Arches National Park

I had visited Arches National Park back when it was just a National Monument, many years ago, and had loved it. I was anxious to share it with my hubby when we took our western vacation in 2009.

It was early afternoon when we entered the national park. As I had hoped, Doug was in awe over the magnificent and unique rock formations that were everywhere we looked. It was hard to know where to point the camera. 

We drove the 18-mile scenic drive through the park, stopping at nearly every scenic viewing area and walking to the overlook. Most of those were very short walks, but a few were longer.

Balanced Rock

The temperature was in the upper eighties, with a mighty hot sun beating down on us; so, in spite of being approximately 5,000 feet above sea level, it was HOT! But we had a great time anyway. We slathered on the sun screen and wore our straw hats and got by all right.

Turret Arch

North and South Windows

Double Arch

Delicate Arch

The walk to the base of Delicate Arch would have been a three-mile round trip. We would have loved to do it, but we hadn't planned for it. So the above photo was made possible by a zoom lens.

On our way to see Landscape Arch, a round trip of 1.6 miles, we got caught in a surprise rain shower. We were carrying the digital camera and the camcorder and hadn't brought their cases with us. So we were trying very hard to keep them dry, but we kept walking. The rain didn't last long and it never did become a downpour. The cameras survived all right, but we won't do that again.

Landscape Arch

Landscape Arch is considered to be the second longest natural arch in the world, measuring more than 290 feet. Since 1991, three slabs of sandstone have fallen from the thinnest section of Landscape Arch, prompting the Park Service to close the trail that once passed beneath it.

It was 8 PM by the time we left the Park. We returned to Moab and had supper at a fast-food restaurant. Then we drove around town a little. The stores were mostly still open, and the restaurants and bars appeared to be hopping. We parked on the street and got out and joined the crowds for a little while, browsing in a few shops, before calling it a day and heading back to the Apache Motel.