Our 10-day road trip, Part I: Arches

We started the year 2015 off with a bang...hitting the road for 10 days with our two littles and two out of town guests (Sarah and Louise) all crammed into our Highlander SUV.  Thanks to the flip up 3rd row back seats we were able to all fit, and then our cargo was on the roof and attached to the hitch at the back.  It was a full load!

Sneak peek of what our vehicle looked like (with Arches National Park as the backdrop)

The ultimate destination was Phoenix, Arizona for a work conference that I needed to attend, but we made sure the road trip there included some unforgettable stops.  The goal was to limit the amount of driving time to about 6 hours per day, which meant we needed to split the trip to and from Phoenix up into two and a half travel days.

Day 1

We first headed through the Colorado Rocky Mountains on I-70 west toward Moab, Utah.  I had been watching the weather forecasts and had planned for us to go this route unless weather forced us to go the southern route (down to New Mexico and over).  Luckily the "weather system of the week" was a southern system and going I-70 was the best route!  And its timing was great, because we missed it by a day when we headed south the next day from Moab.

Anyway, with great weather and dry roads the trip was starting off great.  We enjoyed seeing the canyons and mesas as we made our way through the western half of Colorado.  We made a few stops to get food and let the kids play, and rolled into Moab right about at the kids' bedtime.  We ordered pizza to the hotel and called it an early night.

Sights on the drive along I-70

Day 2

The next morning we awoke to a beautiful vista of red-colored mesas, buttes, and other rock formations!  It was a wonderful surprise given we had arrived after dark and the beauty of location was completely hidden from us!  Not only that, but our hotel was right on the Colorado River!  What a view to behold!  Sarah and Louise had no idea that Utah had such magnificent sights...they admitted they thought it was just all a desert!

Good morning Colorado River!

Having fun in the morning sun

The entire Moab area is beautiful, but it also sits on the doorstep to Arches National Park, which is where the amazing sights really begin.  Plenty of red-colored rock formations in various sizes and shapes, including arches.  For the most part we did out sight-seeing from the car.  For one, it was a lot of work to get the kids out of their carseats in the way "back back" (as Evan calls it) of the SUV, and even though it was a beautiful clear sunny day, it was still quite cold.  We did choose one spot to get out and walk, and it was cut short by the cold, but at least it allowed the kids to stretch their legs and explore.  And explore is exactly what they did.  Each of them were off on the path faster than the rest of us, wanting to see what was up ahead and/or just be free!  

The Hingst clan...with balanced rock in the distance behind them

John and I at the "Three Gospels"

Heading out for a little walk

My little explorers

Family photo attempt by the north window arch :)

After spending a few hours checking out Arches, we stopped into the visitor center for souvenirs and to have a little picnic lunch, and then headed south.  Next stop:  Grand Canyon. :)