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Hi Everyone,
Today we visited Arches National Park in Moab, Utah and of course I wanted to update my friends and family. In case you were wondering the title of this blog refers to the crispy fried color of my skin after being in Utah for only 1 day. The sun sure is hot out here and by the way the dry heat does not make a difference. We headed off early to try to beat the heat and take some hikes is moderate temperatures, no such luck! It was about 75 at 8:00 am. The park itself has about 1,000 arches, it was amazes me that so much beauty can be in one location.
Our first major stop was to the North and South Window Arch. The hike to reach these arches is about 1.5 miles and wasn't too bad. The view from the Arches was amazing. Luckily there weren't too many people at the park today so we were able to get some great views without a lot of other tourists around. It was breathtaking to see the park in the distance while standing under the arches. Not too far away is Turrey Arch which is a
teardrop shaped arch with a baby circle arch next to it. We checked out the Delicate Arch but we were only able to see it from a viewpoint that was some distance away. We were not able to tackle that hike in the mid afternoon heat. It is about 2 miles each way up about 500 feet in elevation change to reach the arch. There is very limited shade as you scale the red rocks up to it, so we decided to save ourselves from the heat stroke. The view from a distance was okay, not great, but I did get some good pictures with my telephoto lens but unfortunately you will have to wait till I get home to see them.
Our next stop was Sand Dunes Arch and Broken Arch. I thought that the Sand Dunes Arch was just a cute name to describe the arch; however, it is literally through the sand and over dunes. It was surreal to be there with no one else around and getting the chance to sit under the arch enjoying the scenery. Broken Arch is not in fact broken but has a little notch in the middle, creating the illusion
that it is going to fall down at any minute.
Pictures of Landscape Arch do not do it justice; it is just magnificent in person. Although it took quite a bit of effort to get there, about 2 miles through some pretty significant elevations with 90 + weather in mid afternoon. Every time I saw a shady patch I was sure to stop and take a break and drink some water. However, once you get there you forget all about the strenuous walk and just enjoy the peaceful view. Landscape Arch is about as big a football field and seems so delicate balancing in the air like it does. I was glad to reach the ca
We had a great day in Arches but the heat, sunburns (even with sunscreen), and about 5 miles of hiking was enough to tire us out. After we left Arches we headed down to Bryce Canyon which is where we will be tomorrow. The view from the road was colorful and diverse. There were millions of red rock formations, plateaus, and canyons with all different colors strewn in. Right now from our campground you can see canyons and ridges in the distance,
it sure is beautiful in Utah. I hope that you enjoy the pictures!
I hope that all is well and take care.
Love Laura
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Corinne
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So jealous!
Laura, I have been reading about your adventure from my tiny office with no windows - I officially hate you ;) Thanks for sending so many pictures and updates. I'm incredibly jealous of all that you're seeing but it is just making me promise myself that I will take this trip too one day soon! Can't wait to hear all about everything when you get back.