Red Rock Fun!

Well Chris was turning 30, and we thought it would be fun to get out and do some camping. We wanted to go last summer, but with all the construction issues, it just didn't work out. So we wanted to jump right on it this spring. It was kind of a last minute thing, but they usually are with us! We met Chris in Salt Lake after his appointments and headed down as far as Price. We stayed at a hotel there so we could get a camping spot first thing in the morning in Moab. Then kids could swim and get to bed at a decent hour and then Moab was only another 2 hours away. It rained all night in Price, but it was supposed to be good in Moab. About 15 miles from Moab it cleared up and was beautiful. As soon as we arrived we went in to Arches and the campground there was full. We thought we would go over to Pasta Jay's for Chris' B-Day lunch (we were going to go for dinner but figured the kids would be pretty messy after playing around outside all day, so we would go while they were still clean.) Almost right after we got into the restraunt a huge storm blew in. The trees were practically blowing sideways, and the rain was coming down so hard it was making a river of the streets. We panicked and called around for hotels. Camping in the mud is no fun as an adult, but with kids it would have been ridiculous. Holiday Inn only had one room open with a king bed and La Quinta had three double queen rooms so we took one there. After finishing lunch we went across the street to the vistors center and by then the rain had stopped. We decided to head over to Arches and do some hiking.

We went around balanced rock. The kids thought that was way cool, and found a tree to perch in for a picture.

Then we headed over to the double windows section and hiked up to those, and then went over to the double arch.

Chris and Cole got ahead of us as Cai and I looked at the Microbiotic soil signs and tried to spot it on the trail. Cai is so into science, we talked about erosion and how the arches and mountains were formed, and how the puddles of water help the wildlife in the desert. Cole had climbed to the top of the double arch by the time we got there and Cai had to get up there too. It was pretty steep but they had the help of Daddy.

Then we went in search of a good camping spot to start a fire. A guy at the hotel said that there were always camping spots up HWY 128 along the Colorado River so we went in search of something. It was about 5:30 by now so we were not too surprised that things had filled up. We did find a little day use beach with sand and bathrooms and everything and the sign said they allowed fires so we set up camp there. We had pretty much swaped lunch for dinner so we just had chips and sandwiches for dinner and cooked Smores. We forgot lighter fluid for our charcoal briquettes but Chris built a great log cabin fire that got the charcoal started beautifully. We had dutch oven Chocolate Cherry Cobbler for dessert and Chris' mock B-Day cake (he is not too fond of cake). The kids were in heaven. There was tons of sand, water and a fire. What more could a kid want. They scouted around a bit and played in the sand and water. Everything worked out perfectly. We got everything packed up took the kids and changed them out of their sandy clothes right into P.J.'s and went back to the hotel. The room was awesome. They had just barely remodeled so everything was brand new with a fridge microwave and a little couch. Much more comfy than a tent I must say, a little less adventurous but hey there's plenty of time for roughing it when the kids are a bit older. We slept great and woke up to a light drizzle (so relieved I wasn't cooking breakfast in that). The hotel had a great continental breakfast with waffles, muffins, donuts, cereal, eggs, and biscuits with gravy. We arranged for a hummer tour with the Moab Touring Company at 10:30 so we checked out around 10:00 and went to a park for a bit to let the kids burn off some energy.

We had planned to have just Chris and the boys go on the Hummer ride, but Cate was not about to be left behind. She was adamant that she wouldn't be afraid and wanted to go. So her and I went too. The boys took the back seat while Cate and I took the middle. Cate was just giddy the whole time. She was fearless. She kept holding her hands up yelling whee! Then she kept turning around to ask "are you boys having fun?" She totally charmed our driver, I think he was about ready to adopt her by the end. How can girls be so ridiculously impossible to their parents, and so charming to everyone else?

We started out on the "Intimidator" a fin right at the entrance to Hells Revenge trails. I guess a fin means a huge rock sticking up that you drive over. It's just about a car's width with cliffs on BOTH sides. You can see how narrow the road is in front of the jeep, but the picture doesn't remotely do it justice! Your up a good hundred feet or more along the top. So yes it is a bit intimidating. Our driver showed the kids some of the Utahraptor tracks at the top and they got to see just how many of their steps it took to a Raptors step (8:1) Then he took us up what he calls the Hummer coaster which is just over some big petrified dunes that are pretty steep. It was really fun. He would start talking about something behind us halfway up and then put it in neutral while we rolled backward really fast. The kids were screaming and laughing it was pretty funny. We went down some really steep rocks and he would get the Hummer rocking a little. Those machines are seriously amazing It is just unreal the steep rocks they can climb and go down and remain perfectly stable. The guide was saying that a Hummer is more stable because of it's width and the shape of its axles, where a jeep would have flipped doing a few things we did. He also showed us a spot that has a great optical illusion in a photo. He had the kids lay down on a rock and hold on with one hand holding their feet up, and the way it looks is like they are hanging over a cliff. The rockface slopes off into a steep canyon about 50 feet from the rock the kids are laying on, but in the picture you can't see the rock face at all only the rock they are holding onto and the canyon below. It is a little freaky to see the photos.

We would highy recommend taking that tour, it was just awesome. I tend to be a safety freak and not exactly the thrill seeker type, but this was definitely a thrill, and the driver was totally in control so I didn't freak at all. We didn't want to get home too late so we headed out after the tour, we stopped in Price to visit the Dinosaur Museum there, which was really fun. It was big but not too big and very inexpensive. They even had a little area for the kids to really dig in and participate in the exhibits. We were the only ones there for about an

hour. I wouldn't recommend making a special trip just to see it. The Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum just blows it away obviously, but it was great for a pitstop to break up the long drive home. Cate took a good nap as you can see. She inherited her mother's habit of sleeping with her eyes half open. Chris claims I do it way worse and it's pretty creepy, but I guess I'll never know.

We stopped in American Fork and met My sister Kerrie and her family for dinner, and then headed home. It was such a fun weekend with the kids they have really gotten the short end of the stick with all our travels the past two years, so we're trying to make up for it a bit now. They have been dying to go to Disneyland so we'll probably do that this August or November depending on when their uncle gets deployed to Aphganistan. So until then, I don't think I'll be posting for a bit!