Grand Junction KOA

We stayed another evening in Moab at the Spanish Trail RV Park. It was a nice spot and the kids loved the pool. Unfortunately a storm rolled in after we got back from Canyonlands and they closed the pool. The storm blew a lot of dust, and thankfully it didn’t last long. Sadly they never reopened the pool in the evening. So in the morning we swam before we left. We decided to have a chill day instead of pushing to get more things in. We had made reservations at the Grand Junction KOA for Saturday evening (they had nothing open on Friday) and whitewater rafting on Sunday. We considered moving these two reservations up, but the kids really wanted to stay at the KOA in Grand Junction because it had mini-golf. So we took our time and enjoyed the amenities at the RV Parks. 

The Grand Junction KOA wasn’t as nice as we had hoped, but it wasn’t bad. It was right off a main highway so it was loud. We enjoyed their pool and got in two rounds of mini-golf. It was a VERY basic course, but it was a course, and we made the most of it. Callie got a hole in one on the first hole of the day! Mom and Dad also got a few hole in ones during their playing time. The kids enjoyed playing on the playground some, and the boys played some outdoor checkers! We were surprised with the fun of an outdoor movie in the evening! We sat out on the patio of their office and took in the Sonic the Hedgehog movie. We had been wanting to see this movie for sometime, but never got to it. This was perfect and the movie was funny for us all! Right when the movie was over, it started to sprinkle. When we got back to our RV, the rain started coming down! The Lord’s timing is so grand. 

The kids have really enjoyed the RV parks with the nice amenities. It has been nice to have a break from the heat in the pools and have air conditioning in our RV! Dry camping is too hard during the summer months out in Utah and Western Colorado! 

Mesa Arch in Canyonlands

Our last hike was to the Mesa Arch in Canyonlands. It was a easy half mile hike to the arch. The arch itself looked cool, but what was even more amazing was the stunning drop off right below the arch. Wow! It was intense! Out from the Mesa Arch was another arch called the Widow Arch. It is in the tall dark colored walls/spires in the canyon. It is amazing to look at the land down in the canyons. These areas are so big and we are so small. What a big and amazing God we have! 

Overlooks!

Mom’s favorite overlook in the park was the Green River Overlook! The view was just stunning! We could definitely see where they got the name for the Island in the Sky section we were in. We did feel like we were on an island in the Sky looking down on everything. Amazing! We were able to see the Maze and Needles sections from this overlook, as well. You can not get to these sections of the park from one another, but must drive outside of the park and around to visit these areas. This National Park is so vast. We enjoyed reading about and seeing part of the 100 mile ATV trail through the park. What an adventure that would be! 

The Grand Overlook was at the end of the scenic drive. There is no doubt, it’s views are grand!! We heard great things about the mile hike on the edge of this canyon. With the intense heat, we decided to save our last hike for something shorter. We enjoyed the views and took in some photos. Callie enjoyed taking some! She does a great job with the camera. 

Upheaval Dome in Canyonlands

Our next trail was a mile hike out to the Upheaval Dome. This hike had some elevation change and was a bit tighter. The terrain was different from our experience at Whale Rock. There were many more rock pieces on the sides of the trail. We reached the first crater overlook and it was definitely something different than the many rocks surrounding it. We would have loved to hear from a Creation scientist about how this was formed. We decided to go on toward the next overlook. We went pretty far but didn’t make it all the way to the overlook. There was a steep part of the trail right near the end, but we decided to stop before the downhill so we didn’t have to go up. We knew we had at least a 1.5 mile hike back, and again it was hot! 

Cade really enjoyed this hike. It was a bit more challenging and longer in length. He wanted to go the entire length around the Crater. Maybe someday we will get to do some big hikes like that. 

We ate a bite to eat in the RV before moving on to our next stop in Canyonlands!

Whale Rock Hike in Canyonlands

The drive from Moab to Canyonlands was beautiful. We felt ourselves climbing toward the “Island in the Sky”. We had no idea the unbelievable views we would see. What an amazing God we have. He is Creator! 

Our first hike in Canyonlands was at Whale Rock. There were a few cars in the parking lot when we arrived but by the time we made it to the top of the rock, we were the only ones on the trail. The carins helped to lead us up the rock. It was a fun and easy climb. And once we were at the top, we enjoyed exploring. One of our favorite parts was the “warp wall” rock connection. We felt like we were on top of the world! It was so cool! What a cool hike! 

Moab RV Park

We pulled into the Spanish Trail RV Park in Moab, and were pleasantly surprised with the really nice park! We were excited to see some trees and a nice pool! This RV park had high water pressure, so we had to get a pressure regulator. We had a nice pull in spot on the edge of the park and neighbors only on our backside. It was a nice space. We plugged in and started getting the RV cool. When pool time came, it was very welcomed! The pool was a great size. Callie started working on her swimming again and gaining more confidence getting her face in the water. The pool also had a basketball hoop so the boys enjoyed some hoops! Curtis struck up a great conversation with a couple traveling for a few months. We loved hearing their experiences. 

Callie enjoyed building a fort while she was waiting for  dinner!! We also finished up working on our Junior Ranger Books, and got our new pennies and tokens in our books! It is so fun to see all the places we have gone! 

The showers at this RV park were wonderful and clean. We really enjoyed the refreshment of our stay, and all slept soundingly after a hot day!

The Delicate Arch View

Our last stop in Arches was at the Delicate Arch Viewpoint Trails. We took the half mile Upper Trail to take a view of the Delicate Arch. The trail to Delicate Arch would have been a strenuous trail for our family. The steep incline of the trail and the intense heat made the viewpoint trail a much better option. This half mile hike was even hard. Callie was trying to find any shade she could along the route. When we made it to the viewpoint, she rested under a rock out of the sun. It was a tough hike for her. On our way back down the trail we saw a small little arch close to the ground. It was cool in its own sort of way! 

We wanted to see more of the Park but the heat was really getting to us and everyone was getting worn out. We decided to head to the RV park and get the air conditioning going. Before we left the Park we enjoyed all of the beautiful rock formations on the way out and stopped at the Visitor’s Center for Callie to get a stuffed animal she decided to get with her souvenir. She chose a mountain lion, and we named it Carin!