Day 6- Canyonlands

 Somewhere in the evening hours of day 5, we realized that in order to meet our new lifelong goal of hitting up The Big 5, we needed to get up extra early in order to get to Canyonlands before heading to our afternoon excursion in Colorado. 

No one was thrilled about getting up so early, but memories aren't made when we're sleeping in! The-vacation-memory-maximizer in me was in full force, but it sure would have been nice to be traveling by RV this morning. 

Wow, the smoke really made for an other-worldly adventure!

 Even with a tinge of wildfire smoke, the crisp and still early morning mountain air was intoxicating. 

We shared the trail with maybe three other hikers on our way out. It was silent (except for our noisy bunch) and absolutely breathtaking. This hike gets the prize for the suprising underdog of the trip and one we are most glad we didn't skip. It was incredible. 

The smoke made it hard to tell where the canyonlands ended and the clouds began. It all seemed to stretch on forever.

This rock has haunted my nightmares since we've been back. This configuration accurately depicts our family, although Noah assures me he would have been brave enough to hop onto it if I hadn't freaked out so much when Adam did. Sheer. Drop. Off. My palms are sweaty just thinking about it. 

Thank you to the patient solo hiker who offered to take our picture, seen here in shadow. I wonder how many brave but unsafe solo hikers just disappear in these parks every year. 

A heart and a babe!

This morning completed our Utah's Big 5 journey! Epic and unexpected, we all left with the desire to spend more time in these national parks soon! As much as we love living in Iowa, we really, really love remembering that there is a vast and varied and incredible world all around us. 

Also, this sums up some of our hikes accurately- in case I forget some day, this little boy is saying, "come over. It's a suprise! Do you like surprises?" Ha!

Day 5- Hell's Revenge

 "Embark on the Hells Revenge UTV Off-Road Tour in Moab, Utah, and explore stunning red sandstone landscapes and panoramic desert views. Along the way, discover ancient dinosaur tracks and enjoy thrilling trails. With an expert guide leading the way, this tour offers the perfect blend of adventure, history, and unforgettable scenery!"

Cool! Let's check it out. We were in a five-seater, and the backseat was a pretty tight squeeze, so we rotated as much as possible. 

Mom drove first. 

And absolutely hated it.

But let's do a little more research about this excursion. We skipped over the details when making the reservation. Hell's Revenge in Moab is described as massive steep inclines, blind crests, and sheer drop-offs on grippy petrified sand dunes. A capable, high-clearance stock 4WD vehicle with an experienced driver can handle the main path by following the painted tire tracks on the rock. 

Cool. I'm out. Dad drove second. 

I think he would have loved it even more if I hadn't been sitting in the back saying, "I hate this. I hate this. I hate this." for the bulk of the night. 

Adam drove third. He did awesome and successfully navigated some of the stickiest spots on the trail. 

Emma would have been an entirely confident driver, 

but had to settle for the role of best photographer. 

Noah was an excellent passenger and also was happy to sit by me in the back by the end of the 3-hour adventure. 

It's hard to tell from the pictures how steep many of these climbs were, but trust, they were quite steep. 

The time out of the 4x4 was my favorite time. 

The dinosaur tracks were cool too! 

What an adventurous family we are! 

Tell us how you really feel. 

The death trap. 

We definitely loved the scenery, when we were brave enough to keep our eyes open. On the bumpiest, rockiest, steepest and scariest parts of the trail, my eyes were shut!

The sunset made for absolutely epic views of the desert. 

So entirely different from where we live, and we loved it! 

Oh the gospel lessons to be learned from this excursion! Follow your guide, stay on the path, trust those with more experience than you, learn the rules and follow them, stay away from the edge and maybe don't push the limits in the first place! Of course, this is the adventure that we have all raved about the most since, but when Adam asked if I would go on this excursion again, my answer was "Hell's Revenge NO!" 

We had every intention of getting ice cream at the infamous shop where four-year-old Adam could not make up his mind and ended up in the car, but instead we opted for Ben and Jerry's ice cream to go and a few episodes of Friends in our hotel room. Watching TV in bed feels like such an indulgence on vacation. And you can bet the kids were thrilled when we told them that we were getting up even earlier the next morning!