Arches National Park

Our final day in Moab was spent in Arches National Park.
The day was overcast and slightly rainy.
That good misty rain.
I had never been to Arches. I take that back. My parents said they took me to Arches when I was little. I don't remember it.
(Sorry parents!)

Before we turned off to go to Arches, we had to make a stop.
I guess it is a Moab tradition for my husband and kids that go to Jeep Easter Safari every year, to stop and get some piece of crap from this Rock Shop.

This little store is full of rocks and crystals and other natural-type knick knacks.

Not to mention the Collections of Petrification.
Petrified wood, petrified dinosaur bones, petrified dinosaur poop...
"Fewl's Gold."

And clearly, my children HAD already been to this place, cause this year the shop owner was ready for them!

We dropped some ca$h on temporarily cherished junk that the kids will fight over the entire car ride home, and then promptly lose.

Onward to Arches!

At the entry to the park we received a couple of maps.
The maps were handy for pointing out rock formations along our path, and the names of the formations.
The maps also contained facts about the park.
(There are over 2,000 arches in the park!)
Here was the first notable formation.
Called "The Three Gossips."

Next up on our trail was "Balanced Rock."

"Picture Frame."
(In order to be classified as an "Arch" the opening needs to be at least three feet in diameter.)

Our first real "get out of the car" stop was at "Double Arches."
The kids wanted to hike around a bit.
Everything in Arches is so weird looking...like an episode of "Dr. Who."

We hiked up to the opening of this cave.
I am not sure why.
I guess cause everyone else was doing it.
There was nothing up there.
And I quickly discovered that the hike UP to the cave was not bad, but down was an ugly thing, full of bum scooting.

(Flip-flops are not a suitable choice in Arches.)
Then we decided that since we were in Arches, we may as well take on the hike to see "Delicate Arch."
(The best known Arch in the world!)
It was a three mile hike, round-trip.
The kids were grumbling a tad.
Here we are about half-way there.
You can see the unmistakable excitement on Shianne's face! Also note the teeny tiny cars in the background...it was high up on that mountain top.

We were huffing.
Then we passed an 80 year old lady with a walker.
I am not even kidding.
There were all types of people on the trail. Runners gliding up in spandex, moms with newborns in front carriers, and tons of foreign people there. We heard a lot of different languages in Arches. I can see why it is a tourist attraction.
The landscape is so very unique.

(About 800,000 people visit Arches each year.)
Finally we reached the top, where the Delicate Arch is.

It was awesomely cool.
I was glad we chanced upon an overcast day for the hike.
It was perfect to keep us cool.
I can't imagine hiking that thing in the heat of summer!
We goofed around a bit:

And then started the hike back down the mountain.
(Diet Mountain Dew and Beef Jerky is a surprisingly delightful combination.)

There were plenty of things to keep the kids occupied.
Climbing into rock pods:

(A whole group of oriental men were also taking pictures of my girls in the rocks.)
(??!?)

My boys refused to wear jackets, but chose instead to wrap blankets around their necks ala Superman.
Those boys just ain't right...

But they are easy to spot in a crowd. With the capes.

The wildlife did not disappoint. Lots of pretty things blooming despite the rocks, and heat that is sure to come.

Sadly we did not see any bighorn sheep or mountain lions.
("Looking for sheep is an exercise in patience," according to nature essayist Peter Steinhart, and "it's usually rhymed with disappointment." guidebook, page 6)
Good to know, Pete. Good to know.
We did, however, see this:
Some Indian Petrogylphs.

And Jayden took this picture:

Our next stop was "Landscape Arch."
Our kids were not about to hike anymore.
I told them we would just walk until I could get a picture.
1.5 miles later...

(In 1991, a rock slab 60 feet long, 11 feet wide and 4 feet thick, fell from the underside of Landscape Arch.)
There was plenty to see on the hike.
And it was a flat, smooth path.

And we played my favorite game!
We would see a tourist group coming (bonus points if they were foreign) and we would stop and everyone in the family would point at...nothing. I would pretend to take pictures. When the group of people reached the area that we were "pointing out" they would stop and look. And look. And consult their guidebooks. And look...
The kids thought it was hysterical.
We are idiots like that.
There were gorgeous views:

And that was pretty much it.
We finished up, and drove for home, with one pit stop in Price to eat some late lunch/early dinner.
(Price will be having a Cinco De Mayo Celebration....MAY 7TH!!)
We got home in time for me to throw some red sand caked laundry in so that the kids would have britches to wear to school the next day.
All in all, we give Arches two thumbs up.