Natural Bridges National Monument

Our journey south and west continues into Utah. After a stop in Grand Junction, CO to resupply and do laundry we continued onward toward Moab, UT with plans of enjoying a day in the amazing area surrounding town. However, I just couldn’t deal with all the people. We tried to find a campsite along the Colorado River and after checking each campground and not finding one single open campsite, we headed south to find peace and quiet in the National Forest just north of Blanding, UT. From there we headed to Natural Bridges National Monument where we met up with Sarah, Bill, and their three girls, Ellen, Lauren and Eliza.

For Morgan and Derek nothing beats Cousin Time. It’s the ultimate way to spend a day and this weekend was all about Cousin Time.

We were lucky enough to find two side by side campsites that made life easy. The kids played, the adults talked and everyone relaxed for the entire Saturday. The only break in the action came in the form of a Ranger talk about the park’s reptiles.

On Sunday we broke camp early and headed out for a tour of the Natural Bridges. Unlike arches which are caused by wind erosion, these bridges were formed by the action of a river slowly eroding away the stone until the water passes under the bridge. Although the park contains three bridges we decided that we would only hike to one and view the others from their overlooks.

From there we headed to Flagstaff on a route that took us down the Moki Dugway, past Mexican Hat, and through Monument Valley. What a beautiful and amazing area.