Moab

Last week we returned from our first family "vacation" with Mikayla that did not involve visiting other family. Why "vacation" in quotations? Well, after the first night of the little one not sleeping soundly and the dogs coming into the room and waking her up every time they needed to go outside, it wasn't feeling much like a vacation, more like an unnecessary punishment. Fortunately we started to get the swing of things on the second night...around 1 in the morning! First, let the baby cry it out even though she is only one foot from the bed, and two keep the fan going for the necessary background noise and to minimize the noise from the dogs. With these adjustments we were able to enjoy the week and have a great time in Moab, UT.

Moab, UT for anyone curious, is in southeastern Utah and is near Arches National Park, http://www.nps.gov/arch/index.htm, and Canyonlands National Park, http://www.nps.gov/cany/index.htm, it is also considered the mountain biking mecca in the US. There are loads and loads to do for anyone who loves the outdoors. In addition the high desert makes for great weather.



Day one took me to mountain bike on a trail called "Slick Rock". The entire trail in on sandstone, and has great traction, unless it rains. The route goes near this canyon several times and has a great view of the La Sal mountains in the background. The picture at the top of the blog is also from Slick Rock.


Here are other riders on Slick Rock, I think it looks neat to watch the riders riding over bare rock.



Here's a rested Mikayla ready to do a little hiking in Arches National Park.


These arches are called Windows or Spectacles. I think Spectacles is more fitting from this side.


Hubby standing in one of the Spectacles.


Here are more arches near Spectacles, I can't remember the name.


This is Landscape Arch, the longest arch in the park at 467 ft. It also includes one of the most prominent features in these area, the sun. You may have notice the lack of trees so the intensity from the sun is amazing. It was in the 60's during our trip and if it were much hotter you wouldn't want to be outside long. It would be great to come back to this area and take pictures in the early morning or late evening when the light is perfect for the this kind of terrain, but that was not possible on this first trip with the little one. Now we have a reason to return!


Hubby on sandstone with the La Sal mountains in the background.


The end of the hike in Arches. Mikayla is dreaming about it I'm sure.


Day three we went back to biking. I went first on a trail that featured dinosaur tracks! There were several of these tracks protected by rocks. I thought it was great that there were no fences around them, they are just out on the trail with rocks around them so that people don't ride over them by mistake. Very cool!




The other feature of the ride is that there was a place to rack your bike and take a short hike (no bikes allowed) into Arches National Park. With no trees and good look out points you are almost always assured a great view of the La Sal mountains! Later in the day Hubby took a long ride (65 miles) into the La Sal mountains, but refused to document the experience for me. What?! Is that allowed?!!! Apparently, it is. He did tell me that it was beautiful and I should make the trip sometime!


Mikayla entertains herself while Daddy is out riding.


On our last day we went to Dead Horse State Park which is adjacent to Canyonlands National Park. In the picture above, notice Mikayla's grease ball look. Our fair skinned little bambino refuses to wear any kind of sun hat, even when it is tied snugly below her chin. We applied ample sunblock to her face and hair. We hoped that the vat of sunblock and her canopy would prevent her from becoming a crispy critter on our hikes. It worked, but she did look awfully grimy.


Dead Horse State Park gets its name from a legend that cowboys used the outcrop as a natural coral for wild horses. They would remove the horses they wanted and leave to rest to die from exposure. I hope it's not true, but that's the legend.




The river below is the Colorado. Quick, name another national park that features canyons towering above the Colorado....


Here we are at Dead Horse Point several thousand feet above the Colorado River.

Since we did learn how to get the baby to sleep on vacation, another vacation is not entirely out of the question! We had a wonderful time and I hope to get back to this area one day and do more exploring.