If I HAD to pick a favorite day of our trip, it wouldn't be an easy choice, because I loved all of it. But, if I really had to choose, I think I would pick today as the best day because my kids had such a good time.
We started the day out fully planning on doing the Delicate Arch hike. We'd heard it was a little difficult and that there were some steep drop offs and ledges, but we were going to give it a go anyway, and just turn back if we thought it was looking too hairy. When we got to the trail head, the parking lot was jam packed. Every stall was full and cars were lining both sides of the road in both directions. Not to mention that the line for the pit toilet had about 50 people standing in it. Haha, So we drove a little further up the road to the Delicate Arch View Points instead, deciding that we would do those, and then see how crowded the hike was at that point.
The lower view point trail was kind of a joke, really. It was so short it wasn't worth even getting out of the car for. But the upper view point was ok. Nothing fancy. The hike was easy, and at the end you can see Delicate Arch from across the canyon. But meh. If you have to miss a hike in Arches, go ahead and skip the Delicate Arch view points, there are lots cooler and interesting hikes out there.
Ruby had been in a SUPER bad mood all morning, and wanted to be carried the whole time we were walking the view point. She was being really uncooperative about everything, and throwing a tantrum every other minute about things like the wind blowing her hair in her face, and not wanting Lincoln to look at her. We reevaluated how much we really wanted to try the actual Delicate Arch hike, because I wasn't sure if we could manage a more difficult trail with Ruby in her currant temperament. When we drove by it again the parking lot was still really packed, so we opted to skip it, and do it next time we come to Moab.
Instead, we parked at the Sand Dune Arch trail head and had lunch. This helped Rue a little. Then we hiked to Sand Dune Arch and it was SO COOL. It's like a slot canyon, except wider, and the bottom of it is covered in soft, deep, red sand, like a beach. Along the side walls are smaller rock structures that aren't too high, so the kids could climb all over them and have a great time, while the younger kids sat down and played in the sand. It was a family of all-aged hikers paradise. Seriously. We could have stayed here all day and been 100% content.
In the same parking lot is another trail head called Broken Arch. We decided to do this hike too. Another super cool, really easy, kid-friendly hike with a big payoff at the end. Most of the trail hikes through the flat desert. Then you get up to the rock face and hike along it for a little ways, you come around a bend and see the arch, and then the hike continues right underneath the arch. You have to scramble up a rock face to get right up under the arch, but I had no problems doing that with Cal on my back. Ruby was the only one who needed help. The views from there were amazing.
We could have followed the trail another mile through a campground and then looped back to the parking lot, but it was getting late in the day and time for us to start heading back towards Springville, so we just retraced our steps and went out that way. We didn't get to see nearly all there was to see in Arches, so I guess that means we'll have to come back sometime. :)
I've put up all my awesome pictures, but I just want to share a more "real life" one that I think captures the spirit of vacationing with kids perfectly:
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| Every member of our family is in this picture, except me. Can you find them all? |
Haha! We all had a really good time though. I really needed the vacation, and Aaron was a good sport to let us vacation T3-style. We were go-go-go for 3 straight days. On the drive home the kids and I counted it up, and including the small pull-out trails, we did 10 hikes in 3 days. And it was glorious! Add this one on to the lengthening list of places I need to revisit and spend more time in.
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