Day 2: Arches NP and a bit o' Canyonlands again

I think I finally have our Arches pictures narrowed down.  Even though I keep going back and adding to my list.  : )

Arches was my favorite part of our Moab trip.  Don't get me wrong, the whole area is wonderful, but there was just something extra special there.

So away we go!

Brennan...gotta love him...I think he would have been happy just to stay at the visitors center and play with the critter statues all day.  He also go to pick out a new book in the gift shop, so he was a happy camper.



There were no mediocre sections to see at Arches.  Every way you looked there was something awesome.
This was the view entering the park, looking back towards Moab.


Welcome to Arches!


Courthouse Towers


Petrified Sand Dunes


Balanced Rock


Devil's Garden


Tunnel Arch


Pine Tree Arch


Checking out the architecture. : )


More of the walk on the Devil's Garden Trail.


Landscape Arch


One of Brennan's favorite parts: Eating sandwiches in the back of the Jeep.

When we went to California last summer with Nana and Papaw, we brought food along for lunches, too.  Brennan got to sit on the back of Papaw's truck then, so sitting in the back of the Jeep on this vacation was a must.  The kid doesn't forget anything!

The Fiery Furnace


The Delicate Arch

The hike to this arch was like 3 miles.  After Jason carried Brennan on his shoulders for the past couple hours, there was no way we were walking up there.  We took one of the 4x4 trails that run below the arch and I got this shot.  This is the arch that you see on Utah license plates, and on postcards and stuff.

La Sal Mountains


Walking up to the North Window Arch.


Looks more like an eye than a window.



Trying not to get blown away!


The South Window


Both of the Windows


The Turret Arch

Or as Brennan called it: The Big Castle.

Walking to the Double Arch


I think this one was my favorite.



View from the Double Arch trail.


So at this point, we left Arches, and went back to Canyonlands.  The sunsets there are supposed to be really amazing to see.

On the way Brennan decided to take a little snooze.

OK, well I don't think he actually decided to, but rather he was just plain worn out and crashed.

We were all really tired, and it took forever to get there.

I got this picture on the way in.


The we went to the Green River Overlook to take pictures there...

...insert really cool sunset picture here...
Ohhh Ahhh!

Yeah, the taking of the really cool sunset picture went like this:

When we got to the parking lot, the dash thermometer thing said it was 40 degrees.  So we put on our coats, and then we opened the doors, and promptly began freezing our patooties off!  Brrr!!!!  It was more like 40 below!  The wind was coming across the parking lot like a hurricane was coming! 

So did we pack it in?  No of course not,  we woke up a warm and sleeping Brennan, put his coat on, plus wrapped him in a blanket, and took off for the overlook.  Now Brennan, being none to happy that we woke him up, and even more unhappy that we dragged (drug?) him into a blizzard, was wailing by the time we got there.  I did take a couple pictures, (that I'm sure are all out of focus because I was shivering too much to hold the camera still), but the sun had not set yet, so they weren't much different than what I took the day before.  We could have waited for hypothermia to set in, but there were a few other people there who were braving the frigid cold and waiting patiently for a spectacular sunset.  We felt kind of rude, since we were the only ones there with a screaming banshee, so we ended up leaving.

I did end up getting this picture on the way out.

and I didn't have to get frostbite in the process.
Bonus. : )

So, it's Tuesday...

...and last week I told you I would have some Arches pictures up by Monday.  Silly me.

The weather was great this past Saturday, so instead of editing pictures this weekend like I originally planned, we went to Lowe's and bought some plants...we went for lots of walks...we sat on the bench out front and soaked up some sun...and we played at the playground.

Of course Sunday and Monday brought us back to reality with snow and cold, and the plants we bought at Lowe's have been travelling back and forth from outside to inside so they don't freeze to death, but it was nice while it lasted.

At my next opportunity to edit pictures and blog; Monday while Brennan was at school, I went grocery shopping.  A chore that I am really beginning to hate, but it was getting to be pretty slim pickin's around here.  I swear I heard the cashier say "cha ching," when I left...it was that bad.  But we're good for awhile again now. 

During nap time, I HAD to finish a spray painting project, and reupholster a chair seat.  Since Brennan only sleeps for about an hour nowadays, if he sleeps at all, and I don't want him around the paint fumes...priorities people.  And just so you know, my desk chair is now cute again. 

Speaking of cute artsy craftsy projects, and because I can't possibly publish a post without a picture, here's a preview of the colors I am bringing into our kitchen. 

This is about the fourth time that tray has gotten a makeover.  Fourth time must be a charm, because I love it now.

OK, I guess I will share one picture of Arches today.  I know you all come around here to see the little man.

This picture was taken on the Devil's Garden trail, on the way to see the Landscape Arch.

After our first day of hiking, Brennan wasn't so excited, or willing, to just see a big rock at the end of all these trails we were dragging him on.  Daddy to the rescue!

Don't feel sorry for the Daddy, though.  Brennan's need to be piggy-backed all day worked out great!  Jason was bummed that the place I booked us to stay didn't have a gym so he could workout.  (My thoughts on that...we were on vacation, a vacation where we would be hiking all day...why would it even cross my mind to look for a hotel with a gym? Duh.)  So lugging around a 39.4 lb. wiggly, squirmy little boy turned out to be a perfect workout. 

(Better him than me!) Ha. : )  

Day 1: The Drive, and Canyonlands

Ready to see some more pictures?

I have been editing pictures like a madwoman all morning!  I thought I could narrow them all down to a reasonable amount for a blog post, but that number ended up being 81, and that's only Day 1.  That's a crazy amount of pictures, even for me...so I'm going to do my best to pick the best ones to post on here.  The rest of them will probably be on facebook or flickr, so if you want, you can check out the whole shebang on one of those places.  (If you're not on facebook, and need a guest pass to my flickr album, let me know and I will email it to you.)

Alrightly then, on to Day 1!

We started out the day like this:

Surprise, surprise, it snowed overnight.

Next we headed to the puppy-sitter to drop off Copper, (how that went is a whole other post), and then we were on the road.  Yay!


This picture was taken right around North Salt Lake City, when a car spun out and did a 360.  Thankfully, it was behind us, and the car didn't hit anything.  The roads didn't look slick, but apparently they were.


The road's not looking much better here.



Canyons in Carbon County.  I wish I would have gotten pictures of the entrances of the train tunnels.  The architecture was amazing.  You could tell they were built back in the day when things were made to be beautiful, and not just functional.


That's what I'm talking about!  Buh-bye snow!  It got really flat, really quick after Carbon County.  In this area there was a dinosaur dig site off the side of the road.  Very cool!


Our first sighting of red rocks!


Where Adventure Begins.  Yep, that was our plan. : )


So all along we were expecting red rock, but some of the first colors we saw right outside of Moab, was this turquoise-y color.


Almost there!

At this point we went ahead and drove into Moab, filled up with gas, checked where our hotel was, and then headed to Canyonlands.


Up through the mountain with roads that were constant switchbacks.  Not as bad as last summer on some of the road we drove on in California, but it definitely took awhile to get there.


We made it!

The first thing we checked out was the Upheaval Dome.

They don't know if it was made from a salt mound collapse or a meteor striking the Earth, but it was awesome to see.


We had to go on a little hike to get there.


Mostly uphill, of course.


I loved all these old twisty trees.


More climbing.  Ha.  We didn't actually have to climb that part, but that was how steep it was.


I can't imagine climbing on this rock when it's wet, it was slippery when it was dry.


First glimpse of the huge crater.


Checking out the view. (Or checking out what the mommy was doing depending on the man.) : )



I hope you can get a feel for how big this thing was.  I couldn't get it all in one shot.


After we left Upheaval Dome, we went to check out Whale Rock.  You see that little dot on top of his "nose?"


There was a man up there!


One of many buttes in Canyonlands.  I'm sure it had a name, Aztec Butte maybe, but I'm not for sure.


Next up we have the Green River Overlook.


Spectacular!


Distant cliffs.


It's amazing what a little water, wind and time can do.

Don't look Mom!

Over the edge.


Brennan and Mommy.


Brennan and Daddy.  One of our catch phrases on the trip was, "King of the Rock!"  Every time Brennan got to the top of something, (even the little boulders in the parking lot, lol.) he would say that.


Another thing we said a lot was, "That's way far down."  Here's Jason checking out just how far down that was.  It was WAY far down.


Another canyon.


Snow covered mountains in the distance.


This area was called the Grand View Overlook.  I wish I would have taken a video.  No matter what direction you were looking, there was something cool to see.


This canyon was carved out by the Colorado River.  The same river that made the Grand Canyon.


It was a little windy.  You might be able to tell from Brennan's face.  You might be able to tell from Jason's face that he is sporting a growth for March Moustache Madness.  Thank goodness tomorrow starts April, and that thing will be gone.  That's all I have to say about that. : )


We did some hiking along the trail at the Grand View.


Brennan was on a constant lookout for what rock he was going to pick up next.


There were all kind of 4x4 trails down there.  We are definitely going to check them out next time.



A long way down.


They had these cairns all along the way so we didn't lose our way. 


Um yeah, as if that was even possible with the 6,000 ft dropoff to the side of us.


The view just got better and better.


More slick rock.


More stairs.


Buck Canyon.


Don't the mountains look like they were floating back there?

By this time everyone was tired so we headed back to the room.



Of course I had to take a few more pictures on the way out.


"We've got cows."  **Name that movie.**


" 'Nother Cow."  **Same movie.**  Ha, I just crack myself up.  As for the cows, it's free range around Canyonlands, so they were everywhere...and apparently they aren't a bit afraid of cars.


Back down the curvy road.


Time to relax back at the hotel with full bellies, jammies, and some cartoons for the little man. 

Ahh, what a great day!

So, that was Day 1 of our Moab adventure.  I should have Day 2 up by Monday.

Have a great weekend everyone!