Day 28 - The Arches, Utah

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And today's adventure was going to take place at the Arches, near the town of Moab, Utah.

The deal was that Stefan and I were going to split the costs for the rental car and fuel. We quickly had breakfast and left just before 8am.

It would be a four-hour trip from here. We talked and connected the iPod to the car. We listened through my playlist throughout most of the drive.

234 miles later, we approached the entrance to the National Park and started driving through. You had to drive to the sights here.

Our first stop was the Park Avenue viewpoint. Even driving through the park was scenic. The entire way we would be entertained by scenery.

We also stopped by the La Sal mountains and Courthouse Towers, then reached the first hiking spot at the Windows Section. Here we saw a few of our first actual arches. We spent about an hour at this site, hiking and taking pictures, before heading to the next.

Infact, we decided to turn back to grab some food before taking any of the other hikes - especially to Delicate Arch; the most popular site here. There would be no more food the rest of the way.

So we headed to Denny's in Moab. Took a while to get our food, but it was quite alright; and we definitely needed it.

Then we headed back into the National Park, towards the Devil's Gardens. Here we took a hike to see the Landscape Arch. This area was very beautiful. It was getting slightly cold, and dark by this point. Sunset was approaching.

This was when we decided to head to Delicate Arch and get to the arch in time before the sun set. And it looked like we got there just in time! It was almost 7pm, and we hiked for about two and a half miles.

It was pure beauty. I've seen a lot of rock formations in my time, and this had to be somewhere at the top of the list. Many people were sat on the rocks perched above, looking towards the arch as if watching a show. And a spectacular show it was.

And that was that, and another four hour drive back to our hostel, arriving at almost midnight. We programmed the GPS to talk in an Australian accent, which made things more interesting on the way back. I was laughing my head off. I must say it was a great day, and Stefan enjoyed it too. I was glad to make another new friend.

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