Day 5- Arches

 The next morning, we set out early to get to Delicate Arch. We were in the park, parked, and on the trail before 7.

 

It was a gorgeous start to the day! 

We last hiked to Delicate Arch 12 years ago, and it was HOT and WINDY (just look at baby Emma's hair and baby Noah's hat- we were hanging onto these lightweights for dear life!). This moment is a core memory for most of us, but it was high time to make a new core memory at Delicate Arch!

The early start was a great idea this time around. 

No water on this hike, so Leah came with us. Since we were in Utah, some hikers called us out our missionary along trail. If you know, you know! 

Don't be fooled, these are happy hikers! 

We got off the trail on the slickrock- there were few hikers on the trail this early, but we spotted a family that looked like they were having a great time and surely heading in the right direction, so we followed them. They were, in fact, not headed in the right direction, and we rerouted as quickly as possible. There is a gospel lesson there! 

Look at this red rock and blue sky and huge expanse of natural beauty!

Simply gorgeous!

We made it up in good time, and there were lots more hikers coming in as we enjoyed our views and headed out. And wouldn't you know it, there was reception at the arch! We could have FaceTimed Leah!

I love these adventurers!

The hike back down was, of course, much quicker, but just as hot and beautiful! 

More petroglyphs! 

They're just so cute!

10/10 would recommend. This actually wasn't our favorite hike on the trip, but it was definitely the most iconic, and we were especially pleased with ourselves about getting up early enough to avoid the crowds, find a parking spot, and beat the heat! Not pictured, but still lovely was the time that we spent afterward hanging around the truck, chowing down on trail mix and taking turns in the bathroom and enjoying the post-hike high!

Next up- Landscape Arch!

This trail was very sandy, and we didn't feel the need to take it nearly as fast. Still, it was so cool!

Double Arch was the unexpected favorite stop of the day. I remembered loving this stop last time, but the boys LOVED it, little mountain goats.

We waited patiently for our turn to take a picture on the ledge, but we were fighting crowds by this point. 

Which meant plenty of people watched me struggle to get down. Boy, my *awareness* of heights has definitely heightened since our last visit. At least I made it up though, and I made it down again with my dignity mostly intact.

I think the boys could have spent another hour in this massive cave.

Our final and quick stop was at Balanced Rock. A classic! 

Above all of the other reasons, we started this day so early so that we would be available to talk to Leah when she was ready to call. And it worked- she called us right as we pulled into the hotel. We took turns chatting with her and napping and taking showers before heading down for a freezing cold dip in the beautiful pool. 

Now that looks like a vacation! 

Day 4- Bonus Parks!

When planning our trip, we knew we needed to get from Zion National Park in St. George to Arches National Park in Moab after we hiked the Narrows. What we didn't know is that we could hit up two more national parks along our way. Once we realized it, our lifelong dream ;) of visiting Utah's Big 5 on this trip was born! We routed out our journey, listened to some podcasts to help us get familar with each park, and we were off! But first we had to get out of Zion NP. Our one big regret of this trip is that we couldn't spend more time in each park. We went for quantity over quality this time around, with a promise that we will definitely be back again. 

It didn't take long for the landscape to change dramatically. It is incredible to see so many different geographical formations in Utah, and we are now thoroughly educated in the Grand Staircase that is the vast expanse from Bryce Canyon down to the Grand Canyon. Noah was disappointed to learn that it isn't an actual, easily visible staircase.

Our next park stop was Bryce National Park! I have always heard that this unassuming park is worth the visit, but wow! Pictures don't do this amazing landscape justice. 

We doubled our elevation gain in just a few hours drive!

It was chilly and windy here!

Hold on to your hats- there were dozens just over the fence edge. 

If only we had a few more hours, we would have set out on one of these trailheads to get an epic on-the-ground view of these thousands of other-worldly hoodoos. 

Next time! We had to continue on our way. Our next stop was the least familiar (to us) Utah national park- Capitol Reef! We were chasing daylight by the time we arrived, which made for some epic pictures of these brave and silly explorers.

Mostly we were all thrilled to be out of the car!

Yep, I wrapped up in a blanket. It was chilly and we spent the morning hiking through the Virgin River!

I was walking slower, blanket burrito-style back to the car while everyone else ran ahead. And then my two sweet boys came back to escort me the rest of the way. I love them! 

Somewhere back there is the US Capitol-looking formation that puts the Capitol in this park's name. We didn't make it to the reef part. Next time!

Such an incredible place! 

We saw petroglyphs!

What a happy little family. 

A white mountain. 

A striped mountain. 

Around this time we all got tired-silly. We needed to use the bathroom, but the visitors center was closed. Good thing the park was empty! We had no reception so we weren't entirely sure how to get out of the park, Emma took the wheel for half a second (not really), 

and the leftover rolls from last night's dinner that Adam insisted on keeping were manna to all of us! 

We stopped for gas and a bathroom and snacks in a literal cave. 

What is this place?!

And after a few hours in the park, we were at our hotel in Moab! This day was long and fun and safe and unexpected and ultimately, totally worth the extra stops!