Today was the day to do Arches National Park and we started with a stop at the Visitor Centre and watched a film on how this area came to be which was very interesting. We then drove into the first area and stopped to see Park Avenue.
Park Avenue
Interesting Formations
Three Gossips
Balanced Rock
After that we decided to drive the 18 miles to the end of the road at Devil’s Garden, which is also the campground and then stop at all the different areas on the way back.
It was a pretty drive but it soon became clear that most of the arches are only visible by walking on a trail to see them. There was a picnic area at Devil’s Garden so we enjoyed our lunch at a picnic table there, then after lunch we took a drive through the campground. Most of the spots are too small for our trailer, there might be one or two that we would fit into. There were only a couple of people camping there, pretty quiet at this time of year. Apparently from March to May it is almost impossible to get a site in there. There are a number of arches in the area but we didn’t have time to start hiking out to them.
After there we drove to the road to Delicate Arch, which is a free standing arch that is 45 feet high and 33 feet wide. There were two views of Delicate Arch, one right off the parking area and the other was about a 0.5 mile hike. We were going to do the hike until a man said to me that it was a pretty tough hike so I stayed behind while John went. When he came back he said he was really glad that I didn’t go as I probably would have had a really hard time with it and also that the view wasn’t as good as the one right off the parking lot.
Delicate Arch (My View)
Delicate Arch (From John's Hike)
From there we drove to the windows section to view the North and South Windows and the Turret Arch. The sign there said it was a 1 mile gravel loop trail with a gentle incline, well I sure didn’t think it was that gentle! There were steps all the way up and down so my hip got a really good workout. At one point I needed to retire my shoe and John was ahead of me so I made the mistake of sitting on a step to tie my shoe, well the step was so low I suddenly realized I was going to have a hard time getting back up, I had to turn over and brace my hands on the step to get back up – thank goodness there was no one around to see me or they would have had the laugh of their lives!!! My biggest fear still is stepping on something and twisting my ankle and falling so a walk like that is a bit nerve wracking for me, I still need to get my confidence back. I did buy a pair of walking sticks the other day but want to get used to them on flat level ground before trying them out on a walk like that.
Double Arch is in the same area but we didn't have time to hike out for a good picture.
North Window
South Window
Turret Arch
North & South Windows (Can Only Be Seen Together from Turret Arch)
Double Arch
Another View of La Sal Mountains
Tonight we went to the Moab Brewery for dinner, the special tonight was any hamburger for $5 so I had a Swiss Mushroom burger with French fries and John had a Jack Daniels burger with onion rings – they were very good!! Their beer special tonight was a pint for $2.50 so we both had a pint, then I told John I would drive home if he wanted a second one - he thought that was a good idea – surprise, surprise!!
And so ends another great gift of a day and we are looking forward to tomorrow and another day of beautiful sights, do join us again to see what the day unfolded.
1 comment:
Ha, ha, Mom, I was wondering what the heck you were talking about when you said you had to "retire" your shoe - I thought you meant you were walking barefoot! Then I read on and saw that you meant "retie". Too funny.
Love Kel
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