Every October, our kids get a week long break in their school schedule. We had planned to visit Costa Rica this year. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, we were unable to travel internationally. Instead, we decided to take advantage of the U.S. National Park Service's program "Every Kid Outdoors". This allows every fourth grader and their family to visit national parks for free. We really enjoyed our time at Zion National Park in 2019, so we decided to discover more national parks in Utah and Wyoming.
Our first destination was Arches National Park in Utah. We arrived in Moab on Friday late afternoon. We had been told the park is gorgeous at sunset, so we headed straight to the park before checking into our hotel. The landscape was beautiful and awe inspiring. We did a quick walk to see the Delicate Arch from a lower vantage point.
On Saturday morning, we woke up early to get into the park before it started to get crowded. We had two hikes planned for today -- Devil's Garden Trailhead to the Double O Arch (approximately 5 miles round trip) and Wolfe Ranch to Delicate Arch (approximately 3 miles round trip). Both hikes were gorgeous, but Delicate Arch was my favorite of the two. The first hike was very peaceful and allowed us to enjoy nature at our own pace. The second hike, although not as long as the first, was pretty vertical and strenuous. By this point in the day, Aiden was done hiking. Josh ended up pulling him up the vertical sandstone trail for more than a majority of the hike. Madilyn was a trooper and kept up with me the entire. Seeing the monumental arch was worth all of the sweat and tears though.
After hiking all day, we headed back to the hotel to take showers before heading into Moab to explore and eat. The kids were exhausted and elected not to go into town for dinner and shopping. They just wanted to watch shows and eat dinner out of the hotel vending machine. So, they stayed in the hotel and we headed into town for a late afternoon date.
Heading out on our family road trip
Crossing the border into Utah
Friday evening in the park
Saturday in the park
Hike #1
Hike #2
Dinner Date!
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