Day 18

Once again, our night was filled with steady rain and wind.  I have become quite accustomed to packing up or setting up in the rain so I wasn't too concerned.  When there was a break in the rain I stepped out to find it appeared to be the last of the morning.  I set to work packing up as the kids slept and making breakfast.  The kids slept until 8am!  I'm not sure they're going to be quite ready for school to start with getting up at 6am.  After breakfast the races began.

We said goodbye to Rifle Gap State Park and headed nearby to hike out to Rifle Falls.  I didn't expect much with the drought in the area, but once we parked we could hear the water so the kids got pretty excited.  I'm not sure if two days of rain had helped them, but the falls were pretty impressive.  We walked up to and behind them.  Laney giggled nonstop as she was sprayed by the cold water.  Brayden and Ryan enjoyed playing "Pooh Sticks" on the bridge.

Rolling out of the park I plugged in our destination and we were off.  Google Maps calculated it would take us close to 3.5 hours to get to our next stop so about an hour in, we stopped at a McDonald's with wifi for me to update Day 17 and let the kids have a snack.  We were happy to see the Olympics on the tv there, so we stayed a bit and watched archery and a little bit of soccer.

I was a little disappointed when we were instructed to hop on the interstate as I would rather be taking the scenic route, but I was not disappointed at all with I-70 through the mountains.  We snaked along the COlorado River for about 50 miles going around, under and through mountains.  Next, we exited at State Bridge, CO for a very scenic drive on US-1.  I've never been disappointed with a drive on a highway named "1".  The sheer number of motorcycles cruising by told me this would be a great drive.  And it was.  Even with an hour of it being one dirt roads.  See that tiny road down there?  That's where we were on the interstate.

We drove over a dam that wasn't much wider than my car.  We drove around a beautiful lake.  And then we arrived at our destination.  It definitely was not our destination.  We hadn't even entered the national park yet.  Sigh.  So I entered in the destination with more details this time.  Who would think there would be such a difference between "Moraine Campground, CO" and Moraine Park Campground, CO".  Well, it turns out there is a difference.  90 minutes difference.  These are the moments when I am so thankful my kids are so very laid back.  I put in some Rocky and Bullwinkle in honor of Grandpa Steve and we hopped back on the dirt road, over the dam, and back on track.  I couldn't believe this sight as we were climbing into the park at what seemed like thousands of feet per minute!  This unicycle guy was cruising along up along with us.  I think he might be my new hero.  Relax, Dave.  I'm not going to try it.

We were shortly entering the park and treated to some spectacular views along Trail Ridge Road.  I don't have much of a fear of heights, especially when I'm driving, but this road was so narrow and scary I couldn't look out but twice.  And that was only for a millisecond.  For most of the drive along the ridge we were in the outside lane so my job was keeping us there.  We did get to stop at a few viewpoints.  This is at just under 11,800 feet.

About 20 minutes before arriving to our campground it began raining.  Of course it would.  So once we checked in we set off to find our spot.  I was a little disappointed to see we were in a "walk-in" spot.  This one was more like a walk up spot as we were nestled on the top of a large hill.  Great.  That meant carrying the heavy tent up and supplies up from the car and setting up.  In the rain.  And since this was bear country, each time we cooked I'd need to bring up all the food and equipment, go back down to wash and dry everything, then lug everything back into the car.  Sigh.  So we had pb&j the first night!

After dinner we headed to the ampitheater for the campfire program on pine beetles.  We had a short experience with them in a tree in our yard back home, so I was interested to see how the park was doing with them in their hundreds of thousands of pine trees.  This program was the best yet we've seen!  It was funny, energetic, and just happened to have some beetles we know in the show!

Exhausted from our long day, we headed up for a chapter of Charlotte's Web before dozing off and crossing our fingers for no rain.

Day 18 - Breathtaking Rocky Mountain Country

Day 17

Today began with a sad goodbye for me with Grammie.  She will be missed, but will hopefully have very safe, uneventful, quick travels home after her last disaster to reach us.  It is nice to be caught up from our secluded stay in the Grand Canyon and actually posting on the day before's or current day's adventures!

The kids spent a long morning catching up on their sleep as they weren't awoken by the sunrise peeking through the tent and the morning songs of birds.  We decided to maximize our stay at the hotel by taking a late check out and watching some of the Olympics.  And after another stock-up trip to Walmart for fruit and new tent stakes (we've bent all ours with the rocks we've been camping on) we were on our way again.

With leaving the hotel late and a quick, easy drive we made it to our next spot still with 4 hours of sunlight so we decided to explore the lake we were camping next to.  There was a giant rain cloud looming so I chickened out of taking the camera down with us.  The kids threw rocks for at least an hour to see who could make the biggest splash.

After some pizza leftovers for dinner (thanks again Grammie!) we decided to do some catch up work on the travel journals.  Grammie and I had our schedules packed since she'd arrived so we hadn't really had a chance to work on them much.

While I got things ready for our drive the next day, the kids raced around the campsite and climbed all the boulders they could see.  We explored a bit more on our family walk and retired early to the tent.  The kids are excited to get back to reading Charlotte's Web as we took a short break while Grammie was visiting.  We only have 5 chapters left!  We're also on our last audio cd of Harry Potter - up next, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

We're headed back up into the mountains for a few days so I might not be able to update, but I will still be writing and will post the updates as we come back down.  Thanks for reading about our adventures!

Day 17: Moving on down the road...

Day 16

I am shocked to write the title to this post as it really doesn't seem possible to already be halfway through the  trip.  Until I look back to the beginning, that is.  Those first days being drenched by the buckets of rain seem like 3 months ago.  I suppose that happens when the days after filled to the max with exploration and fun.  My day began with this beautiful view from outside our tent:

I've always said that nothing can compare to the sunsets and sunrises on the beach at home.  I think the views here come in a very close second.

Today we were up very early to get to Arches before the heat set in again.  We were anxious to see some of the larger arches that might not be around before we can make it back.  First up was "Landscape Arch" which spans 306 feet long.

I knew this view wouldn't do the formation justice, so my trusty hiker sidekick Laney and I went on further down the trail to capture a better view.  She hung out in the shade throughout the trail hugging the cool rocks and playing in the sand.

This was about at close as I could get.  I'm still at least 200 yard away taking this picture.  What an amazing, beautiful place.

Excitement to see the arches and windows was quickly waning, so we fit in one more very short family hike to "Skyline Arch" then just went to the viewpoint for the popular "Delicate Arch".

Next stop was the gift store for t-shirts from Grammie and the official swearing in of the newest Arches National Park junior rangers.  I've really enjoyed doing these little programs with the kids as they are learning so much about each of the parks, conservation, and wildlife.

And we're on the road again!

The weather here is quite a bit cooler than where we were staying in Utah, but still quite warm.  We were all excited to be headed to our last hotel for a night with an indoor pool!  After the kids swam for quite awhile, we decided on dinner at a local pizza place a 1/2 block away then headed to the Colorado National Monument for some more breathtaking views.

"Falling Rock" view point - see that big chunk?

"Coke Ovens" - these rocks were enormous!

We all know the kids love animals, but I had been really hoping to catch a glimpse of the local big horned sheep since we made into into Utah and now Colorado.  We found out they sleep during the heat of the day, then come out to graze when it's cooler.  We were treated to a sighting just around a bend of the scenic drive.

"Independence Rock" - inspiring!

Another "Balanced Rock" formation.

After returning to the hotel, we watched some of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies.  Grammie raised me as a pretty big fan of the games and we do our own version of the games at home each time, so I'm pretty bummed to be missing them this year.  I'll probably try to check for the daily recap and medal counts, but it's just not the same.

We're all also very bummed that Grammie will be leaving us in the morning.  It has been an amazing trip so far, made triple-amazing by her sharing part of it with us.  I have enjoyed the small breaks to relax and reorganize and I have no doubt the kids have enjoyed absolutely everything about her being here with us.  

Day 16:  Hellos and Goodbyes.

Day 15

We began this day with high hopes of staying out of the highest heat of the day.  After a quick breakfast, we headed straight to Arches National Park to see some of the coolest rock formations.  We had only planned to spend a few hours in the morning today.  The first formation we came to was "Balanced Rock".  It was decided after much conversation with Brayden that a crane had placed the rock up there.

Then we headed to the trail head for "The Windows".  After we found one of the last parking places, I was thrilled to see Dayna and her kids hop out of their car.  We'd hope to meet up since they're out in Utah now, but the chances were going to be very slim with all the people visiting the park.  After chatting for a little bit we learned the best way to do this trail as they had just finished.  Time to hit the trail!

This is the turret window we would've missed if we hadn't happened to turn around.  Notice the people standing the the bottom.  This one was huge!

We hiked around the the face of the windows to be able to walk through from the back side.  Another rare family photo in front of the "South Window"!

And here is a view of the "North Window".  Can you spot Grammie and the kids waving?!

Next stop was a ride on the Colorado River.  This was another first for the kids I wasn't quite sure they would be okay with.  The trip looked like it would be a fun, relaxing trip down the river and the kids were excited at the prospect of riding in a boat!  They really enjoyed having big life jacket bellies too.  There were several break ups of some sumo-style wrestling before we left.

We boarded a bus to the drop off location while learning a bunch about the history of Moab, UT.  While the staff was rigging the boats we all put our toes in the river to keep cool.  Then we were floating!

Our guide who had only been in the area for about 6 months was very knowledgeable about the history of the river and the town so mom and I really enjoyed learning about it all while taking in the impressive views.  There were several breaks where the kids got to hop off the boat and float or swim along with the current.  I'm not sure I've ever heard as much giggling and kids having a blast as these moments with them on the river.  The water was very chilly, but it felt amazing once we got in.  

We were so thankful to be on the water today as when we got back into the car I saw the temperature had jumped to 111 degrees!  I'm really not sure how people survive up here with that kind of heat. We went back into town that night and enjoyed a delicious dinner at the local brewery.  After finishing what we could in the kids' Arches junior ranger books, we all collapsed on our pillows.

Day 15 - Moab adventure

Day 14

Today began bright and early.  I'd been trying to convince the clock to read 3:00am instead of 5:25am, but it didn't work too well.  We dragged the kids out of bed and into the car for the one thing the girls have been talking about every single day since they found out we'd be doing it - horseback riding.  They were so happy the day was finally here!  We had to enter a new state to being our next adventure isn Monument Valley.

The kids were happy to be moving on after almost a week in Arizona.  They loved the state, but I guess like their mom they also like progress and change.


I'd been curious how all the kids would do horseback riding as they had never actually ridden by themselves except at little fairs in a ring.  I was happily surprised they were very brave and had a bunch of fun! 

The tour guide picked the perfect horse for each person.  Ryan's horse was named Browney:

Laney's horse was named Charlie:

And Brayden's horse was named Ice:.

Grammie's horse was named Stefan and Mom's horse was named Romey, but who cares about us, right?  Within a few minutes we were headed off on the trail.  Look at those naturals!

We went up and down around the rocks and were able to enjoy the views along the way.  We stopped at a couple different views of the famous "Mittens" monuments and were able to get a few  rare family photos.

Then we headed back to the stable with a little more confidence and big smiles.  Notice Laney up there taking the lead!

The kids were so very sad to leave their horses.  Ryan actually didn't want to get down off her horse so we let her stay on until the other horses had been put away.  She's now decided she wants to be a "horse police officer".

Laney really didn't want to leave.  Love the boots.

After a quick rest, photo, and snack at the visitor's center we were on our way to Arches National Park.

I was thrilled to see I could snap this shot on the way out of town:

I was also very happy with our choice of campground as it was 102 when we pulled into town and we had a nice and chilly pool for the kids to swim in.  While I set up camp, Grammie took the kids to the pool and started going through the lists of things to do while we were in town.  We decided this night we would take the kids to a gunfight dinner show just down the street.

After the gunfight, they took us inside and fed us real cowboy food.  I'm not sure real cowboys eat veggie burgers, but maybe!  The cast of the whole show seemed to be having a great time and we all did too!

By the time it was over, we were all exhausted and ready for some sleep.

Day 14 - brave, new experiences!