moab

we had to get our trailer from colorado to california so a trip to moab in utah was the plan. my inlaws towed the trailer to red cliffs lodge and we made the 13 hour trip to meet them. i highly recommend if you live in california that you skip the vegas trip and go through southern utah to some of the amazing national parks they have to offer. being spring, which has unpredictable weather in the high desert meant we couldn't risk seeing zion or bryce in a tent trailer (our first choice since we have never been). red cliffs lodge is next to arches national park (which we have visited before but never camped at) it was the best choice under the circumstances. i had thought canyonlands might be cool (we just watched 127 hours which was filmed there) but it has numerous entrances with very few campsites, too risky for us. so arches it was and boy did it deliver!

arches is organized in a way that is really spectacular, you see the high red rock mountains when you enter and drive a steep road up to the top where the plateau opens up to these amazing formations and colorful soil, plants and rocks. all that with snow capped mountains far off in the distance. it is truly breathtaking and the park roads take you on a winding picturesque route to see everything from different angles.








the weather was in constant motion, hot then cold then sunny then rain with the kind of clouds you can truly spend hours watching. our last afternoon there, emily and i took a two mile hike around the campgrounds and just giggled at how neat it was to be out in the middle of nowhere. it got cloudy and drizzly but we kept on going and were so proud to just muscle through even though we were exhausted. back at camp the fire was started and immediately it started to rain. sue and i decided to try and keep it going and it became quite a scene as the rain started and stopped and then began to hail with thunder and lightning flashing. the kids screamed for us to come in but we just couldnt let that fire go out. it was FREEZING and standing near that blazing fire felt fantastic.






(lizzie is crying because the thunder scares her)

we used a tarp (got totally smoked out) and then an umbrella (probably not the smartest thing to use in a lightning storm) but we laughed and laughed and just had a BLAST!! that fire roared and we watched the storm blow by with a very unexpected surprise:






just like that, the brightest rainbow ever



some dirty happy kids for sure! here is a few pics from the road, check out the change in scenery and weather. this is all in one day:












and here is a shot from the red cliffs lodge museum, lots of movies have been filmed on the ranch (like thelma and louise) the museum does a great job displaying posters and artifacts from the shoots. i will try and post a few more pics once i get a chance to download, more of the red cliffs lodge, love that place! hope i have inspired you to check out utah, we are hoping to see zion and/or bryce this summer!