Moab Trip: Day 4

My favorite picture of the boys on this trip.

On our last day in Moab we had plenty planned. We got up early and packed into the van. After breakfast of yogurt and cold cereal, we hit the road. It was our plan to tackle Delicate Arch. And after yesterday's breakdown, we weren't sure how the kids would do. Would Dax drag? Would Seth cry in the backpack?

We hit the trail at about 8:00 am and started across the slickrock. The boys were really great. Seth was a bit unhappy on Dad's back, and Mom had to keep reminding Dad to slow down for little legs. But the boys were generally pleasant and hardly even noticed the steady climb. Soon, we found ourselves at the top of the slope.

After we covered the last quarter mile, we rounded the bend and saw a truly amazing sight: No people-- and Delicate Arch. I couldn't believe we were there alone. We snapped some pictures, walked around, and found some shade. As we sat eating our snacks, people started to filter in. There were probably 75 by the time we left, but for a few short minutes, we had Delicate Arch all to ourselves. The downhill hike was easy, and the boys were great. Seth had run around a little while, Dax likes downhill, and Mark is always a trooper. It seemed Mom was sweating hardest! We even stopped to see the petroglyphs on the way back.

Dax saw this flower on the way up to Delicate Arch and loved it.

No one was by the arch when we got there. It was so peaceful!

The boys walked right under the arch.

We made it! Yes!

I did not photoshop Seth in...he really went to Delicate Arch.

Mark took this picture of us.

This chipmunk was hoping Dax would drop a goldfish,

The boys tried to walk exactly the same path
their dad walked on the way down.

Seth was tuckered out.

After Delicate Arch, we stopped at the visitor's center and watched the movie, which was the last requirement for the Junior Ranger badges. We spent about an hour and then moved on to our next destination.

At the visitor's center

New Junior Ranger

Another new Junior Ranger

The Museum of Moab is a small museum right in town. There wasn't a whole lot there, but the boys really loved it because there were 40 lizards hiding throughout the museum. Of course, they had to find every one of them, and got a prize for doing so. We had the museum to ourselves, and goofed around with the player-piano (it was really hard to pump with your feet!) and read a lot about the history of Moab. We had a nice relaxing time after our hike.

Don't tell anyone, but Seth picked one of the dinosaur eggs up
because he thought it was a ball.

This piano player was hard to work. Only dad was able to get it really going.

These guys loved looking for the lizards.

We couldn't go to our next stop because the DUP Museum in Moab didn't open until 2pm, so we went to a rock and fossil shop on the main drag in Moab. We probably looked at 10,000 different kinds of rocks and fossils, all too expensive or too abstract to buy. We managed to burn up a half hour, and the kids seemed to enjoy it okay. Later, when we asked which museum the kids liked best, they both said, "The one with all the rocks and fossils," so it turned out to be a good stop.

The final stop at the DUP was a little awkward. We showed up right at opening time, and the ladies were just sitting down for a monthly meeting. They let us look through the tiny museum, and we even got to ring the steeple bell. There was a cabin outside that was really interesting to walk through as well-- we just tried not to stop on any DUP toes! We made sure this was a short stop.

It took all three of them to make the bell ring.

Seth had to try, too!

On our way out of town we had one more adventure planned. Just north of Moab we stopped at the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trail. We saw a lot of really cool fossils. The trail was short, and there were interpretive signs, which was good, because some of the boys began to break down. We made it to the end, though, and learned a lot about the fossils in this end of the state. There was even a really cool piece of petrified wood.

They are worn out, but the bones were cool.

Seth and mom liked the petrified wood.

We have a big problem. Seth thinks that he has to
sit down and play in the dirt on every hike now.

The boys were awesome on the ride home. They must've been worn out, because the slept much of the way (Seth slept almost all the way.) This was such a great trip for us. Even though Mom and Dad had been to Arches together when we were first married, pretty much everything else we did was brand new. It left us planning our next Spring Break before we even got home.

I have about 15 pictures of Dax sleeping in a funny position in the car.
One day I will make a post of all of them.

They played "Arches" when we got home.
I'm glad that they loved our trip.