April was busy and fun and a bit insane.

The day after Crew got his cast off we headed down to Arches National Park.

Had to pick up our Jr. Ranger books first thing.   

Started at Balance Rock.

Then to Sandstone Arch, where we were actually prepared with our bucket and shovels.


And then we ran into our good friends the Brown’s. 

We were also prepared and brought our projector for premium hotel movie viewing.  


The next morning we headed out early to do Delicate Arch before the massive crowds hit. 

It was still pretty busy, but not insane. 

This was one of our first successful hikes where all the kids hiked without having to be carried and no whining. 

Except when we reached the top, because this one is afraid of heights. 

Macey, Miles and I braved the heights and crowds to get a closer look at Delicate Arch.  

Ruby’s fear of heights was soon forgotten when we spotted a lizard.  

Next stop was Double Arch, where the kids were in heaven rock scrambling all around.  

Our hotel was super awesome. We did lots of swimming and lots of eating of their delicious food. 

We even ran into one of Crew’s best friends at the Nacho bar after a swim session.

The next day we headed up to Vernal.

We went to the Dinosaur Museum down the street from our hotel.  

Then after swimming some more, the kids had pizza in bed while watching a movie. This was of course their favorite part of the trip.


The next morning we headed to Dinosaur National Monument. 

It was practically empty compared to Arches.  

And was pretty insane getting to see the actual fossils up close and in the mountainside they were actually discovered in.  

There were tons of awesome petroglyphs and pictoglyphs along the scenic highway to stop at. 

We had lunch at Josie’s cabin where the kids loved learning about Josie and imagining what it would be like to live in the wilderness alone.  

I had one more hike planned, but that got vetoed as soon as the kids saw the river and we spent the rest of the day exploring, climbing and throwing rocks.  

On our way back home we took a detour to this crazy place called Fantasy Canyon.  

It felt like we were on another planet.

We were the only people there too, which was a little creepy.  And then we got lost inside all the formations.  But, after lots of butt sliding, scraped knees, and climbing, we found our way back to the car.  

And headed back home very tired and very dirty.  A successful spring break.