, so we had a few other people in our group, plus our guides.

Setting out. We had to hike a ways to our first rappelling spot. Maybe a mile?

The guides were young and fun and the sort of people that you might envision are living in Moab leading canyonering tours for a living! 😉

They told Ethan and Asher to do one of those “jumping” action shots. 🙂

Our whole group on the hike out:

Finally we arrived at our first canyon! The guides got the ropes and everything all set up and attached to the anchors in the rocks, and then gave us our instructions and tutorials.

I think Ivan went down first! And then Ethan. (Sorry photo overload… had to try and get everyone!)

He did awesome. Neither of the boys were scared at all, just excited!

Little Asher, ready to go!

This is the view from the bottom, after I had rappelled down!

Ivan took these pics… I was still at the top when they went.

All made it down! We had some granola bar snacks and water before continuing on to our next cliff.

This arch I think might be called Morning Glory? It is not inside the national park; I assume you can hike out to it not being on a tour, too.

This was the taller one. I can’t remember exactly how many feet tall it is, but it was high! Over 100 ft? Maybe 125 ft??

Me! Ivan took this one. 🙂 It was soooo fun!

Not entirely sure who is who, here. haha. I took these from the bottom.

They were like, “That was so coooool!!!” 🙂 🙂

This was a very fun, adventurous, exhilarating but not in a terrifying way (really, it’s not- yes, it’s high, but you never feel like you’re falling or anything. I don’t know, I had thought the height would seem creepier but since you’re facing the rock the whole time, you kind of can’t really notice the height that much?)

This tour then ended with the most beautiful hike out through the canyon. This was one of my favorite moments of this trip! It was nearing sunset, and it was just breathtaking. It was also a fun hike, with rocks and streams to navigate, etc.

I remember Ethan being very “chatty” and talking the guide’s ear off, asking all sorts of questions! Haha.

Look at that!! Love.

The boys LOVE any hike that includes “obstacles”.

I will never forget the sunsetting and the moon rising over the rocks! I think of this hike often, actually.

By the end we were kind of racing the sunset, though! The headlights below are the shuttle van waiting for us- we made it back just as it was really getting dark fast!

Back in Moab, a group shot before we said goodbye:

We were dusty and dirty and HUNGRY, so we swung by and picked up my mom and went out for dinner. I can’t remember where we went! I can vaguely picture it but not enough to find it on a map. Some place that had cold beer. Pretty sure I got a big dish of pasta after all that exercise!

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

On Tuesday our plan was to visit Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point State Park.

First up was Dead Horse Point State Park! This place is a MUST DO in my opinion. Maybe because it’s “just” a state park, it doesn’t seem as noteworthy, but that’s not the case. It’s really amazing!!

You can drive a big loop with lots of stops for lookouts, so it’s very easy to visit, too. (And you can have air conditioning on 😉 )

We didn’t really have time to do any hikes here- just drove the loop, I think, and stopped at the Visitor Center. With only a few days in the area, we just didn’t have time to see and do it all….

Up next we drove to nearby Canyonlands National Park. Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands are right next to each other, so this is a natural pairing.

By this point we were ready for lunch! We had planned and packed a picnic lunch. Found a nice picnic shelter on the map (near a little hike I wanted to check out, anyway).

Some of us then did the Upheavel Dome overlook hike, which gives you a cool view of a crater (they’re unsure if it was from a meteor or just some sort of natural rock formation).

My kids always liked to do the “help, I’ve fallen off a cliff!” picture. 😆 (Obviously there was a ledge below….)

Here you can see the crater!

To be honest, I don’t really remember any other names of the places we stopped. There are a couple cool arches here, plus various hikes and lookouts. I think we just followed the park map around the loop and stopped/ hiked as we felt like it!

Anyone recognize this pic?? This is my blog “profile pic” in the sidebar/ About Me section. 🙂 I’ve always liked this!

This is Mesa Arch, I think. Super cool views from here with canyons in the background!

By late afternoon we were done! It was a beautiful day for our 3rd day in Moab.

We got a great taste of the area and the parks, although of course, there’s always more.

We went back for some swimming time- our last night with this awesome pool and hot tub!!

I really loved where we stayed. It was a condo within the Moab Springs Ranch property, if anyone is interested to check it out. Location was PERFECT PERFECT and the pool/ hot tub/ grounds were the best.

For dinner we went out to the Moab Brewery- had to get that in before we moved on back to Colorado. 🙂

And that’s a wrap on Moab! I totally want to go back! (And I am DYING to go to the other Utah parks that I’ve never been to!!! We opted to loop around back to Colorado. There’s just SO much in Colorado/Utah that it is impossible to cover even a fraction of it all in one trip.)