Arches National Park

DELICATE ARCH

(Jason and I are the small people underneath)

Jason and I went on a camping trip with some of our friends this weekend to Moab. We visited Arches National Park and had a GREAT time. We ended up hiking about 10 miles total, and I am exhausted. It was so beautiful; the rock formations were unbelievable. If you're able, GO! We kept asking ourselves how this and how that, Jason and I wished Heather had come with us. She could have explained some of the mystery of the magnificent rocks. Here are some pictures from the trip--

DAY 1: This is Jason and I kissing under the Delicate Arch. My coworker asked if kissing under the arch is a fertility ritual. I told her I hope so.

This is Jason on a really high rock above the Delicate Arch. You can see the arch in the background. This hike was beautiful, but terribly hot. There is no shade along the way, and it is about a 3 mile hike roundtrip. Much of the rock along the trail is so smooth, we walked it in our bare feet. Delicate Arch is probably the most famous arch, it's the one seen on Utah license plates.

DAY 2: Ok, don't look at me and Jason because we look gross. Behind us is Landscape Arch, it is the widest arch in the park. It's hard to see because of the rock behind it, but was absolutely amazing. This one was so thin on top, it's incredible that gravity hasn't yet won the battle.

Here you can see Travis, our friends' 2 year old. We are sitting in a little cavern near the entrance of Navajo Arch. This was one of our favorite spots because not only was it shady, there were plenty of good rocks to climb. There was tons of soft, red sand, and a very very narrow crevice with sloping rock climbing to the top of the cavern. Once we climbed the rock to the top, we were able to see over miles of red rock. It was gorgeous.

This is Jason and I finishing up our difficult 6 mile hike on Day 2. We were exhausted! We had successfully walked across an EXTREMELY high rock fin (the top of a narrow wall of rock with sheer drop-offs on either side), slid down moutain after mountain, walked on sand, gravel, smooth rock, jagged rock, bushes, lizards (you name it!), seen and/or walked through 15 to 20 arches, and came out alive. I can't wait to get more pictures and post them here, it was AMAZING. The park, along with the most delicious dutch-oven apple crip, made this the best camping trip I've ever been on. Ahhhh....