Today was a great day on the road. We took the scenic route 12 across Utah to Zion. It was amazing. Maybe the most beautiful drive I have ever been on. We were a little nervous when we could see straight down on both sides of the truck and NO guard rail! We stopped for a picture at 9600ft. We drove through Capitol Reef NP. Beautiful. While driving through the Grand Staircase Escalante we stopped at Hole in the Wall and learned about the early settlers that created a wagon route through a crack in the mountain. Incredible. The GSE is a U.S. National Monument protecting 1,880,461 acres of land in Utah. We also were able to visit Bryce Canyon NP. A thunderstorm was rolling in but we were able to hike the rim and see the Hoodoos. We arrived at a quaint little campground in Mount Carmel, Utah. We are excited about spending the next couple of days at Zion NP.

A volcanic rock

9600 Feet

HooDoos

ARCHES NP

Today we are in Moab, Utah. This is a happening little town in the summer! We visited Arches NP today. It was pretty neat. Arches National Park has the densest concentration of natural stone arches in the world.We arrived very early so that we could be finished by noon because of the heat. 106 degrees! I think we may have overdid it with the kids today with all the hiking to see the arches but we did all of the easy and moderate hikes they had! It was an incredible sight to see. Oh! And we had to make our own CAIRN. Another new word we learned. :) More of God's amazing creations. We enjoyed some down time at the camper, playing games, doing laundry, and a few of us went see Jason Bourne tonight. We head to Zion in the morning!

Four Corners

Today, day 11, was a travel day. One place that we decided to skip was four corners. We were staying in Gallop NM and decided to that it was not going to fit into our schedule. After looking at the map and our route up to Arches NP we decided that Four Corners was a go. The kids were excited. Although this place is in the middle of nowhere it was still a neat place to visit. We enjoyed looking at the Native American market area. We even bought an authentic Navajo Arrow. We loved talking to the gentleman Leo as he hand made our arrow. He shared many great stories with us. Standing in Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado all at the same time was pretty fun too. We did not think we were going to make it to Colorado but this enabled us to drive a couple of hours in the state. We did a little stop at Mesa Verde NP. The tours were all sold out so we only visited the Visitors Center and talked to the Ranger for a bit. We did get a NP stamp in our passport book though :)

Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend

After leaving the Grand Canyon I was pretty sure that nothing could compare to its beauty. Well today rivals it. We took a tour of the Lower Antelope Canyon. It was Beautiful! The kids loves that we were underground hiking in tighter places. The colors are indescribable. Our pictures are just as amazing as the ones we saw online! Our guide was wonderful! I gave him my phone and let him take all the photos! This has been my favorite so far!

We ended the day at Horseshoe Bend. I was terrified. I could not stay long. There is no railing, just a straight edge down to the bottom. And of course the kids want to sit on the very edge. So scary and so beautiful. I know the kids took many more picture of this. I just could not hang around for very long. What an incredible view of another wonder of God's Creation. WOW!