We snuck away for a quick trip to Southern Utah last week. Our original plan was to fit in one last camping trip for the year, but after consulting the weather forecast and discovering the lows would be around 20 F, we decided against it. Elijah's just not quite ready for that.
We got a late start, as always. Is there anyone out there who actually leaves on time for trips? If so, please teach me your ways. We can never get out the door when we plan to. Not only that, but on this trip I failed completely at my job as navigator. I was fingerknitting a Christmas tree garland (naturally) and Jason and I were having a lovely conversation about Goals and Things We Want To Do (we dream up our best ideas while on long road trips) and twice (twice!) we missed a turn-off and had to backtrack. One of the missed turns we didn't discover for quite a while and we ended up adding 90 minutes to our drive time. Luckily the kids were all asleep and Jason was very forgiving and we just went along our merry way and had 90 extra minutes to talk.
The daylight hours are pretty limited this time of year but we soaked up what we could. We stayed in Moab and hiked in Arches National Park, one of my favorite places on earth. Redrock speaks to my soul.
Delicate Arch was the highlight of our hiking experience this trip. Ethan was especially excited to go on his first hike that involved cairns. Elijah really struggled and cried for most of the hike. Not that you can tell from the photos. He's a master of hamming it up for the camera.
I'm so grateful for these people of mine. The time we spend outside together is among my greatest treasures and I'm always looking for ways to fit in more moments like this.