Grand County

We stayed 5 nights in Moab, UT which is the heart of off-roading country. As we approached the campground we noticed an abundance of jeep, ATV, mountain bike and dune buggy rentals! This area is also home to two of Utah's National Parks; Arches and Canyonlands. The evening we arrived we had to check out the local day of the dead festival! This was a first for all and it was a definite favorite.
Our first day we had to check out Arches National Park. We snagged a reservation for timed entry which is always an indication how popular a park is. It's not hard to see why! We did a small hike up to Double Arch where the kids practiced their climbing skills! After we checked out the infamous Delicate Arch which is pictured on the Utah license plate. We opted out of the 3 mile hike up to the arch and did a small hike to get a good view point. We pushed it a little more and did a hike to check out Landscape Arch, which is another one of the most pictured arches in the park. We had a little break at the arch to check out the view. After a long day at the park we ate at a local restaurant, Trailhead Public House and Eatery which we learned was voted "America's favorite restaurant". We can't vouch for that but the burgers were definitely delicious!
The kids were adamant that we NEEDED to carve pumpkins. Willow and Mama set out to the nearest grocery store to get some supplies. 5 pumpkins were successfully carved into creepy faces, Petroglyphs, witches and rainbows.
Anyone that knows Weston knows how infatuated he is with dirt bikes. Dada wanted to do something special for him so he found a local Moabian(?) that was renting her dirt bike on the Facebook Marketplace. Weston was surprised one morning with a dirt bike in the driveway. After the excitement leveled out we all headed out to have some fun with it! We headed out to a pretty epic scenic 4x4 road to take in the scenery. All kids got a turn on the bike while Mama followed in the truck. Then Weston and Dad set off for a couple hours to finish the trail. As expected Weston said it was the best day of his life!
Halloween day was buzzing with excitement! We had some time to kill before trunk or treat started so we headed out to Canyonlands for a whirl wind tour. We checked out the views, saw a beautiful arch and did a hike along the canyon rim before completing junior ranger books and heading back to Moab for Halloween. Trunk or Treat at the rodeo grounds was a different experience for all. A well put together safe community event which drew in a big crowd. Lots of businesses and local public services groups gathered to hand out candy! Willow was excited to see the NPS Rangers were handing out candy. They were equally excited to see a junior ranger dressed up for Halloween! It was a successful event that didn't yield as much candy as the kids are used to but I think we all agreed that it was enough candy to keep everyone happy!Read more