Since we have been to Arches National Park three times now (2010, 2012, and 2019) I figured it would be great to condense all that info in to one post on our top picks of places to hike as a family. Since it is impossible to do everything, I’ve also tried to help you select a trail by adding my own personal rating from 1-5 for how easy the trail is (1 being super easy, 5 being more difficult) as…
Day 10 started with a dramatic sunrise view and ended with enjoying our last Utah sunset of the trip. We began our day by leaving the hotel well before sunrise to head out to Dead Horse State Park for some sunrise photos. Dead Horse is well known as a great place to go for sunrise. The sun gradually rises to fill the canyon with golden red light. The wife grabbed some great photos while I entertained the kids on the…
We were excited to start day 9 by showing the kids some areas we had visited before as well as exploring some new discoveries. After grabbing a quick hotel breakfast, we headed back out to Arches National Park to see some sights before the rest of the tourists showed up. The biggest tip I can give for visiting Arches or any National Park is to go early. Drag yourself out of bed at sunrise or before and it will be…
We started out this trip with one last awesome breakfast at the Avon Cafe before bidding a tearful goodbye to my folks as this was the point where we parted ways for awhile. The kids were not happy about this separation from their beloved Nana and Papa. But we made it up to them by telling them that we were headed to a giant sandbox. That “sandbox” being the great state of Utah.
Today was a special, yet somewhat sad day. Special because we got to sneak out on a “no kids” hike in on this trip as we had some built in baby sitters. Sad, because we didn’t get to share the day with the kids. However, the plain truth is the kids are in that in-between stage of “too big to ride on our backs in hiking carriers, but not quite big enough to hike on their own for multi-mile high…
Day 4 found us up and early as usual. Our plan for the day was to take another trip down to Leadville (about 45 min from our hotel). We had a Twin Lakes boat ride and historic tour booked. On the way out there we made a quick detour to grab another photo of the ghost town of Gilman and take a closer look a the Red Cliff Bridge on Highway 24:
Since we have family in northwest Arkansas, we make the trek to this region several times a year. Each trip we try to explore a different attraction. One of the highlights of our latest trip to the Natural State is the hidden gem of Tanyard Creek. The Tanyard Creek Nature Trail is located in Bella Vista, not far from the Missouri border. This beautiful trail was built by volunteers and donations to create a stunning slice of nature right in…
Shawnee National Forest, Illinois We’ve done a lot of hiking and exploring over the years and one of our favorite spots to spend a day is in the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois. While we have visited many scenic spots including Bell Smith Springs, Garden of the Gods, and Ferne Clyffe, we somehow had never made it over to Jackson Falls. I can’t believe we had missed this awesome trail for so long! The trail starts at a parking…