We left on Sunday, April 26, and headed to Moab. It was 39 degrees and snowing while I was texting my friend, Julie, who was basking in the warm sunny rays in Las Vegas! (I still think way cute haircut from Vegas Julie!!) Seriously, it was snowing!! Crazy!
We stopped in Green River at Ray's Tavern, a local favorite for some way good burgers. We always stop there either on our way to or from Moab.
We made it to Moab in good time, and headed out towards our trail. It seemed that the storm clouds were bound and determined to follow us that day.
It may be hard to tell in these smaller pictures, but the rock formations were so incredible down there. The pictures don't even do them justice at all!
In photo 2, I took a picture of Daren putting Ben's leftover cheeseburger (wrapped in foil) into Scott's "oven" set-up in the engine of his 4-Runner, so it would be warm for dinner. (It was warm alright, but he said it didn't taste all that great)
Hurrah Pass, elevation 4,780 feet--the highest point of our trip, and the view just on the other side of the pass. This is where we were heading into.
It seemed like we drove forever to find a camp spot cuz all the spots at the beginning were full, but we finally found the perfect spot for us. The fellas got the campfire going first and then we got camp set up. The campfire was set up in this big opening just behind where our cars were parked--it was pretty cool.
In the meantime, the boys found PLENTY of red dirt around to run, climb, jump, slide, sit in, and dump on themselves! I don't know how many times they climbed this huge hill and slid down it--and every time Jake went down, it was head first! Needless to say, everyone and everything was covered in red dirt by the end of the trip, but they had a great time...and I'm still trying to get the dirt out of their jeans in the laundry!
It was pretty cold at night, and I really froze that first night for some reason. It rained a little and was a bit windy, but thank goodness we had some earplugs!! The next morning we woke up to sunshine and it was absolutely beautiful!
Just like at home, Ben, Will, and I were the early risers that day while Daren and Jake slept in. The boys couldn't wait for their Fruit Loops and juice, and they found the perfect spot far away from camp so we wouldn't disturb anyone else. Not a bad breakfast spot, eh?!
This picture is just so dang cute!! I had just picked up my camera to take a picture of Ben, and Will crawled over to Ben and cuddled up to him so he could get in the picture too.
Will is quite the jokester too, and I loved that he was up on this rock singing away, though I don't remember the song now. What I love in these pictures are his shadows on the rock behind him!
We took a moment to pause for a photo by the Colorado River.
It took a while to figure out where the trail was, becasue the GPS wasn't quite synching up. Nevertheless, we still had fun. I sure felt for Claire because she was trying to navigate in the front car, which I did on the Mojave Trail. You do feel the pressure of having to lead, but Claire did a great job...and she and Scott never knew how many times I messed up while trying to navigate, but we made it!
After going up a difficult trail, what we thought was just a fun side-trip, we stopped for lunch. While everyone else was eating their peanut butter sandwiches, Ben went off on his own to do some reading. This day he chose Where the Wild Things Are. Did you know that book is being made into a movie, coming out later this year? The boys can't wait for it!
Anyway, it turns out that this difficult trail really was the beginnning of the Lockhart Basin trail, so we got to drive it twice!
We thought it would be no problem going up a second time and that it would go by pretty quick, but Scott had an unfortunate mishap. His truck partially slid off (at the exact place I was so nervous about the first time we went up), so we had some fixin' to do. Daren was kinda excited to finally be able to use the wench and know that it works!;) And we had fun sitting on the sidelines watching it all take place. For Scott's benefit, this is a play-by-play of his rescue!!
Another angle of the rock.
cairn /'kern/ noun : a heap of stones piled up as a memorial or a landmark
At this point of the trip, I was driving because it was mostly easy stuff--flatter roads and such. I get too freaked out if it gets too difficult. So Daren was sitting in the back, trying to calm Ben and Jake down (they were at each other quite a bit on this trip, so for the sake of everyone, and to keep the peace, Daren sat in the middle between Will and Ben). Will fell asleep, and to wake him up, Daren put a swedish fish in his mouth, trying to revive him, and took a picture of him.
It was getting late and we needed a campspot, so we settled for a very open campground just alongside the trail. Once again, fire was the first priority so we could all cook dinner. He had some helpers. ;)
Once the sun came out from behind the clouds, I got some amazing pictures looking back toward our campground. Scott and Claire weren't posing for me for this picture--they didn't even realize I had zoomed in on them, but it was cute.
We rushed to get the tent up before the sun was gone. I told Daren that one day I'd make a book about all the places we have camped with the tent because I take pictures every time it goes up. It will be a fun book to see someday because we have already camped in some amazing places.
We brought chips n' salsa, salad, and s'mores, while Scott and Claire provided the yummy hobo dinners and rolls. We had a lantern-light dinner!
This was the morning view of where we camped. It was so beautiful there! It had been a very windy night, and we woke up that morning to the sound of birds trying to perch on top of our tent. You could see the shadows of their feet trying to hold on to something-there was a bar underneath them, but it was inside the tent. It made us all laugh just trying to watch them!
Once again, "Mommy's Car" did not let us down on this trip. I love my car, and I love taking these trips with our family. In talking to others about this trip, or any other road trip we've been on (esp. Route 66), most people say they can't imagine going on a road trip with their whole family like we do. I am so glad we started with these guys when they were young so that they grow up liking it and enjoying it. We have made some unforgettable memories on these type of trips, and the end of each trip leaves us with just one question...where to next?!
At the end of Lockhart Basin Trail was the entrance to Canyonlands, where we finally got to go to the bathroom in a real toilet, and wash our hands with soap and water. Life's little pleasures! Then we headed to see Newspaper Rock (see pic. below). We ate lunch there, and then parted ways with Scott and Claire. We drove back home, stopping in at the Prehistoric Museum in Price, which the boys loved! What a great trip.
But, where to next? Any suggestions?? I'm thinking Oregon sometime. And why why WHY do I have to post so many pictures?! This one has taken me forever to do!! I love the memories from it, but dang it takes me a while!
The boys really got into building their own cairns on this trip. We had plenty of time since going up the difficult part of the trail is slow, so the boys built their cairns. Ben built the ones in photo 1, 2, and 3 (even though Jake is in the 2nd photo), but Jake made up for it with the many cairns he built at the top part while waiting for Scott and Daren to drive up.
Will was just happy to wait at the top without building anything.
Will was just happy to wait at the top without building anything.
Daren got a little stuck at the top, and I had to stop taking pictures so I could run after Will who was already continuing on down the trail.
Scott and Daren spent a fair amount of time getting over the rocks, but they finally made it. If you look close, you can see Jake running in front of Scott's car and Claire walking behind our car in photo 2.
So we made it past the hardest part, twice, and were finally on our way. In photo 1 we are heading towards the rocky opening, and in photo 2 this is what we saw when we got through it.
The beautiful rock formations we saw throughout the trip were some of my favorite things to see. We loved to see what the formations reminded us of. Like I said before, the pictures don't do them justice at all! In photo 2, part of the left side reminds us of a witch.
Photo 3 reminded us of a house...or the Titanic...or a boot. And, as easily seen, photo 4 looks like a pyramid.
At this point of the trip, I was driving because it was mostly easy stuff--flatter roads and such. I get too freaked out if it gets too difficult. So Daren was sitting in the back, trying to calm Ben and Jake down (they were at each other quite a bit on this trip, so for the sake of everyone, and to keep the peace, Daren sat in the middle between Will and Ben). Will fell asleep, and to wake him up, Daren put a swedish fish in his mouth, trying to revive him, and took a picture of him.
What woke him up was stopping to see the old abandoned and completely trashed trailer left in the middle of nowhere. No shooting guns this time, though. This is where we ran across some bikers, heading in the other direction, that I worried all night about. I didn't hear of anyone perishing down there, but it had to have been a long night for them. (Long story, but I just wanted to remember that part of it).
It was getting late and we needed a campspot, so we settled for a very open campground just alongside the trail. Once again, fire was the first priority so we could all cook dinner. He had some helpers. ;)
Once the sun came out from behind the clouds, I got some amazing pictures looking back toward our campground. Scott and Claire weren't posing for me for this picture--they didn't even realize I had zoomed in on them, but it was cute.
These are the pictures I was aiming for. The colors were so incredible during sunset.
We rushed to get the tent up before the sun was gone. I told Daren that one day I'd make a book about all the places we have camped with the tent because I take pictures every time it goes up. It will be a fun book to see someday because we have already camped in some amazing places.
It really was this beautiful of a sunset! We roasted hot dogs for the boys, and then they went to watch a movie in the car. Our dinner was done a bit later.
We brought chips n' salsa, salad, and s'mores, while Scott and Claire provided the yummy hobo dinners and rolls. We had a lantern-light dinner!
This was the morning view of where we camped. It was so beautiful there! It had been a very windy night, and we woke up that morning to the sound of birds trying to perch on top of our tent. You could see the shadows of their feet trying to hold on to something-there was a bar underneath them, but it was inside the tent. It made us all laugh just trying to watch them!
As we got on our way, at one point Jake felt the urge to get out and run through the water when I was out taking pictures of the cars. This was his reaction to realizing he had very wet and very muddy crocs on!
Once again, "Mommy's Car" did not let us down on this trip. I love my car, and I love taking these trips with our family. In talking to others about this trip, or any other road trip we've been on (esp. Route 66), most people say they can't imagine going on a road trip with their whole family like we do. I am so glad we started with these guys when they were young so that they grow up liking it and enjoying it. We have made some unforgettable memories on these type of trips, and the end of each trip leaves us with just one question...where to next?!
At the end of Lockhart Basin Trail was the entrance to Canyonlands, where we finally got to go to the bathroom in a real toilet, and wash our hands with soap and water. Life's little pleasures! Then we headed to see Newspaper Rock (see pic. below). We ate lunch there, and then parted ways with Scott and Claire. We drove back home, stopping in at the Prehistoric Museum in Price, which the boys loved! What a great trip.
But, where to next? Any suggestions?? I'm thinking Oregon sometime. And why why WHY do I have to post so many pictures?! This one has taken me forever to do!! I love the memories from it, but dang it takes me a while! 
4 comments:
You need to do the Oregon and Washington road that goes along the coast. It is so beautiful. PCH Highway 1. Stop in Seattle and go to the sourdough shop on the pier and get soup in a bowl while you watch the waves. It is WONDERFUL!!
You should go to the Klamath River up by the Oregon, California coast. It is way fun and then you can go through the redwoods. It is amazing. Your boys would love the crazy gigantic trees.
I love those rock formations you captured in the photos. Looks so fun.
Another amazing, beautiful, exciting trip for the family--some of those pictures made us hold our breath, though we knew you'd survived! Ideas for a trip? Our vote will always be the road that takes you to SoCal. Love you.
You are sooooooooooooooooooooo toast!! That close to me!?!! Get us on the invite list next time - we'll even make you waffles and oreo shakes
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