For Carter's 4th grade county project, he had to choose a county and then visit that county. He chose San Juan, which is the farthest county away from where we live. So, we packed up the car and made the 1,000 mile journey to the land of the red rocks in southern Utah. Our first stop along the way was Arches National Park. This particular place is NOT located in San Juan, but we couldn't drive on by without stopping at the Delicate Arch. It was a 3 mile round trip hike and our kids have never done anything like this before. They did great!
Whitney and Kemery had a little help along the way with some piggy back rides.
The kids were brave and went under the arch. I was not so brave and sat petrified in terror as they ventured near the edge of the arch. I didn't used to be so afraid, but I couldn't make my body move any closer to anything that I could possibly fall off of.
The next stop was the Wilson Arch. This just sorta sat on the side of the road. We pulled off and hiked up to it, only to see that it was a sheer drop off on the other side. We didn't hang around too long up there.
Newspaper Rock was next. I remember going there as a kid and I had forgotten how far out of the way it was. It was all in the name of homework though.
The Four Corners was a new experience for us. We had never been there before, nor did we plan ahead very well. We hadn't taken much cash with us so when we got to the middle of nowhere and were told we needed to pay cash to enter, we were a little disgruntled. I had about $5, we needed $15. Hillary stepped up and gave us all her cash and change, including her gold dollars. After a lot of scrounging around the van, we had enough to go in. We got our pictures taken and hopped back in the car and drove onto the next destination.
Natural Bridges National Monument was incredible! This was a place we had never really even heard much about and had no idea how amazing it was. Being petrified of heights, I naturally hung back and let Brian take pictures while thoughts of someone plummeting to their death lingered in my mind. We were all safe though and enjoyed the beauty of this place.
We even found some wildlife. The kids really wanted to see a snake, but this lizard was all we could find.
Last stop on the journey was Lake Powell-the Crowning Jewel of Utah. It was so pretty and we were in awe of it. It's been about 11 years since we soaked our toes in the lake. It was way too cold this trip, but it leaves longing for more. It was a really long, quick, fun trip. We only had one carsick child too. That's always a bonus.
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