Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park




Day 37: Sunday, August 4, 2019

I couldn’t pass up another opportunity to run the decent route through Cortez, so I made my way out around 6 am for 5 miles, saw a beautiful sunrise, saw the balloon set-up happening again, and got back to the RV before the kids had even woken up.




We got ourselves ready and went to Dennys for breakfast. After our first stop at the Dennys in 29 Palms, Barrett has been begging to go again to his new favorite American chain restaurant (💁). We agreed that this diner version of the Dennys in town would be a good breakfast stop.



We returned to the campground and finished packing up the RV and set out on our short drive to Moab, Utah. Again we missed the state sign, but crossed into our 10th and final state of the trip (other than returning to Arizona). Sean disagreed, but I was happy to be in the warmer, desert climate states again—I was cold in several of the places were went!



We arrived at the Moab KOA and got set up pretty quickly. We decided it made sense to run down to the visitor center for Arches to grab the junior ranger books and get the map so we would be ready to get straight to the trails first thing the next morning.





We got back to the campground and headed to the pool for the afternoon. It was hot and the pool and beers were cool, so it was nice to have an afternoon to relax for once! We met another family from Michigan and chatted with them about our respective trips. They raved about a jeep rental they did to go off-road in Canyonlands so we were considering doing that as well (in the end we didn’t do it, but will try to save that for a future trip when the kids are a bit older).



After a yummy dinner of burgers, fries, corn on cob, and salad, the kids and I walked around the campground and checked out the beautiful views in every direction. We even saw a magnificent rainbow!










Day 38: Monday, August 5, 2019

We woke up early and headed into Arches National Park to try to get ahead of the sun and heat. We caught some great views driving into the park and we were at the trailhead by 8 am (and it was already hot!).



We hiked the mile out to Delicate Arch (along with lots of other folks!). It was not a hard hike though there were a few steep climbs over the rocks. The result was well worth it to see the most notable arch up close and personal. We got a few different views of the arch, stopping to rest in the shade on the rocks overlooking it.











 


On our way back down we stopped to see some petroglyphs and to check out Wolfe Ranch, an old homestead from the early 1900s.



After cooling off in the car, we drove out to the trailhead for Landscape Arch and made the short hike out to see it.  There was an interesting rock formation on this trail as well as a shaded sand area beneath the rocks.






We found a shady picnic area to have our lunch and the kids worked on their junior ranger books when we finished eating. One of the activities was to perform yoga poses to simulate the arches and then make up their own pose.



Next we hiked to the last set of arches for the day—the window arches, Turret Arch (looked like a hand doing the “a-ok” sign).













Barrett, Kinsey, and I climbed up into a crevasse that offered some cool shade but definitely smelled like people had used it as a restroom-yuck!









By this time it was really hot and the kids were over hiking so we headed back to the visitor center to get pinned with their badges and to buy a few souvenirs. They decided on a few books about the local area and I can never really say no to great-looking picture books!


We were ready for some refreshments after our long day of hiking under the hot sun so we went back into town and stopped at the Moab Brewery. We had some tasty beers and nachos and bought a few pieces of brewery swag. Then we walked a block or two through town and checked out the local shops.

When we got back to the campground, more pool time was in order so we spent a few hours cooling off before a dinner of leftovers.


It was a pretty clear night and the kids learned that the area was known for good stargazing, so Sean showed them some of the constellations in the night sky. Everyone was ready for bed after that, knowing that we’d have another busy day ahead.

Arches National Park Highlights
BDG-seeing delicate Arch and climbing into the little cave
KPG-seeing all the arches
EAG-walking under delicate Arch and climbing into the little cave
SGG-seeing delicate Arch


Day 39: Tuesday, August 6, 2019

I got up and eagerly went for a 6.5 mile run—it was a great loop with a fair amount of flat road and beautiful views in every direction so it was a great start to the day. I ran on a farm road for a good part of the run and came across some goats who were pretty noisy as I passed. I imagine they don’t see too many runners go by!


After my run and shower, we got right out the door and made a quick stop at the grocery store for Starbucks (rare to see one in the places we’ve been!), donuts, and some bread for lunch. After that we were on our way to Canyonlands National Park! It was about a 40 minute drive and not at all crowded when we arrived.


As always, we stopped at the visitor center for the kids’ junior ranger books and then we watched the park video. Before leaving the area we headed across the road to look at the views of the canyon.


Next we made our way down the park road and stopped at Mesa Arch. We did the short hike out to see the arch and the views and it was pretty great!!








We kept moving through the park and hiked to Grand View. We spent some time sitting in the shade working on the junior ranger books and just taking in the spectacular views.












We stopped for a picnic lunch and some downtime in the shade and then we set out for our last hike of the day. We hiked up to Whale Rock and it was hot and sunny with no shade—which made for at least one unhappy hiker (KPG!!). The boy loved running up and down the smooth rock inclines and kept saying it was the warp wall from America Ninja Warrior.








At that point we were ready to head back to the visitor center for the kids to turn in their junior ranger books and receive their badges. We picked up a few souvenirs and then made our way back to the RV park.



Keeping with the theme of the last few days, we had more pool time and met friends from Iowa. We stayed longer than we planned and had a late dinner of buffalo chicken, rice, and vegetables. We invited the friends over to hang around the fire and make s’mores and got to bed around midnight (late for all of us!).

Tomorrow the adventure continues!!


Canyonlands National Park Highlights
BDG-hiking the whale rock
KPG-hiking to Grand View
EAG-hiking to Grand View
SGG-Mesa Arch and seeing the sights at Grand View
Location: Arches National Park, Utah, USA

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