Over the weekend Jason and I took a quick camping trip to Moab, UT--gateway for Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. This has always been one of my favorite places to visit, so I was thrilled to be able to share it with Jason (who had never been).
We left early Saturday morning so that we could have as much time as possible down south. Once we arrived, we pitched our tent at Pack Creek Campground and then set off to see us some arches.
Pack Creek Campground
Welcome to Arches!
We opted to start off at the end of the road and hiked to Landscape Arch (while stopping at a couple others along the way). This spectacular. long arch was definitely a good one to start off with. Goes to show the amazing power wind, sand, and water can have over millions of years.
Landscape Arch
Pine Tree Arch
Tunnel Arch
Unfortunately our Camelback tainted our water (apparently you have to rinse these things out when they've been in storage for almost a year), so we were parched by the time we made it back to the car. Thankfully, it wasn't too terribly hot. Regardless, we then decided to hang out in the cool shade of Sand Dune Arch and watch some little kids play around in the sand.
Sand Dune Arch
We ended our first day with a drive up the canyon along the Colorado River, dinner at Pizza Hut, and a campfire (complete with marshmallow roasting and S'mores).
The next day we started off with a hike to the Delicate Arch Viewpoint. This was a lot steeper than I remembered, but well worth the view! I had to make sure that Jason at least got to glimpse this famous arch.
Delicate Arch
Can You See It?
After a picnic lunch, we headed off for the Windows area of the park. We did the loop here that incorporates three arches (North and South Windows and Turret Arch).
South Window Arch
Turret Arch
North Window Arch
We wrapped up our time at Arches with a stop over at Balanced Rock to take some of the obligatory poses. Jason was quite amazed that such a large boulder could be balanced by such a small neck of rock.
Awww
I So Strong!
Watch Out!
Then we took off for a nice scenic drive down further south. Our first stop was Newspaper Rock. It is interesting that there is this random wall of rock in the middle of nowhere with thousands of years of pictoglyphs on it and yet no one knows why or what they all mean.
Newspaper Rock
The next stop on the tour was Canyonlands: the Needles District. This was a fun drive with lots of gorgeous views.
Admiring The View
This day was once again concluded with dinner (this time at Smitty's Golden Stake) and a campfire.
When we awoke, we found that our vacation was quickly coming to an end. So, we packed up all of our gear and piled into the car once more. Before we officially headed home, we made another detour. This drive took us through the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands. This park is definitely all about the beautiful lookouts of various canyons.
Feeling On Top of the World
Unfortunately, vacations must come to and end and reality must begin once more. But we made some great memories that will last a lifetime!
