Archn't Ya Glad You Read this Post

I told Maggie sometime back in February or March that someday she would stop saying that she wishes it was summer and would prefer winter. Well today became that day as we were getting close to finishing a loop trail in the Northern section of Arches National Park. Temps were creeping up into the nineties and it was only going to be getting hotter, so it was a good thing we were almost done with the seven miles when Maggie started wishing it was winter.

We arrived in Moab, Utah yesterday afternoon and Mo found us a free campsite just outside of town. Absolutely no ammenities, other than the price or the view. It was stiffling hot as we got out of the bus, so we did an early dinner in Moab and then headed into the park. We checked out some great easy to get to viewpoints. Great light on the rocks and a better temperature than a few hours earlier.

Off to bed early, well kind of early, in order to get an early start to the next day. Quinn and I slept in the tent and were probably much cooler than the ladies in the bus. Up at five and the kids were great about getting ready. We did alright getting ready as well, until Quinn pointed out to us that we forgot to put the top down on the bus, while we were driving.  Luckily we hadn't gone very far.

Into the park before rangers were at the entrance, we have a park pass anyway but fun to feel like you're breaking the law. The ride in was amazing, as morning colors hit the rocks. We were on the trail about 6:40, ready for seven hot miles. Mo' had read temps were forecasted to be over one hundred, so we wanted to crank out as many miles early as possible. That meant passing on a couple arches on a sidetrail, but ones we would come across again.

We followed the sign for the Primative Trail, which also stated it was 'difficult'. Mo and I both kind of laughed at it after a little while as the only difficult part seemed to be keeping sand out of our shoes, which was impossible. The kids got a big kick out of seeing so many bunny rabbits. Mo even spotted a deer for the kids to view as well. The difficult parts of the trail were to come later.

It took sometime before we got to our first arch, actually there was one earlier but it was too easy to get to to count I guess. We had to do some rock scrambling a bit, and the kids really did wonderful. Perhaps a little too wonderful as they had Mo a little frightened at times. A side trail led us to Private Arch, and it was worth the extra effort. I can't really describe too well these arches, especially when you look directly at one but then can also walk through it to get an even better perspective. I hope some of these photos will inspire you to check them out yourselves.

A bonus of taking off so early besides beating the heat was also beating the crowds. I had asked at the main gate yesterday if any campsites would be available for Sunday, and the woman said they were booked until August. Well, at least we had most of the trail to ourselves that morning. Also, we were hiking counter clockwise when most others would go the other direction. There were a few people around the Double O Arch, but these were just about the only we had seen that morning in nearly three miles.

We did pass on one side trail to Dark Angel Arch, as it was getting hot and this trail was longer than the Private Arch trail. More scrambling but now the kids were starting to show signs of being tired. Two more arches had side trails and so with the kids tired, we split them up as I took Maggie and Mo took Quinn. Maggie and I took a little longer at the arches, Partition and Navajo, while Quinn looked more for lizards with Mo than really checking out the arches.

Besides the arches being amazing, it was incredible to walk up on some of the rocks that had been pushed up and split by ancient salt deposits. Yes, I did pay attention to the film we watched at the visitors center the day before. The kids had also paid attention and were excited about earning their Junior Ranger badges like they had earned just the day before at Mesa Verde National Park. That may have been the one things keeping Maggie going as were now on the trail for four hours. We had some tricky downs off some of the rock faces, but the kids were like little mountain goats, except for the fact they didn't get a great nights sleep.

Just past the first arch we had seen that morning, Landscape Arch, we were heading back to the bus. Except I wanted to go see the two arches we had passed on in the morning. We compromised a little as Mo took the kids to one, who didn't want to see anymore and just wanted to get back to the bus, while I checked out both arches. Glad I did them but there were the least exciting of them all.

So now what to do as it was probably somewhere close to a hundred degrees and your campsite is sitting in the wide open space of treeless Utah? That's right, pony up some money for a spot in a RV park that has shade, WIFI, laundry, showers and the best part a pool. Kids had a blast playing in the pool for a couple hours and Mo and I both cooled off as well. So glad for the early start in order to be chillin' by the pool instead of sweating buckets out on the trail.

Originally we thought it would be a good idea to head back to the park for a small hike near sunset. After dinner we loaded up Bam Bam with sights set on viewing Delicate Arch, which is the arch you'll see on most Utah paraphanalia. The kids were pretty spent now after eight, so Mo let me scurry on ahead to check out the arch about a mile away while they checked on some petroglyphs.  I found lots of people waiting for the sunset to hit the arch just right. I thought the light was decent enough and wanted to get back to the family, so I didn't wait with the masses.

The trail back was lots of fun, as I broke into a run for much of it. I must have seemed quite abnormal to most as I ran past them in long hiking pants and a button down oxford while wearing a daypack. Yah, I can guess I can see why that may look strange. Anyway, it still is amazing to see people wearing flip-flops and other items that I would say do not belong on a trail. But we are among the masses of America out here. I generally have not minded the crowds on this trip. I guess it is because I am out here with my family. I spend a lot of time on trails with myself, and enjoy that solitude when I can get it. I miss my family more when I am surrounded by people, when I would rather be surrounded by them. Now I have them close to me all summer long. It's been a great one thus far. Let's keep it that way.