From there we drove north to meet the freeway, then cut south again to Moab. We love Moab. My husband would live in Moab if he could find a way to support us there. Seriously, it is like his favorite place on earth. It has everything Nathan loves-- year round running, mountain biking and plenty of ATV trails. In his mind, Moab is next to Heaven. Twice he's run the Canyonlands Half Marathon. The last time he ran it, he drove down alone and ran in 80 degree weather, while it snowed at home.
We arrived in Moab around 11 A.M. After checking into our cabin at Archview campground, we headed into town. I would not recommend Archview. We were very disappointed. The cabins were tiny. The A/C that they advertised was in fact a dumpy swamp cooler, and the pool was only four feet deep and crowded with ten kids in it. In fact, if we'd been staying somewhere we liked, we might have stayed a few extra days. As it was, we couldn't get out of there soon enough.
Anyway, we rented a Polaris Ranger, which seats six. We took that and "the big pig" (that's Nathan's four-wheeler) out and hit the trails.
Nathan and I with Determination Towers in the background. 
My co-pilot. He held the map and water while I drove.
Nathan and Ethan with Merrimac Butte behind them.
Starting out, Josie was wearing the bike helmet and Mazie was wearing a motorcycle helmet, but the bike helmet kept falling down over Josie's face, so we took it off. She was five-point harnessed into a vehicle with a roll-bar, so we figured she'd be fine. Plus, cautious Mommy was driving. Then Mazie started complaining about her helmet, so she ended up wearing Josie's.
We went to the Mill Canyon Dinosaur fossils and saw real dinosaur bones still in the rocks. That was very cool. We also saw the remains of Halfway Stage Station, which was a small stone building where travelers would stay overnight on their stagecoach journeys. All that is left now is the stone walls.
When we got back from this three hour ride, we were hot, very dirty and hungry. We went into Moab and bought groceries. The car thermometer said it was 104 degrees. Just as we were starting dinner, the others arrived from the Grand Canyon. We put all the kids to bed early with plans to head out first thing in the morning.
Day 7: Friday, July 25. Moab. The day started around six A.M. when we woke to get everyone ready for an early hike. Because it was so hot, any hiking had to be done early. Unlike Zion, there's no shade in Moab, so you roast. Josie woke with us at 5:45. Nathan and I have been to the arches before when we lived in Utah, so I stayed back with Josie while he took the other three up to Arches National Park.
When I saw this picture, I started to laugh. Nathan and I have a picture of ourselves in this exact same arch ELEVEN years ago!
Rachael, Ethan, Andrea & Mazie-- a mix of double cousins.
After the Arches hike, Nathan came back and we took the kids out ATVing again. We went up to Gemini Bridges. The road climbed all the way up the bluffs across from our campground. The highway looked like a little stream below. Of course, we forgot the camera, so we have no pictures. We made this a shorter ride. It was rocky, and the kids were getting tired of bouncing all around, so we didn't go too far.
Next, we drove into Moab, returned the Ranger and went souvenir shopping. When we got back, Josie wanted a nap and the older kids wanted to swim. I took them down to the tiny pool, and they played in the water while Nathan and Josie took a nap.
I was keeping an eye on the clock because I knew Nathan wanted to go mountain biking. The other families spent the day rafting the river, and they still hadn't returned by five-thirty, so Nathan went out on his mountain bike. He was planning to go after dinner, but he didn't want to run out of daylight.
That night we had a joint birthday party for Dylan and Andrea.
Josie preferred chewing on the hat to wearing it.
These next two pictures are a one-two sequence. She kept pulling Nathan's hat down and letting it go, so it would smack him in the head. Mean little thing.
By this time, Nathan and I were exhausted and ready to go home. We regretted that we didn't have time to do everything we wanted to in Moab (like bike Slickrock with the kids), but we were tired of travelling.Day 8: Saturday, July 26. We woke by five and were on the road by six-fifteen. Because it was early morning and a weekend there was hardly any traffic, and we made great time to Provo. We stopped at Target in Orem for breakfast and snacks, then hit the road. We were home by six that evening. I was so happy to sleep in my own bed!
As I'm typing this, Nathan is already planning our next trip to Moab. :)
From there we drove to Panguitch, UT and visited the grave sites of Grandpa Kerr's parents and grandparents. We had lunch at the cowboy restaurant in town that used to be his great-grandfather's mercantile. Then we drove to Bryce Canyon National Park. It really is as pretty as all the postcards! 
There were several very cool rock formations. These are just a few of the many pictures we took on this short hike. Plus, the kids loved it because it wasn't difficult and we were the only people on the entire trail. 
Dylan snapped a shot of the rest of us, which (of course) sparked an argument, because every kid wanted to take a picture. Will this bickering ever end?!
Honestly, I think I liked Red Canyon as well as Bryce and Zion. It's smaller, but the scenery is just as beautiful.
Here is the family with a Hoodoo. My flash wouldn't turn on because it was so bright outside.
This photo doesn't do it justice. It steps down, then steps down, then steps down some more. The summit where we are standing is just under 10,000 ft. There were some places on the drive where the road weaves through at 30 mph and the canyons fall away on either side. Yeah, and I drove this pulling and ATV trailer.
Mid-afternoon we arrived in Torrey, UT and went to the Fruita Campground in the Capital Reef National Park. We had never heard of the Capital Reef before we started planning this trip, but we saw it on the map and searched it out. The Fruita Campground is on the original property of the Gifford family farm. It was their fruit orchard. It is in a small canyon with many large trees, and the historic Gifford farmhouse is right next door, turned into a small museum and store. We drove in, set up camp, then went back out to see the viewpoints. Look closely. Nathan is standing on a rock overhanging the cliff, and he's holding my baby. It dropped at least 300 feet below.
This is what was so cool about the Capital Reef. The sandstone is all water marked and fossilized. It almost looks like lava rock, but it's an exterior scarring. I guess that's why they call it a reef. 
And, here's the close-up.
We also drove around and showed the kids the Provo Temple, the MTC and Rock Canyon, where Nathan used to spend a great deal of time with his mountain bike. 
Even though it was Sunday, we had to buy food. I told Dylan to share his hash brown with Josie, and he gave her the whole thing. She devoured it, paper and all. Once she got it into her fat little hands, there was no taking it back. How can you say no to that happy little face?
Then we drove south to Springdale, UT. It was evening, so instead of seeing any sights at Zion National Park, we went to the ghost town of Grafton and the Grafton Cemetery. (Grafton is where they filmed Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.) Several of the buildings have burned down since the filming, but the church/school and two homes remain. 
This is our family on the steps of the church.
And here we are inside an old log cabin.
Our first stop was the hike to the Emerald Pools. There are three. This is Dylan at the lowest pool. Around the corner, the trail climbs up to the top of the cliff over his head. 
My gorgeous husband with gorgeous mountains in the background.
Our family stops for a break on the Emerald Pool trail.
Second hike was to Weeping Rock. Water seeps through the sandstone all year long and creates hanging gardens. You can't tell in the picture, but water was dripping down on Nathan and Josie's heads. It was so hot, no one minded a little rain.
All of us at Weeping Rock.
One tired little hiker, and the day is only half over. 
We ate lunch at the Zion Park Lodge snack bar, which was very expensive. (Next time, remind me to pack sandwiches.) Then we were off again. The last stop for the day was the Temple of Simiamu, where the Narrows are located. It is about a half mile hike to where the trail dead ends at the river. This is the start of the narrows. John has hiked the Narrows several times before and said the water is usually clear. We had heavy rain the night before and the higher Narrows were closed due to flash flood warnings. As it was, the river ran red with mud, but Nathan, Janae, David and John were undaunted. They took the older kids up the muddy river to the Narrows, while my mom and I stayed back with the younger girls who didn't (or couldn't) make the hike. 
Spanning the canyon. From left to right: Dylan, Ethan, Nathan, Janae, David, John, Emily & Jessica. Rachael must have taken the picture.
By then it was late afternoon. The kids were hot and tired and wanted to relax. So, they cooled off in the motel pool with a slide.
While the kids swam, Nathan and David hiked Angel's Landing. This is Nathan at the top. The trail ascends 1,500 feet over a distance of 2.5 miles to the slickrock summit, which is ringed on three sides by the Virgin River far below. (That description is from an informational blurb about the park.)
The ridge below, where Nathan is pointing, is the trail that leads to the summit. In places it is a 1200 foot drop on one side and a 800 foot drop on the other. There is only a chain for you to hold as you walk across the ridge. 
By nightfall we were exhausted, but that didn't stop me from hitting the awesome little shops in Springdale, which were all open until ten. We bought the boys shirts that were dyed in the red dirt. Nathan's says, "I survived Angel's Landing." After seeing the photos I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have made it up there. I bought a cool Zion shirt and saw a Life is Good sweatshirt that I absolutely loved, but they didn't have my size. We got hand dipped truffles, sea foam and chocolate dipped macadamia nuts from the candy store. Yum. It was very late by the time we got to bed, and the next day we were heading out early.
