Ending the same way we started!

We drove back to Breck that afternoon/evening and stopped at a restaurant (Glenwood Springs) that was 'a great bbq place' according to the grandparents.  It was called Rib City and funnily enough we had stopped at a Rib City in Fruita on the way out to Utah this trip.  They didn't realize until we had sat down and ordered the same 'dinosaur chicken bites' for the kids.  We all had a good laugh!  Matter of fact it's a pretty good bbq place.  The catfish and ribs were yummy!

The next morning we stopped at Daylight Donuts (we started there right before our trip the previous week) for a refill of buttermilk donuts and a shared egg burrito.  I normally like change but these stops were both worth redoing!

It was a good thing we filled up since we had a snowy drive home.  We had to get off the highway at Berthoud and take HWY 287 home due to the number of accidents that had closed I-25.

Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trail

 Our last stop before heading out was a stop at the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trail.  The fossilized remains of the Sauropods can be found in the rock around this area. 

Enjoying the view with her best friend:

Crazy boy:

Bar M Biking Trail to Circle O

 After a year of talking about biking in Moab with his kids Daddy finally accomplished his dream.  Granted, it had to be squeezed in on our last day but it was done and most importantly they had fun doing it.  We went to the Bar M trail head and did a small ride off there and even continued up a paved path along the highway for a small bit.

 

Eating and Staying in Moab

 After being in the car all day we headed to Twisted Sista's on Main Street in Moab for some dinner and to meet up with the man who left us for a basketball game.

 

 We had a great meal (salmon, pork tenderloin, seafood tom yum-very good) and some yummy calamari for an appetizer.  Surprisingly, it wasn't fried and it was all the better for it.

 

 The main dishes were all on the small size (which is clearly stated on the menu) so if you are really hungry this might not be the place for you.  The atmosphere was pleasant and so was the company.

 

 

Only one of us had dessert (the cheesecake) and it was fantastic.  The rest of us headed to the Moab Diner for malts and ice cream.

 

 We stayed at the Kokepelli Inntowner while in Moab.  This was about 2 blocks off main street and okay accommodations.  We had plenty of room and a kitchen but nothing was that updated.  Being able to sit outside and enjoy the sun was definitely a plus.

Caverns, caves around Barren Springs Sign

 This part of the trip was talked about for many days afterwards.  We had been scouring the sides of the road for these caves.  There was no sign and we had about given up.  Finally, we just needed to stretch our legs and ended up getting lucky.  There were all sorts of tunnels for us to climb through.

 

 

 Grumpy Grandpa had to leave early to watch the Michigan basketball game against South Dakota State (against who?) so he didn't get to have as much fun as the rest of us!

Chicken corners, at long last!

 Daddy had spent a lot of time telling the kids about 'Chicken Corners' so they were very excited the day we set out to go there.   We ended up spending about 5 hours in the car that day but it was all right since it was such a pretty ride.  We started low and climbed up to Hurrah Pass.

 

 

 

 Views of the Potash Ponds.

 

 Coming down the other side of Hurrah Pass.

 

 Great views of the Colorado River:

 

 The chicken dance at chicken corners:

 

The real chicken corners:

 It was necessary to go very slow and carefully so  as to not fall off the cliff or scrape up your vehicle on the rock.

  

I promise that's not our paint on that rock!

 

 A nice spot for lunch until the wind started gusting!

 Notice that only one person goes around the rock cliff.  We decided this was the real chicken corners and that Daddy lost his man card that day!  :)

Sand Dune Arch with the Junior Rangers

 This arch was a favorite of the kids.  It had a cool entrance through fins and loads of sand for the kids to play with.  Climbing up to the top was a hit as well.

 Look carefully for pinky bear falling.  He had quite a ride!

 

On our way out we stopped at the visitor's center 

 

to hand in their paperwork to get their Junior Ranger badges.  It's always fun to see them sworn in.

Delicate Arch, yes that's the one on the Utah License Plate

 After the Windows we headed to Delicate Arch.  We decided as a group that we could only do the short trip since we'd already done so many things that day.  It was an interesting perspective but you are definitely far away from it.

 

 We packed up our campsite the next morning and had time to burn so we headed to Sand Dune Arch (see next post) first and then back to Delicate Arch to do the 'real' hike.  Wolfe Ranch (an old farm settlement) was encountered quickly.

 

 The petroglyphs were cool.

 

 The views from the top were very nice and would have been even better had it not been cloudy.