Arches National Park, Utah–another bucket list item

Our next stop was Moab,Utah – the drive there was nice and had some great scenery.  There were a couple of rough grades but my cousin who is a truck driver had given Fred some tips on how to handle them and he did great.  The worst was at Mexican Hat which was a 9% grade that made a sharp right turn at the bottom of the grade across the Colorado River.  If you did not slow down from the grade you ran right into the mountain, needless to say it was exciting!!  The rest of the drive was nice and beautiful.

Drive to Moab VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

When we got to Moab, UT we stayed at Moab Valley RV Resort & Campground.  This location put us on the outskirt of town right at the Colorado River, one mile from Arches National Park and close to all we need or could want in town.  Great park with all the amenities that you could want.  After parking we headed to town to get some lunch and look around.  Moab is a very unique place and is well known for 4-wheeling, biking and hiking.  Lots of interesting places and great places to eat and enjoy.  After lunch we headed to the park . . .

After we stopped at the Visitor Center we headed up the mountain to view all that the park had to offer.  This has been one of the places that had been on our bucket list and we were not disappointed.  The initial drive up into the park was steep and we were unsure as to what the rest of the drive would reveal. 

Entrance VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Once you make the climb you are on top of a mesa and for the most part things are leveled out with some specular view out over the valley all the way to the La Sal Mountains.

 

 

 

 

                  La Sal Mountains

 

The uniqueness of the mountains and God’s hand in shaping them never ceases to amaze me  . . . . .

First stop – Park Avenue:

 

Sheep Rock:

 

 

 

 

 

 

          Three Gossips

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left side is called the Tower of Babel and the right is The Organ

 

 

We then found I could not get away from the “Courthouse”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Petrified Dunes:

 

 

 

 

 

Balance Rock:

 

 

 

 

Garden of Eden”

 

                            Mother with child:

 

 

 

Elephant Butte:

Next area was the The Window Section were there were numerous windows in the mountains.  Very unique:

The Window Section VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Panorama Point:

Then of course what just about everyone that goes to Arches wants to see and one of the main sites I wanted to see:

Delicate Arch:

Further up the Mesa was the campground and other arches but Delicate is the cream of the crop.  Plan on taking two to three days to explore the park as there is so much to see and lots of hiking trails from easy short trials to strenuous trials over seven miles.  We really enjoyed our time here and one day plan on going back, but there are other bucket list items to cover first. 

Here is an album of all our pictures- hope you enjoy!!

Arches National Park VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL