a degree in nature

Thank god for Dog Man, Lumberjanes, Zelda and Neil Gaiman, they allowed me to enjoy the beauty of Southeast Utah. Especially the Canyonlands and Arches. The books kept all of us sane. When I did giddy shrieks of "OMG LOOOOOKKKKK!!!!" and my boys would look up from their books and do feeble attempt of wows and return back to reading. I drove for hours in peace and at one certain point, they wanted to read at the picnic spot and I went to hike (10 mins) on my own at my own pace.

I totally got them and could relate. My husband and I traveled Southeast Asia for 3 months and we got to the point where we were templed out. They are natured out, for now. I hope. I did manage to drag them to some trails after a lot of bribing, though. 

riding the t-rex 4x4 tour (highly recommended, be sure to get Sean Paul!)

Sean Paul telling my boys about tiny frogs (he was great at communicating with them)

fossil footprint of a Velociraptor and the direction it was going

us in front of the canyons and colorado river

some of the terrains were really challenging

eitan and the mesa arch of canyonlands

dog man saves the day

boys sat there to read as I went to do a quick mini hike

oisin sliding down a boulder at sand dunes arch trail (arches)

sand dunes arch trail, really an awesome hidden spot!

the magnitude of it

the sand was so cool and fine that it felt good digging in them

being his usual goofy self

eitan, or is it james dean?

oisin on our hike towards the landscape arch

the landscape arch

books before nature's beauty, apparently

at least it's appreciated by SOMEONE

I told my boys that after Santa Fe, the terrains will be pretty much flat until we head towards northeast. I wonder what the rest of the trip will be like. I already have November pretty much planned out, after that... it's totally up to whatever works best for us. I love the uncertainty of what lies ahead because I know, no matter what, we will see new places and continue to make memories.