Adventure in Moab: Sun, Sand, and..Snow?

          So I recently returned from an adventure in Moab,Utah. Home of the world famous red rock. I went on this adventure with my wonderful wife and her incredible family. The adventure began last Wednesday for me, my wife, Brooke, and my sister in-law, Crystal. We left and took the three hour drive to what we hoped to be much warmer weather. With radio playing favorite songs,some good laughs and a few tricks from our cell phones we made it to one of the most popular destinations in all of Utah. The area we were to camp in had been decided by my brothers in-law, Craig and Mark, planners of the trip. Sand flats recreation area was to be our home away from home for the next four nights. We paid our fee of ten dollars per vehicle for the nights and headed off to find camp. Sand flats is the place to head if interested in mountain biking or jeeping over the "slick rock" and many great campsites are located just seconds away from trails like slick rock,hells revenge,and fins and things. After careful searching we found the spot that would work for our large group that would soon follow in the next two days. We pitched  one of the largest, most irritating zippered tents I've ever encountered and headed into town for dinner. We decides to eat at a place called "Zax" located on the corner of 100 south and right off the main Moab strip. The place had excellent pizza with tasty toppings and an even tastier crust. I enjoyed an all meat pizza loaded with pepperoni,sausage,ham,bacon, and seasoned ground beef, while Brooke and Crystal shared a Margarita pizza with fresh basil, tomatoes, and the perfect amount of cheese. Washed down with an ice cold lemonade the meal was a hit.(here's a link to their website to check out their menu!) http://www.zaxmoab.com Now full and extremely tired from our first day we wandered to the car and went up to our little camp in the desert. We got to camp and realized that the stars were exploded all over the sky and couldn't resist a small fire and a little star gazing. It was the perfect end to a great day.
           The next day began very early....in fact I think we got so little sleep that night that we almost didn't even go to bed. We woke up to the sounds of our massive tent shaking in the wind, and felt sand rain down from beneath the rain fly where wind had blown it up underneath and saw the tent sway and bend as each gust of wind threatened to blow the tent down. Luckily....... I slept through most of it, as Brooke and Crystal were up worrying.....(yes, I know that was a jerk move but I couldn't help it. I was tired, but I would have gotten up to help if it had really blown down). We made it through the night and woke up to a windy cloudy day (which we had kinda been expecting). We silently decided to continue sleeping because of the stressful night and the warmth of our sleeping bags. Later, as we dosed comfortably, the loud crackle of something like sand hitting the tent woke me up. I looked outside and saw that it had began to hail! and that the wind had blown the rain fly off on the side keeping me dry. I hurried and fixed it and laid back down. Shortly after, the storm passed and a little sun came out to brighten the day, and lift our spirits. We shopped for a few things, ate lunch, and headed back to camp to take another nap, and relax for the day as we waited for more of our family to show up. My wife's parents, two more brothers, another sister, and max, the little family shih tzu. They all got there safe, and after getting everybody settled in, we headed down for another dinner at Zax, cause the fam needed to try the pizza. We all then headed back to camp for a little relaxation around the campfire.
          Friday was a hectic day, and due to another irritating trick that our cell phones played on us (the time kept switching back and forth an hour randomly so we never knew exactly what time it was), we ended up missing out on something special, and to try to make up for it, we ate our sorrows away with pancakes and sausage, then followed that with a hike to Corona Arch. The scenery was beautiful, and the weather was perfect for the hike. The trail head is located near the bank of the Colorado river, and is about three miles round trip. The hike was easy and cables and a ladder made the tricky parts very do-able, even little max did it!! After the hike we went and had some lunch. A little chicken salad, with fruit, and cheese nips hit the spot, and gave us some more energy to finish the day strong with a drive into the desert to explore the back country, and enjoy more of what the area has to offer.  We finished off the night late, with my dutch oven lasagna with ricotta,spinach,zucchini, and Italian sausage taking FOREVER to cook, and still didn't get all the way hot, due to coal malfunction, wind, and who knows what else. Later, the last of our group arrived safely. Two more brothers, and another sister. We sat around the fire for awhile then went to bed on the coldest night of the trip!
          Saturday started off with a bang as me and my wife took max for a morning walk to avoid having him walk on everyone's sleeping head. Although frost was on the sand, the sun was out and began to warm the freezing desert and it's occupants. Then most of the fam went and mountain biked on the Slick Rock practice loop while me, the parents and max went and hiked the Corona Arch once more. We then met for lunch of hogie sandwiches with all the fixings. Swiss cheese, ham, turkey,pickles,onions,tomatoes, EXCELLENT after a bike ride or hike. After relaxing for a bit, we all piled into the cars, and entered Arches National Park for the rest of the day, and saw some of the easy places like Balancing Rock, and Double Arch. Then went home for dutch oven roast, and roast veggies, broccoli,cauliflower,carrots,potatoes,celery,and onions covered with a thick layer of cheese! The food was delicious and warm and my stomach was extremely grateful! But then out of nowhere it began to snow!!!! Very lightly, but it snowed!! So after dinner, a trip to the parents hotel for a dip in the jacuzzi was a necessary trip to take. We got there just in time to jump in and warm up and see the eleven or so other teenagers who got there after us, look at us enjoying the hot water and trudge off back to their rooms in despair.... It was Glorious! After the jacuzzi we sped home and jumped in bed before the warmth wore off : )
          Sunday was our last day and we lazily got out of bed, ate some amazing breakfast burritos with eggs, sausage, potato's, onions, cheese, and a little salsa! What a great way to start the day! We left camp and headed into Arches again, but this time to take a little longer hike. We hiked  to "Double-O" arch, and then went a little further to "Dark Angel" a massive column of rock standing alone in the desert. The hike was relatively easy, and offered great views of the entire area, plus the sun was shining. It couldn't get much better! After the hike we went back to camp and ate some sloppy Joe's and veggies for lunch then began to pack up our camp. We got everything loaded and set off for home.
          The family trip to Moab was quite the adventure filled with good laughs, great food, and memories that I'll remember forever. I cant wait till the next one!