Utah Trip Days Four and Five: Arches National Park

As is the same for many people, Arches National Park inspired our trip to Moab, Utah. It was our main destination. I had never been to a national park before and wasn't sure what to expect, especially since we could only travel for spring break (didn't want to deal with the heat of summer) and it is one of the most popular parks.

From April until October, you must purchase your ticket with an assigned entry time in advanced. We bought tickets for two days as soon as they went on sale. I imagined it would feel like a crowded theme park, but it hasn't been too bad.

Arches Day One

We got up in time for our 10:00 AM entry time and picked up donuts from The Donut Shop. Eliot and Jack enjoyed sugar twists and Chris picked out a coffee and a maple. We wanted to try Doughbird, but it happens to be closed Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday--the only days we are here! However, the boys loved their donuts and were quite happy. We had extra time and sat at a viewing area of the Colorado River as a skydiver glided down.

Fortunately, I was very wrong about the crowds. The line to enter the park was reasonable--only about four cars ahead of us. Jack is in fourth grade and got us a free National Parks entrance pass.

First up was Balanced Rock. We watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in preparation for our visit and Jack said that Balanced Rock probably wasn't as big as it looks from the movie. He changed his tune when he saw it in person--he said it was bigger than it looked in the movie.

From there, it is a short drive to Double Arch, the Windows, and Turret Arch. We hiked up to Double Arch first and played Indiana Jones again. Double Arch is huge and so much fun to crawl up the rocks and explore. The view was incredible too. It is all just too much to take in.

 

We walked over to the Windows and watched chipmunks run all around the rocks. The crowds were increasing, which were fine for still enjoying the arch, but making pictures difficult. Chris took Eliot down on a trail while Jack and I dangled our legs over the edge just to make Chris sweat a little.

 

I didn't expect a whole lot from Turret Arch, and it wasn't necessarily on my "list," but we enjoyed this one even more than the Windows. Maybe it was because there were less people and we felt like we could explore more and take more pictures. Eliot is starting to look for opportunities to take pictures on his phone too, and we took one of each other.

 

By then, Eliot was feeling quite bad and asking to head home. It was hot and he needed to try to rest up (and probably take some medicine). I felt like we could have done more, but we did knock a lot off our list for the day. We stopped by the welcome center to buy patches for the boys.

We took it easy for the rest of the day while Chris went for a run. Eliot has been dealing with chronic nausea and stomach pains for about six months. He had been doing kind of OK during our trip. Around 8:30 PM, he was in real trouble and started throwing up. This continued until 12:30 AM. Poor kid... He woke up feeling, errr, bad in the morning, but not throwing up anymore.

Arches Day Two

Delicate Arch was our goal for the day. Since Eliot was not doing awesome and Delicate Arch is an incredibly strenuous hike, I wasn't confident that we would make it, but he really put in his best effort. Delicate Arch is such an iconic arch that we didn't want to miss it. Eliot grumbled a bit along the way, yet he pushed through.

Here's where the crowds really kicked in. Chris said he felt like we were on a pilgrimage--and I had thought the exact same thing. We trudged forth up and up and up. It was about 80 degrees and a tough hike. I felt like Chris and I were at max parent-level or a "don't be like your parents" Progressive commercial because every time the wind blew, he or I would say, "Oh, that breeze feels nice." Just trying to keep these kids going and positive. 

 

After we finally conquered most of the uphill, we hiked along the narrow path with a wall to the right and a large drop-off into a canyon on the left. Chris doesn't do heights. He doesn't do narrow either (and it grew much narrower than this picture). When we had two-way traffic going, it became... a bit. He asked the boys to keep one hand on the wall.

Around the corner and there it was: Delicate Arch. And probably like 150 people, many of them waiting in line to take a picture. I'm big on pictures and not big on crowds; however, I wanted to ensure we got some nice shots to remember our time here. Who knows if we'll ever be back. If we do return, my boys won't be nine and twelve anymore: they'll be someone else.

 

We walked back to the shade and sat down to rest before going back down. Jack (who is usually very positive in general) said he didn't think the hike was worth it because of the crowds--that he wasn't able to enjoy the arch.

I had him stand and took pictures at our resting area. Then he turned around and asked, "Can we climb up there to that arch?" Chris said it looked dangerous and I said, "Yeah, let's not. You keep looking that way, Chris. Jack and I are definitely not climbing this way." And we climbed on up. 

And then something really cool happened. Jack looked out at the view and he could see Delicate Arch. It was his own private viewing area. Eliot climbed up too and they got the view they wanted without crowds and I got those pictures I obsess over.

Another person came and took our spot, so we headed back down. On the way, we viewed the petroglyphs near the Wolfe ranch.

As our time at Arches came to a close, we stopped by Park Ave for pictures. We are checking out tomorrow morning to begin our long trip home. I feel like we would have made use of another day. However, we did a lot and I feel kind of hiked-out myself. I'm sunburnt too. Don't tell my dermatologist.

We rested up at the townhouse and then washed the rental car. It was BAD and Chris and I were nervous they might charge us extra for returning it so muddy. We did a little shopping for shirts and books, and then we had dinner and shaved ice at the food truck park. Eliot is still not feeling well, but better than last night.

Tomorrow morning, we check out and will go by Canyonlands National Park. Then we'll drive two hours to Price to go to a dinosaur museum. Then onto a night in Salt Lake City to fly out early the next morning.