Desert Playground – Moab
So after spending the last three weeks in 100+ temps, we thought it would be a good idea to stop at one more hot spot; Moab, Utah. We actually don’t mind the heat and have learned to make the most of our days early. I spent a bit of time in Moab during my college years. Mainly we came here to mountain bike, as it’s one of the best places in the US to do so. This time we had no mountain biking plans and hiking was the activity of choice. There is no shortage of options for outdoor hiking in and around Moab. There’s Canyonlands National Park, Arches National park and more public terrain than you can imagine. We decided, for our short trip, that Arches National Park was the best choice. It’s compact, offers a great variety of shorter family hikes and is absolutely incredible to explore.
Arches National Park – Day 1
On our first of three trips to the park, we decided on some shorter hikes and a drive around the large loop. We first hit up Double Arch. A short hike and a cool double arch that rose 80 feet above our heads. The terrain also offered some bouldering that our kids love. It’s pretty spectacular that you can get this close to these wonderous formations.
Next, we basically crossed the road to The Windows Arch and Turret Arch formations. The Windows are two arches in close proximity. You can go walk up underneath them and look out on the crazy arches landscape and mountains in the distance. If you take a vantage point a little further away you can see both arches at once and the formation almost looks like some kind of troll faced pair of glasses. Turret Arch stands directly across from The Windows. The Turret formation vaguely resembles a castle with a spire, hence the name. The whole loop is about a half mile. Easy for even the crankiest of kids. The loop provided ample opportunity for great photos and rock climbing for the kids. If you go in summer be prepared for some serious crowds and head out early to beat the heat. After taking in these first few arches, we decided to drive the 18-mile loop. You can see some amazing sites from your car along this drive. There are also dozens of pull outs so you can jump out and snap some epic pics. There are large towers, soaring rock fins, petrified sand dunes, bloody red and white chimneys, and of course arches. This is a great drive to take when the heat of the day starts pounding. This was a great first day in the park for us. We headed back to our hotel for some late day swimming and sampling some of the eateries Moab has on display.
The Arches loop drive.
Arches National Park – Day 2
Day 2 we decided to take a larger hike to one of the most iconic arches in the park; Delicate Arch. This hike is fairly moderate, but can become harder as the heat increases. You get to hike a big slick rock formation and through a small wash canyon on your way up. It’s a three mile round trip with almost 500 feet of elevation. The reward at the end is worth it. (even with a couple of cranking kids) I have seen the pics of the arch in magazines but they don’t prepare you for its real-life presence. The arch is big, I’d say maybe 70-80 feet tall and 30 feet wide. It’s stunning. The end of the hike could be a bit challenging if you have a fear of heights as you walk a narrow ledge around to the arch. It’s really not that bad if you don’t let your head get in the way. We took some great pictures and Colette ventured out to the arch itself for a little one on one. Even little Lennox liked the hike once he got to the top. The hike is crowded so be prepared for a lot of people on the trail and taking pics at the arch. The three mile hike ended back at the parking lot where there’s a short hike to some petroglyphs. The display is on the smaller side but no less impressive. We love to walk in the path of history and to know that Native Americans roamed this land and left their marks hundreds of years ago is always super cool.
We visited one more site this day; Balanced Rock. As the name suggests, this is a huge boulder balanced a hundred feet up on a small pillar of rock. The hike is super short and you can walk around the rock in under 15 min. It’s a great formation for the sheer audacity of its appearance. The kids climbed and bopped around as Katie and I speculated as to where it will fall when it tumbles. And tumble it will. Even though this park is all made of hard rock, from a geological perspective it’s very active and changing. The arches and balanced rocks won’t last forever. The rangers say that this park and the formations it contains are just the blink of an eye in the span of geologic history. The good news is that we probably have thousands of years before this alien landscape disappears.
Arches National Park – Day 3
On our last day in the park, we choose to go and see Landscape Arch. This is another iconic arch in the park and a short hike. This is the longest and highest arch in the park. The span is a couple hundred feet in the air and is almost the length of a football field. By this time I think the kids had enough arches. Katie and I really enjoyed this short hike and we got to see a couple of other small arches along the way.
We left the park and headed to our next destination. Another homecoming for me, as we were headed to Colorado high country. There awaited my alma mater (Western State Colorado University) and some of the most epic snowboarding I’ve ever ridden. Onwards to Gunnison and Crested Butte.