Mini-Vacation: Arches!

Doug suggested early last week that we take a trip to Arches National Park. A day trip. Arches, mind you, is four hours away. Remember, also, that we're taking all five children with us. As a bonding moment. I wasn't quite sure about it. But we really need to get out more.

Now, eight hours in a car with five children under twelve might not sound like fun to you. And there were a few meltdowns that could have taken us much farther south than Moab. We found out, for instance, that Jack is terrified of pit toilets (he would much rather we stop along a highway - which we did. Hopefully, passing motorists thought the little boy hobbling along with his pants around his ankles was pretty funny, instead of being embarrassed by the display.).

Once we got there, though, we were amazed by what we found:

Climbing
This park is what playgrounds aspire to be: plenty of opportunities for children to "get out their wiggles" by climbing, climbing, climbing.

Bonnie found this sign at the top of a rock. It says: This is Not a Trail.

The boys

How did they get up there?

The Sandbox
Arches has this great hike to the Sand Arch. We walked a path through an open area, then walked in between two large rocks. Inside the rock was a large area filled with sand. Nothing but sand. Okay, a few trees. The kids loved playing in it without their shoes - who cares if it's freezing? There's sand to be played in! It was almost as good as a beach.

Sophia, playing in the giant (natural) sandbox

The girls with daddy-o on yet another rock

Hiking
Of course, this is a major joy at any national park. There are plenty of easy hikes that you can do with children. There are also lots of major hikes that I would love to conquer when the kids are older. And going in February was a great call for hiking - this park gets seriously hot during the summer.

Speaking of weather, the day started out freezing and windy. The sun did finally make it's debut, however, and the weather warmed considerably. Our favorite part was definitely the natural sandbox. We also met another family, who had intelligently brought a ball with them. Our boys played ball with their boys, took off their socks, ran up and down the sand and up and down the sandstone rocks, worn smooth from all the wind and rain.

We also stopped for dinner on the way home. All of the kids except Malena took a nap on the way home, and Jack and Bonnie were completely sacked out. Even with the nap, everyone went to bed right after we got home - Jack and Bonnie just crawled straight into bed, and Sophia didn't last much longer. Collin and Malena took a little convincing not to wake the entire household in their excitement to be home and their dismay at realizing that there were only two of them to help clean the car.

Needless to say, the car is still needing a clean-out. But! Even with a ton of driving, it felt so relaxing just to drive away from the homestead. And drive. And drive. We had never taken the road to Moab before, and we enjoyed snow-covered mountains, huge wind turbines, antelope, and even a train now and again. The park was not crowded, since February is a little early for crowds. We did wish for heavier jackets while the sun was hiding, but we will definitely do this again, and soon.