Friday, June 27, 2008

Moab Part II


Continuing our one vacation since we left California. . . .(Ugh) we stayed up the Colorado River Valley, not far from a geologic feature known as the Fisher Towers (below).  Hiking around them revealed beautiful wildflowers in bloom, as I hope a couple of pictures here will attest.




Here and below are pictures of the place where we stayed, Red Cliff Lodge.  It was niiiiiice!  We have also stayed at Sorrell River ranch in this area, and both are just excellent, and so peaceful.  The Red Cliff lodge is right on a bend in the Colorado river, as this late sunset photo shows. 


This is a picture looking at the Lodge from the opposite direction at sunrise. 



This pool is about as picturesque as they come, but dang it was cold.  Felt good on those 100 degree afternoons, though. The Lodge even had its own vineyard, for those who get excited about that kind of thing.

We hiked in Arches National Park quite a bit, particularly to Sand Dune Arch for da boys, and to nearby Broken Arch.  There were great flowers out all along the latter hike, and Kate and I had fun taking photos of them.



Here is Kate under Broken Arch.


Keegan walked the whole .2 miles to sand dune arch, his first official hike under his own steam. And he was dressed to kill to boot!


We found some really well-preserved Petroglyphs.


So do  you think Kate takes after her Grandma?  Just a little?  They are like peas in a pod in so many ways.



All that hiking and scrambling can sure wear a fella out.  But it is an awful lot of fun.

4 comments:

Missy said...

Hey that is great! Two weeks ago our family went on a trip to Moab. It isn't too far from where we live. We stayed at the Red Cliff Lodge too and that pool water was still FREEZING! Did you see the little beach on the side of the river about 1 mile away from the lodge? We went there one evening and that was a favorite for the kids. Mostly sunflowers were in bloom when went. Those sunsets were some of the prettiest I have seen. It is a great place for a family getaway. It sure was fun reading about your trip. I need to get my stuff posted.

Katie said...

Boy, I miss the West! Great pictures!

Lainie said...

What a super FUN trip!!! We're having a Pyper family reunion there this year but we can't make it because of the recent move. Thanks for the great pix - I feel like I didn't miss out so much after all!

NMoon said...

There should be a big sign next to the highway going into Moab that reads: "Warning: Moab inspires exploration, imagination, and adventure in children young and old. Enter at your own risk." I strongly believe a yearly shot of red rocks in spring keeps this kid of 33 years from slipping into concrete insanity. Next time you go call us and we'll tag along. - Nate