Arches National Park

Beyond the edge of the Colorado plateau the erosion led to fewer large formations. In these large formations, wind and rain created holes in the formations and thus the foundation of the Arches National Park. The vistas are vast and sweeping and most of the stops through the park are pullouts for capturing the views. We did manage to take three hikes. In the early spring the weather was not hot, which made hiking in the desert much more bearable. I could not see doing any of these hikes in 100 degree weather.

Delicate Arch Hike

The hike starts at the homestead of wolf ranch. Interestingly, a civil war veteran John Wolf set out from Ohio in 1898 and homestead this ranch for 10 years (at the age of 69). In 1910 he sold his land to J Turnbow who became the first caretaker of the land that is now arches national park.

We hiked a gentle grade up over sandstone for a little over a mile and half until reaching some absolutely fantastic arch formations. The slippery nature of sandstone made viewing and moving around the delicate arch precarious but very much worthwhile!

Double Arch and Windows

Crowded and definitely not very challenging, but it did provide some amazing views of the arches.

The fiery furnace

People regard this hike as one of the most unique national park experiences. In order to get a permit, a reservation must be made and a mandatory orientation must be attended. There is a beginning trail in and out. However, once inside the landform there are no trails. Footprints go just about everywhere. However, there are strict rules about not hiking on dunes or on soil. That means walking must happen on rocks, in washes, or sandstone. The goal: Explore. The national park system allows just 75 people in to this area per day. Fortunately for us, Kylie won, and we three made the cut.

There was no trail, no map, and no clear way to go. We meandered out way through washes and up a steep canyon. At the top we found a few set of show prints coming and going. We hiked along the top searching each new canyon trying to find a way down. Each canyon provided different challenges — steep drops and massive boulders. All proved impassable requiring us to go back the way we came.

Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands National Park is a collection of four different parks. Only two sections are passable by non all wheel drive cars. We explored the sky island section which was a giant mesa overlooking canyons on all sides.