BT 4.0: 2012

Just kidding about meeting Johnny Depp. We headed to Canyonlands National Park today to ring in the 4th. We arrived at the park around 9am and it was deserted. For the first few hours it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. It was overcast today during our hikes which made for a very jovial and active Odelia. She frolicked and explored without a thought to the heat (yes, it was still hot). Our first hike in Canyonlands took us up to an arch that overlooked a canyon. Mark and Milo made it up there first with plenty of time for taking pictures and exploring. Odelia and I meandered, backtracking to the potty and then really focusing on our Junior Ranger mission, which was finding litter on the trail. We arrived at the arch and I immediately freaked about the drop off. I couldn't let the kids get within 5 feet of the edge and I made sure one of us had a hand on Odelia at all times. It wasn't a relaxing destination but certainly beautiful. We hiked another short trail where the kids got to play and climb without fear of plummeting over a cliff. Both kids earned their Junior Ranger pins at Canyonlands today. They had to do a series of activities and then speak to a ranger. It was serious business! The ranger spent about 10 minutes with them going through their workbooks and talking to them about the park. They were delighted to walk away with Junior Ranger badges. We are leaving tomorrow at 4am for a LOOOOOOONG drive to Des Moines to visit my sister and Benjamin. Big Trip 2012 is coming to an end and I notice my husband already has an excel spreadsheet started for Big Trip 2013. It's like an addict looking for his next fix.

Here is the beautiful arch with the gigantic canyon right below it.
Canyonlands National Park, UT

I was NOT here for this picture otherwise you would have seen my hand death-gripping his ankle.
Canyonlands National Park, UT

Last family picture of Big Trip 2012
Canyonlands National Park, UT

She was a live wire today which didn't mix well with the very large canyon below us. Mark had a firm grip on her.
Canyonlands National Park, UT

Jump!
Whale Rock Trail
Canyonlands National Park, UT

Mark does a handstand on top of a rock.
Canyonlands National Park, UT

At the top!
Canyonlands National Park, UT

Love this kid.
Canyonlands National Park, UT

Milo is doing the Corpse pose from yoga. He says, "We should change the name of this pose to the peace pose."
Good thought, buddy.
Canyonlands National Park, UT

Yoga @ Canyonlands National Park, UT
A forest of Trees
Canyonlands National Park, UT

Climbing even higher.
Canyonlands National Park, UT

Odelia does the downward dog.
Canyonlands National Park, UT

Yoga@ Canyonlands National Park, UT
Odelia strikes a Tree.
Canyonlands National Park, UT

It wouldn't be a day of vacation without her stealing my sunglasses.
Canyonlands National Park, UT

Milo does more of his Peace (corpse) pose.
Canyonlands National Park, UT

Hamming it up!
Canyonlands National Park, UT

Finishing up the Junior Ranger packet so he can earn his badge.
Notice his little tongue sticking out.
Canyonlands National Park, UT

Turns out technology issues follow you wherever you go. We've had blog issues the last couple of days but it looks like Space Provided is on the mend. We're in Moab, Utah. Our vacation is coming to a close and I'd like you all to know that I'm probably done with the desert. Moab is beautiful but I don't think we are the target audience. It's really more of a 20-somethings playground chalked full of adventure tours, exciting hikes and enough mountain biking to last you from now until Christmas. It turns out, no matter how daring and willing your 3- and 5-year-old are, some outdoor activities just aren't appropriate for those with under-developed gross motor skills and short limbs. They both have been more than willing to try whatever we let them. At lunch today we were by a large rock (think large house, not pebble) and both kids were betting each other that they could climb it without help. Both of them took a stab at it and neither had enough height to even lift themselves off the ground. But they tried, darn it!

Day one in Moab was relaxed. We hung out at our abode in the morning and then headed into town for some hearty consumerism. I purchased my requisite pound of salt water taffy and all was right with the world. We were lucky enough to sample chile mango taffy and bacon taffy. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about all the bacon products I've seen this summer. I do really, really love bacon but I just don't know if Burger King needed to crumble it over an ice cream sundae. Again, I digress. We found a swimming hole upon a recommendation from a local. Mark and I were able to simply spectate as it was knee deep and very small. It was nice to let the kids splash around while we lazed in the blistering sun.

Yesterday we canoed down the Colorado river. A rafting company dropped us off at 9am and then picked us up 11 miles down the river at 2pm. Mark and I paddled, the kids pretended that smurfs were lurking in the water and we all enjoyed some splashing in the water. The river is at a 50-year-low so in a lot of places it was less than a foot deep. Super for swimming with kids but as a paddler it proved to be a pain in the butt. The raft guide warned us that when we came to the end of our canoeing adventure we would be docking in the middle of a movie shoot. No joke. We were merely yards away from Johnny Depp deep in the middle of shooting The Lone Ranger in Moab, Utah. The whole place was crawling with people, trailers, boats, more people and a lot of very, very fancy porta-potties. We did not see Johnny. We did find out that this particular shoot has pretty much paralyzed tourism in Moab for all of June and July. TLR (that's what we in the biz are calling it for short) rented out 850 of the 1400 available hotel rooms in Moab and rented out a whole campground along the river for the shoot. That's just a little tidbit. Not all that relevant to our visit (other than I've been looking for Johnny everywhere we go).

Today we went to Arches National Park. We hiked into a few slot canyons, saw many arches and played in more red sand. The kids were very happy to be hiking in the canyons as it meant a lot of shade and much cooler temps. The place we hiked was full of sand so we were all able to take our shoes off several times for some playing. Milo and Mark scouted out a slot canyon/cave trek for us and we all ventured in a bit. We picnicked and then headed back to the condo for some rest and swimming at the local pool. Tomorrow is our last day in Moab. We are going to Canyonlands National Park and then we're going to seek out some 4th of July fun. Thursday we begin our trek home with a 16 hour drive from Moab to Des Moines.

The swimming hole.
Moab, UT

I believe this was a wild game of Power Rangers.
I know the trip isn't over yet but I'm thankful that we have not made a trip to the ER for a poked out eye or head wound . They really get into their roles.
Moab, UT

Sometimes Odelia forgets that she isn't an adept swimmer and she'll tackle Milo and end up underwater. This was right before one of her tackles.
Moab, UT

She's trying to catch a fish.
Moab, UT

Jump!
Moab, UT

Taking a break.
Moab, UT

This is outside our condo in Moab. They are watching a stream of water flow down the hill to the gutter. You know you've been in the desert too long when a puddle on the side of the road is novel to your children.
Moab, UT

We begin our canoeing adventure.
Colorado River, UT

The day is young. This is around mile 1.
Colorado River, UT

First stop to swim. We "beached" the canoe on a sand dune.
Colorado River, UT

Love the reflection in the water.
Colorado River, UT

She really, really wanted to paddle. We have paddles for both kids back in Wisconsin but the rafting company wasn't offering up kid-sized paddles. After about mile 6 they both found long sticks to use as paddles.
Colorado River, UT