After Four Corners we drove several more hours to Moab, Utah. We camped outside of Arches National Park and took a driving tour of it on Saturday. However, the highlight of our stay was a 4 1/2 mile hike that the people at the campsite told us about. The trail was very kid-friendly and at the end was Morning Glory natural bridge, the sixth largest natural bridge rock formation in North America.
This was our first really primitive hike the entire trip. There were no rangers, few people, and we felt like we were out in the middle of nowhere. George, Delie, and Thomas had been wanting to do a long hike and this fully met their expectations!
John has been a trooper! He has become quite the extroverted ham on this trip; I think it has something to do with the fact that we have nothing to do but play with him and carry him around. :)
The hike was through a canyon; it was beautiful--and we got red dirt smeared all over us.
Several of the more adventurous spirits climbed the sides of the canyon.
George, Delie, Anna, James, Samuel, Joy, Thomas, and William
The highlight of the trail was that we had to cross a stream several times. The water was cold, but we were so hot that we didn't care. ;)
The crossing
George liked this big rock.
We love the water!
We also have a new appreciation for cold drinking water. Although we've gotten to the point where we can drink it at any temperature, we all prefer it ice cold. The stream seemed to help a little-- except that several of the younger people *cough* discovered that their bottles were fuller after sticking them in the stream. All I can say is yuck.
Samuel and James
Sweet John-John
We're almost there! (The bridge is on the upper right of the picture.)
We're here!
There was a spring under the bridge that flowed into a pool that flowed into the stream that flowed into...oh, never mind; I think you get the idea. It was so cool and beautiful under there.
We ate lunch under the bridge while Daddy told us a story about drinking bad water in his Eagle Scout days. John looks sympathetic; what he's really thinking is that hot baby food is disgusting.
The little boys really like splashing in the pool.
And Thomas liked climbing the rocks.
After lunch we hiked back to the van.
We both look like we have more energy than we did. :)
We're finished! James took this picture of Mommy and Daddy at the end of the trail. You should hire him to photograph your next event; he's pretty good. Plus, he'll work for animal crackers.
Our campsite was nice, albeit hot. John, the camera magnet, was happy to play in the tent--and to escape from it!
We got a kick out of the camp store's sign. Pop?! I think they meant coke; they just don't know how to talk southern. :)
A typical trip sigh: Thomas reading wherever he can find a quiet nook.
And another typical trip picture. We haven't had electricity at any of our campsites, so we find the nearest outlet and plug in. In fact, I'm typing this in the restroom, the only place at our campground with electricity.
Now we're in beautiful Yellowstone, Wyoming, seeing bison in our campground and snowflakes on our noses. (Okay, that last part wasn't quite true, but the nights really have been cold here!) We won't have internet for most of the time, so I may not blog again until after we leave on Friday.
Lots of love to all our friends and family back home!
Joy
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