Arches National Park

Last week N and I decided on the spur of the moment that it would be fun to take the kids down to Moab. Neither of us had been before and it’s only about a 4-hour drive from our house.  So on Friday N took the day off from work and we drove down.

Despite our best intentions, it was after two in the afternoon before we got on the road (I know!) so it was already the kids’ bedtime by the time we got into our hotel.  But since it was a special occasion I took E to paddle around the hotel pool while N put Mimi to bed.

After E and I got back from the pool Mimi was still super jazzed about our little adventure and amiably refusing to go to sleep.  N and I took turns trying to get her to lie down in her portable crib and she kept crying every time we put her down.  We couldn’t let her cry since it would have bothered the other guests so we did this up-and-down-and-rock-and-shoosh dance with her until after ten when she finally conked out.

The next day we drove into Arches National Park to look around and do some hiking.  The scenery was otherworldly and magical.  The kids were troopers: E held his own on the hikes and Mimi chilled in the baby carrier.

After a late lunch we got back on the road and made it home in time to give the kids a much-needed bath and put them to bed at their normal bedtimes–success!

It really was a nice trip.  The drive wasn’t bad at all and Arches is amazing with lots of kid-friendly hikes.  I’ve love to visit again.