Day 2 in Arches NP
Our second day in the park was spent driving the rest of the scenic route that we didn't complete yesterday and hiking several short easy trails.
This is Skyline Arch.
These were taken at either North or South Window Arch. There is a trailhead that allows you to hike to about 4 different arches from that one spot. North and South Window Arch were two of those. If you only have a few hours to spend in the Park, this is the place to go to see the most in a short time.
Some more of the Arches on the Windows trailhead. I think they are Turret Arch, Double O Arch and South Window Arch in that order but don't hold me to that!
Our next stop was at the Balanced Rock Trailhead. All of the above pictures are of the same formation just from different viewpoints. It really does look like a strong wind would blow that big rock right off of the pedestal.
Here's a little video that we experimented with. The wind made it hard to record audio. We'll work on this.
The Park Avenue Trail is one of the first trails you come across after you leave the visitor's center. It is a two mile round trip hike and it was getting late in the day and a little warm so we opted not to hike this trail. It was named the Park Avenue Trail because the tall walls reminded people of tall buildings lining Park Avenue.
Our last stop for the day was at the Delicate Arch Trailhead. The trail is about 3 miles round trip with an elevation gain of about 480 feet. This is what we will climb tomorrow! The pictures of the old cabin and cellar are from the Wolfe Ranch, and were built by one of the first settlers in the area. Pretty primitive living.
Day Three is the day to climb up to Delicate Arch if we are ever going to do it. Here are a few shots of the beginning of the climb. More to come.
We made it!! A lady was kind enough to take a picture of the two of us in front of the Arch. Now to have an energy bar and get down!
The first shot shows the drop from the 200 yard long, 2 to 3 foot wide ledge that we had to cross to get up and back down again. The second picture is also a look at the drop from the ledge and the rest are just pictures along the way down including some lovely wild flowers. Now back to the camper for lunch and a nap!
After lunch and a nap we decided that we were ready to tackle our final hike in Arches up to Landmark Arch, another one of the iconic arches in the park. Our hiking guide assured us that this was an easy hike but we decided they were wrong. Maybe it was just because we were tired from our morning hike. Once again the views along the trail were beautiful.This Arch had a significant portion fall off about 20 years ago so they no longer allow people to hike under the arch because it may be reaching the end of its life span.
Well that is the end of our adventures in Arches NP. Tomorrow we head into Moab to camp at Spanish Trails RV park. It has full hookups, cable TV and internet! Woo Hoo! From there we will explore Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonland NP. Pictures to follow soon. Have a great day.
This is Skyline Arch.
These were taken at either North or South Window Arch. There is a trailhead that allows you to hike to about 4 different arches from that one spot. North and South Window Arch were two of those. If you only have a few hours to spend in the Park, this is the place to go to see the most in a short time.
Some more of the Arches on the Windows trailhead. I think they are Turret Arch, Double O Arch and South Window Arch in that order but don't hold me to that!
Our next stop was at the Balanced Rock Trailhead. All of the above pictures are of the same formation just from different viewpoints. It really does look like a strong wind would blow that big rock right off of the pedestal.
Here's a little video that we experimented with. The wind made it hard to record audio. We'll work on this.
The Park Avenue Trail is one of the first trails you come across after you leave the visitor's center. It is a two mile round trip hike and it was getting late in the day and a little warm so we opted not to hike this trail. It was named the Park Avenue Trail because the tall walls reminded people of tall buildings lining Park Avenue.
Our last stop for the day was at the Delicate Arch Trailhead. The trail is about 3 miles round trip with an elevation gain of about 480 feet. This is what we will climb tomorrow! The pictures of the old cabin and cellar are from the Wolfe Ranch, and were built by one of the first settlers in the area. Pretty primitive living.
Day Three is the day to climb up to Delicate Arch if we are ever going to do it. Here are a few shots of the beginning of the climb. More to come.
We made it!! A lady was kind enough to take a picture of the two of us in front of the Arch. Now to have an energy bar and get down!
The first shot shows the drop from the 200 yard long, 2 to 3 foot wide ledge that we had to cross to get up and back down again. The second picture is also a look at the drop from the ledge and the rest are just pictures along the way down including some lovely wild flowers. Now back to the camper for lunch and a nap!
After lunch and a nap we decided that we were ready to tackle our final hike in Arches up to Landmark Arch, another one of the iconic arches in the park. Our hiking guide assured us that this was an easy hike but we decided they were wrong. Maybe it was just because we were tired from our morning hike. Once again the views along the trail were beautiful.This Arch had a significant portion fall off about 20 years ago so they no longer allow people to hike under the arch because it may be reaching the end of its life span.
Well that is the end of our adventures in Arches NP. Tomorrow we head into Moab to camp at Spanish Trails RV park. It has full hookups, cable TV and internet! Woo Hoo! From there we will explore Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonland NP. Pictures to follow soon. Have a great day.
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