And we're off! We were up early and ready to go. We arrived at Arches National Park at 8 am. We were so excited to hike up to Delicate Arch. With a delicious continental breakfast of sausage and rubbery eggs (courtesy of Holiday Inn Express), we were fueled for what was marked a moderate level hike. We weren't too sure what to expect. One thing we knew we didn't want to hear was, "We want to go back to the hotel and go swimming." To prevent this we spelled it out loud and clear. There would be NO swimming until after dinner. We said it about 100 times on the way to Arches. It stuck and we didn't hear about it all day. On the with the hike!
At the trail head
Up we go! I was so excited I couldn't hardly stand it!
Here is my darling little Nate. He was such a hiking trooper. He never complained. My hiking personality is more like Carson. I want to be in the lead...blazing the trail. Nathan was my hiking buddy on this one, and he helped me to stop and smell the roses. "Look mom! There's an ant!" "Look at this rock, Mom. It is so pretty!" "Look at those cactuses. They are sword fighting!" On and on and on. I loved it! Here he is looking at a bug he saw.
Here is Carson at the trail for the petrogliphs. We actually saw them on our way down.
Here is one of those pretty rocks that Nathan spied.
Keep on going up!
My strong babe of a husband that carried a baby on his back the whole vacation!
My photo debut! I was so excited that I wanted to run up this hill!
Carson and Nathan were so cute and friendly to everyone on the trail. After hearing their dad greet fellow hikers with a mornin', they did the same before Robbie could get it out!
The trail was marked so well. Someone had taken a lot of time to make these cairns. It was all our little boys could do to not take those rocks along with them.
Logan trying to catch up!
We must be getting close...a cairn made into an arch!!!
Around the back side of the mountain we climbed
Our first real Arch!!! We were so excited!
I was a little nervous about this part. I was on these boys like glue to make sure that they stayed away from the edge. They obeyed!
We did it! It was one of the most breathtaking things I have ever seen in my live. It was amazing to share it with Robbie and the boys. It was WAY bigger than I expected. I could not stop thinking about how Heavenly Father must have spent so much time creating the wonders of the earth. He could have just sent us here with endless fields of weeds and grasses and we probably would have been just fine. But instead, he created beauty everywhere of all kinds. I really could sense that here.
I wasn't so sure about walking around to the arch let alone letting my kids. Robbie...Mr. Adventure...grabbed Carson, Nathan, and Logan and walked around the bowl to the arch. I was sick. I just prayed asking Heavenly Father to not let my husband or my babies die! They didn't.
Nathan was a little scared to go underneath. With a little coaxing, he did it.
Here they are...WOW!
Here my little Nathan is sitting. I was kind of giggling to myself about this...then it was my turn to walk around.
PANIC was in my heart. I TOTALLY understood why Nathan was sitting. That arch was HUGE! It was kind of a drop off on the back side. On the front, it was like a steep bowl. I took about a million deep breaths and walked around to the arch.
While looking at the arch, I had to sit. It were here that I discovered that I had a fear of heights, or maybe it was a fear of falling.
The boys were yelling from across the bowl, "HIIIII MOMMMMM!" It was all that I could to to raise my arm and wave. I am so glad that I could manage my fear and do something I was scared of. It was one of the most memorable things that I have ever done!
We stayed at the arch for a little while and rested while the kids chased chip monks. Then we decided to head back down. I think both of us were a little freaked out that one of the boys would chase a chip monk right off the edge of the cliff! Lukey was a trooper. He crashed to the rocking footsteps of his dad. The boys kept telling people passing by who were on their way up, "It is amazing...you're almost there!" It was neat to see them love nature that way.
Here is the petrogliph. It is estimated to be 500-800 years old. It was beautiful.
Before we left, the only thing that the boys wanted to do was to catch a lizard. They even had names picked out for them! They were going to be pets. But, they are fast little buggers! So this is the closest we got. Phew!
By the end of this hike we were HUNGRY and TIRED! But we did it!
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