Today we made it into Arches, Utah.
We got out of the RV to get some stuff done like walking the dogs and extending the slide outs, we immediately realized and felt how hot it was outside. We went back into the RV to check the temperature outside and noticed that it was 114 Fahrenheit and we stood there in shock of how hot it was. We did our normal routine of extending the slide outs and the awning and turned on the AC full blast. After that we went to get some food and looked at Happy Cow. If you didn’t know Happy Cow, it is an app that tells you restaurants that have Vegan options and Mama scrolled down a little bit saw this restaurant that had the Beyond Burgers and called and the person said they didn’t. Mama told the kids the bad news but then called again to double check and this time the person said they had the Beyond Burger so we explained what had happened with the previous call and ordered 4 Beyond Burgers and fries . Lucas and I went to go get the food and came back to an RV which was ready for the next 3 days. We were greeted by a snout and little woof from the dogs and I lit up as I saw the dogs wagging and Maggie panting on the couch. We ate lunch and planned the next day. We settled on waking up very early and then seeing Balanced Rock, the main arch in all of Arches (you can see this arch on the Utah license plate.) The rest of the day was basically chill out in the RV and then when it got dark we headed outside and sat there until we could see the stars in the sky. We made sandwiches for dinner and then we watched a movie called The Force Awakens from Star Wars. Then we went to sleep…
4:00 AM I slept okay but was very hot in the morning. I slept in a little and woke up as my Dad got dressed. I immediately started to get down and got my hiking bag ready while Lucas folded his sheets. My Dad took out the dogs. I helped Lucas fold his sheets and put them away then I said ´Lucas get your hiking bag ready ‘Okay,’ Lucas said as he started filling a bottle of water. Once everybody was ready we got in the Prius and drove to Delicate Arch it was very dark out so you couldn’t see much. To the right, we could see the dawn, it was very beautiful.
We finally arrived at the trailhead began to hike about 5 minutes in we were hiking a 6% incline for a while and were relieved to see Delicate Arch, we took a few pictures and we took a break and then headed back down to the car.
We turned on GyPSy AKA Gerald (how we called the guide). GyPSy is an app for National Parks. It guides you through the National Park but only when you plan a route and then along the way it will talk about things you pass. We went to Devil’s Garden and hiked the trail and saw Landscape Arch, the largest arch on Earth! Then we turned back. We heard Gerald say something about Balanced Rock and we immediately wanted to go see the stars there. We ate wraps for lunch and chilled for the rest of the day until 5:00. At the moment I was looking at Happy Cow and saw a food truck that was completely vegan so we went to go get some food. After that, we went to Balanced Rock and set out the picnic blanket and talked for a while. We saw a beautiful view of the rock and we decided to go back to the RV. We drove to the RV and went to sleep…
Editorial Notes – by Lisa
Wow, Utah is hot. Like skin-melting hot. Our poor RV air conditioning unit couldn’t keep up (at some point it got to over 90 degrees inside the RV!). We split our time between getting up at the crack of dawn (4-5 am) to see the sights and then heading back to the RV to make sure the dogs weren’t left alone when it was so hot outside. We left the AC and fans on for them, but I just wasn’t comfortable leaving them alone in the RV when temperatures rose.
So, we were heading up to Delicate Arch at 5 am to see the sunrise. The walk there was very steep and we used our headlamps to guide us. Once we got there, we took the typical picture and then waited to see the rest of the sunrise. It was magical!
After a quick stop in the park to see more of the sights, we headed back to the RV to wait out the hottest part of the day. Thankfully, the RV park had a pool which we used daily for a quick dip to cool down somewhat. I had also purchased a “cooling vest” (called the “Swamp Cooler” at Ruff Wear) for the dogs in preparation for the heat, so we would get them wet and then put the cooling vest on and then dedicate a big fan to them. It was still super hot with the 7 of us inside the RV. However, no one wanted to hike in that weather, even if we had split up and some of us stayed behind. I had made sure we always had sunblock on but it was a losing battle with the Moab sun.
We couldn’t bring ourselves to cook inside the RV and raise the temperature more, so we focused on vegan takeout. As Alan mentions before, thanks to the Happy Cow app we found two places that had vegan items and ate from those. The other day we made cold sandwiches, followed by strawberry popsicles.
Once the day would finally cool down, then we would head back out for an evening activity. The second day, we spent the sunset at Balanced Rock, watching the sun come down and the stars come up while seated on a picnic blanket. Lucas even asked about what we thought the “meaning of life” was and so we were able to have some great conversations with the kids.
And frankly, outside of seeing more of this beautiful country, it’s really about making space for those conversations to organically happen that has made this trip so magical. We watched the stars and I thanked God for the opportunity to do this with my family.
