Capital Reef National Park

Capital Reef is the only park, of the 5 we visited on this trip, that I have not been to. It was well placed, 2 hours from Moab on our way to Bryce, a good stopping point. It was a cool park, but nothing I would go out of my way to visit if I wasn't already in the area. We did a 3 mile RT hike to Hickman Arch, the scenic drive, and of course the Junior Ranger Program.

Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands is located 30 miles from Moab. It is a beautiful park, it has parts that remind me of the Grand Canyon, and there is a lot of hiking to do. The most famous destination hike is a short .5 mile hike to Mesa Arch. It is amazing because you can stand right next to the arch and not realize how high you are above the canyon floor. We did a few other hikes there as well. 

One of the best views (last photo) is not from the Park but from a State park just outside the entrance, it is called Dead Horse Point.

Arches National Park

Arches is our favorite park for the fact that there is so much to do there. Each hike takes you to an amazing arch, they are all spectacular! Some are quite close to the road and others are miles away. 

 double arch

 Delicate Arch is my favorite. It is a 3 mile round trip hike and so amazing!

 tough to do a cartwheel on an incline

 windows

 Landscape arch, Emily's favorite

Vacation

We just returned from the most amazing week in Utah! The weather was HOT and sunny every day which was amazing! We flew into Denver and immediately drove west. Our first stop was Moab where we spent 3 nights. The first thing we did was go white water rafing in the Colorado River, which was a highlight of the trip. Emily absolutely LOVED if. In our boat was one other family with 3 kids (all super nice) and one of the girls just turned 10, perfect!

Our trip included lunch and it was a great way to start our vacation!

Harry Potter Leftovers

WIzards and Potions

This sign was also made by our friend Travis. It was a huge hit and I gave each girl a photo of them in the sign in the thank you note. Potions were really fun. I labeled all the colored bottles with HP inspired labels with names of real ingredients used in the books. I wish I had a photo of the table when we were finished, what a mess!

 Kelsey, a HUGE HP fan, came to the party and was a big help! 

we called this one Hagrid's Toothpaste