Thursday July 14, 2016
*No Pictures Note: When transferring ALL my pictures from my camera to my external hard drive, something went wrong and ALL my pictures are gone :( Pictures will be back in future posts!
No wildlife last night that I heard or saw. It was still a
restless sleep as I wake up often enough to make sure the kids are still tucked
in and not too hot or cold. We all woke up fairly early, but not compared to my
alarm clock that didn't go off because my phone died. We took down camp, made
and complained about strawberry oatmeal with honey and trail mix. I was hoping
the trail mix would make it eatable for Chuck Roast but I was wrong. Pumpkin
ate all hers and the rest of her brother's before we all piled into the car.
We
arrived at
Arches National Park about 10am, way later than I thought we
would arrive. We used the restrooms and then took a million pictures on our
drive to the
Windows/Double Arch parking lot. We suited up with our
hydration packs, hats, and hiking shoes and headed out to Double Arch. We made
it in decent time, only taking two breaks, one of which was to talk to a couple
of women from Minneapolis! We made it to the arches and I had been concerned
about not being able to climb with the kids, but alas! Pumpkin is a great rock
climber and Chuck Roast totally held his own as long as he was next to me or
holding my hand. But it was amazing! We got there with a ton of other people
but after we scaled some rocks and Pumpkin making it almost to the very top of
the second arch, we turned around and almost everyone was gone! It was quiet
and beautiful! All three of us were in awe of the arch structure and the beauty
of our surroundings.
We made it back in one piece, but we'd been at the arches
for about 1 hour, plenty of time for the walk back to be incredibly hot, which
was probably why there were so few people! We stopped at the Visitor Center
after another million pictures so the kids could complete their Jr. Ranger
booklets and take their pledge.
Once back in the car, we drove the whole
30-some miles to
Canyonlands National Park while listening to
Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events. The park had a bunch of closed
locations so they could repave the parking lots but it didn't affect us much.
After hiking Double Arch, the kids were exhausted. Pumpkin was still up for
some short hiking, but Chuck Roast could hardly regulate his normal mood while
resting in the car or sitting on a bench inside the Visitor Center, much less a
hot, tired mood while walking in the sun. So the kids completed their Jr.
Ranger booklets without leaving the visitor center. We drove to the first
viewpoint, I climbed out and took some pictures, and we left the park. This is
the first one on our list to revisit after we see all 59 parks the first time
around since we missed everything!
We had to make a family decision about our next
stop and we decided to go the Mesa Verde National Park route. Our first step
was to stop for gas and a bathroom, which lead to a gas station snack. Then we
drove down to Monticello and then over to Cahone, where we turned off and
headed into San Juan National Forest. After taking some pictures of the view up
the mountain and a couple tail end of shots of a doe with her two fawns, we
found a turn off that had an open area surrounded by trees. I got out and
surveyed the land and it wasn't until after we started putting up the tent, we
realized that this must be a grazing area for cattle based on what they left
behind after processing their cud (I'm sure that's not even close to how to
describe the process, but it's all I have tonight). I made instant mashed
potatoes with dried veggies, Parmesan cheese, which Pumpkin hated and Chuck
Roast wouldn't even try. I blame the gas station food piquing the kids' taste
buds. NO MORE GAS STATION FOOD! I have eggs and cheese with hash browns for
breakfast. The last time I made hash browns, no one but me ate them, so we'll
see how it goes in the morning. I have one happy, dancing girl and one grumpy,
almost constantly crying boy, so it's bed time for all! Tomorrow, a late start
with some family play time before loading up the car again.
Comments
Post a Comment