Utah Road Trip (Part 1)

The second week of June we loaded up the Mazda and set off on one of our best vacations yet. Phil and I have had a bit of a love affair with the state of Utah ever since we drove out there from Indiana one summer soon after we were married to mountain bike. We've returned to Utah several times since and every time we are blown away by how jaw-droppingly gorgeous the landscape is there. So when Phil found out that he was invited to a conference in Park City we knew we just had to drive there and linger before and after the meeting.
The kids were great car travelers except for the first stretch when Jack screamed for 20 minutes straight. After that he kind of accepted his fate and enjoyed DVDs, snacks, books and matchbox cars. Sasha is a movie queen so she was perfectly content in the car with DVDs and the occasional round of travel bingo. The first stop was in southern Colorado at Pagosa Springs Resort. It's getting to be and annual event. We lounge in the various hot pools and splash in the river, go to dinner at the Pagosa Brewing Company where there is an awesome playground for the kids right in the outdoor eating area.
We soaked in the pools again the next morning before driving to Moab. Some friends of ours in Santa Fe happened to be renting a house there that week and invited up to stay with them for the one night we were passing through. What a once in a lifetime experience! This "Wilderness House" as it was aptly named was up in a deserted red rock canyon down a crater-ridden dirt road that required 3 significant creek crossings and some tense moments in the Mazda. We finally made it to this incredible off the grid house perched on a cliff overlooking a red rock canyon (pictures above). There was a wonderful pool and hottub and all the creature comforts you could want (except tv, cell service, internet). They cooked a delicious steak dinner for us that night (which tasted even better in such a beautiful place) and the adults stayed up way to late talking after the kids were in bed, enjoying the view from the porch and the hottub. The next morning we did our favorite hike in Arches National Park, Delicate Arch. "Big Arch" became part of Jack's vocabulary and he had plenty of opportunities to use it on this trip.