Moab - Day 3, Canyonlands National Park

Our last day was spent at Canyonlands National Park. To be completely honest, we weren't that impressed with this national park and we were pretty glad that we got in for free. I will say that Mesa Arch (pictured above) is way pretty and we really loved it. But otherwise we weren't that impressed. It also might have been that we just visited Arches and thought it was amazing, I'm not really sure. But we drove around the park and got out to see all the sites and then we hit the road to get back to Salt Lake City. 

^ Harley so tired after playing with all the other dogs 

^ Harley sleeping on the car ride home. This picture cracks me up, I have no idea how he fell asleep that way haha. And with his leg lifted up? haha 

Overall, such a fun trip and I'm so glad that we were able to go!

xo, Lo

Moab - Day 2, Arches National Park

Day 2 in Moab was spent at Arches National Park. Unfortunately, dogs aren't allowed here so we dropped Harley off at a daycare center and while I was super sad to not have him, I know he had sooooo much fun playing with other dogs all day. When we picked him up, he immediately passed out because he was so tired haha. 

Since we only had one day at Arches National Park, we hit the ground running. Our best friends, Aaron & Alexis, are hiking pros and they gave us the best tips for where to go and what to see. I really felt like we were able to see it all. We hiked 10 miles that day and it was so worth it. We went to Delicate arch first because it's probably the most popular arch and we heard it was one of the longer hikes, so we wanted to get there before it got really busy. 

Maybe it's because we had been doing a lot of hiking in Utah and our bodies have adjusted, but we felt like all the hikes in Moab were pretty easy and not very long. But, I'm glad we had the mindset that it would be long and hard because we were pleasantly surprised. Again though, I really can't imagine doing this in the summer. We lucked out with perfect weather and I think that had a huge factor in why we could hike so much. 

Everyone was so polite when it came to the arch. I figured everyone would be crowded around and under the arch the entire time. But everyone was respectful and waited to get their picture under the arch and then stepped back so everyone could admire it. I really loved that.

After Delicate Arch, we drove around the rest of the park and saw everything else the park had to offer. Off the top of my head, I can't remember all of the arches we saw (there's a ton). But I really loved it all!

^ Landscape Arch

Our favorite part when hiking is to get out and explore beyond what we're setting out to originally see.

Aside from Delicate Arch, the park was relatively empty. I was surprised because this was over Veterans day weekend and all National Parks were free! I was expecting a lot of people, but I guess because it's November, there were hardly any people.

^ Sand Dune Arch

^ Can you spot Kenneth?

^ Double Arch

This trip was one of our favorite memories from the year. We loved Arches and we will definitely go back! 

xo, Lo

Moab - Day 1, Corona Arch

When we moved to Utah, we had all these big plans to take tons of weekend trips and visit all the amazing national parks in and around Utah. Unfortunately, money and time got in the way of those plans and as our time was coming to an end in Utah, we were feeling pretty bummed that we hadn't visited any national parks.

But with some planning, I was able to figure out a trip for us to go to Moab for Kenneth's birthday. I kept it a secret and planned everything out. I even packed his bag and when he woke up on his birthday I said, "Happy Birthday!! Let's go to Moab!!"

He was totally surprised and it was so fun to get up and go. Our first stop in Moab was hiking to Corona Arch. We were shocked at how beautiful it was and how empty it was. Then again, we were visiting in November, but for the most part, we had this place to ourselves.

The weather could not have been more perfect. I cannot imagine visiting Moab in the summer. I really think I would die from the heat. 

Of course Kenneth had to climb to the top. I was going to but as I started hiking up the cliff I felt it was a bit too sketchy for my liking and opted to just take pictures haha.

^ Can you spot tiny Kenneth on top of the arch?

I loved that this hike was dog friendly. I really hate how most national parks don't allow dogs. But this made up for it and Harley was so happy!

Notice the concentration in Harley's face haha. Holding up a treat so he would try to look at the camera.

After hiking we checked into our hotel, enjoyed a birthday dinner at this yummy Mexican restaurant and relaxed in the hot tub. Definitely a fun way to kick off the weekend and celebrate Kenneth's birthday.

xo, Lo