Canyonlands RV
We slept the first full night since we began our trip without child interruption tonight. The kids, having gone to bed late last night, woke up only at 9:30am! What a treat. We lazed off to the campground swimming pool before the sun will get too high in the sky. Unfortunately the water was really cold. That did not stop Orr though. After her came Ron and even Shir for a bit, but no one really wanted to get their whole body wet, just the bottom.
After lunch I had to set off to the RV repair shop to replace the toilet and some other leftovers from yesterday. Paola meanwhile took the kids to the laundry room to watch a movie on the laptop while our weekly loads churned through the washer dryer. To my surprise the RV guys completed the work in 25 minutes and I was back at the campsite helping Paola with the laundry. After that we headed to the supermarket where I stocked us up on good stuff. Who knows where the next good food place will be?
Shir and Orr were asleep in the RV while I was shopping and continued to sleep as we drove once again into Arches.
We drove directly to the trailhead for a hike to Delicate Arch. This is probably the most famous arch in the park. It is so famous that it appears on
At 4:45pm, after 20 minutes of packing healthy snacks, water, camera stuff, hats, spare warm clothes, flashlight for just in case, and pepping Ron, we began our hike. It was not a stroll in the park, but it was definitely safe. There were several technical parts where I had to walk in reverse pulling the stroller up with me over some steep steps. In a rocky part we locked the front wheel so it wouldn’t run away. We stopped several times on the way up for Ron to rest and eat some graham crackers. Ron was a trooper and did a great job on the ascent. Surprisingly the girls were rather quiet as well.
At around 6pm we reached the arch and all of us agreed that it was worth the effort. We spent about 45 minutes admiring and photographing the views, together with about 30 other people.
On our way down we spotted a rabbit that did not run away, and the kids did not want to leave the spot so long as Mr. rabbit was there. The way down was definitely less strenuous than up, but we had to make sure the stroller would not run away. We have a safety leash that we used throughout the entire hike, not that it was ever necessary. The girls were behaving great the entire way down. From their cooing I could tell when they were enjoying the ride. They especially like when I accelerate or when going over rocks and the stroller becomes lopsided.
Toward the end we told Ron how proud we are of him walking three miles on a strenuous hike. Instead of rejoicing, he demanded that this hike be 4 miles because he did 3 miles already just a few days ago. There was a major crisis that was finally resolved by promising to check about going an extra mile once we get to the RV. Of course Ron forgot about it when we got to the RV. But when do kids remember all the promises? That’s right, at bedtime.
We reached the RV just before 8pm. Before leaving the park we stopped for a photo session near Balancing Rock together with about 20 other photo enthusiasts. Actually I stopped for a photo session. Paola prepared supper and started to feed the kids as I was taking some pictures and talking with other photographers about camera stuff, technique and light.
Once again we returned very late to the campground and our nightly bedtime schedule. Let’s hope the kids sleep a lot tonight as well.
Good night.
Hemi