My husband grew up camping… now by camping, I mean, he stayed in his parent’s van while everyone else slept in the tent. He said the tent “smelled”. I know, I know. I married a true outdoors man. Nevertheless, he did enjoy camping, and we live in Colorado, so naturally when the kids grew a bit older (ages 7, 5 and 3), we went on our first tent camping trip in the summer of 2016. We camped in a state park with friends. I got food poisoning the second night and left my family in the woods and drove 2 hours home so I could be in my own bed and bathroom. I did return in the morning to pack up the family once I was feeling better. It was awful, and yet, somehow, we had the best time. We loved camping!
The next summer, 2016, we purchased an old pop up camper. That thing was rough and yet perfect. We had so much fun camping most weekends in the surrounding mountains. Colorado is beautiful and we were finally out exploring all the beauty. That summer we went from our pop up to a hybrid camper, and finally upgraded to a used 32 foot trailer. My husband had way too much fun making deals and extra money from flipping those campers. I had fun making each one a little home away from home. By the end of the summer we were sort of seasoned campers and dreamed of the many places we wanted to take our family across the country in our trailer.
The trusty pop up.
We dreamed and planned. I really wanted to take the kids to see the Grand Canyon and I myself had never been to Zion, Bryce Canyon, or Arches National Park, so we made an epic road trip plan.
We left for our trip the end of April 2017, intentionally picking a time of year where the weather would be warm, yet mild. We set off and traveled about 6 hours to Green River, Utah and stayed overnight. The next day we drove 4 hours to Bryce Canyon National Park where we stayed in the park campground. Bryce was beautiful. The rusty, red, canyon was absolutely breathtaking. It is similar to Grand Canyon where you don’t see much until you come right up to the canyon itself. It has tons of easy hikes down into the canyon that help you to experience the fullness of it’s beauty. I highly recommend you visit if you are going to Zion. We stayed for 2 nights in Bryce Canyon and then set out for Zion.
We arrived in Zion and were instantly awestruck as we drove the road going through the carved rock tunnel that descends down into the canyon. Vast beauty was surrounding us everywhere we looked. We stayed in the park campground and loved that we were in the center of the canyon with mountainous peaks surrounding us. We could have spent a month waking up to the views each morning and watching the sunset in the cool evenings. We enjoyed the many accessible family hikes throughout Zion. One famous hike up Angel’s Landing is not for children, but my husband did get to summit this notorious peak while I stayed on kid duty. He said it did not disappoint and lived up to all of the hype. Together we made several other hikes, but our favorite was hiking the Narrows. There are no words to describe the lush red and green, cascading rock canyon that runs along the river of the Narrows. It is truly a slice of heaven on Earth. After a few nights, we sadly left Zion and moved on to the Grand Canyon.
We drove 5 hours to the south rim of the Grand Canyon Canyon National Park. Along the way, we made a stop at Horseshoe Bend and Lake Powell. The kids were still in their pajamas as we expected to have a travel day, without stops, but when I saw the turn off for Horseshoe Bend, I couldn’t resist. We made the hike in our pajamas and have the photos to prove it. The tourists from Japan thought we were hysterical in our “bed wear”, as they called them. Ha!
We arrived at the south rim of the Grand Canyon by mid-afternoon and enjoyed the spectacular sites. A big highlight from the Grand Canyon were the elk. They were everywhere and would come right up to our camp and trailer. It was incredible to see these beautiful creatures up close. We watched them from our trailer for hours. We had planned to stay in the park a few nights, but the weather turned with high winds and cold. After one great day and night at the Grand Canyon, we decided to leave for better weather. The joys of having a car and trailer are you can leave when you want. Not to mention my fearless, 4-year-old was getting way too close to the canyon’s edge and drop-offs. It was time to leave, before we lost a child.
Our last park on this road trip was Arches National Park, but first, we made the drive to the four corners. This is the only spot in the US where you can stand in four states at once. We drove the extra mileage for our daughter, because the four corners was on her bucket list. Perhaps it is on your bucket list too, but if not, you can certainly pass on this adventure. It is in the middle of nowhere and added some extra distance that maybe wasn’t necessary…or was it? She seemed to enjoy the experience.
Since we were one day early heading to Arches and didn’t have a reservation in the park, we made an overnight stop in Bluff, Utah. We found a great campsite and quaint town to explore which was loaded with history, an unexpected yet great find.
The next day we made our way to Arches National Park. Upon arriving, our kids immediately began climbing on the massive rock formations. We stayed in the park’s campground and I’m thankful we did, because we were surrounded by the park’s majestic arches. The kids climbed for hours! We enjoyed some of the popular hikes and famous arches, but our favorite was the Sand Dune and Broken Arch Trail, which was right by our campground. Again, the kids enjoyed hiking on the massive, red rocks and the photos couldn’t adequately capture the adventure nor beauty we experienced.
Finally, we made our way home. On our drive, we took a vote of our favorite park. My husband and I enjoyed Zion the best, but the kids voted for Arches. All in all, you wouldn’t want to miss one of these majestic masterpieces. We couldn’t stop talking about our amazing God. What a gift He has given us in creation to enjoy the various displays of His splendor.
“In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” Psalms 95:4-6
“How great are your works Lord!”
Psalm 92:5