It is hard to imagine a better place to spend your birthday than Arches National Park.
While June was making breakfast, I took a short walk; it was
a beautiful morning with a bright moon and the sun just peaking up.
This is the moon over the rocks behind the campground.
On the opposite side the sun was rising.
June made us a really nice breakfast of French toast and bacon, of course we had Vermont maple syrup.
Camping in the park has its perks, we started the day with
a 3 mile hike that starts right from the camp ground, actually it started right
from our site….pretty cool
The weather could not have been any better, bright sunshine but cool temps. We got on the trail about 08:30, this is a picture looking back at our camping site. Such a beautiful camp setting.
The trail from our site goes to Tapestry Arch then Broken Arch with a side trip to Sand Dune Arch.
Tapestry Arch in the morning light was amazing.
The Arch is massive.
Broken Arch is not broken, but does have a pretty big crack, maybe that is how it got its name?
The Sand Dune Arch trail reminded us of the Baths in Virgin Gorda as you pass thru narrow rock corridors to get there. June said “Jean would love this”, I think she would.
The arch itself is also very cool.
The views as the trail makes its way back to the campground are just beautiful. In this picture, June is pointing to the Serenity Falcon, its color scheme says, I like it here.
We often complain about our government, but I have to say they have done a great job with this park, putting the campground in amongst the beautiful landscape is amazing. Maybe today they would block it and make it forever wild, but right now it is not and all the citizens should try to experience it. This has to be one of the most beautiful places we have ever camped.
The hike according to Strava was about 3.1 miles, 362ft of elevation and took 1hour, 12mins, most of it was easy trekking. We got back to camp to rest for a bigger afternoon hike. While June puttered in the RV, I changed the inner tube on my bike. That did not go too well, I broke 2 plastic tire tools and pinched the tube. The old tube was leaking out of the valve stem, so I replaced the guts from the new one and patched the new tube for a spare. I rode around the campground some but this is really not the place for riding, Moab is.
After lunch we set out for our big hike, a 7-8 mile loop called Devil's Garden loop, It starts about a mile from the campground, an easy scooter ride. It was a much bigger hike, rated at most difficult. Strava reported that it was 7.3 miles, took us 3hours 10mins and had 982ft of elevation change.
Landscape Arch is huge, but the trail under it is closed. In 1991 a huge slab fell off it, so it is no longer safe to go under it. It is getting pretty thin.
The views on the hike are just spectacular.
Pictures don't do it justice.
There are over 2000 arches in the park, each is unique and beautiful in their own way, it is hard to stop taking pictures.
Once you reach Double O arch you can either turn back onto the main trail or take the primitive/difficult trail back. I hate backtracking so we took the primitive trail. It is not as physically challenging as it is technical. There is one place in particular, where you have to traverse a side ledge that is barely wide enough for your shoe. When we arrived there, a young woman froze on the ledge, her boyfriend had to come back and help her. June didn't like it but did just fine.
The spectacular views never stopped, it was a great hike.
We got back pretty exhausted, I just can not imagine doing this hike in the summer, you would fry.
We took the scooter back to camp and stopped at the campground amphitheater just to get a view of Skyline arch. It is one of the places where you can get a bit of a cell signal. My phone rang, it was our friends Paul and Lisa in Vermont. They have been here and asked did you see Skyline arch, we were standing right in front of it. Too funny.
Paul and Lisa November 2019
It was a long day, we had thoughts of another hike (it was still early afternoon) but we were tired and decided 11 miles was enough for the day.
I loaded bikes, scooter etc. so we would be ready to leave early on Thursday. We are going to make the trip to the Grand Canyon longer by stopping by to see Bryce Canyon.
Happy Birthday to me, it was a good one!
Happy birthday to Fred; I think he had a great day. Cheers to many more! :) Arches is simply spectacular with stunning views and many hiking trails.
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