The tent was pretty comfortable- even with the three cots
jammed in with us. We foolishly set an alarm for 8AM, because we had to be in
Moab for our Hummer Safari at 945 and wanted to get breakfast first. This was
foolish because we had forgotten that at the end of the day, canvas castle or
not, we were still camping and the sun comes up EARLY. Brian and I were awake
by 615. Once the kids were up, dressed, and sunscreened we headed into town for
breakfast at the Moab Diner. For Brian and Jake it was the best breakfast of
the trip: bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, biscuits and gravy. I got to stop at Moab
Roasting Company for an iced espresso, and we set off to the Moab Adventure Center
with full, happy stomachs ready for an adventure.
The Hummer Safari was great. I’ve never been off roading
before and it was so much fun. Our guide, Molly, was friendly and kind (Faith
started the tour sobbing that she didn’t want to go too fast…) and full of good
stories about the area and information about the ecology. We even saw dinosaur
footprints! We drove straight up the sides of boulders all the way to the top
of the famous Slick Rock bike trail. It was a really cool way to experience the
scenery.
After the tour we headed straight to Milt’s for milkshakes
and French fries. I know I have been to
Milts as a child but had no recollection of it. Even when I walked inside and
looked through their old memorabilia none of it rang a bell. Still, I was glad we went. The French fries
were delicious and it was fun to see the place that my mom talks about with
such fondness. Tanner was pretty tired at that point and not feeling great (he
wouldn’t even drink his milkshake so we knew he wasn’t anywhere near normal!)
so after lunch we went back to the tent for an afternoon nap.
Later that afternoon we headed into Arches National Park and
walked a few easy trails. The kids loved climbing on the rocks and tried to
climb as high as they could as we viewed The Windows area and the Turret
Arch. Next we drove to the viewing point
of the Delicate Arch. I know I saw it as a child and I think I was equally
disappointed when I saw it then that it was so far away!! I guess you get so used to seeing pictures of
it that when you see it in person, from way far off, it is way less majestic
than all the postcards you’ve seen. We could have taken a hike into see it, but
at that point it was 98 degrees and the hike was listed as “strenuous” so we
didn’t even discuss it as an option. On the way back down we stopped to view
Balanced Rock and had some “fun with perspective” with the iphone camera.
We headed back in to down town for some final souvenir
shopping, dinner (where our waiter sounded EXACTLY like Lemony Snickett playing Count Olaf in Book 3 of the Series of Unfortunate Events. We had endless fun imagining that every phrase he uttered ended with "ORPHANS" in his scary voice!) and a shave ice for the kids then home to our canvas castle
for our second night. We slept with the windows and door open (except for the
screen) and listened to the high wind shake our tent and blow cool air into the
rather warm campsite. It was a great night, but not a great night’s sleep for
Brian and I. The kids slept like rocks
but the wind kept Brian and I awake – but it was really pleasant and I didn’t
mind not sleeping. Brian was up with the sunrise and had started loading the
car by the time the kids and I were stirring.
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