Fall Break - Moab Day 1

We took advantage of this Fall break to get some use out of our poorly used pop-up trailer (something that Weston frequently laments).  We headed to the wonderland of Moab.  We had a late start so we didn't arrive at the campground until after 10 pm but luckily the set-up went smoothly and the kids settled in for the night without a glitch.
The next morning we hiked to Delicate Arch.  Surprisingly I have no memory of ever having hiked to this spectacular arch before!
Within the first 100 yards we spotted these cool petroglyphs!

It might look like we are the only ones on the hike...

But we weren't.

"Cairn" is now a regular part of their vocabulary.

These two can't resist tossing the football at every turn.

Yay!  We made it!  We sat and waited until the people obstructing our view of the arch eventually followed the unwritten rule:  Don't stand for long periods of time under the Delicate Arch when dozens of people are waiting to take pictures of it!

Spectacular!!!

This little guy was anxious to pick up the crumbs of my granola bar.

And then he kindly posed for a picture (see bottom Right corner)

I-man spent a few minutes with his sketchbook.

My boys. 

Our few minutes of fame under the arch.

Don't ask me why but the kids wanted to lick the arch.  Hmmm.

You can see the arch looming behind us in this picture Isaac took.

Trips with our family usually involve some type of jumping.

Our way back out was through this tiny arch.  There is something about the orange sandstone against the blue sky...stunning.

Looking back at the arch see if you can spy Wes and Addie hiding in a small cave...

Addie and Isaac doing "baby freezes" (a breakdancing move) on the cliff.

I just randomly caught this picture of Addie!  Hilarious!

After we left Arches, the kids spent a few minutes climbing the big sand dune right outside the entrance.

Back at camp we took a refreshing swim and then started a campfire for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows.  The cool, crisp evening turned into a cold night and we were happy for the heater in the pop-up to keep us cozy while we slept.