Arches National Park

This trip has been on Ben’s bucket list for a while.  We even had a meeting booked in Moab, UT where the park is located.  Even though the meeting canceled, we took a day and drove the two hours across the border to visit Arches National Park.

It’s been unusally cold this year, and that means the snow is sticking around longer.  We had been told this is one of the best times to visit Arches, but the forecast was not looking good during the dates we would be on this side of the Rockies.  Thursday was a forecasted high of 43*, so we got up and headed for Moab.  It was beautiful when we pulled in…we even ate lunch outdoors without our coats.  However, the ranger told us that as soon as we got up a little further there was 8” of snow.  We discovered this to be true, and even trekked through the falling snow in order to see the Window Arches.  We also encountered a lot of fog, which we were told is very unusual.

We did not get to see the Delicate Arch…partly because I couldn’t hike the 3 miles to see it with my recovering sprained ankle, and also because the fog blocked our view from the overlook.  We all decided that when the kids are bigger we want to take a family vacation to Arches in the summer and do camping and lots of hiking!

I could stop right here.  The moutains were beautiful.  I could sit and look at them all day!

First views as we started working our way through the park.

Park Avenue Viewpoint…

the whole fam, in two parts!

After this, Ben & the bigs hiked a mile through the canyon to meet us on the other side of the road.  The littles and I stopped at La Sal Mountain Viewpoint on the way to pick up the hikers.

La Sal Mountain

Balanced Rock, and views from the overlook there…

The Window Arches…

It was snowing by the time we got to the Window Arches.  We only hiked to the North Window because the trail to the South Window was hard to see, and Henry was getting cold.  This is Ben and all the little people under the North Window.

Looking up!

Along the way to Wolfe Ranch

Wolfe Ranch…

The only homestead found in Arches.  I think I know why…not much grows out here.  It would be a hard place to settle!

The cabin

The Fiery Furnace…

This is the Fiery Furnace.  A difficult, maze hike which requires a special permit and lots of physical ability and stamina.  Needless to say, we did not attempt it!  It’s now on Ben’s future Bucket List!

Sand Dune Arch…

Elaine and I walked in to see the Sand Dune Arch.  Everyone else was asleep in the van.  Elaine spotted this bunny.  She immediately wanted to catch it, so I told her I would give her $100 if she could (knowing full well I would not have to pay up).  She chased it around a bush several times until he finally got free of her and disappeared up the trail!

We walked through this small passage…

I got Elaine with a snowball here…

Sand Dune Arch.  We couldn’t get any closer because there has been falling rock and the sign advised us to keep our distance!

Elaine and Mommy