Labor Day 2009

For Labor Day weekend we went camping down to Moab with the Bergquists'. We left on Thursday morning and had lunch on the road and arrived in Moab early afternoon. We had a very busy fun filled weekend planned. On Friday we woke up early and got on the road to head down to Mesa Verde, Colorado to see the Anasazi indian ruins. It was amazing to see how they lived and learn about them. Stanton especially loved it because he is learning about them at school.

We took a tour of Long House and were able to go into the ruins and learn even more about how they lived. They would farm on top of the mesa and then climb down into their homes that were built in the alcoves of the mountain side. It was so much fun and so interesting.

Our family after touring Long House resting before we had to climb back out.

The children down in a Kiva, which is their spiritual room or their conference room. The most interesting thing about the Anasazi is that they lived in these homes from around 1AD to 1250AD and then they just left and archeologists don't know whey they just abandoned their homes. We all loved learning about them and the information from the rangers. Each of the children were also able to become Jr. Rangers.

On Saturday we went to Arches, Curtis and I had never been their and we loved it. The weather was also perfect which made it so nice, it was in the 80's, but had a great breeze, it was wonderful.

Hiking to the double arch.

The children loved to hike underneath the arches. When we were hiking there was an extended family there also and one of the men was telling his family member how funny one of the kids that was hiking was and then he pointed to Max. I was standing nearby and asked what he had said and told him he was my son. The man said that Max was hiking up and kept saying "Easy does it, one foot in front of the other. Desperate times call for desperate measures." After he told me Max came running up to me yelling that we should hike arches everyday. The man just started laughing and said, "Your son is funny."

I loved this when I got up to them they were just enjoying the view, and the breeze that rushes through the arch.

This was sand dune arch and the kids loved it the best. It was an easy hike into it, you walked through a crack and there was an arch in th middle of all this sand. The kids had a blast playing around it.

On Sunday we went down to Hole in the Rock which is a home that was built inside of a rock. It was also a popular resturaunt in the 1950's. Now it's a museum, a trading post and a petting zoo.

The kids were thrilled to feed and pet the animals. They had pigs, goats, chickens, and more exotic animals like a zebra, camel, wallaby, bison and more that I can't remember.

Gabe was afraid of the animals and would cling to us when we tried to put him down, so we didn't get any of him.

We loved this so we had to take a picture of the baby rattlers.

Maryssa posing for the camera as usual.

Later on Sunday afternoon Curtis' parents came down to spend the last night with us. We decided to go out to Dead Horse Point. I guess that cowboys used to round up wild mustangs at this point because their was only one way in and out and then canyon all the way around. They would block them in, take the ones they wanted and let the rest go. One year they forgot to open the makeshift gate and all the horses died stuck with no way out. It was a sad story, Sariah was especially upset about it and started to cry when she heard it. We had to keep reminding her that it was a long time ago and no one would do that now.

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On Monday our last day we made a quick trip to Canyonlands. It amazes me all the wonderful places that their are in Utah that I have never been, and some that I had never heard of.

We had a lot of fun, but by the end we were exhausted and ready to go home. It was a great, funfilled trip though.