Moab Trip Day 2: Dinosaur Tracks & Corona Arch

 After the race, lunch (and a nap for Desert Girl), and a long swim at the hotel pool, it was time to begin our afternoon adventures. We wanted to hike to Corona Arch, and we learned at the information center about some dinosaur tracks on the way. So we went and checked them out at the marked pullout. They were hard to find, but once we did we thought they were neat.

 We could see the race finish across the Colorado River, with folks still finishing the trail marathon. Some people ran eight hours that day. Wow.

 This lizard was taking the more relaxed approach to life, soaking up rays on the beautiful weekend.

 I was fascinated by the prickly pear cactus.

 Turns out I wasn't the only one. I turned around and found Desert Girl learning about the cacti. I like her hand-in-the-pocket approach.

 I couldn't hear what she said, but I think it was a learning moment.

 Meanwhile I had given Desert Boy a little camera and he was scampering around looking for good vantage points.

Then it was time to go down the road to the Corona Arch trailhead. The hiking brochure said the hike was 1.5 miles each way and included a ladder and another obstacle, plus lots of hiking on slickrock. That sounded good to us.

 Right after we pulled into the parking lot, three more vehicles full of people came in and lots of people jumped out. We let them go ahead of us so we could have a little quiet on the trail.

 Before long we came to the cable. Desert Boy was delighted (and so was I).

 Desert Girl had been happy riding on Daddy's back, but at this point she really wanted out. She likes doing the fun stuff, too.

 We could see Corona Arch well.

 We also passed by Bow Tie Arch.

 That rock is so incredible!

 The kids were happy running all over it. We had caught up to the crowd, and they were sitting on the slickrock observing the arch. Actually, they were observing the people on the arch.

 Apparently it has become popular to do the Corona arch swing, which is to jump off the top and swing on the rope. One company charges $100 cash to take people to do this. I don't think it's particularly nice to the arch, but we had never seen something like this, so we decided to stay and watch. But I didn't like being by a crowd, so we went under the arch and to the other side.

 We found a lot fewer people on the other side. One of those people was a kid about Desert Boy's age, and they had a grand time playing while I scampered around, looking around the corner.

Desert Girl tried out her climbing skills.

 Train tracks cut through this area to get to the potash mine.

 Then the guy jumped and went for quite a swing.

 The sun was setting fast, so it was time for us to hike back.

 No one seemed to pay Bow Tie Arch much attention.

 We arrived at the ladder. Desert Boy enjoyed it so much that he climbed down, then back up, then down again.

 Desert Girl also liked it.

It was a really fun hike, just the right distance for us and with such wonderful terrain. We wanted more time to explore the Moab area, but we knew we just had a little time left, as we had to drive home the next day, which was six hours away. What else could we squeeze into our vacation? Stay tuned...

Moab Trip Day 2 - Adventure Races

 On the second day of our Moab trip, we got to sleep in a little. Hurray! Then we got ready and headed out to Kane Creek Road to join 999 other runners. This race was actually four races: the national championship trail marathon, a trail half-marathon, a 5K adventure race, and a kids 1K adventure run. I had signed up for the 5K, so was quite relaxed. I knew I wouldn't have a problem with the distance and I was really looking forward to the obstacles promised in the description: climbing a ladder, running through culverts and a cave, under an arch, up and down sliprock, rope assists, and more.

First we watched the first three waves start. Over 500 runners entered the half marathon and over 300 the full marathon. Within fifteen minutes over 800 people were off on the trail. Then it was time for the kids' run.

 The kids started lining up at the big starting line.

 Desert Girl looks a little uncertain at the start of her first race.

 Time for stretching, instructions (don't get ahead of the leader and stay on the course), and then it was time to go!

 Desert Girl knew what to do!


Before long I saw Desert Boy coming down the narrow trail section, a big smile on his face. He had already climbed the steep hill, gone under the arch and through the cave, and now was coming down a steep section (part of the same route as the 5K). He was loving it. I cheered him and he went on past while I waited for Desert Girl. My husband had gone to accompany her, and he said she did really well till she saw me.

 Here she is navigating the gully section that led to a huge culvert and down a ladder. I was worried about making it to the start of my 5K, which was a little down the road, but since the kids' run was on the 5K course, it had to be cleared first.

 They had three waves of starts for the 5K. I had estimated that I would be in the middle third of finishers, which put me in the second wave. I had considered asking to be moved up to the first wave, but then figured that despite doing some sprints in my runs lately, I probably wasn't really competitive with the Moab-area runners and the second wave would be fine. But I did go to the front of the pack so I could start out front. I figured that since it was a trail race, once we got on the trail it would be harder to pass. And it was. But it was still possible, like when we were running through the creek (twice!).

 I started catching up to the first wave by the time I got to the rope section. I had to wait for a couple people in front of me, but as I had been running rather fast, I didn't mind a chance to catch my breath. Sprinting and then resting was my strategy for the adventure race, and it worked well. My lungs burned as I continued running past the cacti, through the deep sand, across and down the slickrock, in gullies with loose rocks, but I knew I was doing well, so I pushed myself to continue. We ran through another culvert, traversed an obstacle course with balance boards, kids' tunnels (a tight fit!), hopping across lily pads, and even frisbee golf. Then it was a sprint to the end. When I finished, I had to sit for awhile just to catch my breath! My husband wasn't expecting me to finish as soon as I did, so he didn't have the camera ready.

 After I could breathe again, I saw the kids playing in the bounce house. I would like to tell the organizers what a brilliant idea that was! It kept the kids happy, occupied, and nearby. Desert Boy and Desert Girl jumped for over an hour.

The first half-marathon finishers came in shortly after I did. Wow! The winner finished in 1:30--on trails! I heard from a couple runners that it was an absolutely gorgeous course so am considering it for next year. The winner of the trail marathon finished in 3:03--a high school teacher from Fillmore, Utah who recently won the Spartan Ultrabeast, a marathon-length obstacle course. There are some really fit people out there! Fortunately most of the really fit people did the longer races, which meant that I won my age group. Yippee! I got a cool little trophy for my efforts, plus, more importantly, bragging rights!

After the race it was time to start on the rest of the day's activities...we had lots of fun things planned.

Moab Trip Day 1--Little Wild Horse Canyon

On our way out of Goblin Valley State Park, we stopped at the visitor center, which doubles as the entrance station. They had some nice exhibits. I also asked the ranger about Little Wild Horse canyon. The information I had found on the Internet said it was the most-visited canyon on the San Rafael Swell, and a beautiful hike, but I wanted confirmation on how to get there. The ranger pulled out a slick brochure with good instructions, and off we went.

We turned at a signed post and drove about five miles on a good paved road. I think they recently paved the road, because a couple of other instructions mentioned it being gravel. The pavement ended at the signed parking lot. We got our things ready and headed up the trail. In about ten minutes we reached a canyon junction, with a sign.

Bell Canyon and Little Wild Horse Canyon are two canyons next to each other, and they can be hiked as an eight-mile long loop. We knew that was a little too much for us, so we headed up to Little Wild Horse Canyon to reach the narrows, which begin about half a mile up the canyon. Here's the start of the canyon:

Desert Girl wasn't walking at the beginning because she was in a Terrible Twos moment. But as we went farther up the canyon, she begged to be let down.

It kept getting better and better.

Soon it started getting narrow. We let Desert Girl down.

She liked touching the walls.

I asked Desert Boy to smile for the camera. This is what he gave me.

We continued enjoying ourselves as we wound our way though the slot canyon. It was beautiful and tranquil, yet we couldn't help but hurry a little to discover what was around the next corner.

Eventually we got to the end of the narrows, and the canyon opened up. We decided that would be a good turnaround, as it was getting late in the afternoon and we still had to drive to Moab that night.
Before we began our hike back down, I convinced everyone to pose for a photo.

We're all looking in the right direction--hurray!!

Then the race was on. The kids love to run downhill, especially in sand. We had to jog a little to keep up.

Taking photos in a dimly-lit slot canyon is already enough of a challenge--but throw in running kids, and it makes it, well, a little blurry!

By the way, my husband picked out Desert Girl's outfit and color combo. She was comfortable! And she kept on running.

She was asking if she could do the Kids Fun Run the next day with Desert Boy, and after I saw how far she ran, I thought my answer would be yes.

This really is a gorgeous hike (or jog). We saw a couple other people on the trail before we went into Little Wild Horse Canyon, but no one else. During the summer they say the parking lot fills up and people have to park down the road. You'd have to pack a lot of water in the hot months, but we were fine with just a couple water bottles.

Desert Boy was fascinated with the dry mud, and started looking all over for it and picking it up whenever he found it.

I asked the kids to pose for a photo, but my favorite shot was of them doing a high five.

The canyon obviously gets some flash floods. We found debris well over Desert Boy's head and talked to him about what to do if you're in a flash flood. Even more importantly, we talked about in what kind of weather you don't go into narrow canyons.

Desert Girl got Daddy to give her a ride out the last bit.

We would definitely like to go back, maybe to do the whole loop.