Today we went to explore and hike Canyonlands National Park.  The kids (and Drew) slept in a little later (yay!) and we were a little slower getting out of our campground today.  But we followed the same approach we’ve been taking – get up and out as quickly as we can and get to the prized hike of the day to claim a parking spot that our RV can fit in.  The #1 activity for the day was to hike Mesa Arch which combines an arch and canyon view.  It’s a .5 mile round trip hike that is easy for kids with absolutely stunning views.  We were blessed again with a parking spot when we got there, took the time (too much time) necessary to eat breakfast, get packed, put on sunscreen (a huge fight with Caleb these days), load up, and head out.  Kenzie wanted to ride in the hiking backpack and Caleb wanted to “walk” (which he says so clearly now) and climb rocks 🙂  So we walked…slowly…the 1/4 mile to the arch and WOW, the view was unbelievable.  You can see forever!  The BEST view of our road trip thus far!  

From there we hiked back to the RV and drove over to the Green River Overview.  And again, WOW, the canyon views here are out of this world.  You can see so far in Canyonlands.  It makes you feel REALLY tiny.  I can’t help but have feelings of insignificance when looking out into the canyons…from both a physical perspective but also a spiritual perspective.  The God of the universe made this amazingly beautiful and huge world that is timeless YET he made me and knows me and loves me…an astounding reality.  

We then drove around the park while we let Caleb nap, saw more amazing views, took more amazing pictures, and then headed home after a quick stop at the visitor center to return an explorer pack they let us borrow for the kids.  Oh and we also had some trying times with our sweet girl.  Our awesome and wild adventure certainly can wear on our kiddos at times.  It can be exhausting for us too, which makes being the empathetic, connected, and coaching parents we want to be HARD!  We’re still trying to figure out how to balance our adventures with creating stability and rest for Kenzie and Caleb.