Delicate Arch, take 2

Last night the older kids and 3 adults went on the hike to Delicate Arch where you can see it up close. Today the older kids got to sleep in a bit and Joe, the younger ones and I went to see it from a viewpoint and to complete and turn in their Junior Ranger booklets. After that, we would let the kids take the lead and decide what to do next. Visit Canyonlands? Do a second short hike at Arches?

Above is Balanced Rock on our way into the park at about 8am. We stopped for donuts which I thought would make everyone happy but there were some tears over the selection. I thought the donuts were great but they were a little different than the kids were used to. After that, sans breakfast for some, we set out to hike the viewpoint trail. It was uphill and the sun was already getting hot but we made it.

The hills here are green. There was a board explaining why but it has to do with the minerals which are formed by iron in the soil.

We saw a few interesting plants and geological features on this hike.

Rock with quartzite that Nova was very interested in.

We rested before heading back down. Snacks were shared.

On the way back down we rested under a big juniper tree. It was getting obvious at this point that the heat, the early morning and the stamina of the kids was going to limit this adventure to the morning. Joe lightened the mood by asking the kids to pretend different things while they were posing for a picture. Soon we all joined in.

Pretend you are tired

…Pretend you just saw a ghost

…Pretend someone just gave you a huge present and inside was a real llama

…Pretend you thought your cat was run over by a car but then found out it was someone else’s cat

… Pretend you just found out you’re adopted

…Pretend you just sat on a cactus

We got back to the visitor center and the kids finished up work on 3 different Junior Ranger books. Arches, Night Ranger, and Canyonlands. After talking to a Ranger at Arches, a plan was made to go to Canyonlands tomorrow evening for a ranger-led program about the night sky. The visitor center for Canyonlands will be closed then and Arches has their booklets so we did them in advance.

We even brought back badges for the Arches for the 4 kids that stayed home (they sent their completed booklets with me to the park). We were ready for a siesta so back to the campground we went. I napped and the girls finished their movie from the night before. The older kids were playing a continuation of their D&D game from the night before then started planning for a new game.

Melissa and Joe ordered Domino’s for dinner. The kids really miss having pizza and they had everyone order their own medium pizza which made their day. We stopped to pick up soda and paper plates and met at Moonflower Canyon which was along the Colorado River.

The canyon entrance area had red sand which was really fine and soft. We set up a table and chairs and ate our pizzas. In the end there was only about 8 slices of pizza left.

The kids noticed some lizards and Melissa and I wondered what kind of tree the one Asa and Joey were sitting on was. I took a picture of the leaf and used reverse image search and it turns out it was a cottonwood. We also found a mulberry tree and picked and ate some berries.

We were nearby some petroglyphs which are images carved some 600-800 years ago. This wall has been extensively vandalized with more modern carvings but the original artwork is still there. It depicts bighorn sheep, figures of people, snakes and geometric designs.

When we finished eating we split into two groups. We have dubbed the two groups the Dark Angels (they go on more strenuous hikes) and the Blue Angels (they prefer to hang at the campsite, the visitor centers or do short hikes). Some people change groups depending on the activity choices. This evening the D.A. went to see Corona Arch which was a moderate 3+ mile hike while the B.A. took a drive to see another petroglyph and then went to the campsite to roast marshmallows. What group would you be in?

These glyphs were carved into a boulder which sits on the ground.