Thursday, May 1, 2014

-MOAB-

We had such a FUN Spring Break! We decided to head down to Moab and Arches National Park. Tony hadn't been there since he was little and I had never been there.  It was a blast! We borrowed Granny Marsha's camp trailer and camped.  We got there and got all set up and went to see the "Hole n' the Rock".  They have a Petting Zoo there! Quincy was really excited and all about feeding the animals....well maybe not the Ostrich, it freaked her out a little. Halia wanted nothing to do with being close to or feeding the animals.

 They have all sorts of fancy art made out of junk and random things:)
 The next day we spent the whole day in Arches National Park.  Quincy got a camera right before we left....best thing ever! I love seeing the pictures she took! We stopped at Balanced Rock first.
 Then we hiked to Delicate Arch.  So. Much. Fun.  Quincy was really into it.  At first she was a little whiny, but the harder it got the more fun she seemed to have! She really thought she was something else, it was really cute and fun to watch her.  We saw a lizard! They both thought that was pretty cool, a teenage boy saw us looking at it and came over and caught it, so they could touch it. So sweet!
 There were tons of people everywhere, at the top.  We were all in awe, it's pretty amazing, these beautiful creations our Heavenly Father has given us!! The top right picture and bottom left picture are at the Windows.
 Halia spent quite a bit of time in the backpack, it can be pretty exhausting getting a ride everywhere! ;)
 After Delicate Arch, we were pretty hungry, so we stopped for a picnic.  It was a little cooler than we had hoped, but ended up being beautiful and perfect weather!
 Then off to see Landscape Arch, this is one is getting pretty thin and close to coming down.  We ran into some people we know and a guide had told them another huge chunk had just come down in the last little while.
 Then we ended the day at the Windows. This was really fun, there were not a lot of people around and lots of places to climb.  They both love climbing!  The picture on the left is Turret Arch.

 Halia did a lot more walking around the Windows than any other area. She was really interested in her shadow, so interested she kept running into plants and fence posts, silly girl. It was a great day and Quincy is quite the little hiker and hiked about 7 miles this day and Halia about .5 mile. 
 The last day, we went back to Arches so they could turn in their Jr. Ranger books and get their badges.  They love those badges!
 Then we went to explore some Moab trails.  We rented a Jeep, because Granny Marsha was going to come with us, and was not going to be able to hike, so we had planned on driving around in a Jeep one day so she could see some too, but she ended up very sick with pneumonia, so she had to stay home.  We missed her, hopefully she can go next time.  We went to Tusher Tunnel to start out the day.  Fun!! The girls loved it, pretty easy, short hike to get to it, and then you walk through the tunnel and there is lots of slot canyons on the other side, so the girls really liked that!
 Had a snack, before we moved on...
 Then we went to Hidden Canyon Overlook and then drove down through Hidden Canyon, while the girls napped. 
 Neither of us had ever been to Deadhorse Point State Park, so we decided to go see that. Completely Breathtaking I tell you!!  It was pretty windy, though.
 
 On the way back, we took some off road trails and went to Gemini Bridges. Pretty cool place, but nerve racking with little kids, who we discovered have absolutely NO FEAR of heights or edges!
 We were glad to get them back in the Jeep, then we headed into town and walked around.  It was a jamm packed trip, and was some much needed time spent as a family! Lots of beautiful nature in Moab!! This just might be a spring break tradition!