Our gamble paid off last night, we all had a wonderful peaceful sleep. Obviously our neighbour’s heaters were enough to keep us from freezing! A good sleep (and another good American breakfast) was just what we needed to prepare us for a busy day.
Arches National Park is only 5 miles from where we are staying in Moab. There are over 2,000 sandstone arches inside the park, which is around 116 square miles. We decided to do this park after Canyonlands as it had even better reviews and we wanted to save the best until last. We were also very keen to have a sunny day for Arches, and that’s what was being promised today.
It was another day of having to choose a few highlights, as there was no way we could see all that Arches had to offer in one day. We started with a quick walk around Balanced Rock, a self explanatory sort of natural feature. Geologists believe that one day it will topple over, but at least for today it remained nicely balanced.
Next stop was the “Windows” section of the park. We chose this area as it had a number of arches in a reasonably small area. We did a short hike that took us around North and South Window and also to Turret Arch. From a distance these formations look interesting, but it’s not until you go under them that you appreciate their size. The contrast of the red rock with the snow and the intense blue sky made a really beautiful scene. We came back from the windows on a different trail. It was a bit icy and treacherous in places, but incredibly peaceful as we had it all to ourselves. The kids continued to invent more things to do with ice and snow as parts of the path were frozen solid like an ice rink and there were lots of icicles as well.
There was another arch near the car park called Double Arch. We almost didn’t bother as it didn’t look that impressive, but we decided to check it out as it was only a short walk. It turned out to be a huge amount of fun as it was a fantastic arch for climbing inside. It was like a deep cave with two spectacular arches overhead. At 33m high it was also the highest in the park. By the time we returned to the car our breakfast had well and truly worn off so we found a picnic spot to re-fuel before the next hike. Although it was a beautiful day, the temperature barely got above freezing. There was a slight wind at the picnic spot and that, combined with a metal picnic table (why can’t they use wood?), meant we were a bit chilled down after lunch.
We soon warmed up in the car as we drove to our next destination – the trailhead for Delicate Arch. Delicate Arch is the most famous of the arches in the park. It’s the icon for Utah and features on all Utah number plates. It’s a 1.5 mile uphill hike from the trail head. The first part of the track is fairly well defined, then you walk over slick rock following the cairns. The last 200 metres goes along a narrow ledge with a sheer drop off on one side. The arch is hidden from view until you round the last corner and there it is. We had seen many pictures of this arch, but for some reason did not expect it to be perched right on the edge of a cliff. It was a spectacular sight with snow covered mountains behind,
We got there around 3pm with no intention of staying too long. However it was warm in the sun and somehow we just got stuck there enjoying the beautiful view. There were many people coming and going, many of them provided entertainment – everything from Indian kids singing jingle bells (with a very strong Indian accent) at the top of their voices to a bride and groom having their wedding photos taken! We ended up staying for two hours and watching the sun go down, which turned the rock an even deeper orange-red.
Once the sun was gone, the temperature plummeted and we raced down the trail as quickly as was safe, to get back to the car before all light was gone. By the time we got back to the car it was 7 degrees below freezing, but it was the most beautiful walk in the crisp air.
We were starving again so went straight to a restaurant in track pants and hiking boots. It must be the first time I’ve ever been to a restaurant dressed like that, but in Moab no one cares! We have had so many wonderful days on this holiday, but today was right up there with the best of them. Tomorrow we head south again to Monument Valley, for a variation on the red rock theme.
