Delicate Arch

We made it over to Arches National Park this morning before it was too hot to be able to enjoy it. Our goal was to hike the Delicate Arch trail and see the famous arch that most people probably associate with the park. Round trip, it is a moderate three-mile hike. The terrain reminded us a bit of Enchanted Rock, if you're familiar with that well-known hunk of granite in central Texas. The hike was fun and the reward of seeing the gorgeous arch was well worth the effort to get there!

The Delicate Arch Trail begins at Wolfe Ranch

The creek at Wolfe Ranch

View along the trail

Tadpole pool 

Interesting formations at the top of the Slickrock area

Happy Hikers

Almost to the top of the trail

Our reward!

Proof that we made it

Max always finds the highest accessable point

We always find lots of rock stacks when we hike,
and Clay decided he wanted to try his hand at it today.

Ute Indian petroglyphs

All the Mexican food, after a strenuous morning

Sadly, this is the last day of our Epic Summer Road Trip, but ending it at Arches was a good way to go out. Ruth and I will get on a plane back to DFW tomorrow and jump back into sports practices and CC tutoring prep work. The boys will continue on in the RV and will have a couple of days of Man Trip, before they head out to west Texas for the family's annual gathering near Ft. Davis. Thank you for following along on our journey. It's been amazing in so many ways! Stay tuned for future adventures.

Arches

Let me start by saying, sometimes it's totally worth it to get up for the early run:

Sunrise

Good morning, sunshine!

They don't call this neighborhood
Rim Vista for nothing!

Sights and smells of the morning

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Later in the morning, we paid a visit to Arches National Park. Wow! What an amazing place! It is so incredibly beautiful and unlike any place we've ever been. We took a couple of short, easy hikes and saw Park Avenue, Double Arch, Turret Arch, and The Windows up close. We also drove down the main road of the park and viewed from there lots of other interesting formations, like Balanced Rock and The Petrified Sand Dunes. We can't wait to go back tomorrow and do a longer hike.

Park Avenue

Petrified Sand Dunes

Balanced Rock

Making arches under Double Arch

Double Arch

The Windows

Turret Arch

I don't know if this formation
had a particular name, but I called
it The Three Wise Men.

This one I called The Lion

Until tomorrow...

Moab

We left Park City this morning and headed to Moab, the last stop of our Epic Summer Road Trip. We are breaking with our camping ways, sort of as a last hurrah, and are staying in a very nice condo here. The boys were quick to find the amenities and spent some time playing on the playground and swimming in the pool this afternoon. Later, we had dinner at Zax, before heading over to the Moab Backyard Theater for a magic show. Everyone got to participate in various tricks, and we all had a great time!

Cannonball King

Little bitty cannonball

Always adding his own style

View from the pool

The obvious thing to do at a restaurant
that gives you bandanas for napkins

Stunned cowboy at the
Backyard Theater

Crazy Cowboy

Funny. There wasn't a hole in
Clay's shirt before.

The Max Trick

Just after the magician sarcasticly said,
"Don't feel bad about messing up the trick.
It's really my fault since I asked you to come up here."

"Throw the cards in the air."

Even Dad got some stage time

Park City

We spent the morning enjoying the playground and rec room at our campground. Then we went into Park City around lunch time and dined at Sammy's Bistro, which was fantastic. After lunch, we headed out to the Olympic Park for a look around. If you are unfamiliar, during the 2002 Salt Lake City winter Olympics, the indoor events were held in SLC at The Oval (where we had our curling lesson last night), and the outdoor events were held in Park City at The Park. Many athletes of all levels still train at these facilities, and there are many diversions for tourists to spend their money on as well. We stuck to the free entertainment of playing on the playground and watching skiers and snowboarders coming off the ski jumps. It is really something to see winter sports being performed in the very real heat of summer! The facility was also preparing for a rock wall climbing competition that starts tomorrow, so we got to watch a few of those guys practicing as well.

They weren't using the pool jumps today
because they were getting ready
 for the climbing competition.

A boy and his statues

The big ski jumps

Two of the large jump hills were
being used by tubing tourists

Building potential Olympic skills

A jumper, just above the Olympic symbol
(You can actually see his shadow, to the
left of the rings, better than you can see him.)

A skier practicing flips into
a huge inflatable ramp

Just hanging out

What goes up, must come down!

Salt Lake City

We spent the afternoon and evening in Salt Lake City and had a great time. We started with lunch at Crown Burger, which is credited with being the originator of the must-eat food for Utah, the pastrami burger, from our list of what to eat in every state. Then, we walked over to Temple Square and took a look at the impressive Mormon Tabernacle. After that, we drove out to Antelope Island for a close up view (and smell!) of the Great Salt Lake and Garr Ranch. Finally, we headed back into the city, to the Olympic training center, for our curling lesson, which was such a blast! They didn't ask is to join the Olympic team on the spot, but we're expecting a call just any time.

Home of the original pastrami burger

The Mormon Tabernacle

The Great Salt Lake

The black line along the edge of the water
is brine flies, which is one of the few species
that can survive in the lake. They flew up in a
wave as we approached the water
and effectively kept us away.

Bison are frequent visitors to the salt
flats left when the water evaporates.

This chair at Garr Ranch made
my big girl look small.

Horses at Garr Ranch

Looking across the lake toward the city

Ready to deliver the stone

The art of curling

Curling is Jeff's all-time favorite
winter Olympic sport, so he was
thrilled to have the opportunity
to attend a lesson at Utah's Oval,
using actual Olympic stones.

Demonstrating the
 "Super Man" technique.

Jeff delivers while the boys sweep

Ready for the Olympics