Arches Over Utah

Wednesday, May 11th – Moab, Utah – Day 90 

The morning was wonderful. I made eggs and potato pancakes. The weather was perfect. The kids were obsessed with the rock behind us. The view was lovely with a coffee on a folding chair. What more could we ask. We ate and did dishes, got the laundry ready, got the kids ready and off we went. 

When we got to Arches National Park we saw that “Reservations are needed”. We couldn’t book a time until the afternoon. We decided to get the laundry and resupply out of the way and come back at 2pm. I was left in the laundry while Gen ran errands. Gen had seen a buy and sell hiking gear store when she was shopping and suggested we go. Seeing as my running shoes are starting to how a great deal of wear it seemed like a great idea. We found hiking boots for all the kids and I. John has some room to grow into his. I was in love with mine. 

 It was time to go see Arches National Park. The visitor centre was nice; we got information on hikes, a quick museum visit, passport stamps and junior ranger activities. 

The drive started by going up the side of the butte, with a few switchbacks. Utah is another world. The cliffs, buttes and canyons are all amazing. Huge natural rock formations are everywhere. There are mountains in the backgrounds and occasionally, you’ll see an arch. We started out to see the Double Arch, a 0.6-mile hike. On the way, we saw the Balanced Rock formation from a roadside pull off; a gigantic stone supported by lesser stones. The hike was easy; once you started climbing up underneath the arches themselves, it was a lot of fun. The double arches were two massive pieces of stone arching from rock formation to rock formation. They would have slowly formed by water and wind gradually eroding all the softer stone to form the arch. Everyone was using their new hiking boots and cruising up the rock. 

 We walked back to the car and saw the Windows arch in the distance. We had bigger arches to look at. Next stop was the Landscape Arch trail, a 1.9 mile out and back trail. The Landscape arch is a 93 m long arch; that is quite a long arch. The trail was generally flat and easy to access; generally, pretty dull except for the rock formations and views around us. The wind had started to pick up but at this point it was still pushing us onwards. Distant objects were starting to look blurry as sand came with the wind. The Landscape Arch was amazing considering how slender it looked. Gatorade powder infused water and watermelon gummies were given out as rewards for a hike partially done and motivation for the hike to come. 

 We passed a trail to two more arches on our way back, a mere 0.5 miles, and no one wanted to go except me. Aisling then stepped up to the plate and came with me on the condition I carry her for part of it. My condition, only on level ground. The Tunnel Arch was impressive, but you could only see it at a distance. You could walk through the Pine Tree Arch; it was large and had a fantastic view of the canyons and rock formations in the background. Great additional hike. 

 We were losing daylight fast. We had been told that the Sand Dune Arch was good for kids so we left it for last hoping that the additional motivation would make a difference. It did, we got buy in from everyone, John needed some encouragement. We entered a slot canyon to find an arch where two pieces of stone seem to meet in the middle to form the arch. Underneath was a pile of sand to play in and some fun rocks to climb on. John was crying because he wanted to stay longer playing under the arch. 

 Our day at Arches National Park is at an end. We saw the sun setting and light fade, and we were still driving out of the park at around 9pm. The drive home was quick, and everyone had a great day. The kids loved the Sand Dune Arch and we all enjoyed climbing on rocks. 

When we reached the campsite, the wind had picked up a great deal. We left some small flaps of window open, and a fine red dust had gotten everywhere. The camper was rocking until I put a few braces in place to give extra support.