Oh man.
Brace yourself for some gorgeous scenery
We set out for Arches today.
There were amazing things to see
in every direction.
Our first sight was Balanced Rock
before we got to our first stop--
Delicate Arch.
There are a few places where you can just see it
but there's a hike to the base of it.
Guess which one we chose?
You bet we hiked!
Hiking up slickrock is the theme of this part of Utah--
a little tricky at first,
you have to follow the cairns,
but a whole lotta fun
There were lots of fun places to stop
and explore
but the arch itself was definitely the best part
We thought we should contribute
to it's reputation as the most photographed arch
in all of Utah
Mema and Pappo stopped here
but we scurried around the basin
(there's a huge hole between us and the camera)
to get right to the base
We had our morning snack
before we headed back down.
1 arch and 3 miles down!
Where to next?
Devil's Garden!
We can see a whole bunch of arches here.
Here's Tunnel Arch
and Pine Tree Arch
The next few arches were a bit further apart
But with views like this,
we didn't mind
We saw Landscape Arch
This one was a definite favorite
Then things got a bit crazy.
We had to scurry up fins
to get to the next few arches.
Mema and Pappo decided to find a different trail
but we made it to the top
We found Partition Arch
It had some serious height and views
Navajo Arch was Dad's favorite.
It led to this cool room behind it
We had hoped to get to Double O Arch,
but it was quite a bit further
and we were wondering what Mema and Pappo were up to.
We decided 3.5 miles was far enough.
So we headed back down the fins
and back down the trail,
There was lots to chat about,
as usual, on the walk--
careers, next trips, favorite foods,
best music, superhero powers...
Meanwhile,
Mema and Pappo checked out part of the Devil's Garden
primitive trail loop.
They didn't go through the narrow ledges
or maneuver through the section that had chains and monkey bars to traverse
but they said even the part they did
was pretty cool
Next we passed through
the Garden of Eden
on our way to the Window's section
and Double Arch
We were all pretty excited about this one
Here's what it looks like up close under one of the arches
and here's far away
How cool is this?
Really awesome
It was a nice place to rest
after a good hiking day.
We made a quick pit stop
and discovered the Squatty Potty.
We thought it was hilarious!
Apparently they are really common in Europe and Asia
but it was a first for us.
We settled at Turret Arch
well, maybe not "settled."
There was more scurrying for a bit.
But we eventually settled in
for some drinks and a sun set.
It was pretty watching it light up behind the arch
but it was really amazing to watch it through the Windows
Getting lower
Lighting things up
Still sinking
and still glowing
Gone.
We've watched a lot of sun sets,
but this one definitely tops the list.
Arches, you did NOT disappoint!
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