The fun keeps coming

       As I stated in the last post, we headed to Canyonlands on Saturday afternoon. Joel and I had both visited there years ago, and did not honestly remember much about it. I must say it is really a beautiful park, and we were only able to see a fraction on it. We need to add more time there the next time we are in the area.  We entered on the Island In the Sky side, and headed to the Mesa Arch. It was just a short hike, and really pretty.

Check it out one of all of us again.... 

            After that short hike we headed to the overlook.  We were able to see unto the huge canyon. It was really amazing.

           We were not able to get much hiking in Canyonlands, but I am glad we made the effort. We headed back into town for a good Mexican dinner, and a stop at the store for s'more fixing. It was a great day, with lots of beautiful places.
           Early the next morning, we choose a 2 mile hike into Hunter's Canyon. It was a really great, but really dusty trail running along a creek. We were lucky in that each bigger hike were so unique and interesting - the slick rock, to arches, and now in a canyon.  Cooper was feeling good, so he and I went a little farther, and Joel and Lauren headed back. Sadly somewhere in the canyon we lost Cooper cherished slingshot.... and being it was a slickrock creek bed, we had gone out a different way then we came back. So it was sadly lost... good news for $7.99 we could get a new one at the nearest souvenir shop.

                                                 Kids heading into the Canyon

 Dad and Lauren found a cool spot to rest

      We had a great time in Moab, but now it was time to head back towards home. We headed to Glenwood Springs to stay the night.  It is about 3 hours from Moab, so by the time we made it to Glenwood, showered for the first time in three days, we were only up for dinner and bed.
     The next morning we were torn, because Cooper was not feeling very well, but Joel and I had wanted to hike to Hanging Lake for a long time.  It is one of the most popular trails in the state, and we knew that being there on a spring Monday morning would not happen again any time soon.  So we asked Coop if he was up for it, and he said he could do it. So we started up. When they said strenuous hike, they were not lying. It is only 1 1/2 miles to the lake, but it is pretty much constant climbing.  Lauren turned into a little mountain goat, and pretty much ran up the mountain. So Joel stuck with her while Cooper and I kept a pace he could sustain.  It was a tough hike, but worth it.

Almost the whole hike was besides this stream that Hanging Lakes feeds

 Lauren (AKA Mountain goat), and Joel enjoying the amazing Hanging Lake

 We made it - I think Cooper is a little over dressed and Lauren Underdressed for this pic- it was about 60 degrees

This waterfall is above Hanging Lake,  you could walk right under the water fall 

  It is hard to tell from the photo, but the waterfall was coming out of a solid wall, so like a spicket

We can not be in Glenwood Springs without going to the Adventure park. So Cooper said he could rally, and he did great. We road the Alpine coaster, played lazer tag, and watched some 4-D movies, until it was time to head home. 

         The trip was great, and I will remember scrabbling across the rocks in Moab for the rest of my life. Get busy living!

I have been trying to get here for a while.......

     I have been trying to plan a family camping trip to Moab for about a year now, and it seems, bad weather or bad timing aways kept coming up. I was not to be detered this year, and EARLY Friday morning we headed out.  We knew that it was a popular place and finding a campsite would be difficult, and we were not wrong. I think our bad luck worked out great though, as after driving around to all the BLM campgrounds for over an hour, we came up empty. We had friends tell us about dispersed camping outside of town and we headed that way.  We ending up with a great site. Out by itself were the kids could roam, and be well kids (translation loud).  We were about 10 mins out of Moab, so not super convenient, but definitely workable.

                                                                     Nice Views.......

 
      After setting up the camp, with only a few minor technical issues. We headed out to the trails.  We decided to try a 3 mile hike to a Arch called Corona Arch.  It was a really great trail and the kids had a great time. It was mostly slick rock, so very different from hiking at home. Lots of cairns to follow.

Cool ladder going up a tricky spot

 Kids thought the stacked rock Cairns are cool

 The Corona Arch

 Lauren gets a hug in

 Family photo in the shade of the Arch

Lauren and Dad taking a break under the shade of the Arch

  It was a great hike. After grabbing dinner in Moab, we headed back to the campsite for night. We built a fire and had a nice evening.  Cooper and Lauren loved the fire :).

We Love fire

          The next morning we headed over to Arches National Park.  It was a free weekend, so the crowds were big, but manageable.  First thing was Balance rock. Then on to Delicate Arch. It was about a three mile hike that we made a little more challenging, by following a group up the wrong way.  After some scrambling, we made it to the correct side and were able to check out the Arch. 

                                          We are doing well on fam photos this trip :)

                                                        The Panorama View

       We wanted to check out some of the other sites that Arches has to offer.......

                                                     North and South Window

  Kids Scrambling up in the Double Arch

Nice pic of Double Arch

        We had a great morning in Arches. After we had a burgers in Moab, we went over to Canyonlands for a quick visit.   For now, I gotta run, so I will talk about that soon!