Arches

On June 20, 2008, we took our family to Arches National Park with my brother Jared, his wife Wendy and their two kids, Allee and Jaxon. We actually started the trip off with mosquitos! We sprayed the kids and they still came after them. Finally Tom covered his entire body in clothing just to avoid getting eaten. I hate mosquitos. We stayed at the Slick Rock Campground and the mosquitos were terrible and huge. Lucky for me and Tom we got a cabin to stay in for $45 a night, with a broken bed, no bathroom and no water. J and Wendy brought their tent and stayed in it for the first couple of nights. We all got to share the community shower and bathroom with the mosquitos.
The first night, we were awakened at about 4:30 a.m. to banging on our cabin wall and laughing and loud obnoxious , single adults. So, we talked to the owner and complained, but we still had to stay one more night or pay for it anyway. This led us down the street to a hotel called the Virginian. We could stay there for $60 a night with a kitchen, tub, shower, and a double queen and NO mosquitos.
The first day was my birthday so we drove around and spent some time sightseeing, and then we went swimming. AHHHHHHH! The community pool was wonderful. It felt so good to get out of the 100 degree weather and cool off. The kids loved it too.
The hike to the Delicate Arch was by far the hardest hike I have ever been on, and the most worth it. WOW! We were stopped on the way up by some people from Louisianna that told us to turn around and go back. Only, because they couldn't make it up there. We were determined and poor Bryce was struggling with his knees. The whole Osgood Slaters Disease was really affecting him. Emma started out so happy and was so excited about this adventure and then by the time we had made our first bend in the trail, she wanted in the backpack and water. It was about 97 degrees when we started out, but when we got back to the van, it was 114 degrees. I would love to go back this fall and hike it, I bet there is a big difference in the temperature. The Delicate Arch is huge and yes, there was something on my camera lens when we got there. Right in the center! It was probably steam, as it was very hot and we carried it in the back pack with the water bottles. Who knows?
The last two days we spent seeing some more of Arches and then we went to the Canyonlands. That was a really pretty drive and there are a few hikes as well that we went on. Sorry to J and Wendy. They asked me to take their picture and I jumped up on a rock and missed and slammed their camera into the ground and broke it. Ouch! Anyway, I have scars, but I am still looking for a replacement.
Now everywhere we go, we see the Arch on license plates and billboards and postcards and Emma says, "Hey, we went there!" They loved it. We even caught a lizard and played with it for a while. Man those things are fast!