We slept in due to the late arrival the night before and woke up fresh for a day at Arches National Park.
We drove up to the entrance gate and the older lady ranger exclaimed, “Oh, wow, one of the new annual park passes! We’re not allowed to sell those yet, I thought you could only get them on the internet!” The pass is a card with a barcode that Greg purchased in West Yellowstone. It’s only $80 and you can go to any national park for an entire year. Anyway, she was so excited about it.
Love these signs
Arches is quite a bit smaller than Zion and Bryce but no less impressive.
In the top left corner you can see “The Three Gossips”
A better view of the Three Gossips
It was still icy in part but not as snowy as Zion and Bryce
A Raven
Balanced Rock. Look how at how big that is!
Check this view out
Delicate Arch
The arches are made of sandstone. Water gets trapped in the cracks and as time goes on, the layers of sandstone flake off, creating arches.
We then went on the Devil’s Garden Path which was a 7 mile round trip hike. It was a very cool one because it wasn’t just walking by viewpoints but actually get into the arches and around all kinds of terrain. I felt more comfortable on this path as it was a little bit less icy (less treacherous) and I wasn’t afraid of falling and hitting my head.
Tunnel Arch
On our way to the other side of the trail, we came upon this guy
One of the longest arches in the park (over 300 ft long), Landscape Arch
They looked carved
Partition Arch
Navajo Arch
On the hike
After a moderate hike, we came upon Double O Arch
At one point of the hike, we were up on a “rock fin” which is basically a ledge that was about 8 feet across, Not good for anyone afraid of heights!
On the way back, there was a particularly sketchy part of the trail that was part of the “primitive loop” which meant it wasn’t paved and the rocks were steep. We walked by “Wall Arch,” which had collapsed probably not that long ago.
Finishing the hike
Look, it’s a poodle kissing a polar bear! (Sand Dune Arch)
It was freeeeeeeeeeeezing at this point. I don’t think I could feel my feet or fingers. BUT, we only one more arch to go for the day so we ran down the next trail to Broken Arch.
That dot is me
Sunset at Arches
That evening we had dinner at the Moab Brewery and people were drinking beer! The pints were only $2 plus they were having a special so for only $3.50 you could get a pint glass WITH beer. Our glasses are sweet. The food was pretty delicious too; good old ribs and the bbq plate. YEA. The people there seemed to be regulars and many of them knew each other. They say 70% of people living in Utah are Mormon so it was almost surprising to see so many peeps at the brewery.
I know I am behind but I’m back on track! Check for more updates and of course, there are a ton more pictures. Just click the link under any of the photos!
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