Where to stay

The most popular way to stay in Moab is to sleep among the stars! Yes, most people in Moab are camping. Weather it is in the middle of Canyon Lands with a car topper or along the Colorado river in a Rv or tent. Most people opt for the great outdoors and who can blame them? With Moab temperatures at times reaching into triple digits, the best time to camp is in the months with cooler temperatures. My trip was for Labor Day weekend and temperatures were reaching over 100 degrees so traveling with a one year old we opted to stay in a hotel about three miles north of downtown Moab and directly across from arches national park. The hotels are not fancy, dated and not many to choose from, but at least the one we stayed at was clean. We chose a Marriott hotel with a large rock slide pool for our daughter to enjoy with all that heat. I recommended doing research to find the place that works for your needs. Also, consider airbnb!

Arches national park

Arches National park is absolutely beautiful. A place I will always find pure love for this planet. It’s journey started millions of years ago forming amazing rock structures and thanks to weather and time, created truly magnificent other worldly wonders. Basically a salt bed that over time with the help of rain, wind, sleet and snow eroding and chipping away, has created these beautiful sandstone arches or “windows in the sky,” as the natives call it. We woke up every morning of our trip at 5 AM and were at the arches watching the sunrise. It was truly heaven On earth. Virtually an untouched region of one of Americas greatest landscapes. There are a bunch of trails ranging from easy to difficult all through the park and my husband found it easy to walk around with our toddler in her hiking backpack although he would tell his version of this trip to family and friends as knowing “what the mars rover feels like.” The park also offers areas to see the ancient petroglyphs near the delicate arch making this location rich in beauty and history.

Window arch

The window arches was my go to sunrise spot, its like watching the sunrise through an earth window. These are the closest arches to the entrance and have minimal hiking involved. These arches include North window, Turret arch and double arches. When at this location during sunrise you will be welcomed by many other photographers and sightseers taking in all the beauty. Also located in this area are Garden of Eden and Parade of Elephants. Rock formations you wont even believe you are seeing. Truly a must see!

Delicate Arch

Delicate Arch is the most popular of all the arches. It has many different viewing point but to physically be in its presence it is about a three mile hike and a 500 feet Incline. Making this arch more difficult to get to, it is still viewed by many people from all over the world. When getting to the arch you will be met with hundreds of other people hanging out, taking pictures and just taking in nature. The area around the arch is a huge half circle of slanted rock and should not be done with young children who are not able to be aware of their surroundings. They could easily fall. Thankfully, our daughter never came off of my husbands back. Want your picture taken in the famous arch? You will wait in a long line of people going one by one to take there picture under this famous arch. Also located in this area is wolf ranch, built in the early 1900s and the ancient petroglyphs wall by the Ute Indians.

Devils garden

Devils garden is located at the very end of the park road, 18 Miles from the park entrance. It is a popular spot mainly for its hiking and camping. The hiking is easy to difficult and is where most of the hiking is done in the park. The arches in the area include Landscape arch with easy hiking and double O arch past that with difficult hiking trails. Landscape arch is the longest arch in the world, only beating Kolob arch in Zion by three feet. This was a spot we did not get to do much exploring as it was the hottest part of the day when I visited this spot, making hiking with a toddler impossible.

Canyonlands national park

Canyonlands is just that, a land of canyons, with rivers flowing through. Located 32 miles southwest of Moab it is Utah’s largest national park with over 337,000 acres. The Colorado and Green rivers split the park into three sections. These sections include Island in the sky, The needles, and The maze. You can drive through it and view some of the parks most breathtaking views. It offers camping, hiking and some some amazing ATV trails. It is a very large park and we were unable to do it all in one day.

Island in the sky is a beautiful mesa 1,ooo feet above the surrounding land. It is easy to travel to offering a scenic paved drive for those less inclined for hiking. My favorite view of the trip was the mesa arch. The arch is located on the edge of a cliff with a view as far as the eye can see, with a beautiful view of the Las Sal mountains in the background. This is a popular spot for tourists, photographers and can sometimes draw long lines to have your picture taken in front of the arch. The views made it all worth it. I will be going back for sure.

La sal Moutains

The La Sal mountains are about a two hour drive south of Moab. The range is apart of the Manti-la sal National forest and the southern Rocky Mountains. With an elevation gain of 13,000 feet it is Utah’s second highest mountain range. These mountains offer hiking trials as well as biking trails. They also offer camping with a picture perfect view. We went on a quick hike just outside of this mountain range and got an awesome view of it all. We also drove to the top where again you feel like you can see to forever.

After everything, I would highly recommended Moab, Utah! We have already planned our next trip back and will be accompanied by more family!

Hotel julian

Hotel Julian was the hotel I chose and it was an absolute gem. I could not have picked a better location. It had modern decor with a old aesthetic feel. Our room had a great view and I could see The Bean at Millennial park from our hotel window. About two blocks north of our hotel was the Chicago river, the river runs through the city and makes for some beautiful views. One night strolling past I saw three wedding parties waiting to take pictures with epic views of the water and city landscape. I found it easy to walk to almost everywhere from hotel Julian and was very pleased with the location. The front entrance is discrete with a small door on Michigan ave and valet in the back alley. I really like that about the hotel and felt safe with my one year old.

Our room was small but had an espresso machine and a view of Millennial park and Lake Michigan. It was fine for my husband, toddler and I to share with enough storage and a big bathroom with a really impressive shower size and features that went along with it. The lobby had a Resturant, bar and longe area that was very chill which was great because it made it easy for my toddler to lounge with us. The staff were amazing, super friendly always helping us with must see destinations. They really provided us with a welcoming attitude. We hung out downstairs at least once a day and always felt appreciated by their service. Hotel Julian is most definitely a hotel we will frequent again next time.

Magnificent mile

It was an easy walk from Hotel Julian to Magnificent Mile and where we spent most of our time. It has everything you would need and I most definitely spent a lot of time there. They have upscale shopping, restaurants, cafes, museums and more shopping! Along with a lot of rich history and old buildings making it easy to walk around. I found myself at Sephora twice and the Disney store once. My daughter handled herself at sephora so I took her to pick out an animal to take home.

Navy pier

The Navy pier is also a fun place to hang out. It has amazing views on both sides of the pier where the city-scape and Lake Michigan meet. There is a Ferris wheel in the middle with a lot of outside space for people to sit and relax and take in the view. I also saw multiple wedding parties here taking pictures so it is definitely a site for photography of all kinds. Located inside are shops, restaurants, The Chicago children’s museum and an Imax theater, plenty for everyone to enjoy. We took our daughter to the Children’s museum and she absolutely loved it. There was many levels and she ran around making sure to check everything out even if she was too little to do so.

The art institute

The Art institute of Chicago was probably my favorite place. I love museums and learning about history, it always get my creative juices flowing. As soon as my toddler fell asleep we booked to the museum. I saw they had an Andy Warhol exhibit and was so excited to check it out. They had so much on display there it was overwhelming. Every culture, every type of ancient art, statues, objects , clothing, jewelry, furniture and so much more. My daughter was an angel and stayed sleeping for two hours and we were able to walk and see everything we wanted to in the quieter parts of the the museum. She conveniently woke up in time for the Warhol exhibit which was perfect because it was a louder environment. Warhol was amazing with his art being so out of the ordinary. It was pop culture before pop culture was a thing. I was like a kid in Disney land reading every description on every picture of art work. We spent three hours there with a toddler so I call that a win. We had a great time exploring here and would absolutely come back.

Millennial Park

Millennial park is across the street diagonally from Hotel Julian and was conveniently right next to the art institute. It is an amazing park most famously know for ”The Bean”. A literal large metal structure in the shape of a bean. The park has plenty of space for everyone and an amphitheater that holds concerts and other large events. With lots of garden landscapes and beautiful architecture it was perfect when we went in November. With so many fall colors everywhere, it makes for some beautiful multicolored leaves. Great for photography and simple picture taking which almost everyone was taking. A must go see if you are heading to Chicago.

mile high city

I knew nothing about Denver except it was close to the Rockies and marijuana is legal. Picking somewhere to Live without ever being there was a little difficult but we managed. With everything being in walking distance in the city, we lucked out in finding a newly developed area in Denver called Stapleton and turned out loving our area. When I flew in and drove to my new home I could not even take in the view. It’s almost too many jaw dropping views for your eyes to process at once. If you have ever been to the Rockies you know, pictures will never do it justice. Denver to my surprise is a very old city founded in 1858 and sits just east of the Rocky Mountains.

The great outdoors

If you live in colorado chances are you love the outdoors. With so much to offer outside it is heaven to outdoor enthusiasts. Whether you like running, hiking, fishing, camping, mountain biking, skiing or snowboarding, we have it all. In the mountains or out on a trail, people are out and they are moving. This is probably one of my favorite things about colorado. My family and I are always outside and we love a great adventure!

The Rockies

The Rocky Mountains are absolutely beautiful. You cannot even grasp how large they are unless you live here or travel through them. Living here a year I can tell you I have only just began to explore it’s unique beauty and wonders. Starting in New Mexico and ending in northwest Canada this mountain range is 1,900 miles long. With majority of the highest peaks located in Colorado, one can imagine why everyone is outdoors. We hike about every weekend and its always a great climb with an amazing view virtually everywhere we go.

Colorado was one of the best decisions I could have made for my family! We are incredibly fortunate to have had this opportunity to be here. We love it here and it automatically felt like home. Just this past month we made it officially permanent and we could not be happier! A lot of blogging will be about things to do and places to go in colorado so stay tuned! Also any recommendations will always be appreciated.