Arches Natoional Park

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Wow. Arches National Park is simply amazing. Really stunning. We woke up to a BEAUTIFUL campsite, nestled among the huge red stones of the park. The sun makes everything glow, and you feel like you are on Mars or something. We had some brekkie, and then headed out on an easy hike from the campground. There was a loop which took us to tapestry arch, broken arch & sandstone arch. It was really strange- there were only a few people out there who we ran into, most of the time it was just us in the vast landscape of red rocks and incredible rock formations. When you stopped to rest, there were no sounds- no birds, no wind rustling the plants, no insects even, you really felt like time had stopped. Oh- and it was really hot- 95 degrees out there, so we were both sweating loads. The trek was about 4 miles long, so at the end of it both of us were totally exhausted and headed back for lunch & a nap.

At 6pm we decided to use the bikes we had bought, and did a cool 5 mile bike ride. It was excellent- you get a totally different perspective than walking, although it was pretty hard core climbs. It was also really liberating, since there were hardly any cars out, you really got a lot of freedom, and could stop whenever to take photos. As the sun went down, the colours of the landscape changed from a light red/brown to a rich dark red, so gorgeous.

When we got back, we bought some wood off of the ranger (who delivered it to our RV in a golf cart!), and as we were going to get it going, the most incredible lightening shower started. We decided against the outdoor bbq, so prepared things inside, and sat in the front of the bus watching the lightening storm advance across the park. We tried in vain to get some cool lightening shots, but luck was not on our side, and all we managed to take were a few photos of people blinking their flashlights.

Note- Arches NP was by far our favourite National Park, because there were not many people there, the striking beauty of the park, good hiking, and great campsite. If you have a chance, definitely go see it.

Miles: hiking- 4, biking- 5. (RV stayed put in its spot!)

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