Scott woke up at six am to get in a nineteen mile bike ride along the Canyonlands Needles District main road.  The views were spectacular.

A bat that got caught in April’s bike wheel

The two pictures straight above are of Wood Shoe Arch.

After Scott arrived back at camp he cooked up pancakes and prepared a sun shower for the kids.  The kids were actually able to have a warm sun shower.  In fact, we think it is the first time in their lives that their sun shower was actually warm water.  All of the other times we have tried to warm the water the sun didn’t cooperate. No problem here!

We went for a hike in the campground.  Scott got a recommendation from a ranger.  He requested a hike that allowed the kids to scramble over the rocks.  We aren’t completely sure what the route is anymore, but we started at Squaw Flats Campground A and ended at Squaw Flats Campground B to get back to our car.  Cody loved the rock climbing.  He was ahead of Scott again while Brooke and I took care of the tail end.

The kids look like little birds getting water from our Camelbacks.

We quickly lost the dirt trail and had to follow cairns.  What are cairns?  Little piles of rocks helping point the way.

The kids were loving the shapes in the rocks.  They were certain one of the holes looked like a fish

The picture on the left and in the middle are where we lost the trail for a little bit.  Cody was determined to just keep heading up.  Scott wasn’t so sure.  Eventually Scott spotted a small railing and our way down.  Before we headed down we took the opportunity to appreciate the surroundings and the shade.

The picture on the right is illustrating the wide variety of cairns.  The one in the lower right hand corner of the picture looks like a snowman.

After our hike we drove one hundred and twenty miles to Cortez.

Scott wanted to count how many cattle guards there were on the way back to 191 from the Needles access road because he noticed there were quite a few on our way in yesterday.  It turns out there were sixteen cattle guards in thirty-four miles.  He thinks it should be renamed Cattle Guard Road.  The best part was the ones painted yellow.  They kept freaking Scott out because he thought they were raised, like a speed bump.  We have learned with our two inch clearance (I might be exaggerating, but not by much) that bumps are a very bad thing for our van.

Newspaper Rock

Most of the time when there is a roadside attraction Scott sends me out on “mobile deployment” for pictures while he stays in the car with the kids.  This time Scott headed out to see Newspaper Rock.  They are not sure what the petroglyphs mean.

Once we arrived in Cortez we stopped at Centennial Park to cook up some quesadillas with chicken and black beans.  It is currently my favorite lunch which means next year this time no one will eat them again, so I am thoroughly enjoying them now.

Cody quickly made a friend and Brooke chatted with a family feeding the ducks.

After lunch we headed out for ice.  Our five day cooler worked a little better when the temperature wasn’t near one hundred degrees everyday.

The large map behind the kids was of Colorado.  We were at a Colorado Visitor’s Center in Cortez which was all the way in the lower left hand corner of the map.  They gave us great information on tours in Mesa Verde and we loved the free wi-fi.  The picture of the kids on the ladder and in the tunnel was at the Mesa Verde Visitor’s Center.  They had them out because you had to be able to climb a thirty-two foot ladder and go through a twelve foot tunnel to be able to go on the Balcony House tour.  We also picked up Junior Ranger books while we there.

Scott cooking pizza

Scott cooked up our first Outback Oven pizza for this trip.  I was SO excited.  His pizzas are incredible.  It was a great idea until the afternoon monsoon rain came.  Scott had to finish cooking and clean all the dishes in the rain.  We ate the pizza in the shelter of the van.  We also had to set up the tent in the rain for the first time on this trip.  Thankfully the rains weren’t too heavy while we set up the tent.  The picture of Brooke next to the tent was her being afraid that the rain was going to wash the van art off.  At this rate it appears as though we may need some heavy duty scrubbing to remove the artwork.  Brooke and Cody are thrilled! :-)  Since the rain started out light we all stayed out.  Brooke even danced in the rain a bit.

The kids made friends with the camp neighbors rather quickly.  One of the neighbors, Carson, stayed in the back of the van with Brooke to wait out the storm that wound up waiting us out.  Carson wanted to sing Frozen songs while we waited. Since I have a daughter who adores Frozen I just happen to have “Let It Go” karaoke-style on my phone.  They were oh so adorable singing at the top of their lungs.