Camping :o)

Before I start, let me warn you, there are 30 pictures on this post. Please don't hate me. I started with 175. I thought 30 seemed reasonable. If you have a slow internet connection, you probably shouldn't bother. They are, at least, resized though.

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So! We're back from our camping trip. We had a wonderful time.


Arches National Park is in Moab, UT, only about two hours from home. I'd never been before and thought it would be a good place to go. I was right. :o)

Izzy helped navigate.

It was an easy drive. We left early since I'd read that campsites fill up fast. We arrived ten minutes after eight and got the last camp site that was available. We were lucky! We set up camp first thing so it would be all ready for us when we got back. Cora's never been camping. She did great!


And then we were off to see the sites. In no particular order:

Partition Arch


Tunnel Arch


Pine Tree Arch


Turret Arch


Landscape Arch - one of the most famous arches here, and one of the longest spans in the world.



Balanced Rock

On the way to Sand Dune Arch, through the slots.


Chillin' under Sand Dune Arch


Skyline Arch



Double Arch


Delicate Arch - the most famous arch in the world, Utah's unofficial state symbol (it's on EVERYTHING in Utah.) We only walked to the viewpoints. It was a three mile hike to go up to the arch, and that's a little risky with a little baby who gets bored fast sometimes.

She was happy most of the time though.


We went to the Windows arches for sunset on Tuesday night. It was gorgeous. The way those rocks seem to glow when the sun hits them just right is incredible. We sat right under the North Window and watched the sun go down. It was cold and windy, but it was still really beautiful.


Here's a picture of the girls in the tent on Monday night.



We were waiting out the rain. At some point, we decided it was a better idea to wait out the rain inside the local brewery while we ate dinner, instead of trying to cook something out in the yucky weather. It was a good idea. We were almost ready to give up and go home. Andrew and I were both cranky butts that night. But the rain quit while we were eating, so we decided to stick it out, and were so glad we did.

Random scenery shot. These rock formations are aptly called "fins".



After the third or fourth time we drove by this particular formation, I decided I wanted to stop to get a picture. If you could name this rock anything, what would you name it?

I think Phallus Rock would be appropriate, no?

Here's a shot of the Wolfe Cabin, named after the man who first settled in the area and lived here for 12 years.


Sleepyhead little girls. They slept until almost 9:00 the first morning! Cora slept right between Andrew and I all night, and stayed nice and toasty warm. Izzy slept on Chloe's 'bed', so they were snug too. It worked out perfectly.


"Mom, can we pleeeeeeeeeease burn marshmallows tonight?"

Before we left today we took a hike called "Park Avenue". There weren't any arches to see, but a primitive trail took us through all kinds of neat formations, balanced rocks, and tons of potholes. We looked and looked, but couldn't find any cool bugs in the potholes. It was a really nice hike though, probably my favorite of the trip.


The Three Gossips, Chloe's favorite formation, for whatever reason.



So that's it for camping pictures. If you actually made it this far, you're awesome. If not, well, I understand. Since I don't have a real homeschooling blog yet, I think I'll make homeschooling notes tomorrow - let me tell you, this was such an educational trip! I learned a lot. I think Chloe did too. We did a ranger hike Tuesday morning. The ranger took us up to the Windows Arches, and talked about what it would be like to live there 1000 years ago like the Indians did. We learned about edible plants, hunting, medicine, making clothing from Yucca leaves, making tools from animal bones and plants and arrowheads from churt rock. It was fascinating, and the ranger knew a lot. I think Chloe gained a ton from that walk.

Alright, I still have some unpacking to do before I head to bed tonight, I just wanted to get this pictures up now, before I slacked off and never posted them. Thanks for reading!