Moab, Arches and Canyonlands

Our last stop was Moab, Arches and Canyonlands. We camped in a secluded and intimate campground with beautiful red rock all around. The weather was warm. There was one wee annoyance...caterpillars. Tens of thousands of them. They fell from the trees like raindrops. They crawled all over the tent (and inside if allowed...we learned quickly). They built cocoons within hours all over the zippers of our sleeping bags, in the crevices of our tent, and they snuck into our food boxes and suitcases if left out for even a few minutes. So there was that. And the last day, and the morning we left (a day early) it was very windy and the red sand coated our tent and hair and teeth. So there was that. And both Adele and Ceci each saw snakes in the campground and were afraid for a good while. So there was that. But those things paled in comparison to the awesomeness of the campground and its environs.

Moonflower Campground - Moab, Utah

Can you spot Tennie? The girls LOVED scaling these rocks.

There they go, on the way to the top where they disappeared for hours.

The girls were very serious about rescuing the dozens of caterpillars on each of our tires before we went anywhere. They built caterpillar preschools and playgrounds.

Morning Glory Arch Trail - Moab, Utah - 4.5 miles round trip








Arches National Park

Balancing Rock

Delicate Arch Trail - Arches National Park - 3 miles round trip

Arches National Park Junior Rangers at your service

Canyonlands National Park

Geoff's sister Nikki and Erica, and Erica's husband Davey joined us for a few nights of camping and a day in Canyonlands. It was so fun having them along.

We picnicked at this spot, the Grand Point View Overlook

Mesa Arch Trail - .5 miles round trip

This trail is just about all we were up for at this point in the trip. We were pretty exhausted. Our fellow family members continued on another hike after this while we spent some time working on the girls Junior Ranger books, which might consist of identifying rocks, plants, or animals, writing a poem, spotting responsible behavior in nature, picking up trash, watching a short movie about the park, listening to a ranger speak about an aspect of a given park, drawing a picture of their favorite spot, doing a maze, etc. There were different levels of difficulty and each of the girls was in a different level. They learned a lot from these booklets. It is a great education program offered by all national parks.

Canyonlands had a Junior Ranger backpack full of books, field guides and activity pages. It was at least 15 pounds! Ceci was determined to carry it on our short hike. I didn't let her go far before taking it over in fear of long-term skeletal damage! When at the arch she and I spent a good while looking at the books, trying to find animal tracks, and identifying trees. She is an eager little learner and always exclaiming, "That is so intrasting!"

That makes four badges on their camelback backpacks

That wraps up our family adventure!

Mesa Verde

Since I was a kid I've always wanted to go to Mesa Verde. Something about those cliff dwellings were so enchanting; so mysterious. We learned a lot about the Ancient Puebloan people on this trip. Evidence of their existence was everywhere from the beginning of our trip to the end, but Mesa Verde was a treasure. We continue to marvel at the ingenuity and resourcefulness and survival of these people.

Adele loved all of the wild horses in the park

Cliff Palace House

A view before our descent

Going down

and then going up

Getting up and out

Spruce Tree House

We met a Native American Ranger here that gave us a lot of insider scoop information! He himself had grown up on a reservation using the same farming techniques; hunting for wild game to survive, and knowing all plant life and its many medicinal uses. There was a reverence about him.

Coming out of a kiva (thought to be a ceremonial/gathering room for each family)

Inside the kiva

Pretending to grind corn with the metates and manos
(We found one of these on the hill behind my dad's old house a few summers ago!)

Petroglyph Trail - 3 miles

This hike was absolutely gorgeous, and so varied. For the first time we weren't going straight down or straight up, and there were no drop-offs! Very nice.

Adele wasn't too excited about another hike, but when she and Ceci came up with the idea to be horses to pull my carriage it gave them a renewal of energy

We had a tiny booklet that interpreted the engravings. It was the story of their migration, and when certain tribes broke off. Tennie, in particular, loved decoding the symbols.

Balcony House

This had some nice drop-offs so I decided to stay in the car and allow my adrenals to rest while Geoff took the girls. It was the highlight of Mesa Verde for them. They loved the tall ladders, the small tunnels, and the freedom to explore inside the ruins more than other locations. I'm still glad to have stayed behind...

That is Ceci in the upper right corner of the photo

We have three Junior Rangers for Mesa Verde!