Arches Auto Repair & Arches National Park

Brock took the Yukon back to the repair shop right on time this morning and they were kind enough to bring him back to the campground so he could wait with us since it was a small shop and they didn't really have a waiting area. The sensor replacement went as expected and the bill was what they quoted, which wasn't too bad and they came back and picked Brock up so he could go pay the bill and when he got back from the shop with the Yukon, we all hopped in and headed for the Park.

It was a little after 10 am which wasn't as early as we would have liked since the temperatures were already in the 80's, but we were just glad to get to be seeing Arches which was one of the items on my "list" since the beginning of the trip.

We followed our same strategy, not stopping at any of the pullouts until we got to the area with the Delicate Arch. We all got out and grabbed a water bottle, put on some sunscreen, and headed out on a moderately strenuous hike, 1.5 miles each way to get a close view of one of the most famous sights in the Park.

On the way up...

It was challenging for us since most of the way there was uphill and it was pretty hot, but everyone did pretty well. I was proud of the kids.

When we got to the Arch, we took a bunch of pictures. Brynna and Spencer decided to hang back a little on a flatter area and Brock and Brighton, Skylar and I headed on a sloped area to get a closer look. Skylar accidentally let go of his water bottle and it rolled down, down, down into a bowl. Brock and Brighton looked for a way down to go get it, not to try to save the water which had all spilled out, but so that we wouldn't be litterbugs. It didn't seem like there was a very safe way down from where we were so the guys decided to look for a way around from the other side when we were on our way down. Thankfully, I had really rationed my water and had enough to share with Skylar for the way back because he seemed to need it more than I did.

See Brighton in his red shirt??

Here's a nice shady, somewhat flat portion of the trail. Notice the sheer drop on the other side??

Brock and Brighton were able to successfully climb down into that bowl from the other side of it. They retrieved Sky's water bottle and saw that his wasn't the only one that had made its way down there. They grabbed another one that wasn't in the bushes (they were a little concerned about snakes) and met us towards the end of the trail back. We'd stopped to talk with a very nice couple that were celebrating their anniversary this week and so Brock and Brighton were able to catch up to us. They'd gotten a picture with Brock's phone of the Delicate Arch from the bowl side.

We got back to the parking area pretty tired, sweaty and thirsty. Thankfully we could all grab a second water bottle from the cooler. Those got sucked down pretty quickly too. We had some snacks and continued our drive a little further down the park road to the end where there is a campground that smaller rv's and tents can stay at, as well as some pretty awesome rock structures in an area called Devil's Garden.

Fiery Furnace area

From here, we started our drive back the way we'd come and stopped wherever we wanted for pictures. Nobody was much in the mood for more hiking so we didn't get as close to some of the photo ops as I would've liked, but it sure was an awesome day!

Balanced Rock

Boys who must always climb higher and further than I'm "comfortable" with. ;o)

We drove back into Moab thinking we might take a drive into a canyon that follows the Colorado River, but there was road construction there and so we bypassed the area and headed back into town where we stopped at a diner for ice cream. Most of us got shakes which were huge and incredibly refreshing. Sky chose a double cone, side by side scoops. We were some pretty happy campers as we headed back to the trailer to relax for the rest of the day.

A Small Portion of Arches National Park

We got up and going fairly early to be able to explore Arches before the hottest part of the day. We got out successfully which always feels good with this many people. :O)

We paid our $10 per vehicle admission fee and were so excited to be driving into the park anticipating all that we would see.

Our strategy was to drive all the way in so that we could do a couple hikes in the cooler morning temps and then stop at different sights as we drove along the way back out.

We got about 10 minutes in when Brock noticed that our oil pressure gauge read zero! He pulled over and checked our oil and it was a little low. He couldn't see anything wrong, but without knowing if it was just the gauge or something more seriously wrong, we couldn't continue into the park, so we turned around and drove out. I snapped a few pictures just in case we wouldn't get to come back. I discovered later that Brynna got some really good shots real quick just through her window in the back seat. She has a good eye for photography.

We drove back into Moab and stopped at the Chevy dealer, but they couldn't fit us in today, so we headed to a small repair shop that our neighbors one site over at the campground had used for a repair they needed. They agreed to take a look at 2 o'clock this afternoon. We headed back to the campground.

Brock did some internet research and believed that it was just the oil pressure sensor, but it is NOT an easy part to reach and so we didn't think we'd be able to make the repair ourselves. Plus, no one in town had the part in stock today.

We had a somewhat relaxing, but deflated, afternoon waiting around the trailer for that 2 o'clock appointment. Brock took the Yukon in and the shop used a code reader to diagnose that it was the sensor. They could order the part and have it in the shop in the morning and so asked Brock to come back at 8:30 am tomorrow.

We decided to stay an extra day so that we could have the opportunity to try again to see Arches tomorrow if all went according to plan with the repair. We checked in at the campground office and unfortunately, our specific site was reserved for that extra night so we agreed to move one site over for tonight and tomorrow night. That sure seemed like a lot of work to move over about 15 feet, but oh well. ;O)

The rest of the day we just lazed around, watched some TV, looked at houses online and generally hoped tomorrow would go well.

Spanish Trail RV Park

Today is Brock's full work day for this week. The plan is to take tomorrow off so we can explore Arches National Park. Then, we'll begin the long drive back toward Bend the following day.

The kids and I haven't done any school work for pretty much this whole month...and we aren't going to start today. LOL

The plan was to get some laundry done in the afternoon, but first I needed to finish up the curriculum shopping for next year's books this morning. I also made Sky's orthopedic appointment for when we return and then some orthodontic appointments for Bri and Bryn for later in the month. It's so weird to think we'll be back in Bend after 13 months away.

We ate a quick lunch and then Spencer and I cycled the laundry through the campground laundry room. It took a little longer than going to a bigger laundromat since there were six functioning washers and only three functioning dryers, one of which was already in use by another camper. But, we stuck it out and got it done.

Long story to tell you that today was a rather boring day. Not much to report. We didn't go anywhere.

It rained off and on today.