Monday, March 19, 2018

I’m already a bit behind in my updates. I hope everyone can forgive me.

We ended up sleeping in a bit later than we thought we would since none of us really slept that well. After showers, Dad treated everyone to Denny’s. Lots of food. Huge bill. Totally worth it.

Breakfast at Denny’s

Canyonlands National Park was our stop for the day. We started at the Visitors Center, got a map and put a game plan together. The ranger recommended Grand View Point Overlook for a sunset. We got some family pictures right there at the Visitors Center and then journeyed out to Mesa Arch. The views were amazing both at the Arch and hiking up to it. Everyone enjoyed climbing on the surrounding rocks and it was clear that it was going to be a reoccurring activity.

Canyonlands Visitors Center

From there we opted for a longer hike so we headed to the Murphy’s Point trail for a 1.8 mile hike. As amazing as the views were we quickly realized that hiking with a toddler was going to be a challenge. The “kid carrier” that we borrowed was nice but put a strain on both Sonya’s and my backs. As a result we op-ed to turn around maybe just less than a mile into the trail.

Trail to Murphy’s Landing

By that point it was getting late in the day. The sun was going to set at about 7:30. We drove out to the Upheaval Dome and thought that we could make the short hike to see it. In retrospect, we probably would have been fine, but we opted to go ahead and go on to The Grand View Overlook for our dinner and sunset.

We had tentatively planned on going back into town to get dinner, but it would have taken too long. So, “Linner” consisted of whatever was in the van at the time: small sandwiches, half bags of chips, apple sauce, apples and oranges, and oatmeal creme pies.

The Grand View Overlook

The views here we’re just spectacular! We were here for a couple of hours and got to explore the surrounding rock formations. Toward the end of the day, it got very chilly with temperatures in the high 20s. By the time the sun set, we were were high-tailing it for the car.

When we for back Sonya made a grocery run and I got Vivian showered. The plan was to get a round of laundry done but we got to the cabin too late. We were all pretty wiped when we finally got into bed. Great first day in Moab!