Arches National Park
Since the initial stages of planning our trip, Arches has been the top park on our list. The iconic arches and vivid colors made it a major bucket list for Adam, Truth and I. From the moment we first gained site of the contrasting colors, we were oohing and awing around every twist and turn!
We planned to visit the area a week later, but due to the fires in Colorado, we made some changes to the itinerary. We decided it best to stay in the nearby town of Moab, which we assumed would be easy to find reasonably priced accommodations, but boy were we wrong! Turns out, Moab is a major convention and outdoor enthusiast destination. The weekend that we arrived was also the National Jeep Tour, where thousands of Jeep owners join forces to try out back road trails and 4x4 rock paths. Cool huh? But, they sure filled the town, and left us paying a sickening amount at the local LaQuinta.
The road into Arches is straightforward and easy to follow, with look out points around every corner, and so many great hikes for the family. We started at Balanced Rock, and from there explored the nearby arches.
Surprisingly, even with the high volume weekend, we felt as if we had the place to ourselves. Tip: We’ve found that traveling mid afternoon often allows us to arrive just as the morning crowds are leaving.
The rock formations were so unique, and in all shapes and sizes. Our favorite was the double windows, where we explored for nearly two hours, checking out every viewpoint and cave. We were all so HAPPY to be there! The colors, the weather, the view. This was a magical place for sure!
We’ve learned that when our kids are best to one another when they have room to run. In the car, they often argue, but in the parks, they laugh, play, explore and enjoy one another. It’s always music to our ears!
Merill whittled himself a knife, as he does at each stop. He likes to carry it to protect himself against snakes, mountain lions, or whatever else he may run into. He also loves to find places where he could camp out for the evening, if needed. In this case, he found a bed, as well as a shelf for his ‘knife.’ Can you see it?
Due to hungry bellies and a setting sun, we didn’t get to explore all that we hoped of the park this trip. We look forward to coming back again and checking out the back slot canyons of the park.
It took us about an hour to drive the seven miles back to Moab, as we were in congestion with a whole lot of cool Jeeps. We called Dominos and picked up a pizza on the way to our hotel. It just so happened that our friends Ben and Elisa Pool were in Moab the same weekend, so we all met for poolside pizza, swimming, and a late evening of catching up.
We rested up and woke up to head onto the second National Park surrounding Moab: Canyonlands. Read all about it in our next post! Thanks for following along!
