This year for Spring Break we decided to see some of the beautiful parts of Utah. Curtis and the kids had never seen some of the National Parks in Utah. We decided on Arches, Canyonlands, and then down to Mesa Verde in Colorado. I took a trip like this when I was a kid and it was really memorable.
When we were at Canyonlands we discovered that at every National Park they offer a Jr. Park Ranger program. The kids decided that they wanted to become a Jr. Park Ranger at every place we went.
We really enjoyed the trip, Arches was their favorite. The first day we decided to go to Arches. As we looked at maps and such we decided to hike to the Delicate Arch, which is the most famous arch. The hike to the Delicate Arch was under the group of strenuous hikes. I tried to convince Curtis and the kids it might be too much to do with Camilla and me, who is expecting and tired. But I couldn’t dissuade them and so we went for it. The kids loved it! There were all kinds of terrain: sand, nice clear trails, slick rock, and etc. James absolutely loves climbing rocks. Camilla didn’t really struggle with the climb, I did. It is strange because just 15 weeks ago I was doing all kinds of exercise: running, biking, and hiking. That hike wouldn’t have been that big of a deal but pregnancy has slowed me down. Anyway, the arch was one of the most majestic things that I have seen. It surprised me how beautiful a piece of rock could be.
Here are pictures of our trip to Arches:
The second day we went to Dead Horse Point and Canyonlands National Park. The view is amazing in both places. This is the place we discovered James true passion: rock climbing. He is so daring and courageous. He would climb so high and it really made me nervous. Especially in the places where the drop was 2000 feet below. We took several hikes but our favorite that day was to Mesa Arch. Each and every rock James climbed, Camilla wanted to follow.
Here are pictures from Dead Horse Point and Canyonlands:
The third day we went to Mesa Verde. I really remember this from when I was a kid. It was really cool. We had the opportunity to take the Cliff Palace tour. It is the largest cliff dwelling in North America. They have done an amazing job of carving steps through the rocks for us tourists who didn’t want climb the cliff to get into the place. The kids thought this was really cool and were up for climbing out of the car at anytime to look at Indian ruins, except for James who just wanted to get to the Hotel so he could swim. We finally left and decided to run down to the Four Corners Monument so that the kids could say that they had been to four states all at once. We drove 40 miles, and arrived at the place to discover we were five minutes too late. They had closed at 7:00pm. The kids were disappointed so we drove into New Mexico so they could say they had been there.
Here are some pictures from Mesa Verde:
When we were at Canyonlands we discovered that at every National Park they offer a Jr. Park Ranger program. The kids decided that they wanted to become a Jr. Park Ranger at every place we went.
We really enjoyed the trip, Arches was their favorite. The first day we decided to go to Arches. As we looked at maps and such we decided to hike to the Delicate Arch, which is the most famous arch. The hike to the Delicate Arch was under the group of strenuous hikes. I tried to convince Curtis and the kids it might be too much to do with Camilla and me, who is expecting and tired. But I couldn’t dissuade them and so we went for it. The kids loved it! There were all kinds of terrain: sand, nice clear trails, slick rock, and etc. James absolutely loves climbing rocks. Camilla didn’t really struggle with the climb, I did. It is strange because just 15 weeks ago I was doing all kinds of exercise: running, biking, and hiking. That hike wouldn’t have been that big of a deal but pregnancy has slowed me down. Anyway, the arch was one of the most majestic things that I have seen. It surprised me how beautiful a piece of rock could be.
Here are pictures of our trip to Arches:
The second day we went to Dead Horse Point and Canyonlands National Park. The view is amazing in both places. This is the place we discovered James true passion: rock climbing. He is so daring and courageous. He would climb so high and it really made me nervous. Especially in the places where the drop was 2000 feet below. We took several hikes but our favorite that day was to Mesa Arch. Each and every rock James climbed, Camilla wanted to follow.
Here are pictures from Dead Horse Point and Canyonlands:
The third day we went to Mesa Verde. I really remember this from when I was a kid. It was really cool. We had the opportunity to take the Cliff Palace tour. It is the largest cliff dwelling in North America. They have done an amazing job of carving steps through the rocks for us tourists who didn’t want climb the cliff to get into the place. The kids thought this was really cool and were up for climbing out of the car at anytime to look at Indian ruins, except for James who just wanted to get to the Hotel so he could swim. We finally left and decided to run down to the Four Corners Monument so that the kids could say that they had been to four states all at once. We drove 40 miles, and arrived at the place to discover we were five minutes too late. They had closed at 7:00pm. The kids were disappointed so we drove into New Mexico so they could say they had been there.
Here are some pictures from Mesa Verde:
The fourth day we went back to Arches and then home.
Awesome Trip!
7 comments:
Wow, you guys got some really great shots. Looks fantastic!
Looks like you guys had a lot of fun! I have been wanting to take the kids to Mesa Verde, good to know about the Jr. Park Ranger thing.
It looks like you guys had a blast. Vacations are great! Cade also likes to rock climb. Mesa Verde is great. I went there when I was younger and need to go back. Cade was so excited to get to play with James Saturday. Thanks for letting him come over.
Your trip looks like so much fun! I'm glad you guys had a good time.
very impressed Terri, you did all that hiking for being newly pg. WOW, impressive and amazing. I couldn't of done that!!! Looks like a great time and beautiful places to see.
michelle
We took our six children on almost the same exact trip many years ago for their spring break. It was fun for awhile until Kenny ran ahead and took Kim and little Kristy (age 8) to the double arches and climbed through a hole and got all three stuck spread eagle 200 feet up. As we rounded at the bottom, tons of people were looking up,saying, "Whose children are they?" I looked up as well and frantically said, "Ours!" Max had to climb across and rescue them one at a time while I stood below ready to "catch" them if they fell." Sounds like James has similar tendencies.
These pictures are so cool! I'm glad that you could go and see those National Parks! I'm really loving all of Camilla's facial expressions in all of the pictures. It looks like you went to the same part at Mesa Verde that Mom, Dad, and I went to. Though I don't remember climbing the ladder (the one with Allison climbing up it).. unless you saw more than just that one area.
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