Day Four: Sunday, June 18, 2017
My day began with a trip to the truck to collect what I needed for a shower and a pile of clothes for the kids so we could all start getting ready for the day. When I returned to the truck, I met Jill from Wisconsin. We were both on a similar early morning mission to get our vehicles organized and everything ready for the day. I love meeting people on our travels. You never know where they might hail from and we don’t often run across other midwest “neighbors” along the way.
Since we were staying another night, we did not need to take down the tent, which meant we were ready to see what we missed on last night’s drive into Moab. The first stop: Arches National Park.
Arches National Park
The drive from Moab to Arches was quick and we were all instantly awestruck by the red rock wonderland before us. It had been five years since the last time I had stepped foot into Arches. I had visited twice before, once in 1995 and again in 2012. It felt good to be back in the desert after so many years! I wanted to see different arches than the ones I had seen before so I decided we would drive all the way to the end and then work our way back. That choice proved to be a good one because we were early enough to get a parking spot in the Devil’s Garden lot.
Landscape Arch
Hiking in the sand all the way to Landscape Arch was tough-going, so that is all the further we went. (Thank goodness I discovered trekking poles before our next trip!) I can’t imagine Landscape Arch not being there someday, but a large piece of it broke off in the 1990s so it’s entirely possible for more of it to come down. Apparently, people used to be able to wander around under it like most of the other arches in the park, but since the chunk fell off, the park service added a fence along that portion of the trail. Hopefully, it will still be there for future generations to enjoy!
This is the view in the other direction. I could look around at all of the red rocks all day and never get tired of the views! I recently read a comment from someone who said that Arches National Park was “overrated” but I can’t imagine anyone who has ventured at least a half mile away from the parking lot would think that. Who am I to argue, though? I think the same of some other very popular national parks…looking at you, parks that start with Y.
As we drove out of the park, we stopped at the overlooks and pullouts we had not visited on our way into the park. One of those was the viewing area for Delicate Arch. I had never hiked to it on either of the times I had visited before, nor did I plan to do it in the hot midday sun. We were amazed at how many people were out there wandering around by it. The scenery in Arches is stunning, even from the road, but we were ready to go back to our campsite in Moab to make some lunch in the shade!
An Afternoon in Moab
Our road trip food and cooking situation has evolved a lot since 2017, but back then I attempted to bring along a mini grill and charcoal, which I could not get lit, for the life of me. It didn’t help that the charcoal I brought along in a ziploc baggie had just enough moisture in it from our humidity at home, that it would not light. Plan B was to throw the brats I planned to cook on one of the propane grills that were provided by the campground. At least I had some aluminum foil along to place them on and they cooked quickly.
With lunch out of the way, we decided to beat the heat by checking out the (air conditioned) shops in downtown Moab. I can go ahead and say that we have never found a more fun little town to wander around in than Moab! It’s mostly just your usual t-shirt and trinket shops, but there’s something about the atmosphere that we love! My favorite shop is Moab Made, which has handmade items. Usually, handmade “artisan” merchandise is super expensive, but Moab Made sells smaller pieces that are reasonably priced. I was able to purchase a fun photo art card of LEGO minifigures having an adventure in Utah.
Canyonlands
After a quick pitstop at the visitor center for Junior Ranger booklets and the park stamp, we were on our way. The first few overlooks and trailheads were full of cars so we continued all the way to the end of the scenic road.
Grand View Point is aptly named and possibly one of the most mesmerizing views in the whole Island in the Sky District. It’s rather amazing to think that this landscape is so close in distance to Arches National Park, yet they have vastly different scenery. Looking out over the top of any landscape is not my favorite view, no matter how spectacular it might be. I have zero depth perception so it all looks flat, like a photo. I’d much rather get down into those canyons, but I can see the appeal of taking in the entire scene. There is so much texture!
Mesa Arch
I had no idea Mesa Arch was “a thing” before our visit. Apparently, the time to go there is before sunrise…if you want to be lined up with dozens of photographers all waiting for that same sunrise shot. We were there as the “golden hour” was starting and had the place to ourselves until a couple came along and offered to take our photo together in exchange for taking theirs. I’d happily take our experience over a crowded sunrise any day.
When I joined Instagram a few years later, I discovered that folks use the hashtag for Mesa Arch as a statement against social media exposure for sharing photos of locations, while not providing the exact location. I was amazed to have unknowingly visited such a popular spot, even more amazed that so many folks rate it so high on their list of “must-see” stops. Perhaps I missed out on the most amazing view of all time by not being there in the morning. I’ve seen the photos, though, and it seems fake to me when a beautiful sunrise is captured but the actual scene is a line-up of people, elbow to elbow with all of their camera gear. With so many beautiful places in the USA, I’d rather find my own beautiful sunrise location. Actually, I’d rather find a beautiful campsite and peek out my tent at around sunrise time.
Shafer Trail
The Shafer Trail overlook was quite impressive! We actually got to see a couple of jeeps driving on it while we were there. All of those switchbacks and steep drop-offs would not be for me, but it was fun to see someone else driving on it and I’m sure the scenery from below the rim would be worth the drive. Just don’t expect to read about that adventure here!
When we arrived at the park, we were in a bit of a hurry to get to the visitor center before it closed so we stopped for a photo with the sign on the way out. I love when parks provide a stand to place your camera on to get the perfect shot! They also left an odd-looking space in the placement of the words on the sign so you could position yourselves in front of the sign without covering up words. I don’t recall ever seeing that anywhere else. Someone was thinking ahead with this setup!
Our visit to Canyonlands was over but I think the best scenery we had all day happened as the sun set on our way out of the park. The colors of the rocks turned softer with more pink tones as the light changed. I had to resist the urge to turn around and go back to see what the rest of the park looked like with cotton candy skies. I knew it would all be gone by the time we got back to any of the viewpoints so we just enjoyed the views we had on the way out.
Since it was still early by our standards, and we had no tent to set up before dark, we decided to stop for ice cream cones from The Spoke on Main. This is a place with a window to the sidewalk where you can walk up and order your ice cream. The line always stretches out to the corner, but it’s well worth the wait…and the price. They serve gigantic waffle cones and we ended up calling them our supper! I don’t remember what the kids had, but I chose huckleberry ice cream, and it was so good that it is the only flavor any of us get when we go back! We wandered downtown, enjoying the fact that the stores stay open in the evening. We had seen it all earlier in the day, but it was such a beautiful evening and we had nothing else to do. Eventually, we decided to head back to our tent and get ready for bed. I took advantage of having a cell phone signal and researched the Delicate Arch Trail. I also reserved our next campsite before turning out the light. We had an amazing first day exploring the red rocks of Utah!
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