Our Family

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Arches 2013

             On the last day of our trip we decided to stop in Arches National park. This was all of our first time visiting arches and it was a really spectacular sight to see all of the beautiful formations. We got into Moab around 4 pm, and so we stopped at a large arch nearby and let the kids hike around for a bit. We headed into town and stopped for dinner at The Blu Pig where we enjoyed some tasty barbecue. We had a hotel reservation in a different town nearby, so we headed there after dinner. Jared and the boys went swimming and then we all went to bed so we could get up early.
           The next morning, it was slightly overcast and we headed up to arches. When we entered the park, it started to drizzle, and by the time we made it to balanced rock it was pouring! We got out to see but the kids were a little underwhelmed and wet so we bundled into the car and headed for the North and South Windows and Double Arch. By the time we found a parking space, the rain miraculously cleared up and we were able to hike all over.
            The kids had a grand time and kept doing crazy things and jumping all over the place. Tory discovered the sand and would cry anytime we took her away from digging in the sand to go see something else! We spent most of our day hiking around Double Arch, but we also hiked up to see Delicate Arch from the viewpoint as we did not think our children would be up for the actual hike to see it! The boys had brought their slingshots and had a grand time shooting rocks over the edges. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the car, only stopping to take pictures at some of the viewpoints, and then headed over to Goblin Valley!

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Four Corners Monument

On our way home from the Reunion in Arkansas, we had a few extra days and so decided to take it home slowly and so we stopped in several fun places to see the sights around Utah. One of those crazy things how if you live somewhere you don't go and see the places in your own state. When we spent the summer in Ireland, we met so many natives who had never gone to see most of the things we made a concerted effort to go and visit...such as the blarney stone.
One of the places we stopped at was at four corners. This is the only place in the United States where four states intersect at one point: Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. It was pretty much in the middle of nowhere and it was kind of off the beaten path. It was super hot so we didn't spend more than an hour there...and there was a long line to take your picture at the actual four corners spot! Most of our time was spent shopping and seeing all of the beautiful jewelry and crafts on sale by Navajo artisans. I bought Tory a cute bracelet, and the boys chose slingshots shaped like a bison and a bear. They had a great time playing with them the rest of the trip.