Moab Travelogue--Read at Your Own Risk

**Warning. This post contains approximately one and a half bajillion pictures. But hey, it's my blog and I'll post what I want to. Nevertheless, reader discretion is advised.

It hasn't even been a week since we took our mini-family vacation to sunny Moab and Arches National Park, yet it feels like so much longer given today's cold, gray skies and rainy weather. But, I suppose there's no better time to throw a log on the fire and recollect sunnier days.

Our trip was a rather last minute, impromptu excursion. Shortly after getting back from his conference in Chicago, Jason learned that he needed to take a trip to Blanding in the southeastern corner of Utah. Rather than face the unpleasant prospect of telling me that he was leaving me alone with the kids again, he invited us all along.

Since Blanding is nearly a 7 hour drive from St. George, we decided to rent a car and spare our mini-van the extra miles. When we got to the rental car company, they didn't have any mid-size cars available so they offered to upgrade us to a Jeep Wrangler instead. While the gas mileage wasn't stupendous, it was admittedly awesome to splurge for the weekend.

So, after many long hours of driving, we finally made it to our Blanding destination. Pretty, um,... spacious.

Actually, these empty lots have been purchased for development by Color Country Community Housing (CCCH). Jason needed a chance to see the layout of the land and meet with some of the bigwigs about the project.

In the meantime, the kids and I explored downtown Blanding where we watched the gusty wind blow a huge construction barrier right into the middle of Main Street. Fortunately, there's not a lot of traffic.

The kids really enjoyed visiting Edge of the Cedars State Park where they got to tour some ancient Pueblo Indian ruins. I wish I'd had my camera to take a picture of them climbing the wooden ladder down inside the kiva. I did, however, get a picture of this adorable home. Too bad CCCH doesn't have the budget for more dwellings like this!

After Jason's work commitments were over, we continued up the road for an hour and a half to our hotel in Moab. This is such an amazingly beautiful corner of the world! The more we saw, the more we were filled with Wanderlust to explore the amazing wonders right within our own State and beyond.

All in all, the kids traveled remarkably well. I felt a bit guilty about pulling Brooklyn out of school for a couple days, but in the end, I'm certain that exploring our National Parks is about as educational and enriching as it gets. She and Talia were so proud to become Junior Rangers!

Here we are driving past Balanced Rock.

Balanced Rock is quite the optical illusion, appearing spherical from a distance but revealing itself as rather flat once you round the corner.

One of the two thousand arches in Arches.

Tired hikers trudge along the trail. Where will it lead?

Landscape Arch!

Spanning over a football field in length, Landscape Arch is clear evidence of how the park is constantly evolving. In 1991, a 70 foot slab fell from the thinnest part of the arch, with two more slabs falling since then. While it is currently the second longest free-standing arch in the world, who knows how much longer it will remain standing?

No matter what direction you turn, the sandstone sculptures in Arches are truly amazing. Jason and I both feel that Arches must be Antoni Gaudi's dreamland.

Jason sure looks stylish, don't you think?

Hat or no, gotta love him anyway.

So, the craziest part of our adventure was undoubtedly our four-wheeling side trip. While this road-less-traveled was clearly marked on the National Parks guide, we were rather shocked by the intensity of the terrain, particularly at the beginning.

Fortunately, our Jeep climbed right over the boulders without so much as a scrape.

Despite the fact that we really were quite safe, Brooklyn was terrified. She was convinced that we were going to tip over and she would scrape her face on a cactus!

Eli, on the other hand, thought all the bumps and rolls were positively hilarious.

The views from this lesser known section of Arches were truly phenomenal.


In many ways, it felt as if we had the entire park to ourselves.

That said, given the isolation, I'm quite grateful we didn't get stuck or break down. My only complaint is the sunburn I got from taking the roof off. What can I say? Pride comes before the fall.

While I'm not sure that we'll ever have the chance to go Jeeping again, it certainly was a fabulous way to explore the back country of Arches.

Before tackling the long drive home, we hiked up to the archetypical arch of all arches, Delicate Arch. Armed with plenty of snacks, gap-toothed Brooklyn was excited and motivated for the journey.

Every good hiker needs a backpack!

Or at least a fun hat.

That is, of course, until Daddy steals it. :)

Talia certainly likes the downhill sections best.

Pausing for a rest.

Time for a family photo. Poor Eli! I promise that he really was there.

Following the stone markers. Brooklyn was so excited to be our trailblazer.

Hiking with Talia tends to take a while since she's quite easily distracted.

Almost there! Boy was it windy!

Delicate Arch at last.

Brooklyn wasn't much of a fan of the gusts.

Sisters make great protection.

The men of the house.

And another, just 'cause they're so cute.

What the hey, why stop now?

The tiny black dots in this picture are Jason, Talia, and Eli making their way to stand underneath the arch. Brooklyn preferred to stay a bit more sheltered.

The classic been-there-done-that photo.

And, a close-up.

Peering down the other side--beautiful, yet slightly terrifying!

Less than a week since we've been to Arches, and already I can't wait to go back.

Any takers on sharing some trail mix and sunshine?