"Hiking" Arch Canyon in a Four times Four

Last week, Britt made plans to take the family four-wheeling in Arch Canyon on Friday.  Then, we added my niece and nephew to our crew.  Worthy and Kim would be running in the Canyonlands Half Marathon on Saturday, so they were spending the night in Moab and we were having a sleepover at our place with their kids.  Anyway, when the Glover kids heard we were going on a hike that afternoon, they decided they wanted to go to Grandma's instead.  They weren't excited to be joining us on a hike (somebody told me their Grandpa Winston's hikes can be pretty grueling).  Then, when they arrived at our house and saw the "toy" we would be "hiking" in, they decided it might be pretty fun after all.  And yes, once we finally got out of town (always takes longer than you plan), we had a wonderful time.  

Well, wonderful except for the part where our dog refused to follow us.  I think he was afraid of the engines a little.  Or a lot.  Maybe it has something to do with the shock collar he has to wear all day that keeps him in the yard.  And maybe it has a little something to do with the day that I got a text from Garrett in the middle of the day.  Would I please bring the dog?  He needed the dog there for a science project presentation he was working on in Ag Science.  I got the dog into the back of the van and then headed to the school.  As I proceeded up the road, the dog started whining and then yelping.  I couldn't think why.  But since I had missed the text when it was first sent, I was already late, so I hurried along and eventually the dog quit crying.

As soon as I got to the school, the dog jumped out and hid under another vehicle.  The shock collar was still on his neck.  Poor traumatized dog.  He was probably useless for Garrett's purposes.  Garrett managed to coax the dog out and got the collar off, and once I brought the dog home later, I gave him a respite from the collar, but obviously the damage was done.  We haven't taken the dog anywhere before, so even getting him to ride in the truck was a huge process that day.

We had initially been concerned that Kate and Worthy were not going to enjoy themselves, but it turned out to be the dog we needed to worry about.

taking a snack break

the kids named this fallen tree "The Bridge to Teribithia"

Tyler got ahead of us and then came running back.  The wind had blown a cactus plant into her arm.  I guess we are grateful it didn't blow it into her face.

Britt couldn't believe it!  You tell them to watch where they step and then this freak wind blows a loose cactus plant into them.  I think she was more shocked and upset than hurt.

We decided to check out the hike

Cole pointed out the arch ahead of us.  I told him it was just a niche carved out of the rock, the makings of an eventual arch but not a real arch.  I was wrong; he was right.  I guess that is why they call it Arch Canyon.

another view of the arch

me posing in front of Cole's arch

Britt

crossing back over the Bridge to Teribithia

Olivia was afraid to cross the bridge

Rachel said she would help her

And Olivia did it!

It is pretty magical, isn't it?

Cole rode his motorcycle, Garrett road the four wheeler and the rest of us packed into our good friend Dave's Kawasaki Mule four-seater.  Some of the kids were going to ride with Garrett, but we all managed to fit into the Mule, all seven of us.

Actually, the first half of our trip, there were eight of us in the Mule.  When the dog refused to follow us (he was hiding under someone's parked horse trailer), we grabbed him and put him into Mule with us.  As soon as we started riding up the trail, he jumped out and ran through a nearby creek.  I grabbed him again, pretty much holding him the whole time, while he continually tried to climb over my legs.  Luckily, it was a warm day, because I was pretty wet when we got to the end of the four-wheeling trail.  That was not my favorite part of the trip, needless to say.

This is our ride.  Thanks, Dave.

This is one of the incomplete arches I was talking about

Luckily, we convinced the dog to follow us when we headed back.  This is one of the times he ran out ahead of us.  He tried to keep up with the boys, but they were just too fast for him.

I think we wore him out, for sure.  He is not used to all this exercise, being restricted to our yard most of the time.  Luckily, he loves Rachel.  She is the one who called him over and over until he finally started following us.

There is a ruin in this picture, toward the right, above the tree.  You can see long sticks, like bars covering a hole in the rocks.

We hiked to some ruins, near the start of the trail and I got some pictures with the kids.

Unfortunately, my camera died right after I took this shot.  

Didn't these ruins used to be mostly intact?  I could swear I have a picture from almost 13 years ago, with two little kids looking out a window of one of these structures.  I will have to look through my pictures and see if I can find it.  I remember we rode this trail once in 1999 with the Steve Hiatt family.  And in particular, I remember those ruins.  But that was a long time ago; maybe my memory is off.

It was a perfect Spring day.  Everyone had a wonderful time, I think.  As a matter of fact, I think the Glover kids have decided they don't mind going hiking with us.  We definitely wore them out, though.  Usually, it takes a while to get them to settle down for bed when they visit, but there was not a peep after we tucked them in.  Yay for fun Spring Break activities with family!

Oh, and the reason for my title?  Kate was the one who requested visiting Grandma when she heard we were going hiking.  But she decided it might be fun in the "four times four" as she called it when she was texting her mother afterward, when Kim was still in Moab.  Kim told me it sounded like Kate had a great time.  And even though Kate doesn't like getting her picture taken, I did manage to capture some of those moments of fun.