It's been too long since we visited the other side of the state! We went this weekend with the Christensens and had a great time! Thanks friends!
Of course, it had to start with purchasing a new trailer so we could get all the play equipment to Moab! The boys were only a little excited! Monday FHE was loading and unloading, testing and test driving the trailer to be sure it was the right one! J & B have been looking, searching for just the right one for weeks, to culminate in this purchase:
Elephant Hill, Colorado River in the Dark and Dutch Oven Dinner, Poison Spider Mesa - all spell fun! Add twists of torrential downpours, lightning 50 ft away, biking in the dark, and slot canyon hikes and it's a sure recipe for a smiling adventure to remember!
Elephant Hill has a history in my family. My parents made a deal before I (their oldest) was born that when they had a baby, Dad could get a new truck. So right after I was born, Dad bought his new truck, and I understand that they picked up the truck, and headed straight for Elephant Hill in Canyonlands National Park. Canyonlands is 75 miles from Moab. We learned that the Christensens had never done Elephant Hill, Devils Kitchen, SOB Hill or the Silver Stairs so Friday morning, we headed out to conquer Elephant hill! I believe they all thought the funnest part was laughing at me screaming! I note that during our two days jeeping, I saw many, many wives walking! I am now 6 1/2 months pregnant, and I endured more than most, I believe! Even the kids laughed when I screamed. I will note that while I was screaming, B joined me with her very skilled lungs! Sara and Jakob however both yelled "Wa-hoo!" over the challenges! No fear!
So far these pictures are all from Elephant Hill. It was a lot different than I remembered. Note all the concrete and asphalt they have added to the trail. Still, it got everyone's heart beating!
This was my dad's worst corner - he always did this in a truck! It is a lot different in a Jeep! None of us did the back part, we all made the corner. There was no way in a truck! My Dad, hero, did this always in a truck! I don't know how Dad! You're amazing!
Once on the backside of Elephant Hill it levels out smooth for some stretches between the next challenge. It was on these stretches that L and C got to take the wheel! Making memories on every level!
On the backside, Chesler Park is the home of this cool slot canyon hike. The storm clouds were brewing all day, we watched, wondering if we were going to make it out and back to Moab without getting wet - we didn't! It started raining lightly while we were in the slot canyon. My little girls said it was raindrops from heaven - reminding me of the "I'll Build you a Rainbow" song... "I'll sprinkle down raindrops, tear drops of love, I'll be happy in heaven, watching over my boy." Then we started singing "Whenever I Hear the Song of a Bird" which continues "whenever I feel the rain on my face... I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world, Heavenly Father created for me!" I am so glad! It rained quite hard while hiking back to the jeeps, but then was quieted away by our prayers. Thank you for that tender mercy Father!
All these cute feet are looking back down the slot we hiked up from the top side. On the end, it climbs out to a beautiful vista!
Had to continue this J tradition! I really Love these boys!
Friday evening, we watched those storm clouds brewing, and it did downpour on us on the way back for about 15 miles. I kept praying, and gratefully we didn't have to ride the entire 75 miles in rain!
D&C had arranged for us to go on a Canyonlands by Night tour that night, owned and operated by their friend Preston. Dutch Oven dinner is served first with yummy food! Then we boarded a boat, and headed up the Colorado river. I was leary of the rain I had been praying away all day, but it didn't even threaten again that evening! On the boat they do a light show on the cliff walls of the Colorado. It was a beautiful evening. My little ones were all so bushed, when it got dark, they turned on the peaceful music for the light show, and five of the seven were rocked peacefully to sleep! Thanks for a fun evening!
At the end of the day Friday, D.C. said that Elephant hill wasn't anything compared to Poison Spider Mesa. He claimed that Poison Spider was probably more like what I remembered of Elephant Hill. So Saturday morning we headed out for Poison Spider Mesa. I only wish we had a second memory card for the camera because then we had to start deleting pictures, our card was filled, and before the end of the trip, our camera battery was dead too! Maybe that is lucky or this post would never end!
This spot is called "The Wedge" for good reason! Gives a new meaning to Edgie Wedgie! Only about 1/4 of each tire on the side is touching the rock, and as you can see, the wedge is very deep! One wrong estimation, and the jeep is wedged into that crack - only way out is a winch! Gratefully we didn't have to see that part!
Saturday, the weatherman predicted 60% chance of storms where Friday it had only been a 40% chance. Yes, we put the tops on so we could stay drier! Then we went someplace harder - not so smart, but ended up being beautiful! This trail ended at an arch high above the Colorado. When we got there, we knew we only had minutes - literally before it started raining! We raced to snap a couple of pictures, and high tailed it back to the jeeps!
In our race to get off the slickrock, and back to civilization, we were caught in a downpour. We had been watching it coming, racing to get over as many obstacles as possible before that "slickrock" became slicker because of the rain! When all of a sudden, we heard a huge boom - the lightning had struck within 50 feet of our jeep! Some saw it hit we all saw the smoke rising from where it touched down. We hurried through for another 10-15 minutes, when the rain subsided. D.C. was leading - both days - and he stopped and circled to ask what we thought we should do. We decided it would be better to wait for the waterfalls to go, and give the rocks sometime to dry off a bit since we had seen hail, and rain so hard we could see cascading waterfalls from the tops of the red cliffs for as far as we could see. We decided to go back and see if we could find the bush/spot that had been hit by the lightning. This last picture is our group looking, to no avail. We didn't find the spot, but it was cool! After some time 30-45 minutes, we gave up, got back into the jeeps, and continued our journey back to town. It was definately a day to remember! Lots of cool waterfalls! Jakob had loved jumping in the puddles left from the day before, but after the rain, they were even bigger! Everyone was playing in the water... including D.C. and Jed! Funny - splashing each other!
Saturday night Sr. team had not had quite enough fun, so despite the storm clouds looming, they took the bait, grabbed their bikes and headlights and headed for the Slickrock trail. They did make it to Shrimp Rock, and were on their way back before it started raining. They were very wet, and it was very dark when they returned to the cars. J's rear cog had problems at Shrimp rock, he limped it back to the car, in the dark and wet! Memories never to be forgotten! Needless to say, I didn't get out of the car to take pictures! I was just grateful when we went up to the trailhead worried about them, that we saw their headlights out loading their bikes on the trailer already!
Sunday we got up and went to church in Moab. Christensens found another trail, and by mid afternoon, we were all on our way home - except for our Sr team who went to Lake Powell to meet the Paulsen's for a few days on the houseboat with them! Fun memories! Grateful to guardian angels for keeping us all safe!
Of course, it had to start with purchasing a new trailer so we could get all the play equipment to Moab! The boys were only a little excited! Monday FHE was loading and unloading, testing and test driving the trailer to be sure it was the right one! J & B have been looking, searching for just the right one for weeks, to culminate in this purchase:
Elephant Hill, Colorado River in the Dark and Dutch Oven Dinner, Poison Spider Mesa - all spell fun! Add twists of torrential downpours, lightning 50 ft away, biking in the dark, and slot canyon hikes and it's a sure recipe for a smiling adventure to remember!
Elephant Hill has a history in my family. My parents made a deal before I (their oldest) was born that when they had a baby, Dad could get a new truck. So right after I was born, Dad bought his new truck, and I understand that they picked up the truck, and headed straight for Elephant Hill in Canyonlands National Park. Canyonlands is 75 miles from Moab. We learned that the Christensens had never done Elephant Hill, Devils Kitchen, SOB Hill or the Silver Stairs so Friday morning, we headed out to conquer Elephant hill! I believe they all thought the funnest part was laughing at me screaming! I note that during our two days jeeping, I saw many, many wives walking! I am now 6 1/2 months pregnant, and I endured more than most, I believe! Even the kids laughed when I screamed. I will note that while I was screaming, B joined me with her very skilled lungs! Sara and Jakob however both yelled "Wa-hoo!" over the challenges! No fear!
So far these pictures are all from Elephant Hill. It was a lot different than I remembered. Note all the concrete and asphalt they have added to the trail. Still, it got everyone's heart beating!
This was my dad's worst corner - he always did this in a truck! It is a lot different in a Jeep! None of us did the back part, we all made the corner. There was no way in a truck! My Dad, hero, did this always in a truck! I don't know how Dad! You're amazing!
Once on the backside of Elephant Hill it levels out smooth for some stretches between the next challenge. It was on these stretches that L and C got to take the wheel! Making memories on every level!
On the backside, Chesler Park is the home of this cool slot canyon hike. The storm clouds were brewing all day, we watched, wondering if we were going to make it out and back to Moab without getting wet - we didn't! It started raining lightly while we were in the slot canyon. My little girls said it was raindrops from heaven - reminding me of the "I'll Build you a Rainbow" song... "I'll sprinkle down raindrops, tear drops of love, I'll be happy in heaven, watching over my boy." Then we started singing "Whenever I Hear the Song of a Bird" which continues "whenever I feel the rain on my face... I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world, Heavenly Father created for me!" I am so glad! It rained quite hard while hiking back to the jeeps, but then was quieted away by our prayers. Thank you for that tender mercy Father!
All these cute feet are looking back down the slot we hiked up from the top side. On the end, it climbs out to a beautiful vista!
Had to continue this J tradition! I really Love these boys!
Friday evening, we watched those storm clouds brewing, and it did downpour on us on the way back for about 15 miles. I kept praying, and gratefully we didn't have to ride the entire 75 miles in rain!
D&C had arranged for us to go on a Canyonlands by Night tour that night, owned and operated by their friend Preston. Dutch Oven dinner is served first with yummy food! Then we boarded a boat, and headed up the Colorado river. I was leary of the rain I had been praying away all day, but it didn't even threaten again that evening! On the boat they do a light show on the cliff walls of the Colorado. It was a beautiful evening. My little ones were all so bushed, when it got dark, they turned on the peaceful music for the light show, and five of the seven were rocked peacefully to sleep! Thanks for a fun evening!
At the end of the day Friday, D.C. said that Elephant hill wasn't anything compared to Poison Spider Mesa. He claimed that Poison Spider was probably more like what I remembered of Elephant Hill. So Saturday morning we headed out for Poison Spider Mesa. I only wish we had a second memory card for the camera because then we had to start deleting pictures, our card was filled, and before the end of the trip, our camera battery was dead too! Maybe that is lucky or this post would never end!
This spot is called "The Wedge" for good reason! Gives a new meaning to Edgie Wedgie! Only about 1/4 of each tire on the side is touching the rock, and as you can see, the wedge is very deep! One wrong estimation, and the jeep is wedged into that crack - only way out is a winch! Gratefully we didn't have to see that part!
Saturday, the weatherman predicted 60% chance of storms where Friday it had only been a 40% chance. Yes, we put the tops on so we could stay drier! Then we went someplace harder - not so smart, but ended up being beautiful! This trail ended at an arch high above the Colorado. When we got there, we knew we only had minutes - literally before it started raining! We raced to snap a couple of pictures, and high tailed it back to the jeeps!
In our race to get off the slickrock, and back to civilization, we were caught in a downpour. We had been watching it coming, racing to get over as many obstacles as possible before that "slickrock" became slicker because of the rain! When all of a sudden, we heard a huge boom - the lightning had struck within 50 feet of our jeep! Some saw it hit we all saw the smoke rising from where it touched down. We hurried through for another 10-15 minutes, when the rain subsided. D.C. was leading - both days - and he stopped and circled to ask what we thought we should do. We decided it would be better to wait for the waterfalls to go, and give the rocks sometime to dry off a bit since we had seen hail, and rain so hard we could see cascading waterfalls from the tops of the red cliffs for as far as we could see. We decided to go back and see if we could find the bush/spot that had been hit by the lightning. This last picture is our group looking, to no avail. We didn't find the spot, but it was cool! After some time 30-45 minutes, we gave up, got back into the jeeps, and continued our journey back to town. It was definately a day to remember! Lots of cool waterfalls! Jakob had loved jumping in the puddles left from the day before, but after the rain, they were even bigger! Everyone was playing in the water... including D.C. and Jed! Funny - splashing each other!
Saturday night Sr. team had not had quite enough fun, so despite the storm clouds looming, they took the bait, grabbed their bikes and headlights and headed for the Slickrock trail. They did make it to Shrimp Rock, and were on their way back before it started raining. They were very wet, and it was very dark when they returned to the cars. J's rear cog had problems at Shrimp rock, he limped it back to the car, in the dark and wet! Memories never to be forgotten! Needless to say, I didn't get out of the car to take pictures! I was just grateful when we went up to the trailhead worried about them, that we saw their headlights out loading their bikes on the trailer already!
Sunday we got up and went to church in Moab. Christensens found another trail, and by mid afternoon, we were all on our way home - except for our Sr team who went to Lake Powell to meet the Paulsen's for a few days on the houseboat with them! Fun memories! Grateful to guardian angels for keeping us all safe!