Canyonlands National Park

We woke up to clear, sunny skies so we packed lunches and set off for a full day of exploring Canyonlands National Park.

We headed first to the iconic Mesa Arch and the views here did not disappoint. This is the most famous attraction in the park.

Ben, the budding Geologist, was easily distracted in his attempts to dissect the various rock types that make up the ground covering in the park.

From here, we went to the White Rim Overlook trail, which was a short-ish and flat-ish two-mile trail to the…you guessed it…White Rim Overlook. The hike was a good reminder that while the viewpoints close to the road can be crowded, taking just a few steps off the main road opens up huge areas of the park that are virtually deserted.

We had planned to explore a few other areas of the park, but the kids were running out of steam. So, we picked just one more spot and headed to the Upheaval Dome and took the short walk up to the top of the crater. The winds had kicked-up during the day and we were battling 50 MPH gusts to stay upright.

 As we drove back towards Moab, the kids declared the park to be “totally wicked!” as quoted from The Incredibles which we had watched together the night before. It was a good reminder that staying flexible with our plans, hanging among the natural wonders, and allowing the kids to do a bunch of rock scrambling was a recipe for a great day.