We spent the first few days of Spring Break preparing for a big trip to Moab! The boys were beyond excited after hearing all our stories from over the years, especially Evan's, of course! We left on Wednesday, camper in tow, and a long road ahead of us. We stopped in Spanish Fork for lunch, and gleefully pulled into Moab late afternoon. I hope I never forget the feeling of anticipation the boys eeked out of every pore as we drove over the Colorado and they took it all in for the first time.
We drove through multiple campsites looking for the perfect spot with openings nearby for Dale, BethAnn, and Hannah, who joined us the next morning. After going back and parking in the first spot we found (across from the parking lot for Slick Rock), we set up the camper and had a bite to eat. After dinner, we drove up to a hiking trail just past the group campsites and hiked as far as we dared before we would lose the light. The boys had so much fun exploring, running ahead of us, and seeing all the rock formations that we're lucky we got them to turn back for the truck as soon as we did.
The next morning was chilly as could be with nothing to do but wait until the others arrived. We took the boys for a walk on Slickrock Trail, and they were in awe of the slick rock. They enjoyed riding their bike around, and we were impressed at how little traffic there was on the trail that day (a fact that didn't last through the weekend). As thrilled to be in Moab as the boys certainly were, their joy was truly complete when their grandparents (and later that evening, their aunt) arrived late Thursday morning.
After Dale and BethAnn arrived, we went down into town, grabbed some lunch at Wendy's, we headed up to Poison Spider trailhead to see some dinosaur tracks. I was still quite chilly, but not raining that day, which was good! The dinosaur tracks were pretty impressive, and there were lots of people there viewing them. After that, we went to see some recently discovered dinosaur petroglyphs. We got caught in some rain while we were there, but Renee slept through it in the truck, and the boys thought they were on a real adventure. That evening, Hannah arrived, and we took her on the hike we'd found the night before while Evan and Dale went on a ride and BethAnn hung out at camp with Renee.
This second time through the hike was far more eventful than the first. The boys were familiar with the trail, and ran quite a ways ahead of us on the way out. It was getting dark on the way out, and we lost track of them altogether. Concerned that we had walked past them and they were hiding somewhere back down the trail, Hannah went one way and I the other, both of us yelling out for them. After making it nearly all the way back to the truck, I doubled back to Hannah. She hadn't found them yet either, so I told her I was going to head to the truck and would honk if I got back to it with them in tow (our phones didn't have service back there). When I got to the truck, in a real panic by then, I found both of the boys snug in the truck, and laughing at their clever trick! You can imagine the talking to they got for giving us such a scare, and they were tucked into bed with stories about kids getting lost, people freezing in the desert, etc. Scare tactics... 😓
On Friday morning, Evan, Dale, and Hannah took a ride after breakfast then Evan and Dale took the boys on various rides close to camp. After lunch, we drove up to a parking lot, unloaded the bikes, and then BethAnn, Renee, and I followed the rest of the riders (Thomas on the 50 and James on my bike with Evan) in the Tundra as they searched for the trail to some arches. Thomas got in a small wreck coming off a rocky hill, and didn't want to ride after that. He got in the truck with us while James took a turn on the 50. We were unable to find the trail to the arches, but it was for the best as a storm rolled in. I rode my bike back out to the trailer, and Evan drove the truck with his mom and the kids.
After we got back to the campsite and changed, we headed into town for an early dinner (attempting to beat the dinner rush) at the Moab Diner. This was a highlight of the trip for the boys, who were drooling for the Diner more and more with every story we used to talk it up. They both ate as much of their dinner as they could manage, but were thrilled when Dale ordered two banana splits for the table. After dinner, we walked up and down the main street until each of the boys found a t-shirt they wanted. Thomas was talked into a $10 shirt from the clearance rack that glows in the dark, but James was dead set on a red rock colored shirt at $28! 😂 We went back to camp and spent the remainder of the evening hiking on the bluffs above our campsite.
For our final day, we sent Dale, Evan, and Hannah on another ride up Slick Rock while BethAnn took the boys to the sand hill. They had a blast, and I spent the morning listening to conference while Renee napped.
After lunch, the time finally arrived for the big ride up to Gemini Bridges! It seems the trips usually starts our riding with this trek, but the weather didn't permit earlier in the week. Hannah led, I was in second, then Thomas on the 50, Evan (with James in tow) next, and Dale bringing up the rear. We made a fairly slow trudge up to the bridges (I think it took us at least double the amount of time it usually does), but Thomas did so well riding! James fell asleep as we started to ascend, and Evan thought his arms would fall off by the time we made it to the bridges. The boys were in awe of the geological structure!
We made better time coming down from the bridges, and got to cross paths with a load of huge monster truck bus things carrying tourists along the trail. Thomas gained much confidence on the ride up, and he even busted into higher gears once we were out on the flat trail. It was fun to see him increase his skill. BethAnn met us back in the parking lot, telling us about the fun she and Renee had driving around and going to the park. Our last evening flew by, as we broke camp a bit and ran the camper completely out of water with everyone showering!
Sunday morning, we ate a quick breakfast and got on the road shortly after. Dale and BethAnn caravanned with us most of the way. We stopped in Heber City for sandwiches out of the camper and let the boys play at the park. We got home late afternoon, and set about cleaning, and cleaning, and cleaning... and dreaming about going back!
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