Arches June 11th

 From yesterday...

Our first night of camping was great!  In the morning we woke up and enjoyed some cereal and coffee.  Today was the day we had set aside for Arches National Park.  We got ready to go and left the campsite to head to Moab.  What a neat town!  We stopped and got ice and gas and went up into Arches.  It was a good drive up to the national park with so many great rock formations to see.  I could not believe my eyes.  Everything was so beautiful.  It only got better as we headed deeper into the park and made our way to the Arches. 

We first stopped at balanced rock.  This was not an arch, but a huge boulder balanced on a pedestal of rock.  We then drove out to the trail head to go see the Delicate Arch.  While we were getting out of the van, we had a gentleman on vacation from China ask us how the power was in our van.  We both laughed and said it was pretty bad.  The man then told us that he had had a Vanagon many years ago and loved his, but the power was lacking.  He was a funny guy that we were glad stopped and talked to us.  We then headed out on the trail.  This was a 3-mile hike up a mountain and 3 miles back down.  It was an extremely hard hike for me since it was my first one for the whole trip.  It was a little easier for Brad.  We hiked up and up and took several breaks to catch our breath and drink water.  We are definitely not used to the altitude.  The sun was beating down and it was about 88° out.  We kept hiking and hiking, up and up, until we reached our turn off.  We walked around a huge boulder corner and all of the sudden the Delicate Arch appeared.  The second the arch appeared, the difficult hike was all worth it.  We took some pictures and then sat down and enjoyed some shade and the scenery.  Sitting up there was not only a great view of the arch, but also a great view of the rest of the landscape around us.  We had a snack and started back down the trail.  This was a lot easier for us.  By the time we returned to the car, we felt tired and hot, but made our way to the Sand Dune Arch.

This was a short 0.25 mile hike but all through sand.  Sand was so hard to walk through especially after that long 6 mile total hike prior to it.  After working through the sand we found our way to the arch.  It was very neat and pretty big.  It was tucked away in many canyons so it was kind of off the beaten path.  We enjoyed this area because there were not many people there.  After the Sand Dune Arch, we drove to the trailhead to go see the Pine Tree Arch and the Double O Arch.  This was a 1.5-mile hike to see these two arches.  They were both great arches and we enjoyed the Pine Tree Arch the best out of the two.  We then drove by the Window Arches.  Next, we headed to the Double Arch.  This is Brad’s favorite arch.  We hiked up to the arch and enjoyed the shaded and some relaxation time.  There were very few people at this arch, so we found a spot and laid back a little to enjoy the arch’s beauty.  By this time, we were both exhausted from the heat, the sun, and the hiking.  We headed out of the park and enjoyed the scenery one more time while driving out. 

After leaving the park, we were in need of food and beers.  We headed into Moab to go to Moab Brewery.  We were excited to go there because Brad’s dad Val had recommended it.  And of course we love our beer.  We enjoyed a nice dinner accompanied by great beers.   The air conditioning was also great!

After dinner, we headed back to our campsite and set up for the night.  We are both exhausted from our fun filled day.  I now understand why Brad and his dad love Arches so much.          

Chelsea