Our last Utah post- written together by Mike and Cheryl
Arches National Park
Arches National Park is known for its 2000 natural stone arches scattered throughout the park. This sandstone ranges in colour from deep red to beige and offers incredible eye candy. The vistas all over the park are stunning. The scenic drive allows visitors of all abilities to appreciate the beauty of this collapsed salt dome. Unlike its neighbouring parks, Arches does not have any back country to explore.
The entrance to Arches is spectacular. It is a staircase of switchbacks climbing a deep red cliff complete with hoodoos, cleaved off pillars and other incredible sights. You know you are in a special place right from the start.
Arches offers impossibly balanced rock formations that will boggle your mind and guided hikes to explain them.
Fiery Furnace- Arches
The Fiery Furnace requires a permit for self-guided hikes. There are certain restrictions and a limited number of these permits. We didn't want to risk missing out so we booked a guided hike months ago. This was led by a park ranger and made it easier to go off trail without getting lost in the maze of rock formations. The hike involved scrambles, crevass-hops, narrow canyon navigation, bouldering and ledge walks- not for the faint of heart. We visited several beautiful dead ends- from caverns to arches. We had a blast!
We camped right in the park at Devil's Garden Campground. The kids loved climbing the large sand dunes! Unfortunately, the September winds made it impossible to enjoy outdoor meals and caused sleepless nights. Not recommended for tent trailer campers!!
One of Arches' popular trails leaves right from the campground. Mike and I decided to run it- through sandy patches, slickrock and rock scrambles. We passed Landscape Arch, Navajo Arch, Partition Arch, Black Arch and made it to Double O Arch. The wind was fierce!
Canyonlands National Park
From Arches, we took a day trip to Canyonlands National Park. The winds were intense so we did not enjoy much more than observing the views from overlooks on the scenic drive.
We did get out to walk to Mesa Arch- what a view! We attempted to enjoy a peaceful breakfast cooked on our one-burner camp stove. The wind kept us on our toes and made it less than relaxing!
When we returned to our campsite, we found our poor tent trailer had taken a beating in the wind. Given the forecast of ongoing gusts of 80km/h winds, we moved to a hotel in Moab. The kids spent our last morning in Utah relaxing by the pool and hot tub while Mike embarked on his bucket list mountain-bike ride- The Slickrock trail.
Slickrock Trail- Moab
Moab is mecca for mountain bikers- some of the world's most renowned trails traverse the Moab area's sandstone petrified dunes and cliffs. I did the Slickrock trail- a 10 mile loop with great views of the Green River, the dunes themselves and even some hoodoo-like sandstone rock formations.
The Slickrock trail was a never-ending train of steep inclines and descents- a real thrill ride.
Arches National Park
Arches National Park is known for its 2000 natural stone arches scattered throughout the park. This sandstone ranges in colour from deep red to beige and offers incredible eye candy. The vistas all over the park are stunning. The scenic drive allows visitors of all abilities to appreciate the beauty of this collapsed salt dome. Unlike its neighbouring parks, Arches does not have any back country to explore.
The entrance to Arches is spectacular. It is a staircase of switchbacks climbing a deep red cliff complete with hoodoos, cleaved off pillars and other incredible sights. You know you are in a special place right from the start.
Arches offers impossibly balanced rock formations that will boggle your mind and guided hikes to explain them.
Fiery Furnace- Arches
The Fiery Furnace requires a permit for self-guided hikes. There are certain restrictions and a limited number of these permits. We didn't want to risk missing out so we booked a guided hike months ago. This was led by a park ranger and made it easier to go off trail without getting lost in the maze of rock formations. The hike involved scrambles, crevass-hops, narrow canyon navigation, bouldering and ledge walks- not for the faint of heart. We visited several beautiful dead ends- from caverns to arches. We had a blast!
We camped right in the park at Devil's Garden Campground. The kids loved climbing the large sand dunes! Unfortunately, the September winds made it impossible to enjoy outdoor meals and caused sleepless nights. Not recommended for tent trailer campers!!
One of Arches' popular trails leaves right from the campground. Mike and I decided to run it- through sandy patches, slickrock and rock scrambles. We passed Landscape Arch, Navajo Arch, Partition Arch, Black Arch and made it to Double O Arch. The wind was fierce!
Canyonlands National Park
From Arches, we took a day trip to Canyonlands National Park. The winds were intense so we did not enjoy much more than observing the views from overlooks on the scenic drive.
We did get out to walk to Mesa Arch- what a view! We attempted to enjoy a peaceful breakfast cooked on our one-burner camp stove. The wind kept us on our toes and made it less than relaxing!
When we returned to our campsite, we found our poor tent trailer had taken a beating in the wind. Given the forecast of ongoing gusts of 80km/h winds, we moved to a hotel in Moab. The kids spent our last morning in Utah relaxing by the pool and hot tub while Mike embarked on his bucket list mountain-bike ride- The Slickrock trail.
Slickrock Trail- Moab
Moab is mecca for mountain bikers- some of the world's most renowned trails traverse the Moab area's sandstone petrified dunes and cliffs. I did the Slickrock trail- a 10 mile loop with great views of the Green River, the dunes themselves and even some hoodoo-like sandstone rock formations.
The Slickrock trail was a never-ending train of steep inclines and descents- a real thrill ride.
Hugo enjoyed learning about your adventures. I rode slick rock trail nearly twenty years ago, beautiful place.
ReplyDeleteOwen
Hi Hugo! Hi Owen! - Great to hear from you! Thanks for the recommendation on Slickrock - it has quite a rep. Hugo - keep an eye out for some fun experiences coming up in other parts of the world! I'll make sure the kids see your comments ;)
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