Moab

Thursday night, Blake and I were talking about how we wanted to go somewhere over the weekend. We wanted to go somewhere that wasn't too far of a drive and that had some hiking involved. We talked about a few places but we ultimately agreed Moab would be the best place. It wasn't really set in stone though, just an idea. Around 11:30, Friday morning, I got a text from Blake that said "So are we going to Moab or not", I replied with a "yes". So that was that, once we got off work we headed home, packed our bags and got on the road. The drive was about three and a half hours and since it had been raining quite a bit everything was so green and beautiful. We got to Moab around 6:00 and headed straight to Delicate Arch. This hike is the best! Three miles round trip is so worth the iconic view. 

We finished the hike as the sun was going down and went to Blake's favorite camping spot. He and his friends have been camping here for years. The sun was already down when we arrived so I didn't get to see this amazing view. When I woke up and saw where we had camped I was amazed. Such a cool place to sleep.

Canyonlands National Park is a place that neither of us had ever been. We have both been to Moab quite a bit but had never stopped here before. Our first stop here was Shafer Overlook, it is located right across the road from the visitor center. We had seen photos of Canyonlands but didn't really understand how beautiful it is until we were at this overlook. Both of our jaws dropped. Photos don't do it justice. The trail that you can see is called the White Rim Trail and Blake is trying to talk me into going back and driving this in a jeep. I'm not completely sold on driving right on the edge of a cliff yet.. 

The next stop is Mesa Arch. This is a very short hike, only half a mile roundtrip. As we neared the arch we were both thinking it looked cool. As we got to the edge we realized it wasn't about the arch, it is about the view through it. We sat there for a couple minutes just staring out at the view. It is incredible. 

Aztec Butte was next on our list. In the fifth grade, I did a project on Indian ruins so this hike was appealing to me. This hike is about 2 miles round trip. There are two different ruins along the hike and each one is up a steep hill. The first ruin is the pantry, this is where they stored there food. We read a little about these and they liked to try and hide the pantry so the food wouldn't get stolen. The next ruin was quite a bit bigger and more out in the open. It is so neat that these ruins are still around.

Our last stop in Canyonlands, was the Grand View Point. The name says it all, it really is THE grand view point in the park. When we walked up to the edge, I just sat down to take it all in. There is a two mile hike round-trip hike along the rim of canyon. We decided to walk to the end, we are so glad we did this. It was a very easy hike with the most beautiful views. Once you get to the end, you can see both the Green River and the Colorado River. 

Dead horse point is only a few miles away from the entrance of Canyonlands. Neither of us had been here either. This place is truly incredible, the view is unbeatable. Once again, we just sat and stared in awe at the beauty. Photos really don't do justice for any of these sites.