Oh, the places we’ve been!?

We’re back from our trip, and wow, that was a lot of driving. We are now bonded with our Honda, it feels like one of the family. We started out in St.Geroge, (after stopping in Salt Lake at REI to buy a new 4-man tent) where Wildman pruned some trees for a therapist he used to work with at Second Nature. We then went “primitive” and camped the first night next to the Virgin River, just outside of Springdale. The second day, we drove through Zion (purchasing the annual Parks’ Pass) and then through Kanab, and Lake Powell. We stopped in Page, AZ to eat lunch, and could hardly wait to get back in the SUV where it was WARM. Yes, the weather Thursday and Friday was very windy and cold.

Below: Wildman pruning the trees in St. George

After lunch, we drove up through Monument Valley, and over to the Goosenecks of the San Juan. Again, cold and windy. We wanted to camp at Natural Bridges Ntl. Monument and do some hikes there, so we headed up over Moki Dugway. When we arrived at Bridges, the wind was howling and the temperature was about 42 degrees. And the campground was one shy of being full. We opted to do a short hike to one of the Bridges, and then drove to Monticello where we stayed the night in a hotel. Some weather is just no fun to camp in, and that would be cold and windy.

Below: Me and Pocketmouse standing on the edge of the Goosenecks. Note the wind factor..

Below: Goosenecks of the San Juan

Below: Moki Dugway

Below: The kidlets at Owachomo Bridge

The next morning, we drove to Moab, where we decided to stay at Uncle Kevin’s SPEC home. He was gracious enough to give us permission (and the key-code) so we had a warm, comfortable “camp-site”. A good thing too, because everyone in the state of Utah who was on spring break was camping in Moab. All the campgrounds were FULL.

Below: Uncle Kevin's SPEC home, our "campsite"...

After setting up “camp”, we headed off to hike Corona Arch. Again, everyone and their dogs(literally) were on this hike. We even got to listen to the dogs fighting under the arch. Precious. There were probably around 100 people, and half of them brought “Buddy” along. I never did see a “dog waste receptacle”….moving on…

Below: Corona Arch Hike...aren't they cute?!

Wildman wanted to go a bit less crowded, so we drove down the Colorado River (west of Corona Arch) until we reached the Potash plant…and the beginning of a dirt road. We followed the dirt road all the way to Dead Horse Point….the bottom of it. We were at the river horseshoe bend looking up-up-up at Dead Horse Point. Fun stuff. Then, instead of turning around and going back, Wildman wanted to keep going, entering the “back-roads” of Canyonlands Ntl. Park and eventually to meet up with the main road. Okay, I said. Little did I know that we would be driving on a road and cliff that made Moki Dugway seem like child’s play. Let’s just say, I became well acquainted with the “holy-sh**” handles above each window in our vehicle. I would not want to take my horse down this road/cliff, and here I was, bouncing along in our SUV. The Honda performed beautifully and life-savingly…and we all lived to tell about it. Near the end, I finally got up enough guts to stand up through the sunroof and video some of the road. I will never forget the guy’s face we passed on the road…seeing me standing up out of the sunroof with a camera in my hand apparently shocked and delighted him. Heheheh…

Below: Wildman and the Honda, Horseshoe Bend (Dead Horse Point State Park) driving towards Shafer Canyon, in Canyonlands

After our “death therapy”, we strolled to Mesa Arch, which is one of my favorites.

Below: Mesa Arch, framing the LaSal Mountains

We then headed home via the “Giant Sand Hill”, where NAM climbed to the top and began jumping down….only to turf it—literally—with his face.. You should have seen the amount of sand I cleaned out of his ears.

Below: The "Big Sand Mountain"

The next morning we started out early to hike to the Great Gallery, in Canyonlands. After 45 miles of what we now considered to be mild dirt roads, we arrived at the trailhead. We hiked the 6.5 miles round trip (80% of which was through sand) and ended up with sunburns and blisters….except Wildman…he was just getting warmed up. I was SO proud of the kids. It was a difficult and long hike, and they made it the whole way without being carried once. What little troopers! After the Great Gallery, we drove to Goblin Valley and Wildman hiked up Little Wild Horse Canyon while the kids and I tended to our battle wounds and ate dinner. We then drove back to Moab and cleaned up and slept well.

Below: Hiking through Horseshoe Canyon, to the Great Gallery. It was cool seeing one of the canyons I recently read about in Aron Ralston's book, Between A Rock And A Hard Place.

We headed home the next morning…and lo and behold…the weather was actually warmer in Cache Valley (72 degrees) than it was in Moab! Of course, it snowed the next day…