Exploring Utah and Colorado with 5 Kids
A trip to Moab has been an annual affair for our family for the past 4 years. Well, part of our family. Mind you, this is not a place to bring 5 kids for the first time, uninitiated.
The first year, it was just Dad, scoping it out by camping along the White Rim Trail with some work buddies.
If you think this shot makes your knees quake, check out the next pic, zoomed in closer to the top right outcropping.
The next year, Dad brought along the two oldest boys, Izak and Mozes.
They were a big help, especially when we got a flat on our 9 passenger Suburban.
We had bluetooth, so we could jam to our favorite…audiobook: Zach and the Pangalactic Space Racer.
A friendly volunteer firefighter finally came along and breathed fresh compressed air into our (also flat) spare.
I have been stranded 3 different times over the past few decades on the same barren strip of highway between Grand Junction, Colorado and Moab, Utah. And no, there is no service in Cisco. Once early in the morning, in the Purple Passion Bus with my youth group, a fan blade pierced the radiator of the old thing, giving me a chance to see one of the most beautiful, dark, starlit skies of my life.
With most children, sand is the first and most wonderful toy — especially cool, fine sand ground up by the wind, and shaded from the desert star by ancient rock. The young men instantly built a monument to the first landmark they saw in Arches, Balanced Rock.
Izak’s godfather Cyril and two of his boys joined us on this trip.
The next year was the big trip. All 5 kids came along.
According to John F. Hoffman in Arches National Park, National Park Service did NOT mix up the names of Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch. I don’t believe it for a moment.
Taken. A stake in the ground showing how we like all other animals mark our territory.
(I love tent camping, but since discovering the world of RV sharing, I much prefer the convenience of a camper trailer. This trip was especially hard, loading and unloading everything practically by myself at each camp site…)
The next year was a special trip to celebrate Izak’s 13th birthday.
We hiked and camped along the Escalate River for many days. Izak showed his character in two ways that week. We had packed fairly lightly for the 30 miles and 4 days we planned to be there. The first part of the hike you have to climb down a crag and pass down your backpacks by rope. I thought it was odd that his backpack was so heavy. A few days later, Izak wanted to call his mom on his birthday. To get cell service, we had to hike 2 miles back up to the rim. The hike out was difficult, in sliding sand. It was then I discovered he had packed his heavy Latin textbooks and Bible so he could study.
Maybe the brain is like a wire between the body and the soul.- Izak
We all leave a mark behind. Moments together. Moments apart. My prayer is that my mark on my children is filled with wonder and gratitude, peace, and adventure; and that the mark they each leave behind is a treasure, like they are. Thank you Izak, Zoe, Mozes, Suzanna, and Izaiah for your mark on my life.
