(Delicate Arch: Arches National Park)
Basically I thought yesterday's photo of the day idea was stupid and decided in place I would share with you my adventures from yesterday. As I'm sure you know yesterday was Presidents Day, and while I'm very grateful for those who have held the office of Commander and Chief all it really means to me is a day off from school (one of the only days off I get this semester). My roommate Nalani is all about adventure so she planned this great trip to Arches National Park for Her, Em, our friend Owen and I. Once again we left bright and early at 6am and made the 3 hour trek to Moab (the trip up included jammin out to N'Sync-which was awesome). So we get to the park, pay our entrance fee, use the potty, ect. and start heading up to the first hike when we realize we are...out of gas...so we had to go into town and get more...we looked like idiots.
We finally made it to the first (and longest) hike, "Devil's Garden". The first arch on the Devil's Garden loop is the "Landscape Arch". It's pretty cool, not the coolest, but still awesome. According to the broacher it's as long as a football field. While we're standing in awe of this massive bridge thing, Nalani spies these two arches way up on this mountain and decides she's gonna climb to them, even though the signs clearly said not to. She was up there FOREVER, and we couldn't see her so we were just kinda hoping she wasn't rolling down the hill or cougar food. While she was gone the other three of us just ran around exploring.
We found this big hunk of rock that was pretty easy to climb so we jumped up there and got an awesome view. We could even see the two little holes Nalani climbed to-yup, she made it-(they're right behind Em and I there). Then the big rock got boring to me so I ventured even further out onto this super slanted table thing and got this AMAZING view. I didn't want to leave (even though I'm glad I did, cause there was so much left to see).
I literally felt like I was on top of the world...it was incredible. All I could think about was how much God created for us to enjoy and how much there must really be in this world. The world is a huge place full of so many amazing things and I just want to see it all. When Nalani finally re-joined us after her little detour we headed towards the "Double-O Arch", which we were told was a must see by these two old men who were on their way back. On the way there we crossed this spine and at the end came to this spot where you could see clear around for about 200 miles-absolutely breathtaking. We stood there just staring for a few minutes.
We hiked some more and came to the "Double-O
Arch"- which is basically a big hole in the rocks
on top of another smaller hole in the rocks. These things really are something
to behold.When you look from far away the bottom hole looks so tiny
but when you get up close you feel tiny
compared to the hole. We decided this would be a cool place to stop and refuel with our lunches so we ate with this view in front of us---->
On our way back to the car from "Devil's Garden" Nalani mis-stepped and sprained her ankle which pretty much sucks. But she was a trooper and
toughed it out the rest of the trip because she really wanted to see this park.
Next up was the hike to "Delicate Arch"; the most famous one in the park and also the picture on the Utah license plate. Supposedly, this one was easier than the last one but I disagree; the hike was straight up an inclined rock and it felt like it took forever. But, seeing the arch up close and personal was totally worth it. And it I wasn't feeling small already standing directly under the thing sure did the trick. We spent quite a bit of time just hanging out here and it was totally amazing. Plus, I finally got a good picture of Nalani and I to frame and put up in my room!
The final climb (if you could call it that-it was more like walking up stairs) was to "Windows" Unfortunately, my camera was dead by this point and due to Nalani's ankle Em and her didn't make the walk to the point where you could see both at the same time-so I have no pictures of them for you; It was pretty spectacular though.
These two giant holes you could look through and see the other side of the park.
Outside the visitors center there was a sign that said "Amazing Arches and awe-inspiring
landscapes." and they did not disappoint. I have decided next time the family is in Utah
we are definitely taking a trip down to Moab. I think Dad and Zach will really love this stuff and who knows maybe Mom will even like Utah a bit.
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