day 7 and 8: moab, arches national park.

Hi there from our last day in Moab!

We’ve had a wonderful stay here, but the heat has drained me so that posting on the blog has been hard. Today is a good catch-up day.

Our drive from Colorado to Utah on Sunday, along the Rocky Mountains, was spectacular.

The autumn-gold patches of aspen and glittering Grand Lake gave way over the course of the afternoon to looming gray mountain and dry brushy landscape. We drove miles and miles and miles of lonely American road without seeing billboards or gas stations or a rest area.

And then we crossed the border into Utah, and soon the red rocks began to rise all around us.

Noah has been waiting a long time to see red rocks, and they do not disappoint.

We arrived in the town of Moab at 6pm, and stopped for dinner at a Mexican restaurant and a cart full of groceries before making our way to the condo we found through Airbnb. Our place is just 5 minutes’ drive from downtown Moab and 20 minutes from Arches National Park, with breath-taking views of the rocky cliffs with the La Sal Mountains rising up behind.

The condo is spacious and clean and pretty, but David, Judah, and I confessed to one another that we found Moab a rude awakening to the senses after Estes Park.

 

 

 

The desert is such a very different place. It’s all crumbly red rock and blazing sun and low shrubby vegetation. We missed the Colorado Rockies and fall colors and plenteous patches of shade.

But strange though it is to our East coast eyes, there’s no denying the harsh, dry beauty of this place.

 

Landscape Arch, Navajo Arch, Arches National Park

We’d been instructed by websites to get into Arches early in the morning both because of the crowds and the heat.

We wore so worn out from our drive the day before that we slept in a bit and arrived at 9:00. We had to wait in line to enter the park for 20 minutes or so, but it wasn’t bad. However, we soon learned that even at that time of day the burning sun is relentless. Word to the wise: go early!

We’ve all worked hard at staying hydrated during this trip, but there’s just no way to fully prepare yourself for the blazing dry heat and regular altitude changes.

However, actually experiencing the glory that is Arches National Park makes it all worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are truly no words to describe this vast red place that God made. Why did He do it?

He’s truly the God of wonders beyond our galaxy, and Arches National Park feels like an extravagant display of His creativity and might.

We found delight around every corner, our heels sinking into red sand as we wound our way up into the rocks.

 

 

 

 

At one point the trail becomes a series of rocky ledges, and this is where things got dicey for me. I do not do well with heights, and we all had to scale a steep narrow ledge. Noah began wailing when he saw it and I wanted to do the same.

If there’s anything worse than climbing a rocky ledge when you’re terrified of heights, it’s doing so with your four young children.

There were plenty of other hikers around, and a lady encouraged me that the path leveled out at the top of that rise and that the views were worth it. David grabbed Noah up in his arms for the climb, and we all made it!

 

 

 

We found a patch of shade at the top to regroup, and as I sat down I found I was shaking all over. But I did that hard thing!

After a rest and a snack, the trail led us to a magical rocky place where the kids could climb and play and look for caves to their hearts’ content.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn’t make it all the way up to Double O Arch, but did see Navajo Arch, which we were able to walk around inside. It was stunning.

 

 

 

 

 

As a Florida/South Carolina girl who’s no stranger to heat, it was hard to understand why the sun wipes me out so much here, until I read that its rays are literally stronger, and up to 25 percent stronger up in the park. The words burning and blinding come to mind.

It feels as though there’s no way to escape it. The moment you find a bit of shade you feel better, since the air here is dry with no humidity. But shade is hard to come by.

Tourists are advised to drink a gallon of water per person per day. I’m not sure we’ve accomplished that, but we’re working on it.

We all made it back to the van in one piece after that hot morning hike, and drove into town in search of lunch. In case you’re wondering, we routinely bribe the kids to do hikes with treats of their choice. Actually, we bribe ourselves too.

They all four chose ice cream for lunch, and we said “Sure thing!”

 

 

Ah Moab, the town with kombucha on tap in the grocery stores and organic hot tea in gas stations, where using plastic shopping bags is openly frowned open, and water misters cool the tourists lined up at food trucks.

Where there are more hiking and cycling outfitters than Family Dollar stores. And where you don’t order “ice cream;” you order “house-made gelato,” or “cryocream” (nitrogen-whipped ice cream).

You’re way cooler than us. And we think you’re pretty great.

 

 

 

Rotary Park

Judah caught a bit of heat stroke after our first hike in Arches, and I may have too. He felt sick all over and had sharp cramps in his side. And I was just dizzy and nauseous for a few hours.

So we declared Tuesday a “down day.”

After a slow morning, we found nearby Rotary Park, which changed my impression of Moab. It’s a lovely lush, green, shady oasis in this desert town. There’s a great playground, picnic tables, and a “music playground.” It’s strange how quickly, upon arriving in the desert, that I reverted to my India ways of longing for green. Just knowing it exists, a few miles away, is a comfort.

We spent a happy hour there, then stocked up on Gatorade on the way home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

River Rafting

In the afternoon, David took Amie and Gabe rafting on the Colorado River.

Judah, Noah, and I dropped them off, then drove back to relax at the condo. The boys were happy to lay around and watch Netflix while I napped and read my book. There’s a TV in nearly every room here, so they even got the luxury of choosing their own show. After reading the series, Judah’s enjoying making his way through A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Noah chose his current favorite movie: the new Peter Rabbit.

 

 

Prior to our trip, I made sure the kids memorized that the Colorado River is the one that runs through the Grand Canyon; but what I didn’t realize is that we’d be seeing so much of it this soon on our journey.

We first crossed the river in Colorado on the drive to Utah, and followed it all the way to Moab. We won’t be doing any rafting at the Grand Canyon, but they kids were excited that they were able to be on the same river.

 

 

 

This region is in a drought, so David said there were virtually no rapids, but it was cool and pleasant on the water (the river was ice-cold), and the guide was fascinating.

On Tuesday evening we grilled chicken at the condo and all curled up on the big sectional sofa for popcorn and a family movie night. We watched NextGen on Netflix and recommend it!