Our second stop on our journey to Page, AZ was the Shell gas station. Yes, a gas station. They had a lovely parking lot where we could park all of our massive dually trucks and enjoy a quick picnic lunch. Once we finished our lunch (pb & j sammies with chips for our family), we were more interested in what lay behind us than the gas station in front of us. After hiking for about two minutes we came across The Big Lake Sand Cave, also called Biidi the Arch, or Shell Cave. This was BEAUTIFUL and crazy to think it’s right behind the gas station! The sand is a rich rust color and the sky when we went was a vibrant blue, making the photo opportunities perfect.

Beyond the arch in the cave were some pretty cool scrambling trails. Kai enjoyed going up the steep parts and practicing his balance (always safely, I add). He was also able to keep up with the big kids on some pretty serious inclines. On the top of one of the ascents the boys even found snow, with which they excitedly made snowballs. We all (except maybe Reya, who is not nearly as adventurous as Kai with heights) had fun taking in the views and challenging ourselves with the paths upward. Kai was fascinated with the different layers that he could see in the rocks and enjoyed breaking off small pieces to see how fragile the edges are.

We then walked down a bit further to see what’s called the Page Shores Amphitheater, which looks a bit like awnings over stages. It’s pretty cool to see the differing landscapes that occur within the same rock formations. We loved this stop along the way and would ABSOLUTELY recommend it to those passing by the area.

After this our third stop was to the Glen Canyon Dam, which was pretty cool to see. Kai and Reya enjoyed learning how the flow of water can help create electricity. For dinner all six families headed to a brewery where the kids got to sit at two large tables by themselves while the adults were at a third. We were pretty lucky that they had plenty of space to accommodate our party of 28! The food and beers were pretty good and the kids were all very well behaved. Last stop in our Page, AZ adventure was the hotel, where Kai and one of the other boys played in the hotel bathtub (the hotel pool was an outdoor pool, thus it was closed for the season). The kids then played hide and seek for a while, and then we all went to bed after a fun filled day!