en shots. So imagine my disappointment when I woke up today feeling worse and with a 102 degree fever to boot. We already extended our stay in Utah a day so we could see more of the sights and now I feel terrible.Since we needed to pack-up for the move to Colorado anyway, we took it easy this morning. We made breakfast and AJ (who is feeling better but not yet well) and I played in our bunk for a while. By 10:00AM we were at that point that I have come to recognize during this trip. The point where it will be easier to take the kids out of the trailer to do something, than to stay in the trailer with them driving me crazy because they are cooped up.
Missy had wanted to go back into Arches N.P. and take a look at the most famo
us arch in the park…Delicate Arch. The problem with Delicate Arch is that from the lower overlook you can only see the arch from a distance. If you want to get up close to the arch, you have to hike a pretty difficult 3-mile trail up to the upper overlook. If I had been feeling well, it would have been possible for me to carry AJ on my shoulders so we could get to the upper overlook. But that is not going to happen given the fact that I have a fever and the temperature outside is 95 degrees. Not a good recipe for a moderately difficult hike.So we drove to the lower overlook for Delicate Arch with the intention of finding the ranger who was supposed to be there. Yesterday when we were in the visitor’s center, I noticed that there was a “Family Ranger Talk” scheduled at Delicate Arch for between 11:30 and 12:30 tod
ay. The Park Rangers at most of the national parks we have visited will give different talks out in the park. Sometimes it is on geology, sometimes wildlife, or whatever other feature is unique to the park you happen to be in. When it is a “family” talk, there is usually some kind of activity for kids. So after checking out the arch from the lower overlook and not finding the Ranger, we headed back to the trailhead for the upper overlook hike which is also called Wolfe Ranch. According to our Utah guide book there was supposed to be some very interesting petroglyphs on the rocks behind the ranch. This particular grouping is called the Ute panel. And since the ranch is also the trailhead for the upper overlook trail we had hopes of finding the Ranger there. As luck would have it AJ fell asleep in the 10-minutes it took to drive from the lower overlook to Wolfe Ranch. Since I was feeling crappy, I volunteered to stay in the truck with AJ so Missy and the girls could check out the petroglyphs and find the ranger. They were able to do both. The pictures they took of the glyphs were very interesting and they got to listen in to the la
st half of the rangers talk on protecting the parks and the environment at large. After the talk and reciting the Jr. Ranger Pledge the girls both got Jr. Ranger Badges that they proudly showed me when they got back to the truck. It worked out well for everyone. They had fun and I got a nice nap.It was time for Abby to lay down for a nap so we took one last cruise through the park and headed back to the camper. Since AJ had slept in the truck he and Sarah used the wireless headphones to watch a movie in the camper while Missy, Abby and I all slept. After everyone was awake, Missy drove into town to get fast-food for dinner since neither of us felt like cooking. After my nap, I felt a little better so I did all the usual outdoor stuff to get ready for the move tomorrow (dumped the holding ta
nks, filled the fresh water, put away all the outside tables and chairs, put up the awning and cleaned the grill) while I felt up to it. After dinner I helped with the kid’s bedtime a little but mostly I lied in the bed and went to sleep.Given how I feel we have decided not to go too far tomorrow in hopes that we can delay the long drive over the mountains a day and give me time to feel better. I know for a fact that Missy would rather hang out in Western Colorado until I am well than have to
pull the camper over the Rockies herself.
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