Little Wild Horse Canyon

This picture is a bit deceiving; I had to have Steve lift me up on this rock.  There was simply no way I could get my leg high enough to hoist myself up!  And...on the way back, he had to lift me down.  I felt kind of ridiculous, but we managed!  

We couldn't not go to Little Wild Horse Canyon again.  It was at the top of everybody's favorites from our last vacation to Utah four years ago.  This was our first slot canyon (okay, my only one), and it is really just so much fun & do-able, even with young kids!

It was admittedly a bit challenging for me at times, but it never got too narrow for me to squeeze through, and the rock in the photo above is the only one I simply couldn't get up or down by my pregnant self.  There was less water in the canyon this time, so we were able to go further before choosing to head back.  Many choose to go up Bell & down Little Wild Horse for a loop instead of an in & out, but that's a longer hike than we wanted to tackle with the littles.

You can choose to hike back down Bell Canyon but we didn't.

It get progressively more narrow as you go

She was a baby on my back the last time we were here

Getting narrower

Pictures don't do this justice how cool it is to be there.

Linda was worried that she would fit in her pregnant condition

Nooks and Crannies

The girls like to go ahead and hide and try to scare us

Trying not to bump Jake's head

Starting to open up again

The sun doesn't make it down the canyon but for a few minutes a day

Otherworldly

Made it to the other side to play in the sand of course

Heading back the way we came

Of course, the pictures don't do it justice, but this is really a delightful hike!  If you go to Goblin Valley State Park, you must check out Little Wild Horse Canyon.  Your kids will have a blast, & you will, too!

Goblin Valley State Park

Valley of the Goblins

The last time we visited Goblin Valley, we were unable to camp here because it was full.  This time, we had a campsite!  An awesome campsite, I might add!  Seriously, there are no hookups, but the sites are spacious & easy to get into, even with a big rig.  They also have shaded picnic tables, which is a big deal because the sun during the day is intense!  We stayed here for three nights, visiting the Valley of the Goblins each night after dinner when the temps were pleasant.  The kids had oh-so-much fun exploring the goblins, playing hide'n seek (not really a great game for the person whose job is to seek), and just burning off excess energy.  It's like the best playground ever!  And we got some great photos of the kids in the same exact spot we took them four years ago.  Man, they've been growing like weeds!!

Shanan May 2013 age 12

Shanan May 2009 age 8

Alyssa May 2013 age 10

Alyssa May 2009 age 6

Linda May 2013 - Baby on the inside

Linda 2009 - Baby on the outside

We will have to come back in four years to this spot to see the change in these two.

Jake doesn't grasp the value of posing for photos.

We never could find Shanan when we played hide and seek

The second night we got to explore the farther reaches of Goblin Valley

The valley was very pleasant in the evening when the sun was low.

Arches National Park

Being back in Moab at Arches National Park again was also familiar.  It really was fun to come back to the same vacation spot we had been to exactly four years ago as a family of 5 when we were just tent campers. I would not have done the same trip again in my pregnant state in a tent!  My personal favorite at Arches has to be hiking in the evening.  The crowds are so much less (the tour buses have left), the temps are more moderate, and the way the lighting is on the rocks is spectacular--more so than during the day!     

The three gossips

Sand Dune Arch

We checked out Sand Dune Arches this time, and we were all so glad we did!  It is a super duper short hike to a delightful little oasis of shade from the sun & lovely soft sand!  The kids had an absolute blast, and Steve & I just enjoyed basking in their delight.  We stayed & played long enough that the crowds for Landscape Arch were ridiculous, and much to Steve's chagrin, I convinced him we should save it for the evening, along with the Windows.  Soooo...we did, and it all worked out.  Landscape Arch was pleasant in the evening, and the Windows were spectacular as the sun set.  We even saw some church youth group filming a song & dance routine at the Windows.  Steve said it was just like the videos they played at kids church at Valley Creek when he used to volunteer.  Upon leaving the Windows, we stopped by Balanced Rock, and although it was too dark to take great photos, the kids had a blast being silly!  It was a great ending to our time at Arches!

The kids had loads of fun playing in the soft sand

Jake crawled around like a snake

Landscape arch, the longest in the world

Amazing how thin it gets in the middle

We went to the 'Windows' in the red glow of sunset

Beautiful ending to the day

Arches in Arches

Balanced Rock in the last light of the day

Canyonlands - Island in the Sky

We drove to Island in the Sky after visiting Dead Horse Point State Park, so again, we mostly enjoyed the view.  We had visited here four years ago, so we knew we wanted to check out Mesa Arch again, where Steve had walked across.  This time, he didn't walk from one side to the other because the right side is a bit dicey.  However, he did take Alyssa up there with him, and they walked most of the way across, then turned around & came back.  Shanan handled the picture taking, & I handled keeping Jake from taking off after the adventurers and from getting too close to the sheer drop off!  He is quite the little go-getter!  Genna, on the other hand, required basically no supervision.  So interesting how we have such a mix of personalities---so far we have two that are always up for adventure & totally not bothered by heights, and we have two that quite cautious.  Can't wait to see what little personality is forming inside!

The stunning view from Mesa Arch

Looking at the right base of the arch

This time, Steve didn't walk the whole way across it, but convinced Alyssa to go up with him for a photo op.

Linda kept a close eye on Jake.  There is a sheer dropoff just a few feet behind his 'play area'.

Three cute kids!

The view from the observation point at the end of the island

The monster footprint

The view is quite impressive here.  You can see the rim road below, which Steve has filed away to explore on another visit!

Dead Horse Point State Park

Although we've been to this part of Utah before, we had never been to Dead Horse Point State Park, so named because they left horses here to die. Honestly, we didn't do much here.  We basically just enjoyed the nice views, which were similar to what we saw when we visited Island in the Sky, and we had a nice, relaxing picnic lunch while the kids played restaurant with leaves, twigs, & the like. The weather was perfect--warm in the sun, cool in the shade.  

We enjoyed the views.  Hiking was out of the question, with little people and steep cliffs.

Back in the RV if only for a week! - Delicate Arch

I'm back in blogger purgatory again. ;)  Okay, it's not really that bad, and I know that blogging our adventures is a gift to ourselves.  The kids have always loved looking back over our old photo albums & travel journals, so of course they all love browsing the blog & reliving great family memories. I just can't expect that Steve will understand that I hadn't even thought about placing blogging on my nesting list to complete before the baby comes! ;)

We were all looking forward to a little break from routine & the chance to take the RV out again for the first time since we moved here to SLC.  Per usual, and I'm happy to say that I've really come to expect it, we had a few "issues" to resolve.  This time, when Steve dewinterized the rig, he couldn't get the water pump to funciton, & we had a propane leak that rendered the propane unusable for the first two days.  That was actually a big deal because we knew when we left Moab, we would be camping without hookups--water or electric.  But, I married a determined guy, and I'm happy to say that he's not afraid to ask for help from the more experienced full-timers in the campground....sooooo, he finally discovered that the handle for the winterizing on/off was broken, so even though he had turned it off, it had not actually turned off, and that was why the water pump wasn't functioning.  The propane issue turned out to be rather complicated, but after stopping at the local auto parts store daily, sometimes twice daily for the duration of our stay in Moab, we at least had one tank working safely, so that I had the ability to cook again!  Always an adventure!!!

The hike up to see Delicate Arch is 1.5 miles each way in the hot sun, with no shade.

Hiking Buddies & Best Friends!   They scaled this huge, steep rockface together.

Everyone really seemed to settle right back into the RV, and I was reminded of those early days when we first moved into the RV nearly two years ago when everything was foreign to me.  It was so nice being back in it without all the angst of trying to figure stuff out!  Understanding how an RV works & being familiar with it & its little idiosyncrasies makes a huge difference!  

These two bicker by day but are the best of friends by night. ;)  

We planned our stay in Moab at OK RV Park (that is the name, not a commentary) because we needed a place to stay with full-hookups for dewinterizing.  The management there was super nice & helpful, & bathrooms were clean with plenty of hot water.  Between working on the aforementioned issues, we explored Arches National Park, Canyonlands, & Dead Horse Point State Park.  Even though we hiked Delicate Arch four years ago, Steve insisted we go again, so go we did!  Like the last time, we hiked in the heat of the day, which wasn't too bad this time.  However, if we ever hike it again, I want to see it in the evening!  Last time, Genna was 11 months old & of course, we carried her the whole way.  This time, she walked the whole way, with few grumbles on the way up, and oh-so-many on the way back down.  Jake astounded us all, however, by hiking like a champ the entire 1.5 miles up in the hot sun, without a single grumble!!!  He totally rocked it!  Steve did carry him back down because it was clear he was tired, 'tho he certainly didn't admit it!!

Genna loves to pose

Dad carried Jake back down after his amazing hike up

There is a window that you can climb up to get a different angle of the world's most famous arch.  Apparently, getting there resulted in the demise of another pair of Steve's shorts. I never knew he was so good at splitting his pants! ;)

The beautiful desert landscape as seen from the Delicate Arch trail.