Moab Time

This was a first for me--Moab! Andy has been wanting to go for months, and we finally made it happen. And another first for us together--renting an RV! Talk about an adventure!
We packed up a few days worth of food, sleeping bags, hiking gear, and lots of books for little B. Wednesday afternoon, we packed up the RV and were on our way!

Bennett was a good sport on the way down. We had to stop a few times and towards the end, he had had enough. When we approached Moab, pretty much all of the campsites were taken, so we had to park on the side of the highway with a few other RVs for the night. We heated up some pulled pork, slapped it on some buns and had ourselves a yummy dinner. And quite the restless night:( Lots of zooming cars, but at least B slept well!

The next morning, we ate some breakfast and made our way to Arches National Park. Talk about beautiful! Clear blue skies and the perfect temperature outside. We loaded up the baby carrier with B and some snacks and set out for a hike to Delicate Arch.

the boys

on the slick rock. Would not want to be on this while it's wet!

:)

 It was a beautiful hike up there, mostly on the slickrock. i'm glad we came when we did, summer would have been a scorcher! The red rock formations are just amazing. I loved the last part of the hike that just consisted of a path that almost seemed chiseled out of the side of the rock face. Then, what would be around the corner but this!

First look at this icon in the flesh. Wow!

PB&J Time!

 Upon seeing Delicate Arch, I felt the same way I did when we saw the Matterhorn in Zermatt. People talk it up and talk it up, and you think to yourself, "there is no way this can really be as cool as people say it is." But with both, complete awe.  Mother Nature is amazing!!!

First Family Pic Attempt

Underneath the Arch

Cutie Pies

We just sat and enjoyed the beautiful view for a little while. So, so beautiful up there! We took some pictures, ate snacks and just soaked up our surroundings. We then headed back down and did everything we could to keep B awake. Towards the end, we finally let him out. No getting him back in once he is out!

We let him out of the carrier towards the end. Then he turned around and wanted
to go back on the trail:/

The awesome thing about renting an RV is we can go an a hike, come back, make lunch and take a nap without having to drive anywhere. Very nice. And we did just that. Took a little snooze and ate some food, then drove to the next trailhead towards Landscape Arch. B neglected to take a nap in the RV, so he conked out in the carrier. Oh B.

Landscape Arch was amazing as well. It looks like it will blow over with the next gust of wind!

Snoozy B

Our little Fam

We hiked to some of the other arches in the area. Talk about a goldmine of beauty! B finally perked up for the last one, Pinetree Arch.

Mornin' Sleeping Beauty!

Pinetree Arch

My turn to carry the boy. Woof. 

After our hike, we headed out of Arches and went to go find a campsite. Once again, no luck. Must be a popular place to camp this time of year. We drove into Moab, called a few RV parks and finally found one with availability, Spanish Trail RV park. Pretty bare bones and we couldn't make a campfire, which was a bummer. But we did make some yummy tin foil dinners on the grill in their pavilion, I took a nice hot shower and then we watched a movie in the RV after B went to bed. Good night!

After a good night's sleep (no cars zooming down the highway this time, we woke up to another beautiful day. We made pancakes for breakfast and packed up more snacks for our first hike of the day. We were told of Corona Arch, a pretty magnificent arch outside of the national park. We loaded up the boy in the carrier, and set off.

Cheer up Dad, you only have to carry me straight up that cliff

The surroundings of this hike were even more spectacular than the ones the day before. It was definitely a more difficult hike with cables to hang onto, but the vistas were stunning.

Cairnes. These stacks of rock mark the trail, but we came across all of these lumped together. Pretty cool.

Corona Arch kind of took us by surprise. It was right in front of out nose as we were hiking without us noticing, then all of the sudden, BAM! It was a beauty. It was kind of tricky getting there, but it was worth it. We finally got to the arch, rested under it and snacked on our dried mangoes and grapes. B had fallen asleep once again. What a little snooze berry:)

Corona Arch off to the right

Family Pic

She's a beauty!

We came back to the camper, ate some chips and salsa, then Andy took a nap while I read my book for awhile. We decided to go back into Arches and hike the Windows. Thankfully, this was an easier hike. And once again, B slept through most of it!

someone snuck to the driver's seat

the Windows

oh hey.

up close to one of the windows

hehehehe

AFter walking around the windows, we walked across over to Double Arch. This part of the park is also known as the Parade of Elephants. Can you find the elephants?

Double Arch

Andy told me to pose like an arch. I think I look more like a little teapot. Hmm.

After our little hike, we drove to some of the different lookout points. This park is so awesome! It truly is amazing how these formations have been shaped over time.

Balanced Rock. How is this possible?!?!

The day before, I saw all of this yellow against the red rock and had to come back and take some pics

Park Avenue

Another great day at the park. We loved every minute of it. We made our way back to Moab, parked the RV and made a quick pasta dinner. We decided to head back home that night, so we packed up everything and made our way back.

playing in the dirt!

Sunset reflection on the rocks in the background

Another great trip!